How about trying a good old fashioned cover for your sled while in your open truck bed??

 

Right on, I should have mentioned if I truck it I'll get a cover too. Thanks!

 

They can get nasty. Salt and road grime wips up into the bed I found when I used to do that. A good cover fixes that but it just got to be a big pain in the arse for me anyway. Load it on the truck, cover it in -20, stow away the ramp. Then get to the destination, pull out ramp, uncover in -20, unload, secure ramp, spend an hour trying to wipe the salt off yourself. Ugh.

 

Ugh.... That's what I suspected. Thank you for the thought!

 

Wondered about this myself. Seems like it would be hard to keep the salt off.

I'd like to find a single place enclosed but they are few and far between.

 

I've transporter my sled in the bed before and it stayed reasonably clean with a cover. It's certainly better than being on an open trailer.

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a few things come to mind here, as to how clean or dirty it wikll get
as the SIZE of the truck matters here, is it a full sized truck or mid sized,
8 ft bed or 6.4 or smaller
how far are you hauling it, and in what type of roads and traffic conditions

as all that changes things

a truck that sit taller will get less slop on truck as it gets higher(normally where does salt slush build up< the lower end of the vehicle and the front and back, the roof doesn;'t get a lot , if you follow)
so a sled in the back of a tall sitting truck will protect it better than a lower riding truck

next, the size of bed matters,a s again, the very BACK of a vehicle will collect salt and slush, so, if there is more sled in the truck and less on the tailgate, it will stay cleaner

and then, HOW far and fast are you hauling it and will it be on back roads , or highways?
short trips or long hauls?

short hauls on low traffic roads, things will stay a lot cleaner, than the rest!
more vehicles on the road and faster they are going, the more salt mist and dust will be in the air, and that will lead to landing and sticking to things
and if your on very LONG trips, and encounter things like rain or wet snow, things can freeze to a bed of a truck, making unloading a pain in the ass deal!

so it all matters

and then, adding a cover
YUP will sure help keep sled clean, but can be a real pain the ass to add to sled in a bed of a truck(been there done that)
how young and agile are you?

for em the hassle of hauling a trailer is worth the added, benefits, cleaner sled, faster easier loading and unloading, and less wear and tear on the sled in the long run!

butthat is, a personal deal,

 

I have been hauling in the back of my pick up for years. I find aftermarket covers rip apart from the wind but the SkiDoo premium cover stays together. The back end of the sled gets dirty and the cover gets caked with mud and salt. You just need to be careful taking the cover off not to get yourself dirty. I also haul with the windshield off. Tall windshield on and I lose 4 mpg.

 

Had my sled in the bed when i had a full size truck with a bed liner after selling my enclosed trailer. It stayed high, and dry except some salt spray on the windshield. I drove 500 miles one way at times with it back there. I'd continue with it but this truck is no longer a full size, plus its got a composite bed. I already owned a 5x10 utility trailer that was easy enough to adapt to carrying a sled.

 

I dont haul very far, but my sleds never get very dirty when transported in the truck bed. Windshield gets a bit of salt spray but the rest of the sled stays nice and clean.
Probably has more to do with size of tires and mudflaps used on the truck.

 

I took these pics a couple years ago to give some perspective on the whole salt deal. This is a 2005 1500HD with the 6’ box. Sled is a 2018 Switchback 136”. You can see that the side with the ramp has considerably less salt on the rear wheel and plastics. But that is really the only place you see much salt on the sled with a factory travel cover. These pics were taken after a 230 mile drive in slushy salt covered roads.

 

Thay made total sled covers, they even covered the skis. I had 2 of those for 121" track sleds. Probably still have them somewhere.

 

Parts unlimited sold them as well as polaris.
I still have a couple that I cover my sleds with at night if we stay at a hotel

 

Be nice if there was a way to get the rear skid covered up. Not sure how to do that.

 

Go spin the track in snow and it is flushed out in 10 seconds

 

Oh they stay pretty clean with the right setup

 

I’ll pull my 30’ trailer before I ever put one in a truck bed again. I’ve done it. One sled in a five place. I had a 11’ clamshell that I sold to a buddy to help him out. I do wish I had kept it, for such occasions. I’ve wheeled the five place through a McDonald’s drive through a few times, just to prove I could.
If I ever get 4 more friends….I’ll be all set.

 

I’ll pull my 30’ trailer before I ever put one in a truck bed again. I’ve done it. One sled in a five place. I had a 11’ clamshell that I sold to a buddy to help him out. I do wish I had kept it, for such occasions. I’ve wheeled the five place through a McDonald’s drive through a few times, just to prove I could.
If I ever get 4 more friends….I’ll be all set.

Where do you live? I've got an 11' clamshell, three snowmobiles, and a cheap ass wife who thinks we don't need a bigger trailer so I get to load the third sled in the back of the truck everytime we all go somewhere even though I had a sweet deal worked out for a new 3 place inline that wouldn't have cost us a dime, but she thinks I'm a fucking idiot and always looking to bankrupt the family with my hobbies though she could spend trailer money on a pool this summer that I get to put up.......I probably am an idiot because I listen to her.

Wanna be friends???

 

this might sound funny, but I have a similar issue as the guys I ride with come from different areas. Find a 15 passenger Ford van and remove all the bench seats. The ramp, all the gear, coolers, food for a weekend, all in one package. Probably find one for around $5000.

 

I never used a cover when i hauled my sled in the trucks bed. For the most part except the windshield they stay clean. Could be the way the truck cab and bed are made that determine's how clean the sled will stay.

 

It’s not bad. I don’t even use a cover anymore. /a sled deck is way worse than the back of a truck

 

i do it all the time w/ no cover & I have a 155 RMK in a 6.5 box .............my question, why bother hauling a ramp, there's always a snow bank to use

 

Do you have mostly dry roads leading to the trail?

 

I think sleds get too dirty in the back unless they are FULLY covered. Otherwise salt spray finds it's way all over the place and makes your hardware look like crap. I used to cover with the standard OEM cover and then tarp over the rest to capture the salt. If you use just a tarp it can buffet and scratch the piss out of everything.

 

Not really true. I've had them in the back of my tundra for 500 miles. The most was salt spray on the windshield. A rag and some warm water washed right off. Maybe with todays sleds being taller it could posed a bigger issue.

 

i always used a body cover made by sheer madness. total coverage. but the rear of the skid would be exposed. bathe it with wd40 or fluid film for the ride

 

Once you salt it the new is gone

 

One thing not mentioned is gas mileage. Your going to get a lot better mileage with the sled in the back of the truck than pulling a trailer. I do it occasionally if it's just me heading up north even though I have a 7.5 x 14 v nose trailer. I can get maybe 18-20 mpg with just the truck and only around 10-12 with the trailer behind.

 

My tundra was a gas hog. With the sled in the bed i got 19 mpg at best. Towing sleds in my triton enclosed trailer 14 mpg.

 

I use too do the sled in box when I was younger, but after helping bud load his RXL one time, I said F that and bought a 2 place open bed. Sled stayed clean enough in bed for short trips, and if going a few hours I'd cover it. Sleds were a mess on the open bed, even covered.

I'm like some of you, I really only need to get sled a short distance to trail, or buddies house. Most guys I ride with have 4 place trailers, so I throw my sled in theirs if we go together. Plus I have no place to store that size of trailer. So I bought a 6x12 enclosed utility trailer. Its a no frills model, but stuff stays dry, clean and safe. Plus the trailer is so much more useful then a dedicated sled trailer IMO. Only downfall is its tall and catches wind, so fuel mileage will suffer some.

My dad once took his 4 place to move a electric scooter for a friend. I still laugh at that.

 

I’ve done both and I would much rather trailer in an enclosed …sled stays clean and it’s just so much easier to drive in and drive off than to dick around with ramps IMO.👊🏻❄

 

Same here but I rarely travel by myself up north so I can deal with the ramp etc.. once a season. My buddy has a place up north so occasionally I just need to meet him up there with just me and my sled. About 10 mpg better and I'll go a little faster without the trailer. Especially with gas prices this year.

 

I’m glad I don’t have to interact with some of you limp wrists. Throw your sled in the back of your truck, cover it and hammer down. Some of you have never lifted a sled in the back of a truck, it shows.

 

When I was younger I used to lift my Firecat in my truck by myself. 58 now I use the ramp.

 

If the roads are wet then a cover is absolutely necessary. But as long as there's no road spray I wont even put a cover in mine. Definitely a much better option than an open trailer, no matter what the road conditions.