Snowmobiling from a boondocked RV

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elevine17

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Joined
Nov 13, 2017
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6
I am looking to purchase an RV to use as a base for some snowmobiling adventures. I live in Utah and plan on making extended weekend trips to Wyoming, Montana, Idaho etc. Most of my stays will be at Trailheads or BLM land so I would like something that is good at dry camping and works will in cold overnight temperatures.

What set up (travel trailer and sled deck, truck camper and trailer, toyhauler etc) have you found works best? Are there any brands other than Bigfoot or Outdoor RV that I should be considering?

Finally, for those that have done it, where do you dry your wet gear at the end of the day? My initial thought was a dehumidifier in a bathroom but not sure if that would dry it all overnight. I don't exactly want to have it in my living area cramping up the space.
 
I can only address one question.  We put slickers, bathing suits, wet towels and such in the shower to dry.  Jerry went to a boating store and bought some good quality stainless steel (anti-rust) hooks.  There is a plastic-coated clothesline with an "S" hook tied on at each end.  Jerry put another fitting on the wall at each end of the clothesline that the S hooks fit into.  Neither of us knows what the other fitting is called but it's kind of U shaped and the S fits into the U.  They're simple but effective and we have two of these clotheslines, high and low.  They're out of the way and clothes can drip onto the shower floor.  We tried a bar across the top of the shower but there was nowhere to hook it in place and clothes wouldn't stay on it if we were driving.

ArdraF

 
Most rvs are not very much fun to drive in snow conditions. If you have a toyhauler trailer, a 4 wheel drive truck would be a must. Most guys around here in Ontario use enclosed trailers, with heaters in them for the sleds, and just rent motels. It might be possible to use a camping trailer for winter camping, but having to winterize the camper every time you it would be a pain. If you get into well below sub freezing temps, you might find you have trouble keeping the tanks and lines from freezing unless you have electricity and space heaters to heat below. Unless the trailer is a toyhauler, you would need a second truck to pull the snowmobiles. I personally wouldnt want to be towing a large camper around in winter conditions. My sled trailer weighs less than 3000 lbs with two sleds in it. Towing a 8000 lb trailer on icy roads can be hazardous, especially if you get into hilly roads. Great idea, but dont know anyone doing much of it here in Ontario.
 
Thanks. I will likely be utilizing a 1-ton truck. At this point it will have a slide in camper and pull a lightweight sled trailer as you'd mentioned. If I went the travel trailer route, I would get into something like a Bigfoot which has a GVWR of 4300 lbs. Much closer to your sled trailer than your travel trailer. I would put the 2 snowmobiles on a deck in the bed. Figure 500 lbs for each sleds (soaking wet) and 400 for a deck. Average tongue weight of the trailer is 315lb but let's call it 430. 2 people averaging 200 lbs (I'm 150) and we would still have a 1000 lbs or so of payload to spare in a full-ton.

Couple that with the fact that professional snowmobilers like Burandt are driving far heavier set ups with less truck and I think I'll be ok safety wise. I'm not looking to live in it full-time. Rather make trips when weather (and avalanche conditions for that matter) permit.

I am aware there are some limitations of conventional travel trailers. But, some manufacturers have taken steps to combat that. For example, many RV fridges do not work well in cold conditions but Outdoors RV and I believe Bigfoot have installed refrigerators that keep working in freezing temperatures. They also have heated tanks and more insulation. So we know progress is being made on that front. But, the question that remains is what other brands or solutions am I missing? And how do people dry their gear? I liked Jerry's solution but I fear the heavy snow gear will not dry in time. Perhaps I could and a portable catalytic heater
 
Many of the artic type campers have electric heat pads on the tanks. We have winter camped in our rv, and the furnace running helps heat the underbelly, but we had problems in the septic bay. We installed a light bulb, and run a ll0 heater under there if it gets too cold. A class A, as well as lots of toyhaulers, have on board generators to provide electricity. Camping in winter is easier if electricity is available. Most likely you are not going to want to leave a portable generator running outside while you are gone for hours sledding. Leaving your stuff unattended at a trail head, or parking lot might cause some problems as well. Some rvs have washer dryers. They are quite small, but if you had electricity, you could dry a lot of the stuff in there. Im with you on the sledding. I love snowmobiling, and find travelling out of town paying motels etc  can get very expensive. Sometimes you gotta go where the snow is, if your area is not getting a good year. Happy trails.
 
I imagine down to the negatives overnight but probably in the teens/twenties. I realize it will be tough to find a fridge that works in those temps but hoping the rest of the problems are solveable
 

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