Fishing Forum

New to snowmobiles for ice fishing. So far I've been using a rope. Flipped the sled on the road and spread my stuff all over the place and broke 1 rod. What tow bars work well with the smaller jet sleds? Any other towing tips appreciate.

I like the shappell universal tow bars

https://www.eagleclaw.com/jsh-universal-hitch

and I would recommend a cover, make sure you get the right one for your sled as there are quite a few of them.

Agree with Musky on this one. Having those solid bars really keeps the sled from swinging around or getting too close once you stop. We reinforce the sled where they attach to strengthen the connection. Another thought is mount you sled on top of a DIY smitty sled, then connect the tow bars to smitty sled - pulls like a dream. Also keeps the sled up higher out of snow and it's at a more workable height.

I also like the Shappell universal tow bars.

Totally agree with Matt and Jill... Get you a solid tow bar, i use the Clam Pro series tow bar, it is excellent, but maybe overkill for a small sled, but it has paid for itself verses the broken tail lights and damaged gear I experienced with a rope and conduit bars i tried to DIY at first.... Things happen too quickly behind a snowmobile so have a solid connection and I love the Smitty effect to get my load out of the deep snow. My sleeper sled isn't on a smitty yet and I can barely pull it in 12" or more of snow.... My smitties follow great even through deep slush... Welcome to the really fun side of ice fishing.... To me taking the sled out on the ice to some remote spot is what it's all about... Have fun.... Later Jeff

Thanks for the info. My nephew used that setup and where the bars connect to the sled with open hooks, the bars kept coming off when he would let off the throttle. Well one bar and then the sled would swing sideways. I’d like a more positive connection, or he’s doing it wrong?

---

Jeff, that Clam pro looks sweet. Do those hooks stay connected pretty reliably. I like the looks of that system.  Also was looking at the Eskimo tow bar wondering if anyone has experience with that one. I can’t tell how it hooks to the plastic sled.

The hooks stay attached really well... in fact I was worried about the same thing, but to this point I haven't had one come unhooked... I did have one issue with the lugs when you attach them to the sled, i over tighted it and twisted off one bolt so i had to get a new lug, but that was totally my fault... Hate to say but they are close to $40 more now than they were when I bought mine, but I'm still considering one for my sleeper sled. I think I have the regular Clam hitch on that one and it's a lot more awkward to work with... I guess I've gotten used to having the handle for pulling the sled around and the other one is hard to get ahold of for pulling into the trailer so I may replace or figure out a handle for the other one. Plus it's not nearly as strong either... I haven't seen the Eskimo in action so I guess I can't comment on that one... Good luck on your choice... Later Jeff

Replace the bolts on the sled to these




And then attach the bars to the sled with either of these







Those will not come undone when traveling. If so carry a small wrench for that twist nut though. It can get tight when it's cold or corroded a little

(01-04-2022, 09:53 PM)Muskyon46 Wrote: [ -> ]Replace the bolts on the sled to these




And then attach the bars to the sled with either of these







Those will not come undone when traveling. If so carry a small wrench for that twist nut though. It can get tight when it's cold or corroded a little

I use the last item (large snap) in your pictures and it works great.

I made the same thing out of 1/2" electrical conduit and three hitch pins. One pin to attach the harness to each side of my sled and one to join the two pieces of conduit in the front and attach it to a little clamp on my my sleds rear tow bar. It took about 30 minutes to cut the conduit, drill three holes and make your own hitch. Plus with the hitch pins you can remove the "hitch" from your sled in a matter of seconds. Very easy to do and cheap too!

Hey SkunkedAgain, my sled is only 24” wide. How far apart are the front brackets on the sled? Or in other words, how far apart are the hooks that hook onto the brackets? I really like that Clam Pro if it will fit.Thanks

I'll go measure and get back with you... on that... Jeff

---

The very widest point of the mounts are 19" apart, that is the flat metal, the hoops where you attach the bar are less than that probably centered around 16" sorry I didn't measure that, but it sounded like you wanted to know if they would fit on a 24" sled and yes they will. I'll try to take a picture later to help explain... Jeff

(01-05-2022, 03:37 AM)Troutster Wrote: [ -> ]Hey SkunkedAgain, my sled is only 24” wide. How far apart are the front brackets on the sled? Or in other words, how far apart are the hooks that hook onto the brackets? I really like that Clam Pro if it will fit.Thanks

Hey Troutster, you might consider this: get a bigger sled. The one I got was ~$50 at Sportsman's. It's big enough to carry all my stuff without piling it over the top. If I ever decide to take a shelter I can easily bungee it on top. I too am a newby to using a snowmobile for ice fishing. Thanks for bringing this topic up as I can sure use the advice myself.

Thanks for all of the info. I am getting the next size up sled and I have ordered the Clam Pro Series Hitch. I’m also going to have my nephew get the ibolts and connectors for his sled. It’s going to be a sweet setup. One final note, my nephew got an insulated 6 man Eskimo and a MASSIVE sled and is using a 20 lb propane tank… That sled is so heavy it took 2 adult men to pull it out onto the ice from where the snowmobiles were parked. It weighs a ton! Sometimes less is more.

(01-04-2022, 07:03 PM)Troutster Wrote: [ -> ]New to snowmobiles for ice fishing. So far I've been using a rope. Flipped the sled on the road and spread my stuff all over the place and broke 1 rod. What tow bars work well with the smaller jet sleds? Any other towing tips appreciate.

This is our sled hook up on Cascade seems to work well for us but make sure you have a cover, we sometimes pull tandem sleds with no issues.

(01-04-2022, 09:53 PM)Muskyon46 Wrote: [ -> ]Replace the bolts on the sled to these




And then attach the bars to the sled with either of these







Those will not come undone when traveling. If so carry a small wrench for that twist nut though. It can get tight when it's cold or corroded a little

Agree with this.  I always had mine come off the hooks. The eye bolts  have been great. I prefer the twist nuts as I've had the snap type bend and come off.  Make sure you get robust snaps if you go that route.

I like to buy polar trailers and remove the wheels. build snowmobile ski mounts and slide them on the spindles.

Why stop at two trailers 3 or four will follow along as well. Just as we’ll be a train. Later J

(01-06-2022, 02:09 AM)SkunkedAgain Wrote: [ -> ]Why stop at two trailers 3 or four will follow along as well. Just as we’ll be a train. Later J

Because that's all we need and sometimes not even that.

Good point..... but when I'm camping overnight sometimes my gear requirements grows a bit...