Fit Snowmobile in 5 ft bed?

[yellowstoner]

Hey all! New member here, just bought by ranger (2021 XLT FX4) and going to pick it up next week. Can't wait! I'm thinking about buying a sled, maybe something like an early 2000s Polaris RMK 800 but I don't have room to store a trailer. Will one of these fit in the short bed? I know it will stick out but I'm worried a sled that's 9+ feet long won't be secure enough with 2-3 feet hanging past the tailgate. Has anyone used their short bed to haul a snowmobile? I'd love to see pictures.

PS: I've spent the last few hours searching threads to see if anyone has mentioned this before with no luck, so sorry if this has been asked before that I missed.

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[BS67]

Welcome and Congrats on the Ranger!

 

[Grumpaw]

Welcome.
Now, a question...if you don't have room to store a trailer, how/where are you going to store the Polaris ?
If you have room to store it, why not a small trailer ?
9 foot heavy Polaris in a 5 foot bed...I wouldn't.

 

[Msfitoy]

How long is the sled? With the gate down, maybe....will definitely need a TGD tho...

 

[AzScorpion]

Welcome.
Now, a question...if you don't have room to store a trailer, how/where are you going to store the Polaris ?
If you have room to store it, why not a small trailer ?
9 foot heavy Polaris in a 5 foot bed...I wouldn't.

I use to store my sleds in the corner of the garage. Even a smaller clamshell trailer will take up a lot of room unless you have extra parking area on your property which I did.

 

[yellowstoner]

This is generally my thinking on a trailer. I can fit a sled in the garage but a trailer would make it next to impossible to access most of the garage, even if it was just a 4x8, but I'd likely need a 5x10.

As for the hangover, of course if the bed was 5 feet and the sled was 9, that would be too risky. But from what I can find the tailgate is about 21 inches tall, so when you add that to the 61 inches of the bed, you get 82 inches long. Snowmobiles I'm looking at are around 120 inches, so 2/3 of the sled would be on the bed, with most of the weight in the front.

In theory, it seems like it should work for short trips (under a couple of hours) but hoping to hear whether anyone tried it successfully or unsuccessfully.

 

[Dereku]

I bet it would work. Question is to you hang the skis or the tread? Skis might not fit between the wheel wells either. Harbor freight hasa folding 4x8 trailer which is good for storing in small spaces too. Tossing a sled in a truck would probably suck.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Hauling it in a 5’ bed is not something I’d be comfortable with. I used to store the canopy from my 2001 Ranger on its end. I imagine you could do that with a small trailer too. You could even hide it like I did. If you look carefully in the picture below, you can see it in the middle section.

 

[Motorpsychology]

The skis won't fit between the wheel wells. the box is 44.1'' between the wheel wells, most later adult sleds are 45-47"+. Also I don't think the skis would go over the wheel well to the front of the box.
There might be a chance for one ski to slide off, making for a real hard time pulling it out. Even without that, the skis would be pointing down hill in the box, making the job of pulling a 500 lb sled out a chore for two or three people.
It would fit putting it in backwards, but unknown how the rear of the skis would fit over the wheel wells; might have the slide off problem again, or, the sled would be hanging way off the back with the heaviest part on the tailgate.
If you can store the sled where you are, renting a purpose built tilt sled trailer when needed would be a much simpler solution than being too exhausted to ride after loading and unloading. And again when you get back home.

 

[Trigganometry]

Tailgate will bend to support that weight. IIRC 450lbs?

 

[yellowstoner]

Tailgate will bend to support that weight. IIRC 450lbs?

Yes but most of the weight wouldn't be on the tailgate. The machines are about 500lbs so weight isn't an issue.

As for the wheel wells, many models in that time period are about 42inches wide. If I got one wider I'd just build a platform above the wheel wells.

 

[TheNorseman]

I think you can do it just fine, as long as the skis fit between the wheel weld, or you can bump them up over/on. I see a lot of folks up here in AK hauling sleds like that in 5 foot beds. I have a little 6 foot homemade trailer that I haul my 98 Polaris 700 RMK on, and it works great. Your tailgate will give you more than an extra foot, and the weight on the tailgate is not an issue, as much of the weight of a sled is in the front. Just strap’er down and she’ll ride fine. I’ve even seen folks lift the track up, close the tailgate, and forgo the straps, but I’m not gonna recommend that.

 

[Sped68]

When there’s a will, there’s a way.

But seriously, like was mentioned as long as the skis fit between the wheel wells it should be fine. Most of the machines from that era are shorter track units so not near as long as some of the machines today. My machines have a 144” track and bumper to bumper are over 10’ long, I wouldn’t want to haul one in the bed of my truck.

 

[Dereku]

When there’s a will, there’s a way.

But seriously, like was mentioned as long as the skis fit between the wheel wells it should be fine. Most of the machines from that era are shorter track units so not near as long as some of the machines today. My machines have a 144” track and bumper to bumper are over 10’ long, I wouldn’t want to haul one in the bed of my truck.

My back hurts just looking at that. How did it get up there? I am amazed still with that last generation of Crown Vics and the abuse they take.

 

[D Fresh]

Despite literally everybody telling you not to, you seem determined to do it.
Why did you even ask?

I say do it. What's the worst that could happen?



Really I'd give you the same advice I'd give anybody wanting to buy an offroad toy without enough room to store both the toy AND the trailer. Save your money to buy a home more suitable to you and the hobbies you want to participate in. If you can't afford to store the hobby, you can't really afford it.

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