My Taco sled/ATV deck

Sick deck! Good work

 

I'm going to start mine next week but I only have a tig welder capable of welding metal so I will be making mine of thinner gauge metal. I also have a short bed truck so will be making the deck 7' long instead of 8'. I know a short bed is risky so if the 155" track looks dangerous on it, I will only use the deck for my flat lander or atv, but I will be using the deck for more local trips anyway so I don't think it will be that big of deal.

 

Got rid of my 2004 gade and bough a 2015 summit etec 800 154". I also added the

$77 D29XL Leaf Spring

D29XL to my Dakar leaf pack, it made a huge difference. No more bouncy feeling ion rough roads and I only have to air up the airbags to about 45-50 PSI instead of 60-65. I also added a 3 deg. shim, I have almost 0 vibrations now, much better ride than just the basic Dakars + Bags.

 

Edit; disregard

 

Slick, good work.

 

First off your work looks great.

But what is the point of a sled deck for 1 sled? I can see it for 2 sleds on a full size, but to me it doesn't make sence for 1.
Your bed is wide enough to fit a single sled, and you can put the ramp up the side of the bed next ro the sled. This would eliminate the top heavy nature of the deck, save a decent amount of weight, not require over $2k in building materials, and be wasier to load to a lower height.
Yes you will loose some storeage under the deck, but with only room for 1 sled and a crew cab you have plenty of room in the cab.

 

It looks "goofy" because it raises everything up way too high, and for no reason. Why put it over the bed when you can just put the machine IN the bed? This makes no sense at all. I've moved snowmobiles and 4wheelers lots of times in small trucks, just put the thing in the bed and be done with it. This is just a crazy way to show off by making the toy stand out needlessly.

 

At least with my sled, the skis are too wide to fit in between the wheel wells. This makes the sled list to the side, which in my mind looks wicked dumb, and also hangs over the already flimsy tailgate that Toyota has kindly given us. The wheel wells are also too tight for any wheeler i've ever tried putting in the back. Selling my trailer and building a deck.

 

So center the machine in the bed and pull them *both* up if it bothers you that much.

The way the back suspension on a snowmobile works causes the weight to be distributed. Won't hurt the tailgate. If it really worries you, you can even add a piece of 2x12 between the track and tailgate to further distribute the load.

Some of those newer ones are absurdly oversized and bloated. IMO, defeating the purpose of the machine altogether. I consider my Yamaha 400 to be almost too big, yet it fits fully within the bed, on the floor, with the tailgate UP.

Yet even if it was bigger, same thing goes as with a snowmobile: just drive it up on the wheel wells.


Also, what kind of nonsense is this about "looks wicked dumb"? First off, not nearly as dumb looking as a platform over the rails, second, so what? Carrying a load isn't about looking cool, its about carrying a load.

 

Do you have the dimensions available?
Of the frame...