How to learn more about snowmobiles?

[Dan15]

Hey, i was wondering if there were any jobs open in the general area of salt lake city that would be involved with snowmobiles. I am only 16 but i love snowmobiling and i want to learn as much as i can about how to repair and modify sleds. Even if someone would be willing to teach me at one of their shops for no pay and then maybe hire me later like an internship. Any information would be awesome! Thanx

 

[801_FuNk_801]

Its good to see a young kid that wants to earn a honest living and presue what could become a career, not just have everything handed to him or her on a silver platter. I have friends that have been spoon fed from mommy and daddy from day one and are now 25 years old and cant keep a job for more then 7 hours but bet your a$$ they have the nicest of the nice toys, trucks and anything else they could want, makes me sick. And people wonder whats wrong with the world today. Anyways.. Good luck in your search kid, seems like your on the right road.

 

[DARKO]

Its good to see a young kid that wants to earn a honest living and presue what could become a career, not just have everything handed to him or her on a silver platter. I have friends that have been spoon fed from mommy and daddy from day one and are now 25 years old and cant keep a job for more then 7 hours but bet your a$$ they have the nicest of the nice toys, trucks and anything else they could want, makes me sick. And people wonder whats wrong with the world today. Anyways.. Good luck in your search kid, seems like your on the right road.

Totally !!

It's rare to see, wish you the best of luck !!

Come on Utah boys, give this dude a hand.

 

[snowhawkaddict]

Hyrum?

Contact Steve Weichler owner B's Outback.
Little bit about him in this article.
http://www.michigan-snowhawk.com/files/SW_DeepPowder_challenge_07.pdf

He may be looking, and has taught many others before, and works with much more then Snow Hawks.

 

[AZ800]

As a kid, from about 12 y/o on up, I bought old sleds and fixed them up. Most, I just sold right away, kept a few to ride. I didn't have much $$, so it was the only way I could have a sled anyway, and I learned alot about the mechanics of them.
Start by buying an older sled that you can afford. That'll give you some good experience. I'd still encourage you to look for a job related to sleds as well.

 

[ragincajun]

i would love to learn more about them also...i am only 18 and my life is sleds. it has always been a dream of mine to build mod sleds and such but no one around my area really works on sleds. i have long tracked a couple of sleds tuned a little or tired lol tinkered on alot and fixed up some sleds and sold them and worked my way up to my REV but i am still learning and would jump at any chance to learn more aout sleds. i know how it is to be in ur position so help this kid out guys! good luck Dan15

 

[Get Lucky]

What you are trying to do is what I did and it was a great thing kept out of trouble to say the least. If I were you I would keep trying to find some were to work for a while because any sled out there that you would be worth fixing to sell, most younger kids can't afford to buy something that would be worth re selling. plus that you screwup's be on someone else dollar.

 

[Dan15]

Thanks everyone! Does anyone know of any jobs?

 

[OCDsledder]

Go talk to dealer that is close by. Explain it to them just like you did here. If they say they don't have anything now, keep with it. Check back every month. That way they will know you are serious and not just interested because of the season.

 

[Dogmeat]

See if your local highschool has a program that allows you to take classes at the local community college that are paid for by your highschool.

There were several kids in my highschool that were taking auto mechanics classes and whatnot at the local community college during highschool under this program and it didn't cost them a dime.

You may be able to find some cool classes like that at a local community college, if not sled-specific, that would at least get you some experience working on stuff and tearing it down and whatnot.

I wish I'd have done that heheh

 

[Blisteringsnorider]

Might try Tri-City Polaris out of Centerville Utah, they run a good shop.
Good luck to you

 

[priest lake rmk]

You could buy a Polaris. Kidding. Good luck man.

 

[Snowlover]

Good on you for wanting to learn. My first project was a 67 Polaris Mustang that had a stuck piston. Some oil and a rubber mallet freed it up, then some sand paper on the cylinder and it was good as new (to me as a 14 yr old).

Treat this like interviewing for a job. Be prepared. Have a resume listing any mechanincal experience no matter how slight, with a cover letter that spells out just what you told us. You want experience, will work for free, sweep floors, clean up tools.... Soak up everything you can from people. Not everyone knows it all and some will not even know what they are doing, but learn from them.

 

[summitguy]

As a business owner (although not related to sleds) I would love to have a young man walk into my business and offer me what you just did. Get out there and shake some hands - show people you're serious and my bet is you'll be elbow deep in sleds before you know it!! Good luck to you - you're gonna be a successful man with that attitude!!

 

[mod03rmk800]

Agree with Dogmeat, hopefully your school has a small engines and/or auto mechanics course that you can take so you have the basic understandings of what is happening with carbs, electrics, etc.
I don't know if a place can have you there without putting you on worker comp and a wage, so don't take it personal if you don't find one right away. A lot of really good mechanics come from guys your age owning ruff fixer-upper rigs that required constant attention.
Good luck, stay in school!

 

[VTMTcowboy]

That would be awsome if you could get a part time job or apprenticeship working with snowmobiles! If you do not find anything, my advice is to just work on your sled or buy a fixer up sled and get after it. I am also still fairly young and have been working on my Indy 500 for a few years now. I really had no idea what I was doing, but the best way to learn is to just do it yourself, a kind of trial and error approach. It can get frustrating, but Ive learned a lot. The other key is to ask people on this site for ideas and help, because pretty much all members of this forum are great people and have tons of knowledge they are willing to share! Good luck and hopefully things work out for you!

 

[Weekday Warrior]

Most shops work on things other than sleds, if you maybe went to some place like MMItech.edu

work on things other then just sleds

if sleds is where your passion is then soon enough you'd be the sled guy at that shop

 

[Dan15]

Hey thankyou everyone for all of your help, you have given many good ideas to try! I will definitely go and start talking to all the local shops and try to make sure that they really know that I am interested! Thanks again everyone!

 

[Colorado Diesel]

Make sure you dont look like some punk or bum on the street either. Go nicely dressed!!!

Remember first Impressions are very importment.