We have five young kids and Mom and the older kids are showing an interest in following Dad. Any other large families sled together and what tips do you have for doing it without utter chaos? Do you share sleds, pull sleighs, etc?
large family sledding together
- Thread starter Joa
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I started out with 2 sleds..wife rode our daughter I rode our son..(we used a harness designed for riding kid goes around both of you and keeps small kids tight to the front of you) when our son got bigger he got his own sled and I rode our daughter..when he could trail ride good he started riding his sister most of the time(went thru a divorce and sold the sleds but 3 yrs later for x-mass I bought us all 3 new sleds) now we each have our own sleds...with the family we found using collet communcators really worked good (each person can talk to each other while riding which helps you talk them thru problem/technical riding areas as well as calling out stops and such)....most of all remember to dress them all really warm and lots of breaks..make it as fun as you can.....
T
theultrarider
Well-known member
Keep it fun for the kids. That starts with keeping them warm and dry. Patience....but you know that one already with 5 kids lol. but even more so doing something new to them. And lots of breaks. Snowball fights are a great way to get warmed back up when they start to get cold and bored! Have fun. Great to see other familys out as a family enjoying the outdoors.
Large Family Rides
We have five kids and just took a trip to the snowies. Ages 4-12. This was a great place to go because there are several places to stop for lunch and warm up. We have 2 sleds and an old cat cutter which I made an enclosure for using PVC pipe , clear vinyl material and clear acrylic for the windshield. The 3 youngest kids usually rode in it and actually got too warm on ocasion. We also used lots of hand warmer packets. I would definitly stay someplace that you can ride right from your door. Bring snacks. We found a big open area where the older kids could ride a bit on there own. That was there favorite part. We had some trying moments but overall it was great!
We have five kids and just took a trip to the snowies. Ages 4-12. This was a great place to go because there are several places to stop for lunch and warm up. We have 2 sleds and an old cat cutter which I made an enclosure for using PVC pipe , clear vinyl material and clear acrylic for the windshield. The 3 youngest kids usually rode in it and actually got too warm on ocasion. We also used lots of hand warmer packets. I would definitly stay someplace that you can ride right from your door. Bring snacks. We found a big open area where the older kids could ride a bit on there own. That was there favorite part. We had some trying moments but overall it was great!
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Team Wild
Well-known member
This is our second year of snowmobiling and we have 3 kids (triplets) The first year we had only 2 snowmobiles and we got a big tow behind sled with a ridged hitch. The first year we would usually load 2 kids in the sled that my wife would pull and I would have the third kids ride with me. We would rotate them out from sled to snowmobile. We would let the kids take the controls and get a feel for driving that way if they had a problem Mom or Dad was right with them to take it over. On our last ride of the year last year I brought out our third sled an 88 polaris 340. I let them take turns driving by themselves. They did great. When we would find a big meadow we could turn them loose and they love it.
Over the summer I picked up an 80 polaris 340. Now we have two kids driving and one is the sled with the dog or on with Mom or I. I have a 3rd 340 in the garage that needs alot of work but I am think by next year I will have all 3 riding. We have helmets and good winter gear for all the kids and we take a cooler in our sled for lunch and snacks. We are lucky to get 20 miles of riding in a day but the kids are getting very good at handling the machines.
Over the summer I picked up an 80 polaris 340. Now we have two kids driving and one is the sled with the dog or on with Mom or I. I have a 3rd 340 in the garage that needs alot of work but I am think by next year I will have all 3 riding. We have helmets and good winter gear for all the kids and we take a cooler in our sled for lunch and snacks. We are lucky to get 20 miles of riding in a day but the kids are getting very good at handling the machines.
Awesome tips guys, thanks! I already have the older ones riding the Indy 400 and I might pick up another one so that we'll have three sleds. That and my RX-1 should get us out there (and tow the two strokes back if needed).
Really like the communicator idea, we'll have to do that.
Keep the tips coming, especially on the sleighs and sleds.
I'm thinking that if I can at least pull them to the play spots then we can take turns riding the sleds from there.
Really like the communicator idea, we'll have to do that.
Keep the tips coming, especially on the sleighs and sleds.
I'm thinking that if I can at least pull them to the play spots then we can take turns riding the sleds from there.
if the kids are smal(2-8) heres a few other things that we really found to work good...when you gear up..bring a good roll of duct tape..when the kids get their boots and bibs on duct tape the bibs to the boots(our son (4 yrs old) lost his boot 1 night at -10 when we were headed into the cabin(30 mile ride))when your riding it is hard to notice those things as well as the bibs always seem to ride up and leave skin exposed....if you sit the small kids in front of you have them hang on to the mountain bar..really helps them feel secure(on my edge and gen 11 chassis they used to put there feet on the top of the foot well)for those who try goggles9 really have to watch goggles cause kids can get bad frostbite easily cause of their tender skineven in warm weather) or sheilds we always had problems with them fogging(makes the kids either motion sick or they go to sleep)..so we went to the smallest helmets we could find that used electric sheilds(we parents already used them) and just put 2 plugs on each sled..works great..if helmet is loose use a stocking cap with no button on the top to tighten it up.....heres a pic of my kids last year at lost lake......
We just got back from a trip with our 4 kids and my daughter's friend. We had individual sleds for everyone except the 6yr old. We stopped alot and we did lots of other stuff besides snowmobile. We dragged some tubes and sleds and let the kids hit the hills. Some wanted to just do that while others just wanted to snowmobile. The area was wide open, so they all got to do what they wanted.
The youngest ones ride on fan cooled sleds because they will handle low (to no) speeds and don't overheat. They also blow that engine heat back to them and we make sure those sleds have tall windshields. We also make sure the newest riders have pretty good bumpers on the sleds too!
The youngest ones ride on fan cooled sleds because they will handle low (to no) speeds and don't overheat. They also blow that engine heat back to them and we make sure those sleds have tall windshields. We also make sure the newest riders have pretty good bumpers on the sleds too!
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