• September 2007

Around this time of year many of us start to get ready for the inevitable: White Gold! This means lots of work; some fun, some not. Cutting, splitting and stacking firewood can be fun, although too much of a good thing can wear the body thin. Dragging the snowplow out of the bushes is a chore but shoveling 100 feet of driveway in February is far worse. (Just because I love snow, doesn't mean I enjoy shoveling cubic yards of it.) Getting the sleds and trailer ready is far more enjoyable and it tends to be a family affair. My two boys, ages 10 and 8, are starting to get interested in taking things apart, it's my job to show them how to put it all back together. I would rate my "get it running again" abilities as average. Maybe I'm lying to myself, but the kids seem mildly impressed with my mechanical skills! Last year we performed a sled tune-up, of sorts. We cleaned the carbs, inspected the plugs, changed the chaincase oil, checked the track tension, and so on. Come time to pop the hood next week, it will be interesting to see if they recall any of it. I'm guessing they will. "Hey Dad, remember when you spilled oil all over the garage floor and cleaned it up before Mom saw it?" At least they know not to leave a mess.

This year we'll tackle the trailer deck, something that I've been putting off far too long. Two years ago we changed all the marker and blinker lights, which had turned into rusty blobs, refusing to glow when summoned. That involved drills and cutting implements, not to mention new light fixtures, wire and the customary gashed fingers and dirt in the eyes. "Dad, are you alright?" was heard all too often during that project. When finished, I made sure the kids saw the pretty red lights blink on and off. They were clearly impressed! Last fall we replaced the tires, one of the easiest jobs to date. The treads were starting to reveal small cracks and one of them would lose pressure after a few weeks. Ten years is a long time for tires to live, I would say above average, which makes a cheapskate like me very happy. My oldest son, Danny, has been schooled in tire changes -a lost art in the days of calling for help with a cell phone- so he gave me a hand. He fetched the air wrench while I got the floor jack and safety stands. Air tools to change a trailer tire, isn't that overkill? Maybe, but pneumatics make every repair far more exciting. The boys wanted to make NASCAR noises with the air gun, so I let them remove the lugnuts. A wire brush was used to make the studs all shiny again, then a quick application of Never-Seize to ensure that the tires can be removed ten years from now, and we were done.

Now the time has finally come to re-rivet the wooden deck securely to the trailer frame. Over the years, a few aluminum rivets have fractured or had their tops sheared off by a ski runner or stud. It's now at the point where the deck is sorta wobbly and deemed "embarrassing for others to see." In a week or two, Danny, Brent and I will don our safety glasses and start drilling out the bad ones. However, before any work takes place I will need to buy that pneumatic rivet gun that I've been drooling over for years. House rules state that no job takes place without the proper toys… Oh, I meant proper tools! Remember, snowmobiling is supposed to be family fun-time, and that means maintenance and repairs too!

Dan Gould
President