broken clutch - any ideas why?

[nathan#19]

I do it all the time and the only problem has been some belt slippage on occasion. The point being that the sled HAS come to a complete stop!! ......according to the speedo it's stopped so putting it in reverse is no problem and completely conforms to the manufactures instructions...even though you are still sliding down a hill. It takes practice and timing to have enough room to do it but it's saved my bacon before.

 

[CUSO]

This technique is super hard on your chain case. It puts a TREMENDOUS pressure on your adjusting bolt and block. I wouldn't be surprised if your buddy has no warranty coverage on that.

 

[FernieHawk]

I have used the reverse method coming down the luge run out of the Three Sisters in Fernie. It’s easy and safer than running out of control through those big trees. I stop at the start of the steep section, put the sled in reverse then let go of the brake, build up a couple of kph and then engage the clutches in reverse. I only apply small amount of throttle keeping the clutches in low gear... just enough to keep the snow cleared from the track. I then come to a complete stop at the bottom of the steep pitch and take the sled out of reverse. Easy peasy...no damage to anything. Engaging full throttle and high gear on the clutches while going down hill in reverse is a bad idea. If you smack a tree in this situation your clutches will be stuck in high gear and it is impossible to start the sled until you have cleared the belt out of the bottom of the secondary sheaves. A friend did this on the luge track at the Three Sisters....I went down first using moderate throttle and low gear...he ended up pinning it in high gear...I got down with little drama...my friend, not so much.

I also run a sled deck on a F150 ....

 

[teeroy]

wow. I've done the reverse downhill thing many times coming down some sketchy slopes, worst that happened was it broke the pivot pin for the tensioner arm inside the chaincase when it unexpectedly caught traction on something under the snow. I don't know what you'd have to do to explode the secondary like that.

 

[Catrider16]

I honestly do not believe Lund pointed his post to any one individual, I know cause I have known him for years and served with him over seas.
So don't take his post personally.
I do though find it interesting about this forum how it is big on promoting safety and being safe out there while enjoying the sport. Yet threads like this get going with people posting about going down hill's that are so so steep that they require to use reverse to control their descent. This is very contradictory to safety and being safe when one finds them self in such a preventable predicament.
IMO, its like saying i'm a safe responsible firearm owner but I stow my rifle with a round in the chamber, in case its needed....LOL JMO

 

[ferniesnow]

I have used the reverse method coming down the luge run out of the Three Sisters in Fernie. It’s easy and safer than running out of control trough those big trees. I stop at the start of the steep section, put the sled in reverse then let go of the brake, build up a couple of kph and then engage the clutches in reverse. I only apply small amount of throttle keeping the clutches in low gear... just enough to keep the snow cleared from the track. I then come to a complete stop at the bottom of the steep pitch and take the sled out of reverse. Easy peas...no damage to anything. Engaging full throttle and high gear on the clutches while going down hill in reverse is a bad idea. If you smack a tree in this situation your clutches will be stuck in high gear and it is impossible to start the sled until you have cleared the belt out of the bottom of the secondary sheaves. A friend did this on the luge track at the Three Sisters....I went down first using moderate throttle and low gear...he ended up pinning it in high gear...I got down with little drama...my friend, not so much.

I also run a sled deck on a F150 ....

Right on! There are times that are out of our control, whether we have made a poor choice, or stumbled upon extra-ordinary conditions, or we are just dumb (as someone insinuated earlier)! There are different ways to deal with those circumstances. Unless one has been there done that, the judgemental aspect which keyboard jockeys tend to get should be curtailed. How many times have we been exploring through the trees (brand new territory) and found a difficult situation. Those situations need dealing with and the little reverse trick is one of those that can come in handy if one knows how to initiate the maneuver.

You also have a special F150 and a special talent to come down from the 3 Sisters unscathed.

 

[FernieHawk]

Sounds like we might need a new thread on using reverse down hill....won’t get as many hits as sled deck on a half ton..but you never know.