Adding Ski brackets and High-jacker jack

[VKbcnorth]

My wife and I want to haul two pair of skis on our '08 VK Pro. The ski brackets have to be strong, removeable and lightweight. They also must not interfere with the passenger's feet or the rear rack. I chose polyethylene industrial plastic instead of plywood that may split or delaminate. This plastic is easy to cut and machine using woodworking tools. The only plastic available locally is 1/2" thick so I had to bolt two sheets together. The main brackets fit tight on the rear rack tubing and are held in place by one 2" screw at the top and one 1" screw at the bottom. The skis are held in place with 3/4" pack straps, pull to tighten. Protruding washers keep the pack straps aligned. The bracket to hold the heel of the ski at the floorboard is screwed to 1/8" aluminum sheet which is pop-riveted to the floorboard. The skis are sprung slightly to place into the slots. The poles are laid on top and the straps are pulled tight. We'll add velcro loops at the far end of the skis to hold the skis and poles together.

We added a High-jacker snowmobile jack. The tee at the base of the jack rod happened to fit in one hole in the footwell (see photo) and the jack laid perfectly inside of the rear rack tubing and ski brackets. So we didn't have to use any jack brackets or drill the tunnel at all. Time will tell but it's tight enough that I don't think that it will bounce out of position.

 

[eric3793]

Nice work on the brackets. I'm curious about the jack. Will it lift the back of a heavy VK when stuck in slush? I have a standard hi lift but it is too heavy to haul around on a regular basis.

 

[VKbcnorth]

The jack lifts the front or back of the VK pro in snow OK - sorry we don't get slush to try. This jack is 8# total weight. It's new so we haven't had a chance to use it in the field, only tried it in the yard on flat snow but it works as advertised.

 

[eric3793]

Thanks for the jack information. It sounds like a great solution because I ride off trail and I have been hopelessly stuck on two occasions. I carry a rope come-a-long with 100 of rope beneath the seat but sometimes there is nothing within 100' to tie the rope to.

The website for your jack has a price of $270 which seems steep. I'm thinking I could build a similar jack...good project this summer. I saw a used one on e-bay but it sold quickly for $125. Considering a standard 20# iron Hi-Lift costs $50 it is hard to justify so much for this 8# jack.

 

[vkrider]

I use a bumper jack I got off ebay for 30 bucks. Works well no problem lifting sled full of slush.

 

[air19]

VK Rider,

What type of base plate do you use for your jack and how high up can you lift with whatever straps you are using?

Lets see a picture in action.

 

[eric3793]

I found the action video on the high lifter web site.

 

[vkrider]

I just use the base plate that comes with the jack and I don't use any straps, the hook on the jack works good on the rear bumper. As you can see in the picture I can lift the track right off the ground on a flat surface but usually you use the jack when the sled is stuck down in a hole. So then the base plate is much higher than the bottom of the track so you can lift the sled even higher. You then jack the sled out of the hole, fill the hole under the track with snow and then lower the jack. I haven't got the new vk stuck yet but I've helped my fishing buddy many times over the past 8 years to get his wide track unstuck this way.

 

[greg sellentin]

where did you get the storage box that fits in the rear rack?

 

[vkrider]

The box is a Yamaha accessory. Search vk pro on ebay there is a box there selling alot cheaper than what I paid.

 

[greg sellentin]

thanks