You’ll likely need a snowmobile trailer to haul your sleds to where the best snow is - but the variety of available options mean you’ll have some decisions to make. You’ll want to consider a variety of factors including: how big your sleds are, how many sleds you need to haul, what your budget is, how you’re loading your sleds, how much gear you need to haul for snowmobiling.
The most basic aspect of snowmobile trailers is whether they’re open or enclosed. The benefits of open snowmobile trailers are:
- They’re less expensive than enclosed trailers
- Lighter, so they put less wear on your tow vehicle
- More fuel efficient (due to their lighter weight)
The benefits of enclosed snowmobile trailers are:
- They better protect your sleds in transit from weather and flying debris on the open road
- Thieves are deterred by the fact that the sleds are sealed inside the trailer
- They offer more room to store gear and accessories than open trailers
Snowmobile Trailer Sizes
The size trailer you’ll need will depend on the number of snowmobiles and what models you’re looking to haul (primarily because of the length and weight).
Open snowmobile trailers can start as small as 4 ft. x 10 ft. for carrying a single sled, and can go up to 8 ft. x 22 ft. for carrying up to four sleds.
Enclosed snowmobile trailers tend to be a little larger, starting at 6 ft. x 10 ft. and go all the way up to 8 ft. x 28 ft. (some can even carry five sleds).
Snowmobile Trailer Construction Materials
Most snowmobile trailers are made of either steel or aluminum. Steel trailers are durable and typically less expensive, but they are heavier (meaning less fuel efficiency and more wear on your tow vehicle) and they are more likely to suffer rust damage - which is a bigger concern for the salted roads you’ll usually be driving on to get to where the snow is best.
Aluminum trailers are more resistant to rust damage, and they’re lighter - making them easier and more fuel-efficient to tow. However, aluminum snowmobile trailers tend to be more expensive than steel trailers. They also are often built with plywood decking, which can eventually rot or be worn by studded tracks during the loading/unloading process.
Snowmobile Trailer Loading Options
Getting your sleds on the trailer is usually accomplished one of two ways: driving the snowmobiles up a ramp into the trailer or using a tilt trailer. Some trailers come with built-in ramps, or ramps can be added as an aftermarket accessory (though the cheaper ones can be unsteady for loading, making the process more dangerous).
Tilt trailers, while they make loading up your sleds easier, can make the unloading process a bit more challenging if your gear is unsecured - because it will shift around when the trailer tilts.
Snowmobile Trailer Add-ons/Extras
There are a number of add-ons you can get for your snowmobile trailer that can make the overall experience of trailering your sleds around more convenient. For example:
- Fuel can racks: A safe and secure way to store extra gas cans are fuel racks, which can be mounted on open trailers as well as enclosed trailers.
- Salt shields: These aftermarket add-ons can be fixed to the front of an open trailer to protect your sleds from some of the salt slush and debris kicked up during hauling.
- Trailer winches: Popular for all sorts of applications, winches ease the process of pulling your sleds up into the trailer. They’re typically mounted to the front of the trailer - in enclosed trailers they can be mounted directly to the floor, but for open trailers you’ll want to mount them inside a box to protect them from exposure to the elements.
- Trailer jacks: Jacks can make it easier to move the trailer around when hitching or unhitching. Better made trailers will come with these built in, but if you buy an entry-level model, you can add an aftermarket trailer jack yourself.
Snowmobile Trailer Life Expectancy
You get what you pay for when it comes to all trailers, and snowmobile trailers are no exception. Some of the cheapest trailers are made with poorer quality materials and can fall apart after a couple of years, even if maintained well.
Open snowmobile trailers tend not to last as long as enclosed trailers for the simple reason that their decks are exposed to the elements. Even still, they can last up to 10-15 years if well-maintained.
Generally, a well-maintained enclosed snowmobile trailer can last 10-15 years or more if properly maintained.
Snowmobile Trailer Pricing
The price of a snowmobile trailer is going to vary based on size/number of sleds it can haul, whether it’s open or enclosed, and the quality of the manufacturer (which is important for how long the trailer will last).
On the very low end, an open trailer for hauling a single sled can cost between $1,000-$2,000. On the high end, a top of the line v-nose enclosed trailer capable of hauling 4+ sleds could cost over $20,000.
For comparison, on average, an open trailer that can carry two sleds will run you between $2,000-$3,000. A similar enclosed trailer that can carry two sleds will likely run $3,500-$6,000.
Popular Snowmobile Trailer Brands
Some of the most popular snowmobile trailer brands include:
- Aluma
- Blizzard
- Bravo
- Charmac
- Featherlite
- Halumark
- Legend
- Look
- Mirage
- Mission
- Pace American
- Rance
- Sport Haven
- Sno Pro
- Trails West
- Triton
