153+ on a 7' deck

[MATTIAC]

Looking at buying a deck, found a Marathon 7' on my local claasifieds. will the marathon 7' be sufficient for a 154 XP, or at times a 162 pro? the deck im using right now is 93" overall, and have a feeling the marathon is not quite that long. dont want to invest in something that isnt sufficient. hes going to call me back today or tommorow with the exact length, just figured I would touch base with all you on your thoughts.

 

[EMANAARON]

Looking at buying a deck, found a Marathon 7' on my local claasifieds. will the marathon 7' be sufficient for a 153 XP, or at times a 162 pro? the deck im using right now is 93" overall, and have a feeling the marathon is not quite that long. dont want to invest in something that isnt sufficient. hes going to call me back today or tommorow with the exact length, just figured I would touch base with all you on your thoughts.

We have a 7' marathon and haul 154" xp. I wouldn't be afraid to haul 163. However an extension would be nice.

 

[08summit]

I run a 7' Marathon with their extension...I believe it is worth about $400 and it extends 18". If you can find an extension to go with the deck they work pretty slick but a 7' is pretty short without it. Just my 2cents.

 

[Cyle]

As long as it's tied down good it's not going to go anywhere, but it is very short. I had a STF 7' extended to 8' and a 162" on it and that is near the max imo. With a 7' I believe you have well under a foot of track on the deck. Also consider loading, you have zero room for error and stopping distance it's ok if your ramp is flat but any kind of steep ramp and only a matter of time before it goes bad.

 

[MATTIAC]

the guy called me back and it is only 7' so i think i will pass on it and may consider a denali 7.5 for 1600 bucks. as good as a name marathon is, not in my budget any time soon, so thanks for the help guys.

 

[Stg2Suby]

You'll find with a 7' deck that the front skid shock is taking the weight and the rear skid shock/springs are uncompressed floating out there in free air. Hence the skid ends up hanging down at an angle and this causes the machine to want to slide backwards off the deck as you're travelling.

I've carried 141 and 156 machines on a 7' deck for years, I just put a 12" long piece of plywood under the track resting on the rear bar and wrap a tiedown around the rails and around the bar to hold everything in place. In addition I lashed the front bumper to the headache rack with another tiedown to keep the machine from moving backwards. The ski bar / superclamp in front won't have enough force to prevent the machine wanting to move backward without lashing it to the headache rack.

So it's a bit more screwing around but not too bad.

 

[Stg2Suby]

Oops missed the last couple posts as I was typing. Just wanted to say I bought a Denali deck site unseen and promptly sold it at a big loss. Wasn't happy with the build quality at all, headache rack was weak mounting to the main frame, telescoping ramp was heavy and already bending from the previous owner. I am impressed with the X-decks for $2400 and I hear Crosstrax are well build as well. You do indeed get what you pay for.

 

[EMANAARON]

You'll find with a 7' deck that the front skid shock is taking the weight and the rear skid shock/springs are uncompressed floating out there in free air. Hence the skid ends up hanging down at an angle and this causes the machine to want to slide backwards off the deck as you're travelling.

I've carried 141 and 156 machines on a 7' deck for years, I just put a 12" long piece of plywood under the track resting on the rear bar and wrap a tiedown around the rails and around the bar to hold everything in place. In addition I lashed the front bumper to the headache rack with another tiedown to keep the machine from moving backwards. The ski bar / superclamp in front won't have enough force to prevent the machine wanting to move backward without lashing it to the headache rack.

So it's a bit more screwing around but not too bad.

Out of the 10 trips we made from Edmonton to Valemount we have not had a sled move in any direction at all.

We use super clamps on the front. And 2 straps(pull straps) in the back. ( from skid to ramp bar). If you drive the sled so the ski's touch the headache rack your skid sits perfectly level.

The park brake is your friend.

 

[overkill131313]

hey mat....I haul my 162 on a 7 foot deck with zero issues......but I have probably 90% of the weight on the deck with my Yamaha! lol

 

[MATTIAC]

all I want is my buddy to sell me the deck im using of his and all will be well!! Ive heard lots of mixed reviews on the denalis, mostly wiring being the major downfall, not so much the structure quality.

 

[Stg2Suby]

LOL I stand corrected by Emanaaron

 

[steven2120]

Heres a pic of my 153 on a 7' marathon..

 

[bcham5]

heres my 153 on a my cross-trax deck with the extension

 

[Phat Cat]

My truck has an 8 foot box and an 8 foot sled deck. Works awesome.

 

[RMK Junky]

My truck has an 8 foot box and an 8 foot sled deck. Works awesome.

Especially on a 163

 

[MATTIAC]

Yea the 7' is not gonna be sufficient. Just not enough track making contact.

 

[goodngrubby]

If I were you Matt, I'd keep looking....thats pretty short. If sledding is the only thing you're using the deck for,, I'd try and find an 8 footer.

 

[OVERKILL 19]

I put my 159 and a 163 on my marathone all the time. I wouldnt think of selling it for a longer one! Unless I had a 8 foot box!

 

[Rucky]

I'm glad I went with the 8 foot myself. It looks ridiculous and is hard on the rear suspension. And for those concerned about legality... Long tracks that appear to be dangling off the deck are just asking for attention. But that's just my opinion.


Sent from my eYefone using Tapatalk

 

[Phat Cat]

So why not buy a pick up for the purpose the next time you buy one? Why not buy a pickup with an 8 foot box? That what I did and will never buy a short box as long as I have a sled deck and sled. Maybe some think a long box looks ugly? You have to think about driving safety and the distribution of weight.....especially on icy highways. A long box handles alot better than a short box with the weight of 2 sleds and a sled deck. My 2 cents.