The Best Homemade Groomer 2 of 2

Homemade trail groomer / drag, made from 7 bed frames 2.5 road signs, and about $20 worth of nuts and bolts. Almost everything on this groomer / drag was acquired by freecycleing.
Updates from part one: Video quality, compactor pan size, electric actuator, strobe light.
Special thanks to www.danosongs.com for the Royalty free background music.
Link to find this type of actuator www.princessaut...

[@polcatdoo]

excellant job of back yard engineering I am impressed. Always wanted a drag/groomer to make a decent track for kids on kitty cats and 120's so they are not getting stuck all the time.

[@sledfrea22]

Thank you for posting this video. Not only was the video good but your explanations were great. After watching this several times I have built my own based on your groomer. I will be using it as soon as there is enough snow here in Maine. Thanks again for a great job.

[@offroadryanmb]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you are able, I would love to see your design.

[@jonathanvanscoy2036]

Thanks man. I have 7 bed frames! I'm starting today (18 dec 2022) near Ithaca, NY!

[@donaldjohnson394]

You can buy an old C-band satellite actuator motor arm from a junk place for nothing or very cheap. Those things are so strong, having to move heavy satellite. Nice build!

[@corychase4011]

Hello, wanted to say thank you for your video! After watching this, I took the basic design and concept to design and build my own! It works excellent! I too am in Maine and have lots of trails that are very nicely maintained now. I will try to post a video for you! Thanks again

[@ollimatik]

Great work Ryan... I'm planning to build a ski trail groomer... thanks for sharing your work!

[@123balto10]

our snowmobile club left a drag out in our field after the long track that they had provided us with broke so today im going out with my dads old sled to get it

[@Bowtie41]

Instead of the $150 actuator,surprised you couldn't find an old C-band dish actuator in the dumpster.Most are made for 24v,but would work on 12v,just slower.Maybe this will help others inspired after watching your video.Nice job!

[@mikemartin6823]

That’s awesome. Very cool design, especially for almost no money.

[@robertcary435]

Nicely done all the way around!

[@2500vtg]

Nice design and a very well done video. Proof that a snow drag does not have to be heavily constructed to do a good job. The actuator is essential in order to do a good job without getting stuck all the time. Is the 500 lb rated actuator hanging in well? I went with the 1000/3000 lb rated one on mine, but I think I probably could have got by with the less costly 500/1000 lb one like you have. I'll try to attach a link to a vid of mine if I can figure out how to do it.

[@hondaman350s]

you should put wheels on and make it so they can move up and down so you can have different depth of snow

[@Judokast75]

Princess Auto RULES!

[@offroadryanmb]

@glennmccr The actuator is rated for 500lbs. The entire Drag weighs about 200-250Lbs. The Actuator normally has a about a 50lb load on it. There are times when I am grooming over moguls where I worry about overloading the actuator. I hope the bolts or a weld holding the actuator in place break before I reach the 500lb rating.

[@dennisfossey4312]

Yes I know of princess auto. I pickup an hand crank for my trail groomer I had made.

[@sylviebeaudry2550]

Great groomer! Sure beats the tires I drag behind the sled.

[@mikeslomski7063]

Very clever & creative. Looks like it does an awsome job!

[@alfredpoitras6017]

awsome i made a cupple over the years with wood dont work like yours tho i think i may bild someting like it as well and i like your dezine

[@jac0bseiger]

sweet little drag...really well done

[@canesser1]

Great job and you're right in the neighborhood! We live near Pine Falls! You should of bought a Yamaha Grizzly though lol!

[@brianfitzpatrick8448]

Great video thanks. I do a lot of snow removal Nothing has changed in the last 25 years. I have some great ideas on how to remove snow. I’m looking for a fabricator. I’m not looking for a engineer that has no glue how remove snow.

[@glennmccr]

Nice Job, must of looked at the vid a dozen times. I was wondering, all the weight of the drag is on the actuator ? How much weight can it handle ?

[@offroadryanmb]

No luck finding the drawings. I've added a link in the video description to the Princess Auto website that may help you find this actuator. I actually don't remember what size I used on mine.

[@michela.desjardins284]

Nice set up ! Would it be possible to know what model of actuator you used from princess auto?

[@offroadryanmb]

I think it was the 12 inch stroke. www.princessauto.com/en/12v-dc-110-lb-linear-actuators/product/PA1000001113

[@450rhino1]

Great job on this build. Don't happen to have a set of blueprints? LOL We could use this for our ATV club in NS.

[@JetSnake128]

No doubt that thing works great, and it gives you a little self pride knowing you built it yourself, it might not win any beauty contest, but hey, it works. If I do something like this, I might angle the front corners so it'll slide off of trees. Some of my trails might be a little tighter.

[@dadw5boys]

with all the soft snow down on the road you get stuck going up hill why not push some off the road first unless your grooming it for snow skiing ?

[@mattgrover4826]

Can u make more vids plz and with bigger moggles bc im thinking about building couple of them for my snowmobile club

[@optradon]

Great vid, any ideas for a corduroy finisher?

[@grogaardproductions]

Can you attach the trailer to a snowmobile? Sorry for my bad english i am from norway you now.

[@slimdiger603]

Thanks for the video I'm looking to make a groomer for my utv but currently I don't have tracks just tires like yourself on your ATV do you have any troubles grooming with tires my friends say I'm crazy and they said I won't even make it to feet without tracks obviously I won't be trying to go out in the fresh powder I live in New England so are used to icy snow storms it usually hardens up pretty good let me know your experiences I appreciate it

[@offroadryanmb]

I've never seen a "trailer" attached to a snowmobile, I've seen sleighs, being pulled behind snowmobiles. I'm not sure if this answers your question.

[@SuperiorNorthwestRailfanning]

You home base in Kenora

[@MTBIKEXC]

Impressive!

[@jg6878]

nice drag!! what size actuator ?

[@somebodyelsestoo]

What's the angle on the angle? How many degrees offset are the bedframe cutting edges from square?

[@offroadryanmb]

Ha! You're asking questions I never thought about when putting it together. I just welded them to an angle that I thought looked good. If I had to guess I would say 30-40 degrees.

[@mosquitok833]

Great video. Two questions. Do you find that in order to use an atv over a snowmobile, are you having to ride on an already packed trail? I am surprised to see your machine stay afloat the snow so easily. Also, ever thought of making a track setter for classic skiing? I did make one and I love it. It makes skiing so much more enjoyable.

[@offroadryanmb]

Not having a track kit on my ATV means that I can only groom already packed trails. There have been a few times I've use my snowmobile to pack a trail before I can use my ATV to groom. At the 4:00 mark of this video you can kind of see my wheels fighting for traction in that depth of snow. I would love to get tracks for my ATV but can't afford them. As for track setting. I have made a couple of (lousy) contraptions to adapt to this drag. I haven't spent too much time trying to make one that works properly because I don't have any trails that would be safe from the destruction of snowmobilers.

[@Lithail]

Awesome video!

[@offroadryanmb]

@oldskhoolcamaro84 I had drawings, though I don't know where they are anymore. I would not have been able to design this thing without drawings.

[@tonysevery3684]

nice work

[@mattwhitney167]

Great job, like the video.

[@archuka1]

Good job !!

[@curtissiwak5349]

thats awesome, good work!

[@coggleton-o9n]

not bad. good job!

[@richardvalcourt5628]

Good video, is you explained everything perfect.

[@ebsell]

Awesome.

[@karlmakela730]

Do you have plans / design for the groomer?

[@susanhenderson2322]

No wonder all my road signs are missing

[@codytucker2541]

How did it hold up after a few years? Any improvements?

[@offroadryanmb]

I haven't used the drag in a few years now. Life got busy, kids and stuff happened, etc. Since making this video the only thing that broke was one bolt on one of the lift actuator mounts - an easy fix.

[@FrostyDelights]

Awesome vid man! :)

[@purepolaris1992]

what to make one to sell?

[@ironfist1042]

After 3 yrs does you linear actuator still work? And what's it rated at in lifting weight?

[@offroadryanmb]

It still works! One of the bolts that holds it on broke last year though... simple fix. I'm not sure what it's rated at for lifting, but I am surprised it still works!

[@bxxj]

this was pretty funny. only in canada would you try to make the snow in your driveway look pretty :) I guess that's the only lawn you have for most of the year *poking in ribs* around here in colorado we shove it out of the way. the basic design looks good for grading a messed up water logged driveway in the spring though. good job in low budget fabrication.

[@dynocompe]

its not for a driveway lol. Its for snowmobile trails so they are smooth to ride on, not full of bumps. Like a grader for gravel roads, but this is a grader for snow trails lol. Its a world of a difference to ride on a groomed trail versus just a packed trail by machines

[@sgtphilipm]

I read 8" on princess auto I think

[@wazzup2987]

So cool

[@karlmakela730]

I would be willing to pay for the plans

[@offroadryanmb]

I never really had any plans other than a few doodles that I've thrown out or misplaced. my best advice would be for you to watch my video " the best homemade groomer 1 of 2" and other groomer videos on KZbin. Watching videos is how I got most of my ideas.

[@thomaskiska3751]

How much stroke on the actuator?

[@offroadryanmb]

I think it's a 12" actuator, but I only need about 6" to operate the drag

[@thomaskiska3751]

+offroadryanmb How would you attach the drag to snowmobile?

[@offroadryanmb]

+Thomas Kiska you'll have to use your imagination to build a system that will work for you

[@jyma2011]

Belle patente bravo!

[@Racer57]

What is the length and width of the drag?

[@offroadryanmb]

It's about 50" wide and not including the tounge portion of the drag about 65" long.

[@offroadryanmb]

I was wrong with that previous measurement. I just measured it and it's 52" wide and 100" long

[@theamericanfarmer6223]

not bad for being made of garbage if you know what I mean

[@Brokestacker]

dam fine job

[@Richierich1285]

i bet this guys street is missing a few signs

[@rockjulien-melanson]

Hot stuff

[@497491]

buen sistema !

[@CanAmXTP]

Not bad eh!!!

[@deadenear]

get that ATV off the snowmobile trail.

[@TheCrEaSe44]

thats fucking awesome man, i love it

[@MrPKiller666]

questionable work