Mike2014

Area51 - Randy's Shop Projects 2021:

Dad's Been pretty busy in his garage this year, only instead of building it and finishing the inside he's finally able to work on stuff! I dropped out some fresh Shed-Headz decals and he wasn't long getting them put up!

After re-decking and totally re-wiring his own utility trailer last summer, Dad recently completed a full re-wire of his buddy Kevin's utility trailer to ensure he has good reliably working lights.

Late last year Kevin purchased his first snowmobile. Dad and almost all their crew ride Yamaha Venture Multipurpose sleds which is great as mechanically they are all the same. Kevin came across a great deal on this 2008 which was structurally in good shape, power train perfect, but needed some suspension and exhaust work.

I went out for a few days to help with the project, and their buddy Chris Coombs was an insurmountable help with a fully equipped shop to finish the job. All front ball joints, A-arm bushings and shock bushings were replaced up front, many rear bogy wheels, hyfax and a cracked rear suspension pivot arm were replaced in the rear. All new bolts and sleeves were used to make sure the job was done well.

Chris did a great job replacing these cracked off flex joints in the exhaust, cutting off the old and welding replacements.

First ride after the January blizzard! While waiting on parts Kevin also sanded down the front suspension arms, bumpers and rear racks and repainted them with primer, colour match silver, and a coat of clear.

Unfortunately the weekend the blizzard Kevin went slightly off trail and hooked a tree with the left ski. The upper & lower control arms were bent and the lower mounting point to the frame torn. Chris Coombs once again did a great job welding the A-Arm mounts and Kevin picked up good used parts at Parts-n-Things in Botwood. As the front suspension bushings and ball joints were all new, these parts were swapped from the damaged components to the new.

Meanwhile Dad performed a full maintenance on his Yamaha 9/28 Snowblower and even picked up colour match paint to make the entire machine look brand new!

After Kevin's machine was initially all put back together (before hitting the tree-lol) they took the racks and bumpers off Dad's 2011 Multipurpose for a paint refresh.

The boys sanded down any rust spots, feathered out all scratches before priming, painting and clear coating the pieces to make them look brand new.

Not bad looking for a 10 year old sled!

In February Dad finally picked up his new Enclosed trailer which will do a great job in protecting his snowmobile from becoming covered in road salt and debris on regular highway trips.

This brand new unit is a 7'x16' tandem axel, all aluminum and beautifully finished inside.

The only mod so far was the installation of EZ glides for the floor, enough to complete 4 full rows for 2 snowmobiles. Dad used the trailer this past Monday for the first time and it worked out beautifully.

This week dad got around to fixing up a couple cracks on each side of the lower plastic body of his Yamaha Multipurpose snowmobile. The repair is solid and strong using rivets and backing plates inside.

Lastly for now, Dad recycled an old glass door TV stand and wall mounted it over his tool boxes for storing shop supplies and lubricants. Much easier than kneeling down to the old cabinet and the glass door allow him to see what supplies he is running low on.

Cheers, MIKE