Get Ready for Winter: Best Snowmobile Ski & Snowboard Racks!

What are Snowmobile Racks?

Snowmobile racks are attachments designed to be mounted on snowmobiles to carry gear, such as skis, snowboards, or other equipment.

People love them because they increase utility of their snowmobiles.

From reaching remote backcountry areas, transporting winter sports equipment, carrying supplies for extended trips, or assisting in winter work tasks in remote locations.

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Why Do You Need a Snowmobile Ski or Snowboard Rack?

While most snowmobiles have plenty of space for storing skis and snowboards already, a rack designed specifically for this purpose allows you to safely and securely strap your gear to them to prevent damaging your precious equipment.

Loosely placing your skis or snowboard onto your snowmobile is a recipe for disaster, as they can easily bash or scrape together, not to mention slide off your snowmobile completely.

Through their inclusion of precisely spaced bars, a snowmobile rack of this nature also lets you free up additional storage space, as you have something more specific to attach your skis or snowboard to.

This is particularly helpful for those who like to take other important items with them into the backcountry, such as jerry cans, avalanche shovels, chainsaws, tripods, fishing rods, tents, and more.

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Considerations When Picking a Snowmobile Snowboard Rack or Ski Rack

The most critical factor to consider when choosing a snowmobile rack is construction quality. Look for a system that does not rely on plastics or soft stainless-steel screws, as you don’t want the mechanism that’s keeping all of your belongings secure to suddenly shatter and damage them.

Next, search for something that can be customized. Your days in the backcountry will vary; some days you may want to tackle simple routes for a few hours, while others you might embark on a multi-day skiing or snowboarding getaway.

Additionally, look for a snowmobile rack that can address as many challenges as possible and that can even be customized with extra features, like insulated dry bags or extra bars for additional storage.

A solid lifetime warranty is also essential. You’ll be transferring your rack between sleds and utilizing it season after season, so make sure you’re protected if something goes wrong.

Finally, you don’t want a rack that will break apart with a single kick; instead, purchase something of high quality. When you’re going to be using a snowmobile rack for the foreseeable future, the extra expense is well worth the peace of mind.

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Best Snowmobile Racks Brands

Cheetah Factory Racing

Cheetah Factory Racing was founded in 1999 by snowboarder Dave Basterrechea in Whistler, British Columbia. The company manufactures a range of snowmobile-specific aftermarket accessories, including racks, ski and snowboard brackets, and handlebars.

Their snowmobile ski and snowboard racks are especially popular among sled heads due to their strength, stability, and ease of setup. The brand offers three racks, each with varying price points, sizes, and features.

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CFR Mountain Rack

The CFR Mountain Rack is one of their original offerings. It features a low profile and is lightweight to allow snowmobiles to still perform well when carrying a load. Despite its streamlined design, the brand assures users that the product’s strength hasn’t been compromised. Three-quarter-inch structural tubular aluminum and high-grade stainless steel ensure power, stability, and longevity.

The outside rack measures 16 3/4″ X 13 1/2″, making it the smallest of the brand’s range. The Mountain Rack is compatible with all CFR rack-mounted bracket kits and fits any CFR bag. Additionally, it has pre-drilled holes in the mounting plates allowing easy installation with the factory holes in Polaris and Ski-Doo tunnels.

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iRack 2.0

The iRack 2.0, on the other hand, is a hybrid of the new-generation Mountain Rack and CFR’s original iRack. Its increased carrying capacity allows you to transport more gear and enables the brackets to be wider apart to better secure skis and snowboards. The low-profile design puts your items lower to the snowmobile for better handling when loaded, and the robust, lightweight construction is—according to the brand—nearly “bombproof”.

Like the original Mountain Rack, the iRack 2.0 works with all CFR rack-mounted bracket kits and CFR bags. Its outside-to-outside, front-and-back dimensions are 21″ X 16.5″, making it larger than the Mountain Rack and similar in size to CFR’s third and final snowmobile ski and snowboard rack: the revolutionary LINK-IT-UP® Rack.

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LINK-IT-UP® Rack

CFR’s LINK-IT-UP® Rack is the latest in their snowmobile rack product offering. Its design enables users to install or remove the rack in seconds using Ski-Doo LinQ fasteners—each of which are sold separately.

All of CFR’s bags work on the LINK-IT-UP® rack, however it isn’t compatible with all of the brand’s rack-mounted bracket kits like the previous two models. It’s also CFR’s most expensive offering, currently costing $359.99 USD. Therefore, the LINK-IT-UP® is more suited to passionate snowmobilers who frequently go backcountry skiing or snowboarding.

The beauty of CFR’s snowmobile ski and snowboard racks is that they’ve been designed by snowmobilers, for snowmobilers. Users love the ease of the racks, including the fact that the smallest model can carry up to a 20L (6 gallon) jerry can plus two pairs of skis or snowboards with bindings. In terms of cons, some users find the lack of integrated straps to be slightly inconvenient. However, this is easily remedied by simply buying some separately.

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Mo Pros

Mo Pros is another company manufacturing highly-rated ski and snowboard racks for snowmobiles. Similar to Cheetah Factory Racing, there are three Mo Pros snowboard racks available: a compact version, a large version, and an ultra-deluxe offering.

Ajoosta GR Small Mark II

The Ajoosta GR Small Mark II is their lightest weight and lowest profile rack. Compact size aside, what users love most about this product is its easy and versatile setup. When mounting the Ajoosta Rack, the dedicated holes will match up with Polaris channel systems or Ski-Doo Linq Holes for strong and secure mounting results. Best of all, no drilling is required. Plus, users receive all the hardware required for integration, so there’s no having to chase up separate pieces for installation. Finally, the Mo Pro GR products are game changers in the realm of snowmobile racks, as they can be adjusted or re-configured to meet your specific needs.

For those requiring a larger snowmobile rack for their skis or snowboards, the Ajoosta GR Large Mark II contains all of the much-loved features of the Small Mark II but offers plenty more room for those extra snowboards, sets of skis, or other snow gear.

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Diamond Series Package Mark II

Finally, Mo Pros’ deluxe offering is the new Diamond Series Package Mark II. This one is for the serious snowmobilers who want nothing but the best when it comes to transporting their skis or snowboards around the backcountry. At its very core is a GR rack (large or small), however, this all-in-one snowmobile rack also comes with 4 billet aluminum Pack-It Brackets, 4 Mo Pros Straps, 8 ratchets, 8 ladder straps, 8 machined plugs, and black plated corrosion proof hardware (military grade).

While there are clearly plenty of advantages of the Mo Pros snowmobile racks, they aren’t without their potential drawbacks. With prices ranging from $258.99 to almost $700, they don’t come cheap. Despite this, users highly recommend these racks for passionate snowmobilers and state that they haven’t looked back since switching to a professional snowmobile ski rack.

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Ski-Doo LinQ

Ski-Doo are well-known among snowmobilers for their diverse offering of products, however their snowmobile ski rack (or snowmobile snowboard rack, depending on how you prefer to use it!) is perhaps among their most popular products.

The LinQ Rear Cargo Rack not only provides additional cargo space for your sled but also provides a mounting point for the LinQ Cargo Base Kit. While the Ski-Doo LinQ products have great reputations among keen snowmobilers, the cargo rack itself is lacking in some of the features the previously mentioned racks contained. You may need to buy multiple parts separately to truly build the snowmobile snowboard or ski rack you have in mind—whether it’s Luggage Rack Reinforcement Plates or a Rear Rack Extension, for example.

While these products are of great quality, they can add up. To put it into perspective, the LinQ Rear Cargo Rack on its own is around the same price as the CFR Mountain Rack or only $20 USD less than Mo Pros’ Ajoosta GR Small Mark II.

For those looking for a straightforward snowmobile rack that has enough space for them to simply strap their skis or snowboards down to, then this product may just be up your alley.

Be sure to do your homework to determine which snowmobile ski rack solution would be more cost-effective for you.

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DIY Snowmobile Ski /Snowboard Rack

If you simply can’t fathom the idea of dropping a few hundred dollars on a ready-made rack for your snowmobile and are handy with tools, then you can also create your own.

AdrenalineSeeker has created a YouTube video sharing his DIY snowmobile ski and snowboard rack, which cost just $35 all up to make.

It uses simple materials which you can find at any hardware store, including aluminum piping, bolts, and rubber stoppers.

He reveals both a “1.0” and “1.1” version of his rack to show you how some simple adjustments can transform a DIY snowmobile rack and make it even more versatile for transporting skis and snowboards.

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How to mount snowmobile skis and snowboard racks?

Jonathan Johnson put together one example of how to attach winter equipment to a snowmobile. This video can be applicable to skis, snowboards, snowshoes, and other gear-type items alike.

As always, double-check everything before hitting the trail. Give the skis and snowboard a good tug to ensure they are firmly attached to the racks. Make sure all the straps and locks are properly tightened.

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