Snowmobile Inspection | Life Below Zero

Go have a look at the undercarriage. I look for dead shocks, the Fela dead shocks. I want to feel some pressure and some compression. These are feeling good. One of our wear parts on a snow machine is a belt. You can burn them up, bust them, blow them; all kinds of things happen to belts. So, we always travel with a spare.

These are our guide rods. These are down in the snow, and when we want to turn, these are the rods that make a turn. These are essential to steering, so I always check the guide rod. I want to go take it out and give it a real ride. I want to open it up; we call it a shakedown. You go out and go find out what's wrong.

Right now, I just want to check and make sure the engine is running fine, and we do that by opening them up fully for as long as we can. You know, anywhere from a 10 to 20-mile ride—it’s a good shakedown. Here, we're always getting ready; our winter just started, our rivers just froze up. We've hit some really cold temperatures. It's time to use the machines, so we've got them prepared every time we get a chance.

You know, you just go out and get it ready again, add gas, check your belts. It's just a very routine thing. I like the engine, I like the drivetrain; my undercarriage sounds good, my drivetrain sounds good, my engine is sounding good. Now, I'm going to go take it for a ride across a tundra, which is a much more torturous place for a snow machine.