3 Effective Ways To Protect Garage Floors from Snowmobiles in 2024
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Protect Garage Floors from Snowmobiles
Snowmobiles are beautiful on snow but they can be a beast if you ride them in to your garage. They will just chew up your Garage Floor. So how can you Protect Garage Floors from Snowmobiles?
There are 3 really effective ways to protect garage floors from snowmobiles. You can choose to use anyone of the following:
- Sacrificial Plywood Floor
- Special Snowmobile Garage Mats
- Snowmobile Dolly Set
Read on to get all the details and product recommendations!
You have recently discovered the great joy of snowmobiling and are about to buy your very first snowmobile. That beauty is going to look stunning standing on your shiny newly epoxy coated garage floor.
But what about the beautiful epoxy garage floor? How long is that going to go unscathed?
The pity is that sometimes the best things in life, do not get along with each other. Snowmobiles and Epoxy Coated Garage Floors are one of those ill-fated pairs. You know what I am talking about.
That beauty on the snow is also a beast. It will eat up your garage floor!
Keep them separate!
How can you protect garage floors from snowmobiles? Keep them separate.
No, I am not kidding. You have to get something in between the studs and the carbides of your snowmobile and your garage floor.
If you just bought your first snowmobile or your first home with a garage or maybe both, then this post is certainly for you. I will run you through the basics of a snowmobile, the garage flooring options and the ways in which you can park your snowmobile on the garage floor without scarring it.
Tracks, Studs & Carbides
Snowmobiles are not cars. They do not run on well paved roads.
Tracks
The underside of the snowmobile is designed to plough through snow and rough terrain. A snowmobile runs on tracks, much like an army tank or a construction excavator does.
The tracks are made out of a tough but slightly flexible composite of rubber and fiberglass. Tracks by themselves would not damage your garage floor.
Studs
However, tracks need studs. Studs are required for control and bringing your snowmobile to a halt. Studs are essential for safety.
Studs are the ones that tear up your garage floor, driveway and anything you drive your snowmobile on.
Carbides
The skis on the snowmobile have carbides, made of carbide steel. They are sharp and hard so that they can cut ice and help you steer.
Carbides, will certainty cut through bare, coated or covered concrete garage floors with equal ease.
The Garage Floor
If you have just got a new garage floor done then it may be just bare concrete. You could, leave it as it is or get a decorative effect by acid etching the concrete.
More likely you will use one of the following to paint, coat or cover the concrete.
- Latex or Acrylic Paint
- Epoxy Paint (1 Part)
- Epoxy Coating (2 part)
- Vinyl Tiles
- Vinyl Roll Out Mats
If you are going to be parking a snowmobile or two in the garage, avoid using Tiles or Roll Out Mats. Go with a Paint or a Coating.
The snowmobile will still eat through any paint or coating. You will need to protect the paint or the coating from the snowmobile, anyway.
Having said that, an Epoxy Coating is more durable and easier to clean & maintain.
I highly recommend RUST-OLEUM EPOXYShield that you can buy at Amazon. Check it out!
Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating
Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating
- Durable, 2-part epoxy formula works on interior concrete surfaces, such as garage floors, workshops, basements and more
- Professional glossy finish is easy to clean and provides a long lasting protection that is 5X harder than 1-part epoxy floor paint
- Walk on ready in 24 hours, vehicle and drive-on ready in 3 days
- Superior adhesion coating ensures no hot tire pickup and protects against gasoline, antifreeze, motor oil, and salt
- Low odor, low VOC gloss finish provides a show room shine
Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating is a Durable, 2-part epoxy formula that is great for garage floors.
1. Sacrificial Plywood Floor
To protect your expensive concrete floor and that amazing epoxy coating, you can just use ¾ “ thick OSB or plywood panels.
Lay a moisture barrier plastic sheet and duct tape it to the garage floor. Make sure the size is the same or slightly larger than the area you want to allocate to your snowmobile.
Next use 4 pcs of 2’ X 4’, ¾” thick plywood panels. (ALEXANDRIA MOULDING PY001-PY048C Plywood Panel from Amazon is a good choice). Lay them out in a rectangular shape, on top of the moisture barrier, to cover a 4’ X 8’ area. Secure them to the floor using screws. Use an adhesive sealant to cover the joints.
Of course, this arrangement is not going to last too long. If it lasts a season, well it’s done it’s job. You could simply replace it the next season. At least your garage floor stays scar free!
2. Special Snowmobile Garage Mats
The trouble is that standard garage floor mats just are not up to it, when it comes to handling a snowmobile. But you can use the same mats that they sell for use on trailers. They work as well on the garage floor as they do on a trailer bed.
Caliber TraxMat is possibly the best traction mat for snowmobiles. They will prevent the damage that studs in the tracks of your snowmobile will cause to your trailer decking, ramp and even your garage floor.
Caliber TraxMat has a unique bottom groove design that allows moisture to dissipate and dry out.
In case you prefer to order online from Amazon, consider checking out Polaris Snowmobile Caliber 72″ TraxMat.
Polaris Snowmobile Caliber 72″ TraxMat
Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating
- Stop damage to trailer decking or ramps caused by studded tracks
- Helps provide excellent traction when loading and unloading your sled
- Mat is 18 in. wide and made from a durable material
- Unique bottom groove constriction allows moisture to dissipate from under the mat
3. Use a Snowmobile Dolly Set
Using a Snowmobile Dolly Set is the best and the smartest thing that you can do. First off, your concrete or epoxy coated garage floor is totally safe from the studs and the carbide on your snowmobile.
In addition you do not need to start the snowmobile to move it. And you don’t need to lift the heavy sled and break your back doing it. So a snowmobile dolly set is really a 3-in-1 solution.
The set comes with three dollies, 2 for the skis, which have grooves, and one for the rear track, which is flat.
Each dolly has four high quality 2 ½” PVC swivel casters that allow for easy 360˚ turning radius. Once you strap up the sled on to the dollies, you can move it in any direction, forwards or sideways with very little effort.
Extreme Max Economy Snowmobile Dolly System
Extreme Max Economy Snowmobile Dolly System
- Economy dollies perfect for use on smooth, flat surfaces
- Swivel casters for maneuvering in tight spaces
- Painted steel dollies with 2.5″ nylon wheels
- Includes two padded ski dollies with strap and one track dolly
- One-year replacement warranty
Bottom Line
The bottom Line is that, if you want your concrete or epoxy coated garage floor to remain in good shape and not be ripped up by the studs and carbide of your snowmobile, then do not drive them directly onto your garage floor. Use one of the following way to avoid direct contact
- Use a sacrificial plywood board. Think of it as a rigid disposable mat to drive and park your sled on.
- Use Special Snowmobile Garage Mats. The best ones are Caliber TraxMat. They are sold for use on trailers but work equally well on garage floors.
- Use a Snowmobile Dolly Set of 3 dollies. This is my favorite choice as it is a 3-in-1 solution. Invest in a Snowmobile Lever Lift Stand to make lifting the sled even easier.
This is how you protect garage floors from snowmobiles!
Thank you very much for reading the post. I do hope you found it informative and useful.
