We use our Can-am Commander to do a lot of snow grooming. It works great. It is nicer than our other UTVs to snow groom because it has a heated cab. It is not just a stock commander as we have added to it to make it work well. I will explain the additions to the stock model we have done that make it a great snow grooming vehicle.
Standard Additions are needed.
To snow groom in a UTV, you need tracks. Our favorite is Camso tracks. We have used others and we like the Camso tracks the most. It would be impossible to snow groom where we groom without tracks. Now not to say that you cannot get stuck in these tracks. As we have. But that is deep fresh powder. Many feet of powder and wind drifted as well. (see youtube video.)
You definitely need a snow groomer to groom. We use a 48” sno-master when the trails are narrower. But if you have the space then the 72” (can be 96” with wings) can be super nice. We use these groomers for sleigh riding hills, snowboarding, and snowmobile trails.
We have an 18” extender hitch to get the groomer past the tracks. As the Camso tracks stick out behind the Commander. This allows us to turn without the tow bars hitting the tracks. It also is a double hitch so that we can haul our snowboards up the hill at the same time and let guys snowboard on the way back down.(see pictures and video.)
We have a top rack for hauling extra gear and emergency equipment. This includes shovels, come along, tow rope, tree saver, and standard gas cans.(see pictures and video.) We definitely have a kit that has tire plugs and tools we know we need in case of trouble.
Lots of snow grooming is done at night and having a huge light bar is just so nice. The light bar is placed on top so that the light is not blocked by the snow plow we have on.
Speaking of which we definitely have a snow plow. We have been beating it up pretty badly. Because we run tracks the snow plow has to be way farther out in front and needs to have the snow plow angled to the side it makes it even farther out front. It also is not a 6-way plow. We need a 6-way plow to cut the drifts that fill the road. It is hard not to slide off the road when the road gets drifted in from the high side to the low side. This plow would work great for plowing the snow on the level and just making it so you get down to cement or asphalt. But when you have to hold it up, hit snow whoops, and try to cut drifts flat, it is just not working. We cannot find a plow to fit our UTV that is built heavy enough to withstand what we need and none have 6-way movement. We are thinking we need to make one.
Custom additions.
We have built a rack for the back because we just need to haul more things. We are just testing this out to make sure it does all the things we want. For sure we will be able to haul more show boards and lots more gas because of the attachments we have put on it. These are standard attachments so gas cans easily attach etc. We actually already know we built it too heavily. It just does not need to be as heavy as we built it. It attaches to the frame via the bed bolts so it is very secure. (see pictures and video.) After we have used it we will let you know all the good and the bad. We had to build our own as we could not buy one anywhere.
Even when covid would have let us buy a rack, we most likely would not have because the only racks we can find fit on the top sides of the bed and would not haul all we need to. This is just not a sturdy enough place to put the rack and all the things we want in it and attached to it. Although in our use we went a little stronger construction than was needed.
We needed a place for tie-down hooks and there are lots on the custom rack we made. It has a place to attach your spare tire. Super nice but that is for the summer. We do not have a spare Camso track and have not figured out how to attach it if we did. Nice thing is that tracks do not go flat on you. We have broken other tracks but as far as I know, so far the Camso tracks have not broken down on the trail.
Snow grooming long runs you really need extra gas. Camso tracks are very nice but they are geared down so you get less MPG when compared to tires. Often when grooming you use lots of gas because you are pushing snow and going up and down hills. This rack allows us to haul the extra gas easily.
Summary
Snow grooming in a Can-Am commander UTV with an enclosed cab and having a heater, Windshield wipers, top light, and being able to haul passengers with their snowboards just make snow grooming extra fun. Snowmobiles can tow a snow groomer and groom great trails. But they cannot do all the other things spoken of here. A Can-Am defender is useful for many things including snow grooming especially when you set it up correctly. The add-ons make things so nice and just solve issues we have in turning a Can-Am into a super flexible snowcat.
We are thinking that a Can-Am Commander can be a mini snowcat. Well, we have proven it. You do not have to be a mechanic to fix it all the time. Like we have had to on snowcats.