A Day At The Swap Meet: Princeton Outlaw Event

The Rum River Outlaw Grass Drags near Princeton, Minnesota, has for years been a great place to burn an August weekend for sledheads who are tired of bikes and boats and eager to think about snowmobiles. After being cancelled in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, the event featuring a large swap meet, grass drag, lawn mower races, some vendor displays and more was back for 2021.

Mother Nature did mess with the event a bit this year, with some light rain Friday and then a big thunderhead that included a tornado warning on Saturday. Still, we managed to see most of the show before getting chased away. Here are some images we captured, mainly from the swap area.

The swap meet is the biggest attraction at the Princeton, Minnesota, event.
This party of truly impressive classic Yamahas appeared to have been crashed by a black and green sled.
There are a fair number of cockpit sleds in varying levels of disrepair at Princeton. This one needed more than a little TLC.
There were a few year-old race sleds for sale in the swap but not as many as we expected… maybe last year’s limited race season was the reason?
We’re not saying it got quiet for awhile on Saturday before the storm came, but this guy was completely asleep behind his table.
Normally coming home from a swap meet with a 1976 snowmobile that cost $7,500 would result in a stern lecture and a weeks worth of sleeping in the garage, but this Rupp Magnum 440 is so beautiful that ‘Ma’ would probably let you keep it in the living room?!
The grass drags were starting to get rolling Saturday – including this 120 race – but those dark clouds on the horizon had their own plans. Within 5 minutes of this image being taken, a tornado warning was issued, sending the crowd scrambling.
A classic Boa-Ski was clearly targeting Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Kathy’s House of Signs was a must-stop booth at Haydays, especially for those seeking logos featuring drunken bears jumping snowmobiles.
As with any powersports swap meet these days, there’s always somebody selling monstrous ATV tires and wheels. We like our swamps frozen.
Some sleds just keep increasing in value, including the SnoSport that originally retailed for about $2k.
“Yeah, but which one of these gauges will tell me I’m going 70 when I’m getting passed by a guy going 60?”
Give us one of everything.
Lawn mower races have become a regular feature at the Rum River Outlaw event – we think it would be a lot more entertaining if competitors had to not only have the mower decks attached but also the blades turning during their races!
Swappers always come up with new ways to showcase their wares.

Advertisement

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *