Here is a photo of the trailer I have to work with. The trailer
has removable sides and tail gate.
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1975 Tucker 1544 - project and trips
- Thread starter YamaDooPolCat
- Start date
Not much snow so far this year so lots of time to plan for snow.
One of the things I have to address is
the ice and snow that accumulates on the front grill and blocks the airflow to the radiator.
My Tucker has expanded metal and it collects snow. Are there other bad designs that I should stay away from??
One of the things I have to address is
My Tucker has expanded metal and it collects snow. Are there other bad designs that I should stay away from??
Pusher fans have the disadvantage in trying to pull air through smaller openings. for them to work well you need a larger intake than you can get with that tucker. On pusher fans the airflow is limited by the atmospheric pressure pushing air into the plenum (- the air restrictions of the hoses, pumps and other crap under the hood). Where with the puller fans the pressure is limited by the HP you are willing to commit to the fan blades. Yes there is equipment with pusher fans, but the intake section is carefully designed.
I had looked into the idea, but I have an automatic transmission and have a cooler mounted on front of the rad.
The transmission needs that cool air as well. The transmission warms up to 180F when the Tucker is pulling hard as is.
Also those 318 Dodge water pumps are designed to run a puller fan, so I would need to know that those old pumps will tolerate a pusher fan. I have a push/pull fan in my JD450C that has a simply centrifical lock that would be a great replacement. The fans blade are simply pushed toward the hub, rotated and pulled out to lock in place.
For the Tucker I would rather replace the expanded metal grill for something that is a more open design. Possibly a crowbar hotel design?? The Tucker at 20km throws enough snow that I have to keep all the windows closed, but I don't think the Tucker is throwing anything that would damage the radiator and require such a tight grill.
The transmission needs that cool air as well. The transmission warms up to 180F when the Tucker is pulling hard as is.
Also those 318 Dodge water pumps are designed to run a puller fan, so I would need to know that those old pumps will tolerate a pusher fan. I have a push/pull fan in my JD450C that has a simply centrifical lock that would be a great replacement. The fans blade are simply pushed toward the hub, rotated and pulled out to lock in place.
For the Tucker I would rather replace the expanded metal grill for something that is a more open design. Possibly a crowbar hotel design?? The Tucker at 20km throws enough snow that I have to keep all the windows closed, but I don't think the Tucker is throwing anything that would damage the radiator and require such a tight grill.
Had to look up this thread to see what I did.
Used 1/4 NC 28 tap and 3/16 drill
But used M6 x 1.0 nipples. Unless these are labeled wrong.
I've been sidelined by family health issues. here is a simple way to calculate the forces you will be dealing with.
there are straight math equations but they delve into vector calculus. I'd do a both end point and the mid span. and imply the forces between.
That’s awesome! The calculations show lifting a 4,000 block at 6’ overhang is 3,500lbs on each ginpole leg and the winch line holding 3,700 lbs. The forces increase if I widen the stance a little bit, and decrease as I bring the load or the deck.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The nipples were labeled wrong. The ones I use are 1/4 x 28 thread and part number 904 652 the long ones.
How do other people get these seals into the track frame wheels? I need a different method. I end up wrecking at least one seal every time I replace
these seals. It is just nasty getting them started, and then too easy to over drive them.
J5 Bombardier
Well-known member
Myself with that style of seal I put grease or vaseline around the spring to keep it from popping off and walk it in with a hammer . Not foolproof but the old socket trick can finish them with one swing .
J5Bombardier
J5Bombardier
One trick I have used in the past is a thick washer (1/4"+) on both sides and a largish bolt-nut. A chunk of plate with a hole works. lube the threads to make it easier. Now, I have a cheap hydraulic press much easier.
I wish I could tell you we have a really great tool for the job, but the reality is we grab a piece of scrap steel plate roughly 3/8” thick that’s larger than the center hub casting in the wheel. Put the seal in position, set the plate on top (make sure it's level) and Whack! The flat plate ensures the seal will be installed flush with the end of the hub. We’ve installed well over a hundred seals this way.
I suppose it’s possible a seal or two got destroyed, but I honestly can’t remember that happening. We use seals from Tucker, and they’re made by Colonial Seal Company. Actually, that's incorrect. Colonial has them made to their specs, and they sell them to Tucker, who (understandably) mark them up.
In case you’re wondering (I was) the minimum order from Colonial was like 1,000 seals, and there was roughly a four month lead time.
Ah… No thank you.
BTW, if you care, the wheels are called "idler wheels".
I suppose it’s possible a seal or two got destroyed, but I honestly can’t remember that happening. We use seals from Tucker, and they’re made by Colonial Seal Company. Actually, that's incorrect. Colonial has them made to their specs, and they sell them to Tucker, who (understandably) mark them up.
In case you’re wondering (I was) the minimum order from Colonial was like 1,000 seals, and there was roughly a four month lead time.
Ah… No thank you.
BTW, if you care, the wheels are called "idler wheels".
Those idler wheels. Grrr!
I keep coming back to the idea they should have been designed like trailer wheels with those spindles and hubs.
Should have aluminum (or steel) wheels that bolt on to trailer hubs.
Lots of easy trailer hubs easy to adapt, but the supply of wheels with solid rubber are the problem. Those solid wheels I used to replace the sliders are sure nice, so there has to be a solid wheel out there somewhere that we can use on the bottom of the track frame.
Might have to weld up some experimental track frames this summer.
I keep coming back to the idea they should have been designed like trailer wheels with those spindles and hubs.
Should have aluminum (or steel) wheels that bolt on to trailer hubs.
Lots of easy trailer hubs easy to adapt, but the supply of wheels with solid rubber are the problem. Those solid wheels I used to replace the sliders are sure nice, so there has to be a solid wheel out there somewhere that we can use on the bottom of the track frame.
Might have to weld up some experimental track frames this summer.
The only catch I would look out for is the loading on the legs. while 2" sched 80 iron pipe in column load would handle it easily, any deviation from a straight load is likely to cause a catastrophic failure. EG, the force of gravity pulling the middle of the pipe down. I'd probably try to source some 3"x3"x.375 tube. Then again, I tend to over think-build. I was surprised at the closeness of my SWAG I figured 3750 leg and 4200 line. at worse case conditions.
I have to rethink the stabilization of the trailer.
These calculated loads are all placed ahead of the axles so doesn’t that means huge tongue weight on the trailer? Or no tongue weight on the trailer as the weight is balanced as lifted?
These calculated loads are all placed ahead of the axles so doesn’t that means huge tongue weight on the trailer? Or no tongue weight on the trailer as the weight is balanced as lifted?
you're going to have a negative tongue weight during hoisting. and until the load is landed on the axles. This is the difference between force and weight. For simple consideration, think of the cable, legs as a solid and the pivot as the rear axle point.
Okay, that makes sense.
Thanks.
Thanks.
I was having overheating issues because the grill would ice over and block the air flow. The snow would accumulate on the expanded metal used for the grill on this model.
So I chopped the expanded metal out and went retro with vertical bars. Now we need some snow to try it out.
So I chopped the expanded metal out and went retro with vertical bars. Now we need some snow to try it out.
I found this interesting picture of a different kind of track frame.
I started off changing out the grill. Then I decided to replace the right side damaged hood panel. The I decided I might as well paint the hood, both sides. Now I found a frost damaged square tube in the hood frame.
Pretty soon things will start going the other way.
Pretty soon things will start going the other way.
While the decals are off I decided to try and touch them up. I wonder how long the Milwaukee Inkzall will last?
A 442 with what looks like a variant of the prototype ACF track system.
Attachments
Cool picture. That track system looks like it is for summer/swamp soft ground travel.
There isn't much for grousers and there is no tip up of the front idler to get up on the snow instead of boring straight ahead into the snow, which sucks up power and efficiency. The new banana shaped track system Tucker is working on is a new direction for Tucker it seems.
There isn't much for grousers and there is no tip up of the front idler to get up on the snow instead of boring straight ahead into the snow, which sucks up power and efficiency. The new banana shaped track system Tucker is working on is a new direction for Tucker it seems.
Hood is progressing nicely. Have to pickup more bare metal primer tomorrow.
I’m trying a new paint. The Omaha Orange I was using didn’t match very well with the paint on the Tucker. The hood adds a lot of paint to the Tucker so hopefully this looks better. At $52 per spray can!!
Amazing how just a little project turns into a giant snowball and gets derailed into a whole new direction from where you started out going. Don't worry we've all been there and it never seems to stop.
I’ll paint the outer skin tomorrow. Let this coat cure while I go plow some snow. It snowed about 6” today. Supposed to go down to -24c tonight so better plow now.
Good week to mess around in my shop with this weather.
