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Backcountry cat question

I

ikold

New member
We've got a place up in Colorado that gets quite a bit of snow. Some of it gets groomed and any cut would work there but the last 2 miles or so get absolutely zero maintenance. What machine works best in DEEP snow? Would a Tucker with Lockers perform better than a two track or vice versa...

We'd also like to do some back country skiing with it.

Am thinking it should probably have a blade on it for cutting trail, can they be easily retrofitted to an older tucker ?

Sorry if this question is too simple, am new to the forum but am interested in buying the right machine.

Thanks
 
Not too simple. Actually probably quite a few different machines would fit the bill of what you are looking for but a wide-track machine would likely be your best bet. As I'm live in a hardpack and ice crust area I'll leave answers to others that may be better but off the top of my head a 500 series Tucker (or a more modern version of that design), an Aktiv Snow Master, a Spryte or a Super Imp would probably all be good choices.
 
I've had a spryte,and am on my 2nd tucker,and I would recommend getting a cat with a blade,it can be difficult to retrofit. I've got lockers on my tucker,and in combination with the blade(and patience) you can usually get to where you are going. The tucker doesn't float like the spryte,but it has other advantages in my experience.
 
If you're talking about having to pioneer a trail across a side-slope, then a Tucker with an existing 6-way blade may be your best bet. They will maneuver better in tight trail conditions with a blade. Other than that, I figure that most all real snowcats are designed to float OVER the snow, not push it out of the way, so if you don't "have" to push snow or pull something through it, then go with anything that has the best "track surface area-to-weight ratio" and the interior and exterior hauling capacity you're looking for.
 
I'd go with a pisten bully, one with wide tracks and a blade, like a 200. They have the ponies to drive the tracks in the deep snow and the power to push the snow.
 
I've heard good things about the pb200.

Which tucker models have a blade ?

I really like the look of the older Tuckers like in Mtn Tucker's sig, but I wonder if a blade could be retrofitted onto it.

When you get a 40 inch storm in february on top of a good base will these machines still float ?
 
snow dog said:
I'd go with a pisten bully, one with wide tracks and a blade, like a 200. They have the ponies to drive the tracks in the deep snow and the power to push the snow.
Click to expand...

I concur! Best darn snowcat I've ever been around. I cut trails where people couldn't believe one could exist and will out push a D7 when it comes to deep snow. Peterson equipment has a low hour one right now but you should be able to find one in Colorado with no problem. I was looking at several for sale last year.
 
ikold said:
I've heard good things about the pb200.

Which tucker models have a blade ?

I really like the look of the older Tuckers like in Mtn Tucker's sig, but I wonder if a blade could be retrofitted onto it.

When you get a 40 inch storm in february on top of a good base will these machines still float ?
Click to expand...

I've got a 1980 Tucker with factory 6-way blade. The "Snow Dozer" blade was an option Tucker offered.

It is designed in a somewhat unusual fashion in that the blade's pusher framework attaches to the front axle (and has supports which transfer the load to the frame of the Cat) and when you turn, the blade does as well.

Retrofitting a machine with a factory set-up would be difficult. Even if you had all the parts it would be challenging.

Here's a YouTube video of a new Tucker in some pretty serious snow in the Sierras: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5xymCB2i-Q"]YouTube - going up dyer big storm 2010 tucker sno cat[/ame]

I'm not very knowledgeable about Pisten Bullys (or much else), but my impression is they are wide machines. That's great if you are in wide open country and don't plan on transporting your machine, but not so great if you need to transport it or need to operate on a somewhat narrow trail.

Lastly (and again I'm no PB expert) I'd think parts are really spendy, and somewhat difficult to get. Almost any halfway decent auto parts store will have parts for a Chrysler 318. But a five cylinder turbocharged Mercedes Diesel?
 
Blackfoot Tucker said:
I'm not very knowledgeable about Pisten Bullys (or much else), but my impression is they are wide machines. That's great if you are in wide open country and don't plan on transporting your machine, but not so great if you need to transport it or need to operate on a somewhat narrow trail.

Lastly (and again I'm no PB expert) I'd think parts are really spendy, and somewhat difficult to get. Almost any halfway decent auto parts store will have parts for a Chrysler 318. But a five cylinder turbocharged Mercedes Diesel?
Click to expand...

Your right about the width problems and the parts cost are inline with any heavy equipment like Caterpillar and Hitachi. I don't spend much money on parts though as PBs are very well built but yes if you need major repairs it is going to get expensive. Parts are very easy to get out of Reno, Utah or Colorado on the west coast. Also the 200 has an inline 6 cylinder turbocharged mercedes that is almost bullet proof.

I don't know much about Tuckers either but they must be good cats as a lot of people use them.
 
I get a lot of powder and I have a very steep hill. The neighbor with a Spryte will not even attempt my hill. The Tucker has pushed 5' of fresh powder uphill with no sweat.
 
srexecmark said:
I get a lot of powder and I have a very steep hill. The neighbor with a Spryte will not even attempt my hill. The Tucker has pushed 5' of fresh powder uphill with no sweat.
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Long track steel grousered Tuckers some of the best cats made be sure to not get a short tracked terra........ That would be like bringing a hatchet to a wood chopping contest.... It'll get the job done but will be alot more work....
 
e2spear, We have a BR275 for trail grroming. It's unstoppable, like the PB it can build a road almost anywhere.. If its in the budget I would highly recomend it.. It will make it up your hill, and blade it flat so others can make it up behind you, Or you can just drag them up it with a big chain.

Parts prices are obscene... For that reason alone I can't recommend it.. Just general maintence is thousands (ten of thousands sometimes) per year.. If you happen to break something you can imagine the cost..

Gary
 
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