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Best use of a snowcat?
- Thread starter 1boringguy
- Start date
Took these guys a couple hours to get over the summit yesterday, drifts, so I went up today, because I couldn't let them have all the fun you know.
Just a little wide.
Headed for higher ground.
Just a little wide.
Headed for higher ground.
Bluebird days and rare air, hard to beat that combination.
Winter weekend warriors out scouting some new trails. 39 miles on Sunday and only saw one other person. Gotta love it, gotta be able to trust your equipment ?
Winter weekend warriors out scouting some new trails. 39 miles on Sunday and only saw one other person. Gotta love it, gotta be able to trust your equipment ?
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Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
Good old Cabbage hill....
Back in my trucking days I hauled a lot of materials over Cabbage.
Loaded up at 105,500 lbs makes for a good workout, even with a 500 cat up front calling the shots.
I can relate to the 318 Detroit...My first rig had a jimmy in it....
The big Kitty was pretty nice on the big hills. Butttttttttttttt...still a grind...
Big boys up North with their V12 cats pumping out a bazillion HP know how to flatten the hills for sure.
Been keeping nose to the grindstone and making jack a dull boy so far this winter, so got the Patrol in and ready for some adventure today.
Thinking about going to scout out a couple of trail possibilities for SV2022 around Fairfield (that's the Camas prairie) tomorrow. Checked the weather and came up with this though.
It's one thing if I have lil capt and we have troubles on the trail when it's 10 to 20°, but -35 is a whole different thing. There's that Discretion - Valor thing ... or as I seem to relate more to, "Momma said, stupid is as stupid does". I try not to be stupid.
See how it's looking by morning. Might have to be like one of the Colorado boys who was expecting 90 mph wind ....... shop weekend .......... again. ☹
It's one thing if I have lil capt and we have troubles on the trail when it's 10 to 20°, but -35 is a whole different thing. There's that Discretion - Valor thing ... or as I seem to relate more to, "Momma said, stupid is as stupid does". I try not to be stupid.
See how it's looking by morning. Might have to be like one of the Colorado boys who was expecting 90 mph wind ....... shop weekend .......... again. ☹
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
Love the pictures.......
How wide is the cat ????? Permit load?? or just need the warning banner ??
How wide is the cat ????? Permit load?? or just need the warning banner ??
Things can definitely get desperate in short order under those conditions. I'm far from an expert here, but I would think with a loss of heat source, as in a none running engine, satellite SAR capability and a snow cave might be the best hope.
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If I recall it's 9'7" wide. Yes annual permit, but Idaho is pretty good to move in. Under 10' can move most roads even after dark, a big thing for the short daylight hours of winter snowcating, if you light the extremities. Banners flags and beacon of course. Shut down in extreme conditions, I take that as chains required, but mostly in Idaho, roads are either open or closed. It's not like Donner, Snoqualmie, or the Blues where chain requirements are common. All in all I get by in Idaho, in some states it would be much more of just a cabin cat.
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
YESSSS...
Idaho is far more agreeable.
My 2100 ...even with the tracks cut down to 43" width (Single width of one grouser)..Cat is still going to sit at 135" wide. (11'-3")
The factory tracks at 57" wide put it at 149" wide
I can get a permit in Oregon to move it....but the restriction are many...
Taking the tracks off is the cheap easy way.....but a royal pain to reassemble without a hoist on the trailer to handle the 1200 + pound beasts.
This machine will be a "House cat" (Relegated to here at the ranch as a toy....
The county roads are plenty wide enough to navigate......and once there is snow enough to get out and play....there will not be too many rigs moving about.
4"- 6" of snow pretty well stops all the local yuppies and there AWD town cars for sure.
Back in winter of 08 we had nearly 3 feet in here....and drifts much much deeper.
Idaho is far more agreeable.
My 2100 ...even with the tracks cut down to 43" width (Single width of one grouser)..Cat is still going to sit at 135" wide. (11'-3")
The factory tracks at 57" wide put it at 149" wide
I can get a permit in Oregon to move it....but the restriction are many...
Taking the tracks off is the cheap easy way.....but a royal pain to reassemble without a hoist on the trailer to handle the 1200 + pound beasts.
This machine will be a "House cat" (Relegated to here at the ranch as a toy....
The county roads are plenty wide enough to navigate......and once there is snow enough to get out and play....there will not be too many rigs moving about.
4"- 6" of snow pretty well stops all the local yuppies and there AWD town cars for sure.
Back in winter of 08 we had nearly 3 feet in here....and drifts much much deeper.
Sunday conditions were a bit better, 15° high 5 mph wind, so lil capt and I went out and knocked a little rust off the grousers. We didn't get the snow here like some of the Cascades or Sierras, but still enough to put a smile on your face. 
lil capt is getting pretty big
soon he will slide into the pilots seat of the great snow cruiser
great photos, so jealous !!!
soon he will slide into the pilots seat of the great snow cruiser
great photos, so jealous !!!
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Great pics!
I believe that would work until something it he 24Vlt system was turned on. That would complete the loop for 24vlts.
To prevent a catastrophic event, I believe you must isolate the battery used for the 12Vlt system from the other harness.
A switch on the positive terminal of the second battery would do it. It needs to energize either the 24vlt or the 12vlt , but isolate one from the other
Yea he just turned 4, and it'll be sooner than I think. I'm looking forward to it
And gosh, where's my manners. No need to be jealous, if you're short of a cat and a trailer ....... you have a standing invitation to come take mine up and crush snowflakes to your hearts content
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
My little one will turn 40 in May....OMG time fly'sYea he just turned 4, and it'll be sooner than I think. I'm looking forward to it
1BG terrific thread, wonderful pictures great times with family
Thanks IAAD,
That is the best use of a snowcat for me, so I stick with that.
That is the best use of a snowcat for me, so I stick with that.
In mid August you just have to keep heading north until you find snow, right?
Yea, pretty far north at the moment I'm afraid.
Really just took it down to Petersons in Utah. At 70 hours it's about past the break-in hours and time to check pressures and recalibrate pumps, ect. Busy time of year in the cat business, might have it back by Thanksgiving.
Really just took it down to Petersons in Utah. At 70 hours it's about past the break-in hours and time to check pressures and recalibrate pumps, ect. Busy time of year in the cat business, might have it back by Thanksgiving.
Don't have the snowcat themed collectables as some here, and I'm not likely to catch up to the likes of Track Addict, PP, or sno-drifter, ect, but Lil Capt and I did create a piece for our Apres Snowcat repertoire. Looking forward to much use of.
Gave it a test run while watching Jupiter and the full moon rising last night. The moon was kind of Tucker orange as it rose through the smoke in the valley, if that helps tie it in to snowcats
Gave it a test run while watching Jupiter and the full moon rising last night. The moon was kind of Tucker orange as it rose through the smoke in the valley, if that helps tie it in to snowcats
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1BG,
It's always great to see pics of Lil Capt. That looks like a fantastic father-son project, and memories you both will treasure.
Sometimes it's interesting to see what else is in the picture beyond the foreground....
While you may never have the collection of snowcat (or Tucker) collectibles of PP, Sno-Drffter, or Track Addict, I did note the presence of a steel track Tucker surreptitiously hidden behind a forklift.
Nice addition to your growing collection. My congratulations!
It's always great to see pics of Lil Capt. That looks like a fantastic father-son project, and memories you both will treasure.
Sometimes it's interesting to see what else is in the picture beyond the foreground....
While you may never have the collection of snowcat (or Tucker) collectibles of PP, Sno-Drffter, or Track Addict, I did note the presence of a steel track Tucker surreptitiously hidden behind a forklift.
Nice addition to your growing collection. My congratulations!
BT,
I told Mom, it's 'heirloom quality', the kids will have to fight over who gets it. Probably the one with a forklift wins.
And yea, ........ Kool-aid? Make mine a double.
I told Mom, it's 'heirloom quality', the kids will have to fight over who gets it. Probably the one with a forklift wins.
And yea, ........ Kool-aid? Make mine a double.
Thefatsquatch
Active member
Where are you headed in this picture? So much of Washington is closed for cats, and my son says I have to build him a ski jump and shuttle it with the cat. This looks perfect.
This is going up to Silver City, Idaho. Yea it's pretty wide open to use up there, mostly BLM I think. You can stop in the old mining town or go on up to the summits where the radio towers are.
Lil Capt and I snuck away yesterday to find some snow. Saturday evening avalanche danger was at 4, ok with that if I know the area, but by Sunday morning it's was 5 in the whole Soldier-Sawtooth area. So we decided to just bust some drifts in the meadows, and save the summits for another day.
