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DIY snowcat build

M

MontanaTweak

Member
First test. Drive around the house, nothing broke. I’ll call that a win. Hard to drive with no seat. Lotta work yet do. I know open differentials aren’t the greatest but there are hundreds of lightweight builds similar to this that the Russians are doing and finding an OC4 or similar is impossible.


Engine: Yamaha RX1 with added radiator/blower
Drive: Stock CVT plus gearbox to “chain drive” open differential from 1 ton.
Steering: Dual caliper per rotor.
Belts: 220-2 ply x 0.36” thick x 24” wide
Grousers: mild steel 1x1x18
 
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Weighed the cat on truck scales. 1800lbs dry/empty. Add 600lbs humans/gear, 100lbs fuel, roughly 2500lbs average weight. Puts ground pressure at <0.5psi.
 
There are quite a few Yamaha RX1 around here, and lots have the MX Express turbo for lots of power. 200 hp driving a 2500 lb SnoCat will make a capable machine.
Might want to publish details of your design for other to follow your lead.
 
YamaDooPolCat said:
There are quite a few Yamaha RX1 around here, and lots have the MX Express turbo for lots of power. 200 hp driving a 2500 lb SnoCat will make a capable machine.
Might want to publish details of your design for other to follow your lead.
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Haha, thx.

I don’t think my drivetrain would handle that much HP.

I just hope to go up already used forest service roads. Maybe some light Nordic grooming in the future.
 
MontanaTweak said:
Weighed the cat on truck scales. 1800lbs dry/empty. Add 600lbs humans/gear, 100lbs fuel, roughly 2500lbs average weight. Puts ground pressure at <0.5psi.
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This what many folks ignore. Some careful operation and its going to serve you well
 
We do actually, however we try to stay away from them as much as possible. There is good skiing and access all along the west side of the Whitefish Range from Whitefish up to the cat skiing operation.
 
1201Brad said:
We do actually, however we try to stay away from them as much as possible. There is good skiing and access all along the west side of the Whitefish Range from Whitefish up to the cat skiing operation.
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Yeah, I've been up there a bit when I had the tracked UTV and skiing Whitefish with my kid. I'd like to come up with the cat in the future. Is it only Canyon Creek that is restricted to vehicles < 65" wide?
 
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MontanaTweak said:
Yeah, I've been up there a bit when I had the tracked UTV and skiing Whitefish with my kid. I'd like to come up with the cat in the future. Is it only Canyon Creek that is restricted to vehicles < 65" wide?
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Is there a way you can direct message me? We are in Billings and headed home in a few days. It would be awesome to see your machine.
 
First snow test. Ran it for an hour or so in the parking lot to get some courage, then on packed snow very close to highway. Nothing broke, but chain tensioner for chain drive differential isn't quite tight enough, need to redesign that. Other than that, turned fine, plenty of power. Cruises very easily at 10-14mph, could easily double that speed, but with no suspension, that would just be dumb.

 
5 miles today. Still staying on roads I can drive with my truck in the event of failure. Ran a little hot today, for some reason I put the radiator in a dumb spot. A million decisions go into DIY builds and hindsight is 20/20. So moving the radiator, no big deal. On a positive note, the brake steering works great which I was really nervous about.
 
MontanaTweak said:
5 miles today. Still staying on roads I can drive with my truck in the event of failure. Ran a little hot today, for some reason I put the radiator in a dumb spot. A million decisions go into DIY builds and hindsight is 20/20. So moving the radiator, no big deal. On a positive note, the brake steering works great which I was really nervous about.
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Great news!
 
MontanaTweak said:
5 miles today. Still staying on roads I can drive with my truck in the event of failure. Ran a little hot today, for some reason I put the radiator in a dumb spot. A million decisions go into DIY builds and hindsight is 20/20. So moving the radiator, no big deal. On a positive note, the brake steering works great which I was really nervous about.
Click to expand...
Lots of load at low speed is a challenge to keep any snow cat from overheating, especially the cab over type.
 
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