This question has no doubt been asked before. What type of machine will provide a newbie with proven reliability and transport four people? We live in the southeast corner of WA and have access to mountains in three states. We also are looking for a schedule of events to attend.
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Newbie looking for information
- Thread starter robydean
- Start date
TheSkipper
Member
That’s like asking somebody to pick the best cloud. There’s a lot of them and they are always changing with the conditions.
That being said I would suggest some thing lighter and capable and simple to work on, i.e. an Imp. Preferably one with an in-line six and automatic C6 transmission which will also then have the heavier duty rear end. It has enough power to put a blade on it if you want, it’s light enough it won’t be breaking the rear differential anytime soon, they can fit 4 to 8 people depending how on how good of friends you are, it’s short enough to move through trees easily, and parts aren’t too hard to find nor too expensive, and you could probably tow it with a half ton truck/suv.
Good luck and let us know what you get!
Regards,
The Skipper
That being said I would suggest some thing lighter and capable and simple to work on, i.e. an Imp. Preferably one with an in-line six and automatic C6 transmission which will also then have the heavier duty rear end. It has enough power to put a blade on it if you want, it’s light enough it won’t be breaking the rear differential anytime soon, they can fit 4 to 8 people depending how on how good of friends you are, it’s short enough to move through trees easily, and parts aren’t too hard to find nor too expensive, and you could probably tow it with a half ton truck/suv.
Good luck and let us know what you get!
Regards,
The Skipper
TheSkipper
Member
Tuckers are great and I do like the ability to repair them, especially the metal grouser and rubber belt version. Too many bearings on the pontoons and not much grip on ice with the rubber.
Did the any of the steel and rubber track versions come with an automatic? If so I might be thinking of converting…….
Did the any of the steel and rubber track versions come with an automatic? If so I might be thinking of converting…….
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Robydean,
Welcome to the forum. While in some ways the Thiokol/DMC/LMC vs Tucker debate is similar to Ford vs Chevy, there are significant differences between them. There are many forum members from both camps who can weigh-in with their thoughts. I’ll give you my honest opinions, and apologize in advance if I tread on someone’s toes.
At present I own a few Tuckers and a DMC 1450 (aka: Super Imp). Having operated both, I prefer the Tucker product. Okay, why? The four track Tucker system rides much more smoothly over uneven terrain. If you think of a washboard surfaced trail, two track machines tend to be continually oscillating up and down. That gets old…fast, and it is especially pronounced on shorter machines like the Imp. In terms of steering, the Tucker system is both more intuitive and just nicer overall. With a Tucker steering wheel you can make minor corrections and you’re driving smoothly, and with one hand. With the brake steer system, it seems more jerky and less smooth, and you seem to making inputs almost constantly. I’m tall (6’4”) and I find the DMC 1450 somewhat cramped inside. For most of the years the Spryte was produced, the front doors are a bit like half doors and ingress and egress from the cab is more difficult than it needs to be. (The later production 1200 machines have larger doors.)
If you need to carry four passengers, meaning a total of five people including the driver, you’re going to need a Tucker three door machine. Though Tucker often claims the four door cab can carry five people, it’s simply not true - unless three of them are basically child size. Tucker typically built between 50-100 machines a year, and the majority were the two door cab configuration. Three door machines are especially scarce, but four door models are not plentiful, either. As you may know, during the rubber belted Tucker era, they offered different track length options. Short track models, known as 1300 series machines, have four idler wheels per carrier and the carriers are 70” long. Mid-length track models have five idler wheels, and the carriers are 76” long. Those are 1500 series models, and lastly the long track 1600 series machines have six idler wheels per carrier, and the carriers are 92” long. Obviously, the longer the tracks the greater the flotation. I live in Northern Utah and strongly prefer the long tracks, but your snow conditions are of course different, and you may be just fine with mid length or maybe even short tracks. An automatic transmission in a snowcat is a nice feature.
I don’t know why, but it seems there are far fewer used snowcats for sale these days. Of course like just about everything else, prices for used machines have escalated sharply. However, with the information I provided if you were to decide you wanted a long track, three door Tucker with an automatic transmission, I’d say you’ll be waiting a long time to find one. I bought my first snowcat in 2009 and in all the years since I don’t think I’ve seen a single machine with that configuration (with the exception of some ex-Aleyska Detroit Diesel engined Tuckers).
Welcome to the forum. While in some ways the Thiokol/DMC/LMC vs Tucker debate is similar to Ford vs Chevy, there are significant differences between them. There are many forum members from both camps who can weigh-in with their thoughts. I’ll give you my honest opinions, and apologize in advance if I tread on someone’s toes.
At present I own a few Tuckers and a DMC 1450 (aka: Super Imp). Having operated both, I prefer the Tucker product. Okay, why? The four track Tucker system rides much more smoothly over uneven terrain. If you think of a washboard surfaced trail, two track machines tend to be continually oscillating up and down. That gets old…fast, and it is especially pronounced on shorter machines like the Imp. In terms of steering, the Tucker system is both more intuitive and just nicer overall. With a Tucker steering wheel you can make minor corrections and you’re driving smoothly, and with one hand. With the brake steer system, it seems more jerky and less smooth, and you seem to making inputs almost constantly. I’m tall (6’4”) and I find the DMC 1450 somewhat cramped inside. For most of the years the Spryte was produced, the front doors are a bit like half doors and ingress and egress from the cab is more difficult than it needs to be. (The later production 1200 machines have larger doors.)
If you need to carry four passengers, meaning a total of five people including the driver, you’re going to need a Tucker three door machine. Though Tucker often claims the four door cab can carry five people, it’s simply not true - unless three of them are basically child size. Tucker typically built between 50-100 machines a year, and the majority were the two door cab configuration. Three door machines are especially scarce, but four door models are not plentiful, either. As you may know, during the rubber belted Tucker era, they offered different track length options. Short track models, known as 1300 series machines, have four idler wheels per carrier and the carriers are 70” long. Mid-length track models have five idler wheels, and the carriers are 76” long. Those are 1500 series models, and lastly the long track 1600 series machines have six idler wheels per carrier, and the carriers are 92” long. Obviously, the longer the tracks the greater the flotation. I live in Northern Utah and strongly prefer the long tracks, but your snow conditions are of course different, and you may be just fine with mid length or maybe even short tracks. An automatic transmission in a snowcat is a nice feature.
I don’t know why, but it seems there are far fewer used snowcats for sale these days. Of course like just about everything else, prices for used machines have escalated sharply. However, with the information I provided if you were to decide you wanted a long track, three door Tucker with an automatic transmission, I’d say you’ll be waiting a long time to find one. I bought my first snowcat in 2009 and in all the years since I don’t think I’ve seen a single machine with that configuration (with the exception of some ex-Aleyska Detroit Diesel engined Tuckers).
Tucker did offer two automatic transmission options during some of the rubber belted Tucker production era. I can’t tell you when they first offered it, but you could get either a Chrysler Loadflite (a heavier duty version of the more common Torqueflite) or an Allison AT545. The Loadflite is a three speed, non overdrive transmission whereas the AT545 is a four speed, non-overdrive transmission.
The AT545 is really a medium duty truck transmission and was very commonly installed on school buses. Whereas automotive automatic transmissions are manufactured with a set bell housing bolt pattern, the AT545 uses an SAE standard bolt pattern on the transmission, and an adapter housing between the engine and transmission. Thus by changing adapter housings a transmission could be used in different engine applications.
But, the vast, vast majority of gasoline engined Tuckers of the rubber belted era were Chrysler Industrial engines; typically the 318 and 360. Those are in the Chrysler LA series engine family and I don't believe Chrysler/Dodge installed the AT545 behind an LA series engine. So finding an adapter housing is going to be difficult. I have heard that Tucker had the adapter housings specially made for them, which means finding one for a swap will be a challenge.
And now from the peanut gallery: Steep/ deep snow (cross country) = Tucker. In my opinion, poontoon Tuckers are more forgiving of operators. Trade off. they require more maintenance. Lots more maintenance. Other end of the scale: Snow roads, Snow Tracs, BV 206, some earlier Bombardier snow coaches. The in between is Thiokol/DMC/LMC products which did OK but not great in either environment. Pistenbully's And others have similar series vs snow . This year there are events in NE Oregon, Mid California. look under Adventure and useage. Go, watch, Ride: then decide. Every cat excels at something, every cat breaks down, every cat gets stuck sometime. Some easier to repair, others better own a machine shop.....
CT
CT
TheSkipper
Member
I will agree that every machine breaks down. There are only two machines I have never seen or heard of get stuck in deep pow. A 1200 LMC and the 240/26020/280 PB’s.
If I’m not mistaken tree wells are fond of gobbling Tucker pontoons. That wouldn’t keep me from taking the risk though.
It’s an interesting perspective watching/reading someone else’s dive into the snowcat world.
Skip
If I’m not mistaken tree wells are fond of gobbling Tucker pontoons. That wouldn’t keep me from taking the risk though.
It’s an interesting perspective watching/reading someone else’s dive into the snowcat world.
Skip
and if willing to travel, Bessemer MI has an event