Snow Trac Manufacturing History

[Snow Tracs]

I will be posting some pictures soon but am a bit hesitant since ive already been hit up with patent questions form another member. I will be calling my attoney to see what can be done about that. This is just another process I have found to be the down side of doing business. People and there attorneys. I wish we could just post here without worrying about stuff like that. This shows you how far we have come from the 60s when you could produce a great product at a good price based upon labor and materials. Now you have to bring a product to market with other costs like attorneys on standby and EPA regulations you didnt have to worry about back then. There are much more but I wont bother going into it here. If someone wants to hassel me over a new product ive been working on for years now and have spent well over half a million dollars to date without having sold a single unit yet then bring it on. This is the very reason why I never posted here or any other forum before. I only did today since today is the day I picked up my engine that passed its one year run. Maybe I have spocken to soon but Snowcat People tend to be stand up people. I will now wait until I get the OK from my attorney to see what is ok to post from here on out. Clifford I hope you do well with your business but I hope I dont have problems with you in the future. I also may have miss read your PM to me. If so then I hope all is well.

 

[Snow Tracs]

thats nice i wish you lts of luck how much of the new will interchange with the old i ask this because i'm not in a rush to go and buy a new one but would love to keep my old one on the road .

From what I can tell a few individuals have made a stellar effort to revive the old Snowcat. Couchloafer is one and I believe Lyndon is the other.

 

[couchloafer]

I don't belong in any classification comparing what I have done with what Lyndon has done....He is the MAN! when it comes to snow tracs!

From what I can tell a few individuals have made a stellar effort to revive the old Snowcat. Couchloafer is one and I believe Lyndon is the other.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

I will be posting some pictures soon but am a bit hesitant since ive already been hit up with patent questions form another member. I will be calling my attoney to see what can be done about that. This is just another process I have found to be the down side of doing business. People and there attorneys. I wish we could just post here without worrying about stuff like that. This shows you how far we have come from the 60s when you could produce a great product at a good price based upon labor and materials. Now you have to bring a product to market with other costs like attorneys on standby and EPA regulations you didnt have to worry about back then. There are much more but I wont bother going into it here. If someone wants to hassel me over a new product ive been working on for years now and have spent well over half a million dollars to date without having sold a single unit yet then bring it on. This is the very reason why I never posted here or any other forum before. I only did today since today is the day I picked up my engine that passed its one year run. Maybe I have spocken to soon but Snowcat People tend to be stand up people. I will now wait until I get the OK from my attorney to see what is ok to post from here on out. Clifford I hope you do well with your business but I hope I dont have problems with you in the future. I also may have miss read your PM to me. If so then I hope all is well.

my hat is off to you for what you have done up to this point and you certanly have made some major invstments i do wish you to be successful. i always like it when the little guy prevails and the snow trac is with out a doubt one part of the market has missed here in alaska if a snow cat weighs under 5000 pounds you are not required a permit to cross public land .

 

[Lyndon]

i wonder what happened to all the origional tooling to stampout all the grousers and round parts

The original Casting Molds, Tooling and Stamping dies were left outside the facility and were destroyed by weather then scrapped out. For some years around 1992 thru 1994 there was not even a parts distributor then Christer Morlind bought the parts franchise from Bob Persons. Christer did get the original blueprints but the latest word is that he does not want to sell them.

 

[Snow Tracs]

The original castings were completely ruined unfortunately. Rusted from what I recall. But its been a very long time. Sound like you Lyndon know more than I about Aktiv!

 

[Snow Tracs]

Well for now guys I have to keep you on hold. I wish I could share more but a member here is now demanding I show him my patents. My design is so diffrent from the original that it is considered a completely diffrent beast from what Aktiv has. You only have to change the design by 10% anyway to get your own patent. I wonder if he thinks he can patent the original design? If so then good luck with that. It wont happen. Take care guys and I will be in contact with a few of you who have been civil with me.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

Well for now guys I have to keep you on hold. I wish I could share more but a member here is now demanding I show him my patents. My design is so diffrent from the original that it is considered a completely diffrent beast from what Aktiv has. You only have to change the design by 10% anyway to get your own patent. I wonder if he thinks he can patent the original design? If so then good luck with that. It wont happen. Take care guys and I will be in contact with a few of you who have been civil with me.

here's a novel idea for those who are upset about some one beating them to the punch on maing new snow trac's here's a novelidea krustes were once made mabe you all could get to gether and try to give the snow trac guys a run for their money


stir stir

 

[JSX]

Well for now guys I have to keep you on hold. I wish I could share more but a member here is now demanding I show him my patents. My design is so diffrent from the original that it is considered a completely diffrent beast from what Aktiv has. You only have to change the design by 10% anyway to get your own patent. I wonder if he thinks he can patent the original design? If so then good luck with that. It wont happen. Take care guys and I will be in contact with a few of you who have been civil with me.

Wow, patent fight already! Just what we need, a dickhead with an attorney running around threatening people. No one wins, except the attorneys.

 

[Cletis]

Snow Tracs, I'm confused, how can GM certify the engine at that rpm only to meet emssions but not at any other rpm?

I guess it might make sense for a genset that runs at somewhat of a constant rpm.

I'm a T/C for a Cat dealer and I end up working with eng emission issues sometimes. All Cat engines I've dealt with are cerified at all rpms within that engines recommended rpm range.

There are constant updated software changes that sometimes change the mapping for the engine and we end up having to change the emission stickers along with flashing new software.

As far as Cat and Perkins engines they can recert an engine very quickly, (within days). Takes longer to get the stickers.

Cletis

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

Snow Tracs, I'm confused, how can GM certify the engine at that rpm only to meet emssions but not at any other rpm?

I guess it might make sense for a genset that runs at somewhat of a constant rpm.

I'm a T/C for a Cat dealer and I end up working with eng emission issues sometimes. All Cat engines I've dealt with are cerified at all rpms within that engines recommended rpm range.

There are constant updated software changes that sometimes change the mapping for the engine and we end up having to change the emission stickers along with flashing new software.

As far as Cat and Perkins engines they can recert an engine very quickly, (within days). Takes longer to get the stickers.

Cletis

i would have to guess gm certified the engine for a moste likely condition like a gen set or lawn mower but used max dyno numbers for advertising to lure in the customer airlines and freight companys do that all the time with a low ball price than when they hand you the bill there is this thing called a fuel sir charge.

 

[Cletis]

I don't know this for sure, but I don't think Cat's genset engines are ceritified at only one rpm.

I can ask one of the gen guys at work. Would be interesting to find out.

Cletis

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

I don't know this for sure, but I don't think Cat's genset engines are ceritified at only one rpm.

I can ask one of the gen guys at work. Would be interesting to find out.

Cletis

The way i read it the cert was for up to that rpm but not up to the the rpm that the engine made it's max horse power i would think that that would be because a continous run at 6k might dramaticaly shorten the engine life. there fore it looks good for the advertising but the reality is that the engine is only a 90 or so hp motor if you expect it to last just like the 6b cummins can make some impressive numbers at 3k but at that hp and rpm it's no 300k miles motor

 

[Clifford]

After some more research, I have found that engines that are prior to 1995 do NOT need a certification, sure opens up alot of possibilities for aftermarket remanufactured engines... like the VW engine...

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

After some more research, I have found that engines that are prior to 1995 do NOT need a certification, sure opens up alot of possibilities for aftermarket remanufactured engines... like the VW engine...

i think the best loop hole you could use would to remanufacture snow trac's and even make replacement parts for those of us who don't want to give up our older rigs it would be a lot easyer and likely more profitable as you have more labor and less parts. that will work as long as uncle sam dosn't do to or vehicles what they are doing to comercial diesels keep in mind there are a few small companys out there rebuilding existing land cruisers, jeeps mustangs,and camaro's sounds like they are doing good the heavy truck market was going that way too but now most major ports aer requiring 2010 emissions systems or newer to enter their facilitys i expect that will spread through the states like california has already done sounds like the demise of the million mile rig as soon you will have to buy new every 5 years to keep up with new regulations.

 

[Clifford]

We have contacted the EPA here http://www.epa.gov/otaq/certdata.htm#smallsi just waiting for a reply on our questions, they say ten days for a answer, we have talked about this project and might just make the machines without the engines ? not sure if we are going forward yet but have more research to do, I have talked to crister and he will not let a set of plans go, and are not for sale, but by his e-mail it sounded like he will never remake the machine anyway ? but not sure, I guess I could always throw it on the cad... but that can take some time, wish someone else had a set of blueprints..

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

i think compleate rebuilds are the way to go on all the older cats i would do it if the cost of doing buisness wasn't so high here in western alaska that way you could escape on a bunch of bs reg.s but that's my opinion kristi used to do it with the old krusty cats. sounds like some of the thiokol guys have done pretty good doing that with thiokols too