Snow Vehicle trailers

[J_Josue]

Edit by Bob: In another thread, the concept of a Trailer for a Snow Trac was discussued by Gordon, but the topic was buried inside other posts and only minimally discussed. Mike (Snowcat Ops) suggested highway guard rail as a possible choice to use for skis. Jon joined us and posted. I figured we should start a new thread to discuss SNOW TRAILERS


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As far as the sled-trailer, the guard rail is an interesting idea for skis. If I can come up with some interesting ideas, I'm going to build one out of aluminum this summer. Being that I have to drive stretches of dry highway on occasion, and having seen only one sled trailer ever, I'm going to steal an idea from this one found on Tim Wafer's page and use tires as well as skis.
-Jon

(http://www.timwafer.com/snocat.html)

 

[Melensdad]

I know that AKTIV made snow tailers for the Snow Tracs, but I'm not sure how they handled the ski/wheel concept. They did make several types of trailers, some were specialty units for hauling logs out of the woods, others were drag type trailers for grooming. But I know of at least one utility trailer that had a flat bed on it and skis. The log trailer had both skis and wheels.

I like the Tucker Sno-Cat trailer you posted above because of the dual wheel/ski configuration. I wonder if the wheels 'drop' for road use and can be 'raised' for snow use, or if they are a fixed position wheel with the tire always held just below the bottom of the ski?

One thing is certain, the skis would need to track in the path created by the tracks if it was pulled in deep snow or it would very likely cause problems.

 

[BigAl]

I saw a trailer listed with Safety One that was on tracks . It seems one could be built easily enough . Just a set of bogie tires and a tensioner of some type for the track adjustment . I think it would track better than skis ,but then again I have never towed one . I bet I could build one using industrial wheel barrow tires for bogies .
Has anyone ever tried to make a SNOW Camper trailer ??? Now that would be slick !!! Can you imagine pulling up to your favorite fishing spot or remote ski mountain with that in tow !!!!
Allen

 

[Melensdad]

Has anyone ever tried to make a SNOW Camper trailer ??? Now that would be slick !!! Can you imagine pulling up to your favorite fishing spot or remote ski mountain with that in tow !!!!
Allen

I'd like to see someone put a set of skis on one of these!

 

[BigAl]

Bob ,What can your Snowtrac tow , weight wise ? My Kristi can handle 2000 pounds and I would think it could tow that trailer pictured or one even bigger . I would want one big enough to take a break and relax in . Man !!This opens up all kinds of idea's !!!
Al

 

[BigAl]

HEY!!!

Where's MOUSE EAR MIKE at ??? We need his input on this .
He would know if this is feasible .

 

[Melensdad]

Bob ,What can your Snowtrac tow , weight wise ? My Kristi can handle 2000 pounds and I would think it could tow that trailer pictured or one even bigger . I would want one big enough to take a break and relax in . Man !!This opens up all kinds of idea's !!!
Al

An early brochure rated the Snow Trac ST4 is rated to carry 1100# while pulling 1100#. They did up the engine size at some point, I could guess the later models had more capacity, but that is only a guess. (another reference shows a Snow Trac pulling 16 skiers up hill so assuming 180# per skier, that would be close to 3000#) I would imagine the brochure rating is similar to a Kristi KT3, but considering the engine differences, it would be understandably lower than a KT7.

As for possibilities, I personally don't see pulling a camping tailer with my Snow Trac, but I would like to pull a tailer. I hope to be building a replica of a Snow Trac cargo trailer, but with one important modification. The modification I will add is a set of retractable or removable wheels. I have some photos (with some of the dimensions) of the orignal trailers & implements made by Aktiv. I can easily see using a small utility trailer around my property in both summer and winter, so I will include some sort of wheels that can be clamped on, or lowered for summer use and removed or raised for winter use. For summer use I'd just pull it with a tractor.

I suppose I could build the trailer to accomodate a camper shell or something that could be locked on top of the utility trailer, but I don't see me or the lovely Mrs_B going winter camping at this time in our lives. Winter camping in a tent using newspapers to inuslate the ground under my sleeping bag is something I used to do in my college years, but even in a camper I'm not sure that I'd want to winter camp now.

I have to admit, I do love the little teardrop trailers (by the way, you can buy plans for that trailer I posted for $60 from the DesertTearDrops website), and I will admit that the thought of building one intrigues me. It sure would be a fun project, just not practical for my use.

 

[gordon robertson]

snow trac trailers - thanks for the photo , the concept is just what i am thinking about... howver i now am thinking about building a new trailer with the abilities of also trailering the snow trac.. un- hitch and then transport it ....

great ideas from this strange group provided details regarding the use of guard rails for runners... that what this group is all about .. thanks for the ideas...

anyone for winter camping...................... family said they rather stay home , as i am attempting to build a trailer that will also work as a camper.... i'll keep you all posted...... grr .. p.s. this is not my wife..........

 

[Melensdad]

Here is a photo of an original Aktiv trailer designed for the Snow Trac/Snow Master's to pull.

It has no wheels, but it does have skis that are on pivots and capable of absobing some amount of bumps. The front of the skis are attached to the frame in front of the platform. They are also attached to the center of the frame. All the connection points swivel up/down and are probably greased with a simple zerk fitting.

According to the factory brochure, the trailer has a load carrying capacity of 3300# and the flat cargo bed area is 98.4" long by 67" wide. The width of the skis would have them placed pretty much in the middle of the track trail left by a standard Snow Trac ST4. I do not have overall dimensions of the trailer so I don't know how long the front tongue is or the length/width of the skis. I suppose they could be scaled out with a ruler.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Well the idea of the "W" guard rail was not mine originally. It came from a man who makes custom snowcat equipment sled trailers. He told me that the "W" guard rail tracks better than anything he has used or built. It will side hill unbeleivably and they can be ordered in almost any length. Get both ends flared and keep the center of the trailer ski width centered on your boggie wheels. I am currently having my new Snow Master transport trailer being made. I will have a couple of surprises to show you when that is done. I will then show you my new equipment trailer! Pics to come in about a month I believe.