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Street Legality

B

buzzboy

New member
First off I would like to say I have been looking around this site for a while and there seems to be some good info on here about tracked vehicles.

I recently found a older snowcat for sale and I was going to look into buying it(haven't found out exact model but will know tomorrow). I was wondering if anybody knew about either the street legality of tracked vehicles and if it would be easy to make one so.

I found an older(looks like 50-60's) cat. More really a tracked personnel vehicle. Pretty small. Proably 6' high, 6 wide and about ~10 long. Rubber tracks though so I am guessing that it would drive better on paved roads than something with metal tracks. What I want to do with it is use it as a Beach car for where I live in NC.

If anybody has info it will be greatly appreciated. I will have pics up tomorrow of my find to see if anybody can help with a little info about it.
 
Welcome ,
Other than Parades ,I think it would be pretty tough to make one street legal in the eyes of the law .
 
It seems as though I have often times seen people driving cats on the road.

What actually makes it street legal. I mean if 4 wheelers can be....

Really I just want to use it for beach driving but where I live the beach is federal land so the vehicle must be street legal.
 
buzzboy said:
What actually makes it street legal. I mean if 4 wheelers can be....
quote]

Turn signals and brake lights , A horn ,Emergency brake, Headlites, probably a slow moving vehicle placard, maybe a flasher and God knows what else .
Click to expand...
 
Hell, if that's it (god thats a lot)

Well, it could be a good project. I bet I can do it. Plus beach speed limit is only 15 so the slow moving plackard hopefully wouldn't be necessary.
 
Well keep us posted and get some pictures added if you buy it . Heck ! post some pictures even if you don't but it ! We like pictures . Good Luck tommorow.
Al
 
I would guess that most States are not keen on having tracked vehicles travel on their paved highways. It is forbidden here in Montana. I had a look at the NC statutes, and it looks like they're generally forbidden too. Here's a link to the statute copied below:

http://ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_20/gs_20-122.html

You could just try slapping a slow moving vehicle emblem on 'er and see what happens. If the tracks are all rubber, what's the harm? Good Luck!

§ 20‑122. Restrictions as to tire equipment.

(a) No vehicle will be allowed to move on any public highway unless equipped with tires of rubber or other resilient material which depend upon compressed air, for support of a load, except by special permission of the Department of Transportation which may grant such special permits upon a showing of necessity. This subsection shall have no application to the movement of farm vehicles on highways.

(b) No tire on a vehicle moved on a highway shall have on its periphery any block, stud, flange, cleat or spike or any other protuberance of any material other than rubber which projects beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire, except that it shall be permissible to use farm machinery with tires having protuberances which will not injure the highway and except, also, that it shall be permissible to use tire chains of reasonable proportions upon any vehicle when required for safety because of snow, ice or other conditions tending to cause a vehicle to slide or skid. It shall be permissible to use upon any vehicle for increased safety, regular and snow tires with studs which project beyond the tread of the traction surface of the tire not more than one sixteenth of an inch when compressed.

(c) The Department of Transportation or local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may, in their discretion, issue special permits authorizing the operation upon a highway of traction engines or tractors having movable tracks with transverse corrugation upon the periphery of such movable tracks or farm tractors or other farm machinery.

(d) It shall not be unlawful to drive farm tractors on dirt roads from farm to farm: Provided, in doing so they do not damage said dirt roads or interfere with traffic. (1937, c. 407, s. 85; 1939, c. 266; 1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1965, c. 435; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 34; 1979, c. 515.)
 
I would think it would be a lot more practical to look for a Pinzgauer 6x6 than a tracked vehicle.

Speed is another issue with snowcats. Other than some things like the Studebaker M29, most of the affordable tracked vehicles are going to have top speeds of about 20 to 25 mph. An M29 Weasel can do 50mph on the roads.

I do take my Snow Trac on the roadways, but it is considered a farm vehicle and follows the same laws as a farm tractor.
 
Snow Trac's, Trac Master's, & Snow Master's were designed to be "Street Leagle" and may be the only tracked snow vehicles to hold that distinction. They All came from the factory with: Head Lights, Brake Lights, Turn Signals, Running lights, a Horn and a License Plate light. My Late model Bombardier Bombi had brake lights and running lights, but no turn signals and no plate light. My Tucker's had running lights, but no Turn or Brake lights. I'm not sure what was on my KT3, but I don't believe it had any lights on the rear.
 
Lyndon said:
Snow Trac's, Trac Master's, & Snow Master's were designed to be "Street Leagle" and may be the only tracked snow vehicles to hold that distinction. They All came from the factory with: Head Lights, Brake Lights, Turn Signals, Running lights, a Horn and a License Plate light. My Late model Bombardier Bombi had brake lights and running lights, but no turn signals and no plate light. My Tucker's had running lights, but no Turn or Brake lights. I'm not sure what was on my KT3, but I don't believe it had any lights on the rear.
Click to expand...

Lyndon ,
FYI : My KT3 has 2 small tail lights but no turn signals or a lic frame .
 
The Bombarider SW48 have stop turn tail and rubber covered grousers but no light for the plate but a spot to put it. they were legal in New York
 
2 of the 23 machines I've owned had front and rear license plates on them when I purchased them. One was BC (Brittish Columbia) Larry Blum's rig, and the other was "Cold Bay" which had US Gov. FAA plates. Pictures of many machines in Scandinavian countries and a couple of European ones have plates on them. The Rare Polar Bear license Plate that is on my Logo is from the Northwest Territory. They are somewhat of a collectors item as they are no longer issued in the NWT. They were a gift courtesy of the canadian telephone company in White Horse. Back in Amherst Mass, at Pelham Auto, they used to service a VW Bus that had NWT Polar Bear Plates. When the owner put the vehicle up for sale no less than a hundred Massachusettes folks asked:" Do the plates come with the car?", "No the owner was retaining them for his own collection"
 
Well, it's a lot smaller than it looked from a distance. I am going to give the guy a call tonight and find out what he wants for her. Hopefully in my small price range for such items.
111423.jpg

111424.jpg
 
That looks like a Cushman Trackster with the floatation ring and a cab.

Cool :D
 
Thats a cushman trackster floating model but not to sure it would float with the top cab on very well they have a 29HP OMC 2 cycle from factory driving a hydrostatic pump but the popular conversion has been to use a 24hp Honda four stroke but when and if you do you should change the drive sprockets to 7 tooth if they are not. it has newer than factory tracks.
 
I remember reading on the cab that it has the 24 horse 4 stroke.

In the condition shown about how much do you think it would be worth. (tell me low so I don't feel bad)

EDIT: Oh, hydrostatic drive train. My lawnmower has one. Really fun to drive. I really like the "zero turn" stuff you can do.
Another question, about how fast does anybody think this thing could go? [insert malicious smiley]
 

From a picture its hard to tell the (real) condition of a machine with the four stroke conversion it brings the value up some the last one that we saw went for 6200.00

The four stroke does slow the machine down you have to remember that 6-7000 rpm compared to 3600 does show a reduction in speed. we did notice that this should not be considered a floater anymore they cut a hole it appears to install the front fan.....
 
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