The continuing saga of Niksons 1402 IMP sn 129

[PJL]

Wow that thing runs great! Nice videos. You should think about a Machmeter and a pitot tube to get accurate speeds.

 

[turbinator62]

Now that the clutch is working right it actually moves along pretty good. A machmeter might work, but only with a 300 Knot head wind.

Now that I know how to do videos, Here is another short one. On the next trip I'll try to get some longer ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqrawCQwiF0

 

[PJL]

Nice, the headsets are a must have. I had a Sigtronics system installed in mine. It's hooked into the 2 radios and has 4 headsets.

 

[turbinator62]

I'm using a Flightcom intercom with military Astrocom headsets, but I modified them with parallel 1000 ohm phone elements and amplifiers on the dynamic mics to convert them to civilian avionics compatibility. Got everything on eBay for about $100.

 

[turbinator62]

Nice, the headsets are a must have. I had a Sigtronics system installed in mine. It's hooked into the 2 radios and has 4 headsets.

I see you are from western Washington. Where are you based?

 

[PJL]

We met in Leavenworth last year. King County.

 

[turbinator62]

Have you used the cat on any rescues this year?

 

[PJL]

Why yes I have. Used it twice last week. Friday we ran it up a mountain near North Bend to repair a repeater. Saturday we had a missing person call. Used the cat to tow a small pickup.

 

[turbinator62]

Just got back from another successful trip to the cabin. It takes about 30 minutes to make the 2.5 mile trip from where we store the cat with about a 1000 foot elevation gain. Downhill is about 25 minutes. More power than the 30hp I have really wouldn't do much good. Speed is limited by the snowmobile moguls in the road. The 1402 is so short that it really pitches on the whoop-di-doos. Like a bucking bronco if you go too fast.

I got some inside pictures of the cabin. It is off the grid with 150 watt solar charging 2 golf cart batteries. We have a roof fed cistern with a filtration- treatment system and a basement storage tank. A demand type RV water pump provides pressure to the bath and kitchen. An rv toilet and fixtures keep water usage to a minimum. We average about 10 gallons a day. Range, hot water and refrigeration are propane. A remote start 2kw inverter generator provides 110 when needed for the microwave, power tools and to charge the batteries when it is foggy which occurs a lot.

My wife and I built it in 2002 with help from a high school buddy. It was a log kit out of Canada. We had it livable in one summer of part time work. I made all of the log furniture on site from bug-kill trees cut from the property.

The inside temperature was 14 degrees when we got there but my wife is good at getting a hot fire going. In a couple of hours it was up to a balmy 41 at which time I took off my jacket. It was in the 60's when we went to bed. We have to drain and purge the water system with compressed air when we leave in the winter. Ours is one of the few off-grid cabins in the area with running water in the winter.

The snowcat makes going and coming in the winter so much easier and eliminates the uncertainty of using snowmobiles when you don't know what the extent of the snow cover is. It is worth every dollar I have put into it (a lot) Plus it will carry an extraordinary amount of gear in the rear cab. The hour meter is now at 36 hours since I have owned it. A lot of that was accumulated while working on it however.

I posted another video coming down our driveway. Lots of animal tracks in the road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUILQsp7wcE

 

[DAVENET]

Now THAT is a home away from home. And like everything else you do, ridiculous work on the furniture.

 

[DAVENET]

Depending on how long you stay in camp and/or how many trips you make up & down to your parking area it might be worthwhile make a small box drag. It wouldn't need to be big, could be left outside beside your storage box and would knock the tops off the whoops for smoother return trips.

 

[JimVT]

if it is a groomed snowmobile trail I wouldn't try smoothing it without checking with r&r grooming.

 

[turbinator62]

Depending on how long you stay in camp and/or how many trips you make up & down to your parking area it might be worthwhile make a small box drag. It wouldn't need to be big, could be left outside beside your storage box and would knock the tops off the whoops for smoother return trips.

Our roads are all private so there would be no problem grooming. I would be the hero of the hill. Where would I find a drawing or picture of how to make a box drag?

Here are a few more pictures of the cabin interior. We have 45 acres of which about 10 is wooded. Every year we lose 20-25 trees to pine bark beetles so we never run out of fire wood or furniture materials. I cut them down right away before they can deteriorate. I peel all the logs with a draw knife and hand chisel the tenons on a device I made that is like a vertical shave horse with a tractor seat and a foot operated rope clamp to make it easy to chisel the ends. I'm too cheap to buy a real tenon cutter, and I like the skip peel, hand hewn look better anyway. The only power tools I use are the saw to cut them, a palm sander, and forstner bits on a battery drill. I've made a number of beds and other items for friends and neighbors also. I enjoy making the furniture but it is hard on the arthritis in my hands so I don't do much of it anymore. My wife made all of the quilts.

 

[PJL]

What a beautiful place. I'm envious.

 

[DAVENET]

http://www.arrowheadgroomers.com/miniultras.htm

This can at least give you some ideas. As long as it has the angled cutting bars to chop off the tops, and the flat plate on the rear for smoothing out your work, you could build a size that works for you out of angle iron. I can't find it, but someone here had an old metal box spring w/ blocks attached to do his local stretch of trail. Not sure how that work if the whoops were set up though.

Edit: found it.
http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=73223&highlight=box+drag

 

[turbinator62]

Thanks Dave. That looks like it would be a good summer project. The commercial ones look like they would work the best on our road.

 

[MNoutdoors RIP]

Our roads are all private so there would be no problem grooming. I would be the hero of the hill. Where would I find a drawing or picture of how to make a box drag?

Here are a few more pictures of the cabin interior. We have 45 acres of which about 10 is wooded. Every year we lose 20-25 trees to pine bark beetles so we never run out of fire wood or furniture materials. I cut them down right away before they can deteriorate. I peel all the logs with a draw knife and hand chisel the tenons on a device I made that is like a vertical shave horse with a tractor seat and a foot operated rope clamp to make it easy to chisel the ends. I'm too cheap to buy a real tenon cutter, and I like the skip peel, hand hewn look better anyway. The only power tools I use are the saw to cut them, a palm sander, and forstner bits on a battery drill. I've made a number of beds and other items for friends and neighbors also. I enjoy making the furniture but it is hard on the arthritis in my hands so I don't do much of it anymore. My wife made all of the quilts.

Both of you and your wife have done some very nice work, craftperson type work.

 

[Snowcat Pat]

Inspiring!

-Pat

 

[sheep_mtn]

Our roads are all private so there would be no problem grooming. I would be the hero of the hill. Where would I find a drawing or picture of how to make a box drag?

I made a pretty basic drag out of 4x4's and put in some cutting teeth. It works pretty well for taking down the snowmobile whoops, but you might do better with angle iron in the PNW. Here's that thread:

http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=73223

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

That is a spectacular cabin, by any standard. That you and Mrs. Turbinator built the cabin (and all the furniture and beautiful quilts) makes it even more so.

I have great respect and admiration for your skills and talents. VERY IMPRESSIVE!!!

 

[turbinator62]

Thank you all for the nice comments. And thank you all again for helping me get the snowcat working right.

 

[turbinator62]

A cabin neighbor just emailed me. There is 3 feet of snow at the container where the cat is stored. Even more up above. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

 

[turbinator62]

I have found that my cat is difficult to back up with the rear cab. You just can't see much behind you. I found these back up camera systems on ebay.There are tons of them.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...k+up+camera.TRS1&_nkw=back+up+camera&_sacat=0

I got a wired one for less that 17 bucks. You can get a wireless version for less than 30. I am going to wire it to the accessory buss and just have it on all the time to use as a rearview mirror when under way.

I'll put it in when I bring the cat home in the spring and post the installation process. I haven't decided whether to put it at the top of the rear cab or down near the hitch. I'm thinking down near the hitch. My cat doesn't seem to accumulate a lot of snow on the frame just above the hitch. Any body else have experience with these?

 

[JimVT]

A cabin neighbor just emailed me. There is 3 feet of snow at the container where the cat is stored. Even more up above. I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

bring a shovel.

 

[turbinator62]

bring a shovel.

Been there, done that!

 

[cloudcap]

I'll put it in when I bring the cat home in the spring and post the installation process. I haven't decided whether to put it at the top of the rear cab or down near the hitch. I'm thinking down near the hitch. My cat doesn't seem to accumulate a lot of snow on the frame just above the hitch. Any body else have experience with these?

I'm toying w/ doing something similar on my Imp. I lean toward putting the camera under the rear deck down by the hitch -- it will be out of the way and won't be blocked by the people or cargo I haul in the back of the Imp. My one concern is how much snow will get flipped up in to that area and could occlude the camera.

I'm also trying to figure out how to rig up *two* cameras -- a wide angle one for backing up and one w/ a narrower field of view for when I'm moving forward. Things in the distance just disappear w/ the wide angle camera, so that makes it ineffective as a replacement for a rear view mirror. I've found a switch that can toggle between the two cameras, but I don't know if the Imp's front transmission (Borg Warner T-96) has a reverse switch. I suppose I could use a toggle on the dash, but it would be more convenient to automatically switch between cameras.

Ron

 

[turbinator62]

Most of the backup monitors have 2 inputs. One for backup and one for other video signals. When it senses a signal on the backup camera, it switches to that signal. When it goes away, the other input comes through. The backup camera is activated by the backup lights in a normal installation. You really wouldn't need a camera switch. It might be possible to put a limit switch on the shifter or failing that just a switch on the dash. It only has to provide power to the backup camera. The change from one camera to the other is automatic.

I have checked the area above the hitch on mine after a run and it doesn't seem to collect too much snow.

 

[turbinator62]

I got the back up camera today. It only took 11 days from China. This thing was only $16.78 on ebay and it works great. I got the hard wired unit that has a single cable with battery leads molded in. Just plug in the camera and monitor and add 12 volts and it works. The camera is only about 3/4" in diameter. It swivels on its base so you can mount it upside down or at any angle and rotate it for level. The warning markers seem to be about 3 feet to the end of the green. I plan to have it come on with accessory power so it will be on all the time. There are other versions with wireless cameras and dual inputs for less than $30.

This is the one I got
http://www.ebay.com/itm/322313646112?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

The cable on this one is about 13.5 feet plus about 18" on the monitor and the camera which is enough for my cat but may be too short for others in which case the wireless version may be better.

We are heading to Hawaii for 2 weeks for my wife's post winter warmup. Still a lot of snow at the cabin so there will probably still be some when we get back. Our friends are having a bridal shower for my cousins daughter at their cabin up the mtn. from ours on April 8th. So I might be ferrying guests up in the cat.

When the snow clears I'll bring it home for routine maintenance and install the backup camera.

 

[turbinator62]

We just got back from the cabin yesterday. I had planned to bring the cat home for service and to install the back up camera but decided to wait after looking outside. Just as we started loading the truck, we got 2" of snow. The pervious morning there were 6 bull elk outside the kitchen window and everything was green.. This winter just doesn't want to give up. This is on the 16th of May for crying out loud. 2 years ago we had zero snow all winter.

 

[JimVT]

it seems a late winter but I heard were in for a dry summer. the tracks started to come off mine so it could replace a timing belt then I stopped and decided to hold off a few weeks.