Aaron Tucker
Active member
thats quit the load !
I know how you feel . We packed 4 adults and 2 kids in my trooper . The back was fully loaded to snowmobile ,keg ,kooler,snowboards,avy bags and totes.its crazy what you can bring in the back country
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The continuing saga of Niksons 1402 IMP sn 129
- Thread starter turbinator62
- Start date
thats quit the load !
I know how you feel . We packed 4 adults and 2 kids in my trooper . The back was fully loaded to snowmobile ,keg ,kooler,snowboards,avy bags and totes.its crazy what you can bring in the back country
turbinator62
Active member
I like seeing people using their cats for family fun. Great memories.
turbinator62
Active member
While researching the Carbraze for ice traction, I found these. They are made by Mustad for horse shoes. They have 3/8 or 5/16 threads and come in various sizes. They cost about a buck a piece. I'm thinking 2 in every fifth (high) grouser. It would take 44. They are fairly low profile so wouldn't tear things up too bad when in not in snow. I would just have to drill and tap the wear pads. When on a hard surface, the drop center type grousers only have 3/4" X 4-1/2" contact with the ground per grouser.
Think they would do any good?
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A quick search couldn't find them, but there was a style of ice caulks that drive into a tapered hole in the horse shoe. Much lower profile, but still had the carbide tip. I would worry that that high of a threaded caulk would make the problem even worse in raising the effective height of the high grousers further.
turbinator62
Active member
I forgot the link to the website https://www.well-shod.com/products/mustad-ice-studs-1903.html
I think the short stud they sell is about 5/16 tall. There is plenty of thickness to thread them in.
This summer I welded on 3/4 X 1/4 X 4-1/2 steel wear pads to every grouser as they were pretty worn out when I got the cat. The grousers are actually all the same height, but every fifth one has a plate that is welded to the grouser that runs the full width at the same height as the center before I welded on the new wear pads. The high grousers are to increase the deep snow ability without overloading the 30 hp engine or the OC-4 transaxle which could be the case if they all had the plate. It does ok for what I am using it for, except on the ice.
They cost about 50 bucks for 50 and I could install them on the cat without welding or pulling the tracks. I also saw the drive in type, but I would be afraid of them getting loose and falling out.
I found lots of ATV studs for rubber tracks and tires but they have more of a sheet metal type screw thread. I never imagined that horseshoes would use something like this.
I think the short stud they sell is about 5/16 tall. There is plenty of thickness to thread them in.
This summer I welded on 3/4 X 1/4 X 4-1/2 steel wear pads to every grouser as they were pretty worn out when I got the cat. The grousers are actually all the same height, but every fifth one has a plate that is welded to the grouser that runs the full width at the same height as the center before I welded on the new wear pads. The high grousers are to increase the deep snow ability without overloading the 30 hp engine or the OC-4 transaxle which could be the case if they all had the plate. It does ok for what I am using it for, except on the ice.
They cost about 50 bucks for 50 and I could install them on the cat without welding or pulling the tracks. I also saw the drive in type, but I would be afraid of them getting loose and falling out.
I found lots of ATV studs for rubber tracks and tires but they have more of a sheet metal type screw thread. I never imagined that horseshoes would use something like this.
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I used to do a fair amount of forge work. Not Farrier, but back then the catalogs had a lot of horsey stuff in them. Someday I will get the forge back in operation and have some fun. Steel bends so much easier when it is bright cherry. That and sometimes you just want to beat something with a hammer (beating the co-worker gets you talked about, substitute a steel bar)
Let us know how it turns out,
CT
turbinator62
Active member
In my world we called it the old "Heat n Beat" technique. Nothing bigger than an acetylene torch would make red. I did make 3 new grousers for the cat that way.
turbinator62
Active member
Most of the snow had melted at our cabin since our last trip up. It had been pretty skimpy all winter. We decided to come up yesterday (16 Feb). The roads were bare with a few patches of ice here and there and 39 deg. We came all the way up to the cabin in our Tahoe no problem. I figured winter was pretty much over. Temps were forecast for the high 40's to 50 today with rain.
This is what we woke up to this morning. 8 inches and snowing hard. I chained up the car, got it down to the bottom and brought up the cat. Not long after that we had a white out blizzard with blowing snow. It's still snowing at 5 pm.
There is no more secure feeling than sitting in a warm cabin with a snowcat outside knowing you will make it down the mountain safely no matter what. I
my snowcat.
This is what we woke up to this morning. 8 inches and snowing hard. I chained up the car, got it down to the bottom and brought up the cat. Not long after that we had a white out blizzard with blowing snow. It's still snowing at 5 pm.
There is no more secure feeling than sitting in a warm cabin with a snowcat outside knowing you will make it down the mountain safely no matter what. I
my snowcat.Attachments
JimVT
Bronze Member
or a post and a fleet of cats to your rescue.Most of the snow had melted at our cabin since our last trip up. It had been pretty skimpy all winter. We decided to come up yesterday (16 Feb). The roads were bare with a few patches of ice here and there and 39 deg. We came all the way up to the cabin in our Tahoe no problem. I figured winter was pretty much over. Temps were forecast for the high 40's to 50 today with rain.
This is what we woke up to this morning. 8 inches and snowing hard. I chained up the car, got it down to the bottom and brought up the cat. Not long after that we had a white out blizzard with blowing snow. It's still snowing at 5 pm.
There is no more secure feeling than sitting in a warm cabin with a snowcat outside knowing you will make it down the mountain safely no matter what. I
turbinator62
Active member
We brought the cat back home last week for summer maintenance and inspection, oil change etc. I also wanted to install some ice studs in the grousers. We get a lot of ice on our steep roads due to water seeps in the road cuts which freezes and can get very thick. The last 2 years have been particularly exciting going up and down.
Cidertom suggested products made for horseshoes. A company called Mustad makes screw in carbide studs that look like they would do the trick so I got a box of 50. They are about a buck apiece.
I made mounting plates from 1/4 X 3/4 flat bar and drilled and tapped a 3/8-16 hole about an inch from the outer end. I decided to put the studs on every fifth grouser (high). There are 11 high grousers per side with 2 studs on each. 44 total studs. This will put about 8 studs in contact with the ground on each side. (about the same as a car with studded tires) My grousers have been repaired and welded on so many times over the last 50 years that each one was a custom job. Way more work than I thought it was going to be.
I made a welding gauge from the same 1/4" stock that puts the stud mounts 1/4" lower than the wear pad. When installed, the stud will be about 3/16" higher than the wear pad. Hopefully that is enough to bite into the ice without hanging down too far.
The nice thing about the screw in type is they can be removed or replaced fairly easily.
Just have wait for winter now to see how it works.
Cidertom suggested products made for horseshoes. A company called Mustad makes screw in carbide studs that look like they would do the trick so I got a box of 50. They are about a buck apiece.
I made mounting plates from 1/4 X 3/4 flat bar and drilled and tapped a 3/8-16 hole about an inch from the outer end. I decided to put the studs on every fifth grouser (high). There are 11 high grousers per side with 2 studs on each. 44 total studs. This will put about 8 studs in contact with the ground on each side. (about the same as a car with studded tires) My grousers have been repaired and welded on so many times over the last 50 years that each one was a custom job. Way more work than I thought it was going to be.
I made a welding gauge from the same 1/4" stock that puts the stud mounts 1/4" lower than the wear pad. When installed, the stud will be about 3/16" higher than the wear pad. Hopefully that is enough to bite into the ice without hanging down too far.
The nice thing about the screw in type is they can be removed or replaced fairly easily.
Just have wait for winter now to see how it works.
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On my st4, the two bolt heads for the center band stick up by their height. The one place I had ice this year, they did help the slip. Waiting to see how yours turn out. I'm thinking that if I still need help that I might do the carbraze on top of the bolt head. Of course that will hurt the grade 8 rating. But with the distributed loading, perhaps not too much.
CT
CT
turbinator62
Active member
I thought about carbrazing the wear pads after you told me about the process. While researching the carbraze, I found the threaded studs. My thinking was they could easily be removed/replaced. It has turned out to be more work than I thought to modify the grousers to take the studs but I wanted to make it so it could be repaired without having to remove a grouser in the future.
Carbrazing the bolt heads on yours would still give you the same remove/replace option. In a pinch I could also carbraze a short bolt to replace a stud.
I was kind of surprised to see how much a rod of carbraze cost. I don't know how much it would take to do a cat. The studs were about 50 bucks for a box of 50 of which I will use 44 so I'll have a few spares left over.
I hope 3/16 protrusion is enough.
Thanks again for the heads up. I never would have thought about farrier products for a snowcat.
Carbrazing the bolt heads on yours would still give you the same remove/replace option. In a pinch I could also carbraze a short bolt to replace a stud.
I was kind of surprised to see how much a rod of carbraze cost. I don't know how much it would take to do a cat. The studs were about 50 bucks for a box of 50 of which I will use 44 so I'll have a few spares left over.
I hope 3/16 protrusion is enough.
Thanks again for the heads up. I never would have thought about farrier products for a snowcat.
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turbinator62
Active member
While I had the cat in the shop I also hard wired it for the groomer we bought last year. It just has an electric jackscrew to raise and lower the front of the unit with the tongue. I used a 4 pin metal type trailer plug on the rear bulkhead.
I have kept the cat in my friends 40' container for the last 5 years but last winter he bought a Ranger Crew with tracks. It was getting a little crowded in there. At he same time, his son in law's neighbor had to sell a 20' container because he was moving. I got it for 1000 bucks. My buddy with the 40' was doing some dirt work this spring so while the equipment was there he had a spot graded and graveled for it. With transportation and grading the total was about $2500. A good deal I think, plus the timing was perfect. It's good to have friends. Last week I put vents in the doors and a turbine vent on the roof of the other end. The wind is always blowing over there so that will keep air moving though and melted snow from raising the humidity inside to a million percent and rusting everything.
The nice thing about the 1402/1404 cats with a standard track is they will fit in an 8' wide space. I marked the floor as a guide so I can get it over to the right as far as possible in order to be able to get my fat a** down the side and in the door. There was even room left over for a small single sled folding snowmobile trailer in the back.
I have kept the cat in my friends 40' container for the last 5 years but last winter he bought a Ranger Crew with tracks. It was getting a little crowded in there. At he same time, his son in law's neighbor had to sell a 20' container because he was moving. I got it for 1000 bucks. My buddy with the 40' was doing some dirt work this spring so while the equipment was there he had a spot graded and graveled for it. With transportation and grading the total was about $2500. A good deal I think, plus the timing was perfect. It's good to have friends. Last week I put vents in the doors and a turbine vent on the roof of the other end. The wind is always blowing over there so that will keep air moving though and melted snow from raising the humidity inside to a million percent and rusting everything.
The nice thing about the 1402/1404 cats with a standard track is they will fit in an 8' wide space. I marked the floor as a guide so I can get it over to the right as far as possible in order to be able to get my fat a** down the side and in the door. There was even room left over for a small single sled folding snowmobile trailer in the back.
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turbinator62
Active member
"Hopefully" fire proof. After the Snag Canyon fire a few years ago, some friends had their snowmobiles and generator etc. in a 40 footer surrounded by trees. The container was undamaged, but when they opened it up there were puddles of melted aluminum with crankshafts, rods and a few ball bearings laying on the floor. It was just a big Easy Bake oven. It had to have gotten REALLY hot in there. The remains of the sleds are now artwork decorating their deck.
I have gravel all around with just grass and some sage brush around that. Hopefully it will be ok.
I have gravel all around with just grass and some sage brush around that. Hopefully it will be ok.
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turbinator62
Active member
sno-drifter
Bronze Member
Here is a two track which endured a wild fire in a container near Bakersfield CA and came out unscathed. Plenty of rubber to catch fire and nun of it charred. You should be fine having no fuel around the container.
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turbinator62
Active member
We had another easy trip to the cabin with our usual load. 4 totes, 4 duffle bags, snowmobile gear, guns, propane, gas, 2 coolers, a bale of hay (for the deer) bird seed, and an extra special cargo this year, a 40 pound bag of cats. (Plus kitty litter and cat food). We inherted 2 big cats from our sons friend last October. He got a new job and couldn't take them with him. They seemed to handle the trip ok. The snow cat is so loud we couldn't hear them howling even if they were. They like it at the cabin though. Lots of things to see out the windows. Dozens of deer and a flock of wild turkeys. Dublin (fuzzy butt) is on the beam and Woody is looking out the window. They are good cats but neither is the brightest bulb of the litter. They wouldn't last 5 minutes in the wild.
It was in the 20's when we got here on Thursday, with about 10 inches at our place. Then Friday night it warmed up to 35 and poured rain on Saturday. Much of the road is bare. What wasn't bare was sloppy slush and white water rapids. Typical Washington winter. Now it's back in the 20's and everything is covered in ice. Yuck. So much for snowmobiling this trip.
The cat ran great as usual. The new ice studs seem to help although it did skate around a little on the icy parts. Not as bad as before. Studs on every grouser would probably be better. The back up camera works well when backing up to the porch. Since the clutch fix I can make it most of the way up the hill in 3rd gear, shifting down to 2nd for the steep parts. The trip up is about 25 minutes, and down about 20 minutes in 3rd. 4th gear down hill is a little too fast for me.
I did a 2.5 mile measured run down the hill and back starting with a full tank. (5 miles round trip). It used 1.25 gallons. So 4 miles per gallon. That's better than the 2.5 mpg I thought it was. Yay.
Now I need to update the brochure.
Tonight we are going up the hill to our friends for the annual Table Mountain New Year's Party and Fireworks. So Happy New Year to all of you.
It was in the 20's when we got here on Thursday, with about 10 inches at our place. Then Friday night it warmed up to 35 and poured rain on Saturday. Much of the road is bare. What wasn't bare was sloppy slush and white water rapids. Typical Washington winter. Now it's back in the 20's and everything is covered in ice. Yuck. So much for snowmobiling this trip.
The cat ran great as usual. The new ice studs seem to help although it did skate around a little on the icy parts. Not as bad as before. Studs on every grouser would probably be better. The back up camera works well when backing up to the porch. Since the clutch fix I can make it most of the way up the hill in 3rd gear, shifting down to 2nd for the steep parts. The trip up is about 25 minutes, and down about 20 minutes in 3rd. 4th gear down hill is a little too fast for me.
I did a 2.5 mile measured run down the hill and back starting with a full tank. (5 miles round trip). It used 1.25 gallons. So 4 miles per gallon. That's better than the 2.5 mpg I thought it was. Yay.
Now I need to update the brochure.Tonight we are going up the hill to our friends for the annual Table Mountain New Year's Party and Fireworks. So Happy New Year to all of you.
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turbinator62
Active member
We call my wife the Squirrel God Mother. She has gone through 2500 pounds of sunflower seeds in 16 years. Our squirrels are very happy and healthy.
turbinator62
Active member
These cats wouldn't know what to do with a squirrel even if they caught it. If the food doesn't come out of a can or bag they won't eat it. They don't like to get their feet wet or dirty either.
turbinator62
Active member
Made it up to the cabin for the weekend. Not much snow down below but about 10-12 " from the treeline on up. Lots of ice on the road as you can see. No issues with skating. The studs are doing their job.
Hoping to do some snowmobiling this trip. Temps are in the 30s and the snow is mealy but rideable. Last time it warmed up and got slushy.
I just got back from a round trip down to the storage containers. My neighbor left home and forgot his keys so I went down and unlocked it. Most of us have keys to each others places in case of emergency.
On the way down I used 4th gear on the bare parts of the road. It scoots along pretty good but is a rough ride. Down hill in 4th I can pull the engine back to idle. Maybe I can get the mileage up to 5 mpg!?
Hoping to do some snowmobiling this trip. Temps are in the 30s and the snow is mealy but rideable. Last time it warmed up and got slushy.
I just got back from a round trip down to the storage containers. My neighbor left home and forgot his keys so I went down and unlocked it. Most of us have keys to each others places in case of emergency.
On the way down I used 4th gear on the bare parts of the road. It scoots along pretty good but is a rough ride. Down hill in 4th I can pull the engine back to idle. Maybe I can get the mileage up to 5 mpg!?
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turbinator62
Active member
Hi Nik.
You will be at the top of my list when the time comes. Right now you would have to take on my wife over it, which is a task I would wish on no mortal man. Initially she was somewhat skeptical of the snow cat idea, and the cost involved, but now she is totally on board. That is mostly due to the way you did the rebuild. Now, what the snow cat needs, it gets. Storage container? Do it. Back up camera? Git er done.
This machine has changed the winter trips to our cabin from a stressful, uncertain ordeal to a comfortable, reliable and safe journey. Even our cats like it. The way the last couple of winters have been, we would not have been able to do it with snowmobiles. I consider it my good fortune to have been able to buy it from you. Hard to believe that was 6 years ago. I've logged about 150 miles and 50+ hours in it so far.
With all of the experience you have now, you could build a SUPERCAT that could take your whole family winter camping.
I would still rather have this cat than a side-by-side with tracks. It just seems like a more sustantial vehicle and will carry whatever you can cram into it. Too bad no one makes these anymore.
You will be at the top of my list when the time comes. Right now you would have to take on my wife over it, which is a task I would wish on no mortal man. Initially she was somewhat skeptical of the snow cat idea, and the cost involved, but now she is totally on board. That is mostly due to the way you did the rebuild. Now, what the snow cat needs, it gets. Storage container? Do it. Back up camera? Git er done.
This machine has changed the winter trips to our cabin from a stressful, uncertain ordeal to a comfortable, reliable and safe journey. Even our cats like it. The way the last couple of winters have been, we would not have been able to do it with snowmobiles. I consider it my good fortune to have been able to buy it from you. Hard to believe that was 6 years ago. I've logged about 150 miles and 50+ hours in it so far.
With all of the experience you have now, you could build a SUPERCAT that could take your whole family winter camping.
I would still rather have this cat than a side-by-side with tracks. It just seems like a more sustantial vehicle and will carry whatever you can cram into it. Too bad no one makes these anymore.
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KT3survivor
Active member
this is the kind of snowcat build everyone wants to own. your skill set is clearly top notch (i liked the airbox most) thanks for posting all the details including the cabin itself.