Timberline Lodge, April 22,23,23, 2018 last snowflake adventure

[Pontoon Princess]

What engine is in this Tucker? I ask because of the dual exhaust.

alum block 215

 

[3512b]

Mark Twain has a lot of great quotes. One of my favorites is something like "Better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're a fool, rather than open it and remove all doubt".

At the risk of violating that wisdom, could someone explain to me what is so great about a Snow Trac?

To me, the whole concept behind a snowcat is to be able to transport people and/or gear over snow, in virtually any snow conditions. A well packed road with wet snow are conditions one is pretty much guaranteed to face every year, and yet a Snow Trac can't handle it.

Is it a lack of power from the VW powerplant (that produces horsepower numbers rivaling a lawn tractor)?

Or is it a problem with traction from the cleats (calling them grousers would be an insult to real grouser bars everywhere)?

Is the Snow Trac name merely a marketing gimmick, because it sounds better than the apparently more accurate "Tundra Trac"?

I think it was Glacier Sean in another thread who suggested the Pontoon Princesses glowing endorsement of the Snow Trac was a "Jedi mind trick". I think he's right...

So, Snow Trac lovers everywhere, please educate me. (Note: much of the above was an attempt at humor. No disrespect was intended.) But I really would like to know what people see in them...

Maybe it's "the VW thing"? (Watching the first episode of the new NetFlix series Dirty Money will quash anyone's love, or respect, for anything Volkswagen related.)


Or is it "the cute thing"? (Some people find Herve Villachaiz or Verne Troyer "cute".)

Maybe it's one of those "If you have to ask, you just wouldn't understand situations"...

O thank god I am getting old and gray if I had hair it be gray but I am bald
And if I been there you sir would been a great source of amusement in my prime
I have had you spinning around your what ever and selling it for junk the next day

But o well so much for lost fun times

Think Red squirrel got a trucker snow trac story
As far as Mark Twain goes very familiar with his quotes and I fact his house in Hartford Ct I poured the Slab in the Carrage House there. Though he was not born there he played heavy on the Connecticut “yankey”
And one thing a Yankeyis is they are CHEEP!
And that’s the greatest thing bout a Snow Trac and the VW engine on the whole of it some hardwear store nuts and bolts some belting pop rivets zip ties a battery and some gas and it’s off to the races. And of course you have the old school tucker-and how maney grease zirks and rooler things you have to deal with fifth wheel etc. But if you got money to burn good on ya.

Me I cheep and lazy but that me
And of course there a old chestnut fave of mine
Ya can’t fix stupi.....let’s not go there

 

[DAVENET]

What engine is in this Tucker? I ask because of the dual exhaust.

And the best sounding Tucker on the hill!

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

Also please note the place I had issues was a 75% slope. And a human sunk past ankles, so well packed may be an overstatement.

Tom, I remember a video on youtube of a Snow Trac at Timberline from a couple of years ago stymied by pretty benign conditions that other machines, and there were a lot, just handled with ease.

When PP mentioned a Snow Trac again couldn't perform in the snow... I had to ask.

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

75%, seriously? That's steep, over 35 degrees, I wouldn't feel bad about that with 1.5" grousers. The current version of PB Scout with stock grousers is spec'd for up to 80% with "adequate adhesion".

Blackfoot Tucker, your comment about the purpose of snowcats is for hauling people or gear leaves out grooming as a key endeavor, but apparently the sno-trac clan haven't conceded that territory:

Dave, My apology. That was a gross oversight on my part. The 1972 Olympics were in Sapporo, Japan and they used a fleet of Snow Masters (or Track Masters) specially equipped for grooming. I personally have never seen one so equipped, and other than the photo you posted, have never seen a Snow Trac with grooming equipment.

 

[Pontoon Princess]

Jedi mind trick explained

first, in the food chain of over the snow transportation,

a tucker pontoon sno cat is one step above snow shoes...

but it is the one that will always get you home from the back country, and when you get your belted 2 track machine gets stuck, and who do you call? a Tucker pontoon sno cat, it is your best friend. that would also include, the 4 wheel drive pickup trucks that sno-surfer pulled out of the snow on his way to timberline on Monday, try that in a 2 track vintage machine.

tucker sno cat is designed to travel at speeds of about 5 mph, anything faster is causing a very high rate of wear and serious damage to the purse.

and from watching and listening to all the wishes and dreams of snow cat owners, 5 mph is not a worker but for a few that understand what a tucker sno cat does oh so well. gets you to places that no other snow cat can and then home, the smiles per mile are priceless.

No other snow cat has the history of Tucker Sno-cat

I must say, the concept of the pontoon tucker is brilliant, but the execution, well, what I will say, tucker pontoon machine, is without question the most expensive to restore if you choose to do a authentic and correct total restoration, poor old tucker's suffer from serious rust issues, expensive replacement rollers costs - even buying a low end priced roller at $40 plus dollars and multiply that by the 248 rollers needed, oh that comes to some serious money, and parts that are not available, i.e. you can not buy new grousers from your local NAPA store.

Matter of fact, you can not buy new parts for a pontoon tucker from the Factory other than rollers and un-hardened links

In the end, a snow trac is far less money to restore, maintain, store in the off season, easy to haul, and does not rust up solid from road salt and grit, and oh yeah, the fun factor is great

this is just a few of my observations

I think I will continue to endorse the purchase of a snow trac, and if you step back and consider all the wants, wishes, and expectations we have for a snow cat by the average vintage snow cat owner, snow trac is the best one for the money.

 

[Bombi1]

Princess

Curious to know if you have any Snowtracs in your stable?

 

[Pontoon Princess]

Princess

Curious to know if you have any Snowtracs in your stable?

yes and I also like Thiokols, matter of fact even have a Kristi or two

 

[Backyardski]

You didn't mention if any strays wandered into your barn from north of the border, have any of those?

 

[Sno-Surfer]

I also gave Bert Molner of Tree Frog Photgraphy a ride up and he just sent me these.

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

Jedi mind trick explained

first, in the food chain of over the snow transportation,

a tucker pontoon sno cat is one step above snow shoes...

but it is the one that will always get you home from the back country, and when you get your belted 2 track machine gets stuck, and who do you call? a Tucker pontoon sno cat, it is your best friend. that would also include, the 4 wheel drive pickup trucks that sno-surfer pulled out of the snow on his way to timberline on Monday, try that in a 2 track vintage machine.

tucker sno cat is designed to travel at speeds of about 5 mph, anything faster is causing a very high rate of wear and serious damage to the purse.

and from watching and listening to all the wishes and dreams of snow cat owners, 5 mph is not a worker but for a few that understand what a tucker sno cat does oh so well. gets you to places that no other snow cat can and then home, the smiles per mile are priceless.

No other snow cat has the history of Tucker Sno-cat

I must say, the concept of the pontoon tucker is brilliant, but the execution, well, what I will say, tucker pontoon machine, is without question the most expensive to restore if you choose to do a authentic and correct total restoration, poor old tucker's suffer from serious rust issues, expensive replacement rollers costs - even buying a low end priced roller at $40 plus dollars and multiply that by the 248 rollers needed, oh that comes to some serious money, and parts that are not available, i.e. you can not buy new grousers from your local NAPA store.

Matter of fact, you can not buy new parts for a pontoon tucker from the Factory other than rollers and un-hardened links

In the end, a snow trac is far less money to restore, maintain, store in the off season, easy to haul, and does not rust up solid from road salt and grit, and oh yeah, the fun factor is great

this is just a few of my observations

I think I will continue to endorse the purchase of a snow trac, and if you step back and consider all the wants, wishes, and expectations we have for a snow cat by the average vintage snow cat owner, snow trac is the best one for the money.

PP,

Thank you for that informative and insightful post!

I think though, that you've done a truly exemplary job of highlighting why the pontoon era Tucker's successor, the rubber belted Tuckers, are the machine to pursue.

Parts availability and cost (as well as maintenance) are the undoings of the pontoon equipped Tuckers. But those same issues apply to the Snow Trac , the Kristy and the Thiokol series, though to a lesser degree. Based on a recent Pisten Bully thread, parts availability may not be an issue, but parts cost certainly is (at least to me).

It seems there is always at least one thread running devoted to acquiring one obsolete and unobtainable Snow Trac part, or another. Snow Trac owners are forced to either try and have their worn out part reverse engineered and manufactured (a slow and expensive proposition), or try to find a used part in marginally better shape than the one they've got. That strikes me as a choice between lousy alternatives.

On the other hand, the owner of a rubber belted Tucker can dial 1 866 SNO CAT1 and very likely have new parts from the manufacturer shipped to him that very day. Many of the Tucker proprietary parts are available, and in stock. And the vast majority of non-Tucker proprietary parts are readily available at a well stocked auto parts store.

Admittedly rust is an issue, but with the exception of the windshield frame and cowl panels, everything else is very straightforward as far as fabricating replacement parts.

Between performance in virtually any snow condition, to (relative) comfort, reliability, ease of maintenance and repair, as well as parts availability and cost, the rubber belted Tucker reigns supreme! (Okay, maybe that was a little over the top.)

 

[Pontoon Princess]

yup a little over the top, I forgive you,

see you at the top and pretty sure the pontoon 500 will be waiting for you to get there

and they all lived happily ever after

 

[Logger1965]

And they all said "Amen" and the orange Tucker gods were pleased.
Also just my .02 I have had both track versions, and owned 2 of them yellow 2 track things from up north. Pontoon Tuckers will go where no other belted Tucker can tread.

 

[sno-drifter]

And they all said "Amen" and the orange . Pontoon Tuckers will go where no other belted Tucker can tread.

La verdad

 

[Cidertom]

Every cat has pluses and minuses.

I got a free beer after proving I could drift the snow trac. The timberline groomer operator said I couldn't do it. Free beer= +

Part of being a good operator is recognizing what your cat can and cannot do. So far when really required, my snow trac hasn't let me down. No it's not a 700 series tucker. Nor even a 500. But, for ease of trailering, and reasonable access it fits me pretty well (at least since I moved the drivers seat back 6") Find what you're happy with and enjoy.

 

[JimVT]

Hate to kill this topic but i haven't seen a cat that can do all yet. Prior to leaving jeff and i checked out the new model being tested at timberline. The engineer from the factory showed it to us.
Jeff in the operators seat in photo with factory engineer.
It was number 1 of that model and they wanted to put 200hrs on it to see if the changes worked ok prior to building more. Then it will be sold.
He was really interested in the snow trac and took lots of detailed photos.

You can get it in left or center seat or one that slides. Wires in all windows for heat and the front had really thin wires that were very hard to see.

 

[Pontoon Princess]

tanks a lot

 

[Red130]

Jim- Does your PB have heated windshield? My 130D's wires are not very noticeable in most conditions,but when the light is a certain way ("cloudy bright") the wires suddenly become a distraction.

 

[Pontoon Princess]

I go with Tom And Jim at least Alaska women think SnowTracs are hot! ( at least mine does )

Then again if a good time has been had and all got back safely its all good!
Sorry I missed it
Steve

I am convinced that if you knew all you needed was a Snow-Trac, for women be attracted to you...

and you probably thought, all you needed was to be rich, wrong

you would have bought one many many many years ago. right???

snow trac was the answer all along,

and that is why, for the money, the snow trac has it all....

women love snow trac's and the men that own them, right Mrs. C.Tom

 

[Sno-Surfer]

Is that the same Tank or were there two built?

 

[sno-drifter]

Is that the same Tank or were there two built?

It is the same Tank.

 

[JimVT]

Jim- Does your PB have heated windshield? My 130D's wires are not very noticeable in most conditions,but when the light is a certain way ("cloudy bright") the wires suddenly become a distraction.

No

 

[Nikson]

link to complete photo album to anyone wanting to see them...

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x2RpLX97SBmPNdeM8

youtube video is being uploaded of the footage I was able to record, didnt really come out the way I wanted to, but hey - being distracted by all the orange "things" on the hill and all the familiar faces - was a proper reason for not recording it the way I wished I did...

p.s. forgot the drone on Sunday (and it was NOT windy), so returned on Monday... but it blew like a "youknowwhat" - so, my apologizes - as to no drone footage...

 

[Nikson]

This should be the link for the video...

Video should be live and available to view by morning of April 30th, due to youtube's upload/processing procedures...

Enjoy!!!

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgZ-9Lc6K0I"]2018 Oregon Snowcat Jamboree - YouTube[/ame]

 

[bobby wilkes]

How did the super imp do on the steep hill ??

 

[Pontoon Princess]

How did the super imp do on the steep hill ??

well, the super IMP, did make up to silcox a couple of times each day, though not sure how it did when the snow and temp warmed up, do know the snow tracs did have issues when it warmed up,

must admit I was focused on the snow tracs and how the super kittens compared to them,

the super IMP got a free pass from the evil Tucker super kittens.

 

[Cidertom]

Showing once again that if you want a reliable ride, you want a Tucker Sno-Cat NOT a Aktiv SnowTrac. Buy Tuckers. Sell your Snow Tracs for whatever I'm willing to pay. Buy TUCKER! Even better, buy rubber tracked Tuckers you can get parts for.

 

[Nikson]

Showing once again that if you want a reliable ride, you want a Tucker Sno-Cat NOT a Aktiv SnowTrac. Buy Tuckers. Sell your Snow Tracs for whatever I'm willing to pay. Buy TUCKER! Even better, buy rubber tracked Tuckers you can get parts for.

Anyone really disappointed in their Snow-Trac, keep in mind I'll haul it away for free...

 

[Pontoon Princess]

Showing once again that if you want a reliable ride, you want a Tucker Sno-Cat NOT a Aktiv SnowTrac. Buy Tuckers. Sell your Snow Tracs for whatever I'm willing to pay. Buy TUCKER! Even better, buy rubber tracked Tuckers you can get parts for.

if you are foolish enough to buy a tucker pontoon sno cat, make sure the seller pays you to take it away...lots of money.

and without, question, a snow trac is best value for the money.

 

[Cidertom]

These are not the Sno-Cat's you are looking for.

Nope Princess, the Jedi mind trick not working. Look at the big articles, all say TUCKER. Not DMC, Not LMC, Not Thiokol, Not Aktiv, Not Bombardier, Not even Frandee. Tuckers. They all say the smart money is on Antique Tuckers. "Pontoons Baby, its where it's at"

I'm buying stock in grease gun manufacturing. Going to set up a latte/grease/ethanol operations with burgers (Grease for mind, gut as well as pontoons) Soon the whole world will know of the value of Pontoon Tuckers and the demand will cause the factory to re-tool for Pontoon production. New series 4000/5000 with Kevlar pontoons, Titanium grousers, Old style looks with new materials and technologies.