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Tucker Rubber Track Bogie Questions

Track Addict

Track Addict

Bronze Member
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Looking to be schooled here. Being a newbie to rubber my tracks and grousers are new like and the bogies are in excellent shape as well as sprockets.

Someone mentione R and K wheels vs sno cat wheels. Mine has a few R and K. Any up or downside to these ? Have some spares but didn't look real close at what they were.

More pressing is the ice breaker wheel. It is my understanding these go on the rear of each carrier. Another cat for sale has R and K ones that looks like they are stepped like teeth but are rubber unlike the ice breaker material. What is the difference with these ?

Think one of the mechanics was not paying attention working on mine. I have 4 ice breakers three are on the rear position. One carrier has one in the front also and another has none. Clearly this is incorrect. Tech must have screwed up got
To the last track and said Tuck it they won't notice!

Thoughts?
 
Have you got the build sheet from Tucker to see what it shipped with? Mine shipped with urethane white but currently has 2 white that I rebuilt with UHMW and 2 newer standard aluminum hubs with a purple colored cast material. I think the ice breakers were originally optional and then phased out or discontinued. I haven't noticed if one works better than the other or if they do anything at all. I have been in conditions where the tracks were very tight because the snow was still getting packed in bogie track. I have never seen the notched rubber ones like you have.

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I actually don't have the notches ones but look at the 1443 for sale in Spokane . It does.

The standard kit had 5 neoprene wheels on each carrier. My build sheet says urathane wheels 4 places which must have been an option.

At some point I'll put the 4th one back where it belongs .
 
I was told to put the icebreaker wheel on the rear ,so as to clear the ice prior to the sprocket.? Don't have that cat anymore,my current one doesn't have them.
 
My impression is that when Tucker first offered the rubber belted tracks as an alternative to the steel tracks, they sourced the idler wheels (correct terminology from Tucker) from R&K. Then when the rubber belted tracks gained popularity Tucker decided to use their own wheels and presumably had those made to Tucker's specs by a vendor.

Tucker has experimented over the years with the wheels. Some have two-piece black centers that bolt together. I think the intent was that customers could just purchase a new rubber ring (or tire, if you prefer) and take the wheel apart to make the change. Same concept with the ice-breaker wheels as shown in Mill666er's photo.

They have also tried different compounds with the ice-breaker wheels. I have some that are a semi-transparent brown color and some that are a shade of light blue. Those I believe were a later version. My understanding is the ice-breaker wheel is made of a harder compound than the standard rubber idler wheel ,as it works better to break up the ice before heading to the sprockets. The ice-breaker wheel should be installed in the rear position on all carriers.
 
I support your impression, The R&K vendor (according to my local rep) made both. the Tucker spec is a Tucker only, R&K will not sell you one, The Cart wheel however is available, cheap, and uses the same bearing A-6 (non heavy duty). The/MY local Tucker expert retailed them back in the day, when he had a dealership and said the centers break out of the wheel over time. and they rode rougher. I have a full compliment on mine and carry spares should they take a poop on me.
The man who sold me my cat has a full compliment of the two piece wheels on his old body, new pontoon machine 75'.

I have seen plywood wheels used here in the wilds of Wisconsin to get out of the woods.,
 
I will have to take a closer look tomorrow . Two wheels are r and k bolt together but I believe the rubber says tucker sno cat on it.

I have also since learned my tracks are on backwards. Warm weather and no sno plenty of time.
 
I have a 1544 and have played around with ice breaker wheels. Run the ice breaker, hard compound in the rear. DO NOT run without an ice breaker! After destroying a wheel (siezed bearing in deep backcountry) I ran a regular wheel for a while instead of an ice breaker. The "internet experts" said no problem. Big problem. Several trips were fine but on a snowy day low on the mountain I found perfect icing conditions. Threw a track because the ice built up and allowed the track to walk off the sprocket. The track didn't come all the way off but with all the ice in there it was very difficult to pull the track enough to take the bolts out. We had to cut down a tree and build cribbing to jack the cat up in the snow. Taking off a track in the mountains next to a campfire just before dark is quite the experience. My cat now has three Tucker blue ice breakers and a yellow ice breaker remold from fall line. The remold is extremely hard but works great.
 
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