I can't let the Tuckers and Nottinghams have all of the fun. Took the guys out cat skiing on Vail pass Saturday. We explored the Boss basin hybrid route. The snow was great but disappearing fast. Maybe if we are lucky it will snow some more and warrant another trip this season. Thanks to the owner of the Prinoth Trooper, I added the extra fuel pump like you suggested and I have full power on steep hills now. Unfortunately I have developed another fuel issue and mystery. Seems to be vapor lock but not sure. Does the picture of the 4 door tucker mean that Travis was able to fix his cat?
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Vail Colorado Snow cat Jamboree 2017
- Thread starter Aaron Tucker
- Start date
Hello Red130, the Boss basin hybrid route is road #10 on the map. It is west of machine gun ridge. It is one of the areas that the forest service set aside for cat or snowmobile skiing. The road is groomed and it is easy to get a lot of ski laps in. The skiing is fun, some rocks and stuff to play on.
Archmage - glad to hear that you were able to fix your cat without a ton of hassle. I am sure you saw but one of the jamboree videos has you coming down in the powder. I didn't think anyone got that on video but I am glad they did. After seeing all of the tucker sno cats up close at the jamboree I have decided to save up and buy one. I am thinking a sedan style like a 1443 or 1743.
Archmage - glad to hear that you were able to fix your cat without a ton of hassle. I am sure you saw but one of the jamboree videos has you coming down in the powder. I didn't think anyone got that on video but I am glad they did. After seeing all of the tucker sno cats up close at the jamboree I have decided to save up and buy one. I am thinking a sedan style like a 1443 or 1743.
Sean,
I don't want to hijack this thread, but in some ways the sedan models, as built by Tucker, have some negative aspects that I think you should think about. This is my opinion only, and is not meant to step on any toes, but I think this may be useful information for you.
The earlier style XX43's had the fuel tank inside the cab, whereas later models had the tank mounted outside. The major drawback is the tank takes up interior space. That's kind of one of those "you can't be too rich, or too thin things" in that with a Tucker you can't have too much interior space.
Over the years Tucker has widened the cabs somewhat. I had a 1979 model with a 48" wide cab, and I've had three 1980 models with 52" wide cabs. Four inches doesn't seem like much, but I promise you, the difference is significant.
From the photo in your post I'm somewhat assuming the idea of getting a Tucker sedan is to go back country boarding/skiing with your friends. Two forum members with Tucker sedans have posted photos of themselves with friends and/or family members inside. If my memory is right, all of the photos show children of various ages and/or women in back. Now think about replacing them with adult men and you can see things would get tight pretty quickly.
One of my big complaints of the later model Tuckers (after they moved the gas tank to the exterior) is Tucker installed a really goofy "bulkhead" just behind the front seats. This effectively divides the cab into front and back, but it's worse, much worse. The vertical members of the bulkhead are a few inches inside from the exterior sheet metal and the top crossbar is about four inches below the roof. That puts it very close to front seat occupants heads. Yes, I'm pretty tall at 6'4", but you can be quite a bit shorter and still have the threat of smacking your head.
My snowcat buddy and I have a 1643 that we are modifying for another forum member and one of the modifications we've done is remove that stupid bulkhead and replace it with a roll bar that follows the perimeter of the cab; the sides and roof. We think it significantly opens up the interior, and removes the crossbar threat. It's not an easy mod, and takes some time, but we think it's well worth doing.
Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions.
Red130
Member
OK got it, I see it is marked as "Low Use". Should have looked at a map before I asked., but thanks.
Aaron Tucker
Active member
If my memory serves me right my 743 is 57in wide and holds 12 people
I love it alot more then my 1342Thanks Blackfoot tucker for the information. I like the build quality of the tuckers and that my 4x4 mechanics recognize most of the parts. So I said to myself "OK if I like the tucker cats what can I afford and of the cats that I could afford witch would be the best option for taking my friends backcountry skiing?". By backcountry I mean both cat trail access and make your own trail access so it has to be very capable. My friends and I are mostly child size so that helps but I understand the cab size issue. I Also liked the social aspect of everyone being in the cab with me and the warm factor. Also thought I could maybe sleep in it instead of on the ground. I am trying to buy a tucker222 at the moment and don't have the money to get a 1443 or 1743 so it is kinda pointless to ask and I probably shouldn't open Pandoras box but what is the best cat for my needs? Are you suggesting a 4 door tucker or something from another company. Aaron I like your suggestion of a 743 but I think you have the only one.
Think some of you know this cat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBY9DuteI7o
They have an 8 pack in there.
My 73 1443 is roomy for six and a day of transport for backcountry 8 adults if you wanted to fit them. The knee room does get tight in the back once you cross the 2 facing 2 especially with gear on.
Good luck with that Kitten they are cool but some might call them more of a novelty than a useful sno cat. I will share a lesson I learned buying a kitten sight unseen that did not end with it coming back east due to how it was represented in the ad vs real life. Kitten parts are at the top of tucker difficulty list for getting or fixing!
But I would like to see it on the forum so my sno wishes are with you!
They have an 8 pack in there.
My 73 1443 is roomy for six and a day of transport for backcountry 8 adults if you wanted to fit them. The knee room does get tight in the back once you cross the 2 facing 2 especially with gear on.
Good luck with that Kitten they are cool but some might call them more of a novelty than a useful sno cat. I will share a lesson I learned buying a kitten sight unseen that did not end with it coming back east due to how it was represented in the ad vs real life. Kitten parts are at the top of tucker difficulty list for getting or fixing!
But I would like to see it on the forum so my sno wishes are with you!
Archmage
New member
I cannot find the video with me coming down in the powder, can you send me a link? Thanks
Sean,
In the Tucker world if you want to carry more than four people total (driver plus three passengers) you'll need a sedan. I've seen XX44's listed as "4-5 passengers", but that's simply not true, unless you're talking very small people in the rear seat. For example coach seats in an airliner are about 18" wide, and they are anything but roomy. Three times 18 is 54 which is wider than a Tucker cab. Now think about wearing a heavy coat... There are older models like Aaron's 743, as well as newer machines that you would need serious money to buy, and they would do the job well, but for us financial mortals the XX43 is the machine. The comments that follow are my opinion only, and others may disagree with them. My comments are based on my experience with four Tuckers and used at higher elevations in Utah.
The video Track Addict linked shows the bulkhead situation at about the 1:45 point. Notice the helmets, and their close proximity to the crossbar.
You've indicated a preference for 1443 or a 1743, but I think you should consider the sedan model spectrum's relative attributes. For example, what track length, engine and transmission do you want, in addition to other options such as a front blade or a winch. Realize the more particular you are, the harder the machine will be to find. I've been told by Tucker that only about 3-5% of their production were sedan models. Tucker's production volume was pretty low in that they built about 100 machines or so a year. So maybe five sedans a year over roughly a ten year period. Not a lot of inventory out there...
Colorado can get great snow years and, especially at higher elevations, you can have some serious snow. In deep powder I think a long track (1600 or 1700 series) machine is preferable to a mid length or short track machine.
The physics of atmospheric pressure and elevation is also something you should think about. As a general rule, a normally aspirated engine loses about three percent of it's power for every 1,000 feet of elevation change. So at 10,000 feet you're down 30%. Ouch!
If you have a need to cross side-hills the front six-way blade is a very nice feature. Tucker built two versions. One allowed you to tilt the blade off the longitudinal axis of the machine, and the other allowed you to "curl" the blade, essentially changing the blades angle of attack. I would say you would want the former style.
An automatic transmission is a very nice feature. Honestly it's something of a game changer, as with a manual you basically come to a stop when you change gears. You can't get a run at a hill because when you need to downshift you'll stop. With an automatic - it's no problem. Tucker offered two automatic transmission options for a while. One was a Chrysler LoadFlite. Basically a heavy-duty TorqueFlite, it's a three speed transmission. However, and this is important, Chrysler offered this with either a long or short tailshaft. Tucker used the short version and there were issues with the tailshaft housing cracking. My understanding is short tailshaft housings are VERY hard to find. They also offered the Allison AT-545, which is a four-speed, non overdrive transmission and Tucker used these for several years. They are a medium duty truck transmission and Allison built them for decades and sold a huge number of them.
Something else for consideration is who are you buying it from. There are some reputable snowcat sellers, and others who are anything but, and there's a lot of junk out there. There's a big opportunity to pay way too much money for a machine in bad shape. If you get nothing else from this post, take this advice. Do your homework, figure out what you want, and when it comes to evaluating a particular machine, as Ronald Reagan famously said, "Trust, but verify"....
'' Something else for consideration is who are you buying it from. There are some reputable snowcat sellers, and others who are anything but, and there's a lot of junk out there. There's a big opportunity to pay way too much money for a machine in bad shape. If you get nothing else from this post, take this advice. Do your homework, figure out what you want, and when it comes to evaluating a particular machine"
Could not agree more. Over the last 25 years or so we have bought hundreds of machines from many many people,companies,auctions. Many unseen only in pictures. But one source stands out alone we had bought on different occasions " low hour machines" but when they arrived they were anything but. So one time when I was traveling I happened to swing buy this sources shop. And as walking through the shop I happened to spot a bench with a half of dozen hour meters
All sitting in a row hooked up to a power source. So I never have trusted a hour meter since that time forward.
Driving and looking at machine can never be replaced with pictures.
And don't expect to buy a inexpensive machine and not have to do some things to it.
Most on here can't afford new,most all new snowcats are now over 100K and many are looking for a deal. When buying new there is a warranty used machines that have been rebuilt can also carry a warranty. We have offered this
on rebuilt machines before. It's always best to stick with the common snowcat names also. So that there is replacement parts as needed. Snowcats are not a car. And they have to be maintained sometimes way more often than some people care to do. OR ADMIT
GOODLUCK in the hunt, its more than half the fun of it.
Could not agree more. Over the last 25 years or so we have bought hundreds of machines from many many people,companies,auctions. Many unseen only in pictures. But one source stands out alone we had bought on different occasions " low hour machines" but when they arrived they were anything but. So one time when I was traveling I happened to swing buy this sources shop. And as walking through the shop I happened to spot a bench with a half of dozen hour meters
All sitting in a row hooked up to a power source. So I never have trusted a hour meter since that time forward.
Driving and looking at machine can never be replaced with pictures.
And don't expect to buy a inexpensive machine and not have to do some things to it.
Most on here can't afford new,most all new snowcats are now over 100K and many are looking for a deal. When buying new there is a warranty used machines that have been rebuilt can also carry a warranty. We have offered this
on rebuilt machines before. It's always best to stick with the common snowcat names also. So that there is replacement parts as needed. Snowcats are not a car. And they have to be maintained sometimes way more often than some people care to do. OR ADMIT
GOODLUCK in the hunt, its more than half the fun of it.
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Great pictures and beautiful family. I guess that answers the question about how well a utv with tracks works.
I appreciate the helpful advice from everyone. It sounds like the most common theme is patients. Should be easy because I already have a cat that I like "my br100 ". I like it more every time we take it out. Just have to work out a few bugs and I will hopefully get that done in the next few weeks before I can't test it on snow any more. It makes sense that the sedans are the rarest. Probably why you see so many 2 doors with custom cabs. I did some research on the 1300-1700 series based on the build sheets tucker put out. All of the sedan style cats in those series have ground pressure at 7" penetration numbers that are within 10% of each other. And the power to weight ratio is also almost identical. So they should all work about the same and no reason to be particular. I assume tucker spent a lot of time and money to come up with a "golden ratio" for snowcats and stuck to it for many years.
I appreciate the helpful advice from everyone. It sounds like the most common theme is patients. Should be easy because I already have a cat that I like "my br100 ". I like it more every time we take it out. Just have to work out a few bugs and I will hopefully get that done in the next few weeks before I can't test it on snow any more. It makes sense that the sedans are the rarest. Probably why you see so many 2 doors with custom cabs. I did some research on the 1300-1700 series based on the build sheets tucker put out. All of the sedan style cats in those series have ground pressure at 7" penetration numbers that are within 10% of each other. And the power to weight ratio is also almost identical. So they should all work about the same and no reason to be particular. I assume tucker spent a lot of time and money to come up with a "golden ratio" for snowcats and stuck to it for many years.
OldShopTeacher
New member
GlacierSean, have you considered the Snow-Tracs? I know there are a few in Colorado.
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
Aaron Tucker
Active member
The Tucker factory is restoring a freighter like mine right now . Just buy it when its done . you know second mortgage and a left nut is all they want lol
http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/images/smilies/g2/yum.gif
Aaron, I didn't know tucker planned on selling their 743. Mn outdoors also has one that they will sell eventually. I don't know what they sell for but after reading your post I am gonna guess a lot. I think a 1443 like the one on chameleon Inc will be what I go for. Just patiently saving. Let me know if you take your 743 out to cat ski. I would like to join.
Old shop teacher, I think those snow tracks are cool but probably not the solution for me.
Old shop teacher, I think those snow tracks are cool but probably not the solution for me.