Last night our BR 180 broke down in the woods. I am looking for advice on how to get it out by towing with another groomer. We were able to tow it a little ways, but our tow bar broke. We have few hills to go down and with no power comes no brakes or steering. Just looking for any advice or recommendations. Thanks in advance.
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Towing a broke down BR 180
- Thread starter mxz7000
- Start date
This is a concern I have: what happens if my snowcat breaks out in the middle of nowhere? I've not had that happen yet, but our forum Bombardier person, Boggie, might have some suggestions. I do know they don't recommend towing a car with an automatic transmission, so I suppose that would go for a snowcat also (involves taking off the driveshaft?) I'd guess it would take a pretty good size snowcat to tow a dead one.
First off do not tow it without disengaging the rear hubs. you can ruin the system if do not. on the rear hubs in the center is a small dimpled plate take it off turn the dimple do the inside and bolt it back on then. you with have to come up with some type of rigid hitch so that it does not slam into the back of the towed vehicle. something simple like a chain through a pipe of square tubing fixed on both ends. where are you located and what are you pulling it with.
what broke ? or don't you know yet? engine? drives? pumps?
mxz7000 is my cousin so I'll chime in here.
We disengaged the hubs before we towed it. Unfortunately we've had to do this before in the past. The tow bar we had fabricated worked well in the past but we had a steep hill to go down and the free-wheeling groomer pushed the towing groomer (at a slight angle since we can't steer it) and folded the tow bar like a pretzel. Of course it then ran into the back of the towing groomer! The sounds of the tracks hitting each other as the groomers collided was pleasant. We were using another BR180 to tow with.
We're located in Lake George, NY. We're not sure what is wrong but the groomer suddenly turned to the right and stopped. Now it won't go forward or reverse. Everything seems fine, nothings leaking. We think its a safety or something with the steering. We ran through the computer diagnostics by holding down the F1 button and starting the machine, turned the trim pot all the way left and right, same thing with the steering wheel. The code for the steering wheel did not clear, so we think its something with that. We've had lots of trouble with the steering on this particular machine. The manufacturer's rep is coming Friday to look at the machine (for other reasons) so hopefully he can figure it out.
We were sort of hoping someone had figured out how to fabricate the ideal tow bar.
Thanks for the replies!
We disengaged the hubs before we towed it. Unfortunately we've had to do this before in the past. The tow bar we had fabricated worked well in the past but we had a steep hill to go down and the free-wheeling groomer pushed the towing groomer (at a slight angle since we can't steer it) and folded the tow bar like a pretzel. Of course it then ran into the back of the towing groomer! The sounds of the tracks hitting each other as the groomers collided was pleasant. We were using another BR180 to tow with.
We're located in Lake George, NY. We're not sure what is wrong but the groomer suddenly turned to the right and stopped. Now it won't go forward or reverse. Everything seems fine, nothings leaking. We think its a safety or something with the steering. We ran through the computer diagnostics by holding down the F1 button and starting the machine, turned the trim pot all the way left and right, same thing with the steering wheel. The code for the steering wheel did not clear, so we think its something with that. We've had lots of trouble with the steering on this particular machine. The manufacturer's rep is coming Friday to look at the machine (for other reasons) so hopefully he can figure it out.
We were sort of hoping someone had figured out how to fabricate the ideal tow bar.
Thanks for the replies!
ditto on the chain with square tubing , works great in a pinch
Thanks Boggie - I was not there when it broke so I am not sure. The post below yours has much more detail as he was on-site for 6 hrs trying to get it out of the woods. As I am typing this I believe there is a crew in the woods trying to get it out. As I get more info I will update. Thank you for your reply.
bombthebest
Member
Sounds to me like a traction motor broke...
Do not run the engine, the whole system is going to be contaminated
and you are going to have to spend big $$$$$$$$$$...
Do not run the engine, the whole system is going to be contaminated
and you are going to have to spend big $$$$$$$$$$...