vintagebike
Well-known member
Great to see a big smile from the Forrest Service Snow Catter. 
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Alpine Cat Jamboree / Joseph, Oregon / Jan 10th-12th
- Thread starter tucker
- Start date
Was some snow floor out to the freeway, then bare east to Boise. Not to bad. Farther from Portland (every major city) equals less idiots?
Yesterday (Sunday) we started out again from Salt Creek Summit. Was basically an out and back to a yurt, with a lot of powder and playing in open areas. Round trip was 11.7 miles, minimum altitude was 5442 ft with a max of 6182 ft. One big Tucker with a blade had gone home, I believe Sunday morning so they were not there and 1boringguy missed it because of a communication issue, our part not his. Bummed he wasn't there, great guy, looking forward to see him in Sun Valley.
Tucker was well represented, there was a 55, 56, and 57 there from fully modified, full restored, to fully original with no restoration yet. There were several other newer Tuckers there, and they could go anywhere, amazing machines. Both my son and I were allowed to drive the cab forward that Clyde Moody brought from the factory, man this machine would go through the powder. Driving this was very great for us because my sons and I are restoring a similar machine.
I have to say the Tucker factory was well represented by Clyde, he is a vast wealth of knowledge on these machines. He was always helping out, he should get some type of Tucker award. He is also very loyal, even though the competition is long past (1950's) between the Tuckers and the Frandees, I could not get him to drive my Frandee, he was true to his color (orange). However, he did offend me once, he came up and gave me a Tucker vintage cat sticker. I told him there was no way I was putting that on my Frandee, he said no it is for your Tucker at home you are restoring. OK, he is off the hook now. I think I am going to get a Frandee sticker made up and see if he will put it on one of his Tuckers.
Here is a quick sales pitch for the cat Clyde brought, this cab forward is way better than the one I am restoring, very nice inside, plus WAY more room with the bench seat in the back. I will have considerably more invested in mine once it is done than what he is selling this turn key machine for. I drove it, it drives great, my son drove it and did some hill climbing in it, he said it climbed with ease, even the amazing Frandee couldn't go where it went. He also said it was nice being right up front over the pontoons where you could see everything. Noise in the cab was not bad either, we were able to hold a great conversation.
All I can say is two thumbs up for this guy.
I have to say the Tucker factory was well represented by Clyde, he is a vast wealth of knowledge on these machines. He was always helping out, he should get some type of Tucker award. He is also very loyal, even though the competition is long past (1950's) between the Tuckers and the Frandees, I could not get him to drive my Frandee, he was true to his color (orange). However, he did offend me once, he came up and gave me a Tucker vintage cat sticker. I told him there was no way I was putting that on my Frandee, he said no it is for your Tucker at home you are restoring. OK, he is off the hook now. I think I am going to get a Frandee sticker made up and see if he will put it on one of his Tuckers.
Here is a quick sales pitch for the cat Clyde brought, this cab forward is way better than the one I am restoring, very nice inside, plus WAY more room with the bench seat in the back. I will have considerably more invested in mine once it is done than what he is selling this turn key machine for. I drove it, it drives great, my son drove it and did some hill climbing in it, he said it climbed with ease, even the amazing Frandee couldn't go where it went. He also said it was nice being right up front over the pontoons where you could see everything. Noise in the cab was not bad either, we were able to hold a great conversation.
All I can say is two thumbs up for this guy.
glad you folks all had a good time and the snow was deep
Now for some two tracks, there were three of us, a Skidozer, Imp, and the Frandee. Sure we were in the minority, but we held our own. My son drove the Imp and I think he is bailing on the Frandee. He told me it just floats over the snow, he said "we need to get home and start working on the Thiokol 201" since it is similar in design. I rode in the Imp a lot, it is a fun and more than capable machine. It takes a master to drive it with a small engine and two different transmissions. You really need to know your gearing so you can split the gears just right. Mike does an incredible job driving this machine.
Unfortunately I did not get a picture of 1boringguys Skidozer, nor did I get to ride in it. The forest service gal rode with him a lot, and she was full smile the whole time. Hopefully someone will post a photo of this machine with the driver.
The Frandee did great. I did have one issue at the end of the first day. There was a strange light knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, come to find out it was the generator (original unit of course). The center of the drive pulley had fatiqued and completely broken, luckily everything was still captive and in fact it was still turning. So the next morning I got up early, pulled the generator, found that there was no way to tighten it, add spacers, or sandwich it. So as I stand there on the side of the road in front of the Airbnb we rented in Enterprise this guys drives up and says "that is a nice machine". My response was "Thanks! Do you know anyone that can do some welding for me". This guy was great, he contacted the local weld shop, luckily they were just opening (Saturday morning), lead me to there shop, a guy named Jim pulled the pulley off the rotor with an air gun, welded the pulley up for me and I was on my way. Got the cat all back together and I think the pulley runs truer than original. There are some great people in both Enterprise and Joseph, I can't tell you how may waves and thumbs up I got driving that cat through these towns.
I was bummed that there were no Snow Tracs, especially if you look at the Jamboree tee shirt and poster. I have attached two images, one of the poster, and one of how I propose the poster should be.
Mike (with Diet Coke in hand) with his Imp:
The Frandee of course:
The three of us at Ferguson Ski hill:
Event Poster:
Proposed event poster:
Unfortunately I did not get a picture of 1boringguys Skidozer, nor did I get to ride in it. The forest service gal rode with him a lot, and she was full smile the whole time. Hopefully someone will post a photo of this machine with the driver.
The Frandee did great. I did have one issue at the end of the first day. There was a strange light knocking sound coming from the engine compartment, come to find out it was the generator (original unit of course). The center of the drive pulley had fatiqued and completely broken, luckily everything was still captive and in fact it was still turning. So the next morning I got up early, pulled the generator, found that there was no way to tighten it, add spacers, or sandwich it. So as I stand there on the side of the road in front of the Airbnb we rented in Enterprise this guys drives up and says "that is a nice machine". My response was "Thanks! Do you know anyone that can do some welding for me". This guy was great, he contacted the local weld shop, luckily they were just opening (Saturday morning), lead me to there shop, a guy named Jim pulled the pulley off the rotor with an air gun, welded the pulley up for me and I was on my way. Got the cat all back together and I think the pulley runs truer than original. There are some great people in both Enterprise and Joseph, I can't tell you how may waves and thumbs up I got driving that cat through these towns.
I was bummed that there were no Snow Tracs, especially if you look at the Jamboree tee shirt and poster. I have attached two images, one of the poster, and one of how I propose the poster should be.
Mike (with Diet Coke in hand) with his Imp:
The Frandee of course:
The three of us at Ferguson Ski hill:
Event Poster:
Proposed event poster:
Now for the bad news. We got loaded and headed on our way home around 1 pm, just in time to hit the storm. Sounds like 1boringguy who had left early and headed east back to Idaho had fair roads, well we didn't. There were several hours of 20 to 30 mph on I-84, but that isn't the bad news. We were just about a mile out of Ontario Oregon, almost to the Idaho border and I got hit with a side wind, it pushed me, the truck and trailer halfway into the other lane, thank goodness no one was next to me. Now the lucky part, I pulled into Ontario to fuel up. Got out of the truck and see the hood on the Frandee open, if I hadn't stopped I would have never known the hood was open. The wind had hit so hard it popped it open, I think a contributing factor was that I think during use over the weekend the screws on the passenger side hood hinge had come loose and allowed the latch to not have as much holding area. Well when the hood blew open it smashed into the bracket which holds the steering ski when it is in the up position. This punched a hole in the hood and gave it a big crease. Hopefully I can get this repaired before Sun Valley, problem is I can only paint in the summer, I do not have a heated garage. May have to actually pay someone to paint after I repair (what a cheep a$$). After I fueled up in Ontario I had to pound the dent out with a hammer to so I could get the hood to relatch, then strapped it down and away we went. I also added a strap to the doors so they would not fly open. Guess I will always have a backup strap on the hood and doors when on the interstate now.
Here is the Muther Tucker with it's owners, these are two of the nicest people you will ever meet and Rod drives that cat like he stole it, fun to watch, he is not afraid to take it to the limit, and it just goes.
I believe this is a 1957 443 repowered with a 4 cylinder Kabota turbo diesel engine mated to an automatic transmission. The inside is completely customized, you must look inside if you ever get the chance.
They drove the second farthest at right around 1000 miles each way, with their two young grandchildren.
Here is a video of the MT out the back of the Imp, note that the engine noise is that of the IMP not the MT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VHMKMp5SKk
I believe this is a 1957 443 repowered with a 4 cylinder Kabota turbo diesel engine mated to an automatic transmission. The inside is completely customized, you must look inside if you ever get the chance.
They drove the second farthest at right around 1000 miles each way, with their two young grandchildren.
Here is a video of the MT out the back of the Imp, note that the engine noise is that of the IMP not the MT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VHMKMp5SKk
RRose drove around 1200 miles each way from southern California. I believe this cat is a 1956 443 with everything original, including the flat head engine. Way cool machine, enjoyed riding in it and he even let me drive it. It is amazing where these Tuckers can go. Good times with this machine and what a nice guy. I am sure he is hooked, I think he had more smiles than the Forest Service gal. RRose, keep this machine as original as you can, it is way cool.
I would say getting help from Clyde is like pulling teeth, actually he was the one pulling teeth. If you are wondering what he is doing blindly reaching into my track carrier.
He was extracting the rest of my broken teeth that he hadn’t already picked up off of the trail behind me.
I was able to limp the cat back the 4 miles on the groomed trail and get it loaded without much more damage.
When I rebuilt the cat most of the sprockets had damage at the 7 mounting hole locations. Some I just tacked the cracks, some I drilled new holes and some were still usable. I did find a couple sprockets tack welded to the hub and now I know why. I assembled with button head cap screws and metal lock nuts thinking those would hold together but they have all come loose. I will probably reassemble with Locktite and even stitch weld them to the drum that can be easily ground off if needed.
Big thanks to Clyde, Jesse, and Connelly for a great event.
He was extracting the rest of my broken teeth that he hadn’t already picked up off of the trail behind me.
I was able to limp the cat back the 4 miles on the groomed trail and get it loaded without much more damage.
When I rebuilt the cat most of the sprockets had damage at the 7 mounting hole locations. Some I just tacked the cracks, some I drilled new holes and some were still usable. I did find a couple sprockets tack welded to the hub and now I know why. I assembled with button head cap screws and metal lock nuts thinking those would hold together but they have all come loose. I will probably reassemble with Locktite and even stitch weld them to the drum that can be easily ground off if needed.
Big thanks to Clyde, Jesse, and Connelly for a great event.
Here is Jesse's Tucker, I think I heard it is a 1955 443. Wow, what a nice machine, beautiful restoration. Jesse did a great job hosting this event, except for the error on the poster I pointed out a few posts back. He obtained the help of a local outfitter, whom I will let someone else describe, he was an interesting gentlemen, way fun. Sure hope Jesse puts this on again next year. All I can say is THANKS, myself and my family had a great time, in fact everyone had a great time, and the area was perfect.
Looks like fun had by all. Hope Rob gets some luck with that Tucker. Seems like at the events it likes to give him hell.
Maybe time for the snotrac or 443 to make a trip for a change.
How did the Forrest Service like it?
Maybe time for the snotrac or 443 to make a trip for a change.
How did the Forrest Service like it?
Some more Frandee footage for anyone interested. First half is front view from the back of Mike's Imp, second half is from passenger side of RRose's 443.
https://youtu.be/bRVo-6zu7VM
https://youtu.be/bRVo-6zu7VM
Hey all! Hope everyone made it home safely. I know a couple are still travelling back home. I just wanted to truly thank everyone for coming to the first , but not last, Alpine Cat Jamboree. I very much enjoyed talking to each and every one of you. You are all such great people and fun to hang around.
Connelly and I are going to continue to brainstorm to take next year's event to the next level.
Shout out and special thanks to Clyde and Tucker Sno-Cat Corp for being our major sponsor. Also thanks to the Forest Service for our special use permits and even attending one of the days.
Love seeing all of the pictures....keep them coming! I was not able to get very many. By the way, did anybody get any pictures of the "Yurt Meister"???? Post them here! "OH YEAH!!!!"
Here are a few pictures I managed to get:
Connelly and I are going to continue to brainstorm to take next year's event to the next level.
Shout out and special thanks to Clyde and Tucker Sno-Cat Corp for being our major sponsor. Also thanks to the Forest Service for our special use permits and even attending one of the days.
Love seeing all of the pictures....keep them coming! I was not able to get very many. By the way, did anybody get any pictures of the "Yurt Meister"???? Post them here! "OH YEAH!!!!"
Here are a few pictures I managed to get:
mikemikelle
Active member
Oh Yeah, DUDE! Ask and ye shall receive Bra! Got the freshy pics of the Yurtmeister, and the pow!
(Still don't know how to rotate, sorry, they are corrected prior on my computer)
Our wonderful guide, Scruffy himself, Connley Brown, the Yurmeister of the Wallowa Mountain Huts, complete with both sets of Specs!
Thanks Mike! We needed these. Although Connelly aka CB aka the Yurt Meister is 100% crazy, you gotta love the guy. Has been a good friend of mine for a while now. He grows on you quickly.
Hey GMoose, I am so sorry to hear about the damage that the Frandee ended up with on your way home. I wish you lived closer because I would help you whip that body and paint out and get you ready for Sun Valley. But glad you guys got home safe and sound. Thanks again for coming. Will stay in touch.
mikemikelle
Active member
Not sure if it was mentioned before, but a fun fact about the group that showed up (I believe 9 cats total), of the 9 that started, the 6 that finished on the last day had each broken at some point (some twice!)
The last play hill, 300yds from the cars, alone took 2 cats down!
My Imp "now Gimp or Limp"- broken bogey support arm (frame)
Muther Tucker 1957 443- Broke pontoon innards and a driveshaft
GMoose 1953 Frandee- Broken generator pulley, and later on a hood bashing
RRose 1956 443 "The Gobbler"- Track links and a hydro line
Our host and his 1955 443- Fueling issue
Mr. Miller and the Big diesel- Toothless
The ingenuity, resourcefulness, determination, and vast combined knowledge of the group, as a whole....well, it's not what ya know, its who knows Clyde and Jesse, made for quick work of most of the problems, and everyone was on the trailer afterwards with virtually no delay. Hats off to the help!!!
They were all drove like they were rentals!! Way to get after it gang
Another fun fact is that for every 15 minutes of catting, we spend 10 minutes taking pictures of our cats....
The last play hill, 300yds from the cars, alone took 2 cats down!
My Imp "now Gimp or Limp"- broken bogey support arm (frame)
Muther Tucker 1957 443- Broke pontoon innards and a driveshaft
GMoose 1953 Frandee- Broken generator pulley, and later on a hood bashing
RRose 1956 443 "The Gobbler"- Track links and a hydro line
Our host and his 1955 443- Fueling issue
Mr. Miller and the Big diesel- Toothless
The ingenuity, resourcefulness, determination, and vast combined knowledge of the group, as a whole....well, it's not what ya know, its who knows Clyde and Jesse, made for quick work of most of the problems, and everyone was on the trailer afterwards with virtually no delay. Hats off to the help!!!
They were all drove like they were rentals!! Way to get after it gang
Another fun fact is that for every 15 minutes of catting, we spend 10 minutes taking pictures of our cats....
mikemikelle
Active member
G JR. Moose was along for the trip, with his ever-so-sweet "keeper" of a girlfriend (Way to go Ian!). He also showed his amazing sense of taste by choosing "the Gimp" as his favorite cat to drive!
Our gang on Day 3, at one of the Yurtmeister's pads
Our gang on Day 3, at one of the Yurtmeister's pads
mikemikelle
Active member
More pics-
No problem, I will have it fixed before long, takes more than that to hold a Frandee down. Thanks!
mikemikelle
Active member
A special thanks to the U.S. Forrest Service, for not only allowing us a special use permit (and sending us an official ranger), but for providing us with the nicest, sweetest, best looking "Ranger Babe" in the force!...Nothing personal to the Larry, Earl, or Fred that we were expecting to get
Oops, can we still say that?
Needless to say, donor cats were lined up for volunteer driving lessons
Oops, can we still say that?
Needless to say, donor cats were lined up for volunteer driving lessons
mikemikelle
Active member
They're blurry, with a Photobucket watermark symbol on mine also. Pete, you are not crazy...or drinking
mikemikelle
Active member
Some of the wild driving conditions-
