hmmmm
every snow cat owner believes their machine is the best, otherwise, why would they own it? Ford, chevy, dodge etc etc etc...
having many, many, many hours in just about every major manufacture ( relevant to the industry ) I can say, without a doubt, Tucker is the only machine that I would ever take into the back country, no, matter what year it is. I will add, a Frandee is the only other machine I might even consider to make a back country trip.
And every side by side comparison done from 1950 through the mid seventies, Tucker always came out as #1. Yes, I have about 15 some of these comparison test reports.
and being raised as a princess and taught only to say nice things, I will always tell the other owners what they want to hear, 'their machine is the best one on the snow'....
I keep my Snow Trac parked right next to my Volvo, V-8 powered wagon.
are we good Blackfoot ?
PP,
Thank you for the explanation. I confess I subscribed to Glacier Sean's theory of your usage of the Jedi Mind Trick as a means of diverting attention from Tuckers ("These aren't the droids you're looking for").
I tend to view people who read posts on the forum as one of four general types:
1.) Forum "regulars" who post frequently.
2.) Occasional posters, which would include new members.
3.) Members who lurk, but don't post.
4.) People who find information on the forum through a Google search.
In my posts I generally try to be as accurate as I can, though I'm certainly not infallible. When new people ask for advice I try to be honest, and give them the benefit of my experience. My assumption being that's what they want.
I confess I've never owned, operated, or even ridden in a Snow Trac, but my negative impression comes from two concerns. Please allow me to expand on those.
One: I'm in the latter stages of having a sixties muscle car professionally restored. Unfortunately the restoration process has required the purchase of some hard-to-find parts. Hard-to-find has also meant "expensive when you do find them". Snow Tracs have been out of production since 1981, and from various threads on the forum, it seems pretty common that people are looking for parts, and in some cases having difficulty finding them. Snowcats by definition are a seasonal use vehicle and it's frustrating to be unable to use your machine because you can't find a part (or parts) for it in a timely fashion. I would have a hard time recommending someone intentionally throw themselves into that briar patch when satisfactory alternatives exist.
Two: I bought my first snowcat over 10 years ago and it's fair to say Utah has a large number of privately owned snowcats. KSL.com is a pretty active marketplace for snowcat buying and selling, and I probably look about once a week, on average. That means I've looked roughly 500 times, and in all those searches I can't recall ever seeing a Snow Trac for sale locally. If they were in fact such a capable machine, one would expect to see them for sale on KSL.com at least occasionally, as they pop up on ebay or Craigslist with some regularity. I can only conclude that when it comes to high elevation snowcat use in the steep and/or deep, their performance is lacking. They may be fine for putt-putting along on a frozen cornfield, or on a relatively flat, packed trail, but up high and in deep snow...not so much. I think my theory is borne out by the following:
Try a Google search for "Snow Trac" and look at images. Now count the number of photos of Snow Tracs in "deep" snow. Ankle deep is not deep. I'm talking adult knee deep. Yeah...precious few.
"Tucker country"
Your V-8 powered Volvo sounds like the ultimate sleeper