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1968 Tucker 542, new project

JimVT

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
every time you post I see lots of happy faces. memories are sure to stay.
 

Pontoon Princess

Cattitute
GOLD Site Supporter
every time you post I see lots of happy faces. memories are sure to stay.

yes indeed, you are so right, mr VT, you get the very most smiles per mile, from a Tucker Sno-Cat...

Stay Smiling and Tucker On...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy Tucker Year...
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


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Sno-Surfer

Active member
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Excellent day. A bit windy on the ridges but spring like in the bowls. I'm missing all the real action shots but this ole Tucker can Really get around. I was again amazed by its maneuverability and climbability in tight spots.
I'm trying to work today but it's hard when it's so sunny and nice. Not sure how long my attempt will last! ???
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
Good grief, did the wild fire jump the Columbia River and burn Mt. Adams too?

It sure did. This fire was two years ago. It's really changed the look but it's opened up the terrain a bit more. You would have enjoyed this trip too. Not sure when we are going again but not soon enough!:smile:
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
The princess suggested I put on another couple coats of varnish, done (last week) and it looks so pretty. Should get a better photo but the walnut looks fantastic.

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Sno-Surfer

Active member
We still have a solid couple of feet of snow here at the house. Most we've had for this long in at least 15 years. Yesterday we had a bit of an ice storm and had a good 1/2" layer of ice on everything. I had two neighbors call me and ask if I would run the sno cat around the neighborhood to break up the ice. Ah sure, just twist my arm....actually cat was already deiced and I was just about to head out to do it anyway. Well I tried but these cats are too light on their feet to do any real damage to the ice. So I also ran it up Post Canyon behind my house hoping to break that up too. Post Canyon is a popular mt biking place in the summer and when it snows lots of folks hike and xcountry ski it so I've been "grooming" it every other day or so. There a good 3-5 feet up there.
One thing I learned is to hang on to the sno cat on the icy hills, got out for a walk and slipped down a small hill and it was comedy getting back to the cat!
More snow for the next 4 days according to the forecast. Bring it on, I'm loving it.

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I don't even think the snowmobiles would have made it here, not a soul around. Crampons and sno cat access only.
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
What have you been using for a drag to smooth the trail?

that would be my tracks :wink:, it's all I have. I've been staggering my runs to flatten it out a bit. It's better than nothing and has actually really helped. I see a Sno Drifter inspired trunk/groomer attachment in my future.
 

DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
That would be the perfect app for an ice grouser! On a side note, after seeing the pic last weekend of your car buried, aren't you worried about snow load on your roof, especially with an additional 1/2 of ice? That's a ton of weight . . . literally.
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
That would be the perfect app for an ice grouser! On a side note, after seeing the pic last weekend of your car buried, aren't you worried about snow load on your roof, especially with an additional 1/2 of ice? That's a ton of weight . . . literally.


I have been shoveling. Still a bit of weight up there but it's melting fast today.
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
The family took off to Portland on Saturday and I figured I better take advantage of the snow we still have here. We've had snow on the ground for 56 days now, that's a decent ski season! We still have over a foot at the house and there is about a 1/4 mile of paved and gravel road to go before I get to the forest roads behind the house. Once on the forest roads I can go for a 100 miles if I want. So I grabbed a thermos of tea a sandwich and my board and went for a drive. I went all the way to Kingsley reservoir, maps call it oak grove ditch and I'm guess about 15-20 miles one way. We are sitting in an inversion so I was hoping to get above it and just popped through it at the reservoir. Found a small hill with fresh snow and hiked it several times by myself. I had so much fun it was probably illegal.


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Yes, I noticed the missing link in this photo and have replaced it.

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Sno-Surfer

Active member
A couple of announcements.
It's snowing here again and looks like fair amount of it heading our way later this week. Another shot in the arm for a catting junky. :w00t2:

Second announcement, that rib place Pontoon Princess and Sno Drifter frequent is moving into town, actually across the river but close enough to smell them on an east wind day. I'm sure they will need a few Tucker items to display on the wall like the Lk Oswego place. :smile:
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
Holy moly what a pre-windsurfing season workout!! Just pumped 7 tubes of grease in these rollers. The last side of the last pontoon was painful.

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Pontoon Princess

Cattitute
GOLD Site Supporter
Ps, taking my wife's uncle and my kids to Cloud Cap tomorrow. Late notice but more the merrier.

i am very confused and quite surprised, "late notice", did not think it would matter at all, when the call and or chance comes along to run your tucker sno-cat. you are ready to go 24/7/365, and on a moments notice...if i not wrong, you have run the rollers off the tucker...
 
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Sno-Surfer

Active member
That's right, it's just takes a small twist on the arm and the blinders go on and it's another day of Tuckering around. :brows:
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
We had another fantastic trip up to Cloup Cap yesterday. Took my Uncle in law up with my son and let them ski back to the car. Weather was better than expected and the Tucker rocked as usual.

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Sno-Surfer

Active member
Ah heck looks like some are upside down. Standing on your head might be easier than fixing them.

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This last one must be a milestone of some sort. And it happened at exactly Inspiration Point. Must be something to it....

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Pontoon Princess

Cattitute
GOLD Site Supporter
migthy tucker sno-cat adventure continues, thinking you own the grand adventurer title for the winter of 2016/17
 

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Sno-Surfer

Active member
Was just thinking I should post more in this thread.

More tinkering with the Tucker. I’ve been nudged to share some details on my new canopy I had made for the back of my Tucker. The beginning of this thread shows details on the bench seating box on the back of the 542.
The box is awesome when it’s sunny and nice. Best seat in the house. But I needed more ski storage and some shelter when the weather is..well like winter and snowing and blowing. So I have been working on a canvas canopy for the rear.
This fall I worked with the local welding shop to make and mount some hoops. I started with two and then with some more nudging, increased it to four hoops for extra strength.
While making the hoops we also came up with a design for some light, foldable, simple board and ski racks. It will hold anything that’s long, snowshoes, shovel, etc. I use a couple of bungees to hold things on. Easy access and they fold away when not in use.
I basically copied a canvas canopy that is used on the old 60’s and 70’s VW pickups.
Once that was done I needed someone to make the cover for it. It has to be strong, fit right, waterproof, lots of visablity, last a long time and sides and back need to roll up when it’s nice out. So I turned to my first windsurfing sponsor that makes custom windsurfing sails. He has all the stuff needed and knows how to make things last. It’s been over 25 years since I used his brand of sails so I was excited to work on something with him again and I know he enjoys it too. Aside from his sail making he’s an amazing person and probably built more miles of Mt biking trails here in the gorge than anyone. So we picked out material and I brought the cat over and he put this together in his spare time in a week or so. The first trip for the cover was our Two Valcano Tour with the 500 Club. We still have some trimming and details to do but wanted to use it for a bit and see how things work.
I’ll bounce back to my cell phone now and post some pictures.
 

Sno-Surfer

Active member
In the pictures above. The seams are all glued. The second photo are some samples he sewed together for windows and zipper. We made the roof red partly for visibility and some color and it also seems to brighten up the inside a bit.
 
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