I can see myself hooked (but the questions are: what kind and why?)

My brother has a ST4, After two days of intense study of your threads, I have no clue but lots of questions. I have seen many tracked vehicles on the Lake of the Woods in MN but most of them have van bodies or other vehicle bodies on them. Are they modifications of the type displayed here or are they some other? They are fast, too, and big for the most part. Kinda like the looks of the IMP style, I guess. Ice Fishing would be a main use where I live. How are they in slush?

The ST4 is an excellent snowcat and all terrain vehicle. Mostly they were designed for the snow. Contact BSKURKA to get a CD with every manual we have aquired from the many members here on the forums. The CD is free to members! Read EVERYTHING in the manuals and have fun. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. Also please post some pictures so we can see the new addition to our family here.

cracker220 said:

My brother has a ST4, After two days of intense study of your threads, I have no clue but lots of questions. I have seen many tracked vehicles on the Lake of the Woods in MN but most of them have van bodies or other vehicle bodies on them. Are they modifications of the type displayed here or are they some other? They are fast, too, and big for the most part. Kinda like the looks of the IMP style, I guess. Ice Fishing would be a main use where I live. How are they in slush?

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Up in the lake of the woods area there are lots of the Bombardier B12 and C18 units. They are FASTER than any other cat out there, and many guides use them for transporting ice fishermen to their shelters. They are great units for flatland running, driving on frozen lakes, etc. The Bombardier units have a van, or bus style, body on them. They often have 2 skis in the front, but can also have regular road wheels on the front too. The skis and road wheels are interchangable. These are not good units for mountain areas, but are great for lake, prairie and field transport, at speeds that are 50% faster than your brother's Snow Trac.

Older Bombardier units are wood sided with round windows, newer units have sheet metal bodies and the windows are trapezoid in shape. I believe most were originally powered by Chrysler engines, many have been repowered.

Various regions of the world favored various types of snowcats. Snow Tracs are pretty universal because there were over 2000 of them built and it is reported that roughly 70% of them are still operating. Thiokol Imps and Sprytes are also very common in many areas, it seems like the are most common in the west/northwest but it is also common to find them up in the New England area too.

Honestly any of the more common brands would be a good choice for your area, but if you want speed then you want to find a Bombardier B12 or C18. If you want easy to trailer then you want the Snow Trac units because they fit on most car carriers and are light enough to pull behind a 1/4 ton truck or even a car. Snow Tracs are probably one of the very few brands that you will find that are narrow enough to fit on a standard car carrier between the trailer wheels. A Kristi KT3, if you can find one would also be a good choice. While we poke fun of the Kristi owners, the snowcats are certainly sound units and again, are light enough to be pulled by smaller vehicles. Kristi and Snow Trac both use VW engines and are easy to maintain. The Thiokol (and later DMC and LMC) brand Imps and Spryte units are typically about 8' wide. The Imp is the smaller of the two, both Imps and Sprytes are commonly found with 2 and 5 man cabs.

Thanks to both of you for the information. I was wondering about those Kristi units given all the abuse the owners seem to take. However, I've come to realize that it probably is just envy .

You have described the units I've seen on the big lake down to the "T". Their uses range from transporting fishermen to and from their icehouses (most of the fishermen shouldn't be driving anyway ) to pulling icehouses off the ice and plowing roadways. Real workhorses.

I'm not interested in having a hare, really, a tortoise is more my style. Also the size issues are definely considerations because I would rather not retool. I have a bobcat trailer that should suffice, correct?

Currently, my friends and I go ice fishing on a variety of lakes including and use snowmobiles. I can see this as a definite solution to most of the logistical issues we encounter. Can you buy one for the price of a snowmobile?

How do these machines perform in slush on a lake? This is a major problem for sleds. I think ground to unit clearance is a factor. Which units are best? Thanks again.

Your Bobcat trailer will be more than heavy duty enough, a typical skidsteer is going to weigh twice as much as a lightweight snowcat. The problem you will face with the Bobcat trailer is the width between the wheel wells. A Snow Trac ST4 is going to be 6'2" wide so you need at least 6'6" between the wheel wells, my car hauler has about 6'10" between the wheel wells. Most brands of snowcats will NOT fit in between the wheel wells of a typical trailer, most require a bed over the wheels so keep that in consideration when you are shopping for a snow cat.

As for slush, it is basically a non-issue, at least for a Snow Trac and I presume for every other brand (I own a Snow Trac so it is what I have most experience with). These things will manage any loose material from sand to gravel to tall grass to snow. I've never had a problem with slushy conditions. Ground clearance on most brands of snowcats is going to be roughly 12" give or take a couple.

As for price, it varies but a decent used one will start about $5000 and run up to $15,000 (for an older model). Depending on condition!!! It it easy to pay more, hard to find them for less. Prices have been going up over the past few years as people find out how useful these things really are, and as sled prices go up. (actually its getting pretty hard to find a good one for under $8000 but there are some deals if you really search for them) A new one will start about $75,000 and go up to $400,000 depending on features/design.

I can't say what is "best" for someone else, but I know what is best for me. Each snowcat will have somewhat different characteristics, each will have differing maintenance needs, etc. Figure out what your needs are and find a snowcat that fits your needs. If your trailer is your limiting factor, that alone will knock out a bunch of different models unless you are willing to consider buying a new trailer too.

Thiokol Imp or Super Imp with a full cab or build the rear cab section yourself to suit your needs. Slush is not an issue.

Expect to pay $10,000 on up for a decent unit (will need about 5k to 10k in work). $15,000 for a good machine (will need about 5K in work) and about 25K for a unit ready to go in the field. More for newer lower hour units. Bob say new Cats start out at $75K. Not sure which brand he is taking about. New Tuckers and Camoplast start at about $130,000 for a bare bones basic unit (usually these will be demo units) expect $150,000 and UP for a non demo unit.

I've now consulted a couple of fishing buddies and the search is on. Having a covered multi-use cab is a must. We'd like to find something requiring elbow grease. Don't mind working on stuff, have many resourceful talented friends to lean on, and we have time on our side. Came up with a concept drawing I pitched to the guys but don't know how to put it on here. Money will be tight as we are hiding this from the wives and such but, hey, wouldn't be any fun then either . Probably will remind me of the time my wife went out behind the garage and found the bobcat and trailer . She had the last laugh though when i was forced to turn that bobcat into insulation, sheetrock, and taping for our house addition . The old rustic look argument was getting old I guess.

Where in the Mn area does one start looking?

Brainerd


http://www.mn-outdoors.com/index.html

Also watch Ebay and look at Craigslist too. Be prepared to travel a few hundred miles in any direction. Buying a snowcat is not as easy and buying a car. I'm not the only one here on the forums who crossed an ocean to get a snowcat.

I know where you can get an older thiokol spryte 300 miles west of you. I looked at it when I was down there last fall. It looked pretty turn key. It had a 2 man cab with a flatbed just waiting to have someone inclose the back. I wanted it myself but couldn't justify the cost to get it here. Asking price was 7000.00 but I bet he'll take less. call me if you want more details.

Ok I'll call. Thanks. Is that like an imp? I'll look it up on here.

Also try "BOGGIE". He is a member here and lives close to you.