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Tucker 1542 Vs. 1642

CoFarmer

New member
Just getting into the "snowcat world". Very seriously thinking about buying a Tucker for part of our winter operations and need one with a flat bed on back. Had a pretty good talk with a sales rep at Tucker who was VERY helpful. He feels I need to be looking for a 15, 16 or 17 serious Tucker. I understand the 17 series is a very large frame "industrial" machine. What are some differences in the 15 and 16 series? Any advice on the variations is appreciated.
 

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
I am sure there are some subtleties I am not aware of, but I do have a late 70's 1542 pick up style, and a mid to late 70's 1642 Mid engine. as far as i can tell the machines are the same. with the exception of the number of boggie wheels in the pontoons. nothing industrial about either.

after owning a cab forward 2000 series engine backward, a front engine pick up and mid engine engine/fan forward.

I like the Mid engine fan forward best for pulling a drag. the ability to see what the drag is doing is important, and the weight distribution is best.

the cabs are painfully smaller than they need to be, but depending what you intend to do with them, haul hay, haul water, drag down frost roads, or plow snow, transport people ect..... I am sure anything can be over come.
 

Blackfoot Tucker

Well-known member
GOLD Site Supporter
First, Welcome to the forum!

A 1500 series Tucker has mid length tracks. They have five "idler wheels" (the correct term - as opposed to bogie wheels) and the tracks are 76" long. The 1600 series tracks have a sixth idler wheel and are 92" long. The carriers are the steel frame that idler wheels attach to and what the tracks rotate around, are symmetric on a 1500 series machine and asymmetric on a 1600 series. Of the extra 16" in length, 13 are on one side and three inches are on the other. The long side of a 1600 series carrier is positioned away from the center of the machine.

The 1700 series is essentially a heavy-duty variant of a 1600 series. But that heavy duty capability comes with a weight penalty. 1500 and 1600 series machines had basically the same power train options, but the 1700 series is different.

Cab options are two door (think regular cab pickup), four door (think crew cab pickup) and three door, which is a full cab. It has two front doors and one rear door to access rear opposing benches.

Price-wise, a two door short track model (1342) will generally be the cheapest and a 1643 or 1644 will be the most expensive. The base power train would be a 318 Industrial V-8 coupled to either a 4-speed or 5-speed New Process manual transmission. There were different engines and transmissions available.

I don't think there was such a thing as a "standard" bed, and generally speaking the factory beds were fairly small. But it's not difficult to build a larger custom bed.

If you're not stuck on getting a Tucker you might consider a Thiokol/DMC/LMC machine. I would suggest a Spryte, and ideally a 1200C if made during the Thiokol days or a DMC or LMC 1200. Those machines came in standard width and wide track models. The Thiokol versions have doors that are kind of goofy in the way you have to climb in. The DMC and LMC versions have larger doors that make getting in and out easier.

Generally speaking Thiokols sell for less money than a Tucker in similar condition.

That's a basic overview. If you Google "snowcat spec sheets" that should provide a link to various manufacturer and model options at the Safety One website. You can learn quite a bit looking those over.
 
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