My snowcat buddy, Scott, and I are finally in the testing phase of our long term project Tucker, which we nicknamed "Thundercat". We're big believers in testing machines in actual conditions; meaning at high elevation, and in deep snow. This type of testing will uncover problems that you don't find at the shop, or in what I'll call "lesser" conditions, such as at lower elevation and/or with less snow depth.
Late last May we took it out for it's initial test. The machine ran very well, however we uncovered two issues that needed to be dealt with. One was the steering system at slow speeds required too much effort to turn the tracks, and the other was an engine overheating problem.
We made modifications to both systems, and after we had enough snow, took it out about two weeks ago for more testing. The steering issues are solved, but the overheating problem persists. We also felt the windshield wiper system could be improved. (We've now done that.)
I took some video of the testing, which was done at an elevation of 10,500 feet in several feet of Utah's famous "Champagne" powder, the same place we tested back in May. The pictures below are taken from the videos. For reference, the height of a Tucker track on hard ground is about 30" to the top of the grouser bar over the drive sprocket.
Note: If people are interested I can detail the steering system improvements, and the wiper system changes as well. I believe these upgrades are well worth the time and trouble. We'll incorporate them on a second machine being refurbished and modified for another forum member.
Late last May we took it out for it's initial test. The machine ran very well, however we uncovered two issues that needed to be dealt with. One was the steering system at slow speeds required too much effort to turn the tracks, and the other was an engine overheating problem.
We made modifications to both systems, and after we had enough snow, took it out about two weeks ago for more testing. The steering issues are solved, but the overheating problem persists. We also felt the windshield wiper system could be improved. (We've now done that.)
I took some video of the testing, which was done at an elevation of 10,500 feet in several feet of Utah's famous "Champagne" powder, the same place we tested back in May. The pictures below are taken from the videos. For reference, the height of a Tucker track on hard ground is about 30" to the top of the grouser bar over the drive sprocket.
Note: If people are interested I can detail the steering system improvements, and the wiper system changes as well. I believe these upgrades are well worth the time and trouble. We'll incorporate them on a second machine being refurbished and modified for another forum member.
Attachments
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.02.39 PM.png759.8 KB · Views: 969
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.03.54 PM.png1.1 MB · Views: 1,000
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.04.33 PM.png940.1 KB · Views: 977
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.05.07 PM.png925.8 KB · Views: 964
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.06.14 PM.png1 MB · Views: 989
-
Screen Shot 2016-12-18 at 12.00.13 PM.png1,013.4 KB · Views: 997