1972 Aktiv ST4 "Snow Trac"

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Track"

http://www.gates.com/
This is there main page.

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Track"

Everytime you venture outback in a snowcat you are at the mercy of mother nature. You should always have a stash of well thought out survival gear. If you need help on this stuff I will be glad to post pics of all the gear you should carry.

I have not strayed far from home yet, in fact I've barely gotten off my property, but we have plans for some trips into Wisconsin and Michigan and I've been thinking of building a box for winter survival supplies. I'd love to see a list of gear with photos.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Track"

Ok will do. Re read my 2nd to last post I added some stuff to it. Also these guys are the Experts: http://www.safetyoneinc.com/about.html They have classes (which I have taken) and rate them #1 in training! Knowledge is power. They also sell survival kits that are personal or vehicle specific. Very good stuff. I make my own for my own needs but run 4 to 5 times the cost of theirs. I just want to be real comfortable if I am stranded.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

One of the most difficult survival situations is a cold weather scenario. Remember, cold weather is an adversary that can be as dangerous as an enemy soldier. Every time you venture into the cold, you are pitting yourself against the elements. With a little knowledge of the environment, proper plans, and appropriate equipment, you can overcome the elements. As you remove one or more of these factors, survival becomes increasingly difficult. Remember, winter weather is highly variable. Prepare yourself to adapt to blizzard conditions even during sunny and clear weather.​

Cold is a far greater threat to survival than it appears. It decreases your ability to think and weakens your will to do anything except to get warm. Cold is an insidious enemy; as it numbs the mind and body, it subdues the will to survive.​

Cold makes it very easy to forget your ultimate goal--to survive.​

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

UPDATE on my EPOXY FLOORING PROBLEM:

Well it took about a MONTH, but the epoxy has finally hardened and looks great.

The floor has been carpeted with a marine carpet that is nearly the same color as the epoxy coating that I sprayed down. I had to put the carpet in so I could actually USE the Snow Trac because the epoxy didn't harden.

I also sprayed epoxy on the lower side areas and around the transmission hump area as well as on the back and bottom of the drivers seat. It all looks great and now that it is finally hardened it should provide a huge amount of protection too. I'm sure the epoxy under the carpet has set up like glue and the carpet is now firmly stuck to the floor, which is fine, because it looks very good too, and being a waterproof marine carpet with rubber backing it is just adding one more layer of protection to the wood floor.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

Pictures please.

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

ANOTHER UPDATE: Rear Bench Seats for my Snow Trac

I didn't have much time to work this weekend, but I did manage to build & upholster the brand new lower seat cushions. They were constructed out of 1/4" plywood, cut into a rectangle approximately 15" by 46" and clipped 2 of corners (front inside and back exterior corners) at 45-degree angles to fit around some obsticals. 2" of upholstry foam was then glued to the plywood. The whole thing was covered in upholtry batting and then in Hawaiian Barkcloth.

I had some rubber mats that I was using as the seats covers and they were fine but provided no padding and no insulation from the cold. I honestly don't think the 2" padding will increase the comfort level too much since most people are already wearing snow gear, but the seats look pretty good!

I still have to make the backrests. They will be constructed using the same method. I believe they will probably be attached using a wide strip of Velcro unless I can come up with some other attachment method that will allow me to attach & remove them without too much grief and no physical modifications to the Snow Trac.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

Bob any pics available?

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

NOPE. I didn't shoot any. Sorry. But I've got plenty more to do, so I can shoot some pictures of the seats and how I fit them in later.

 

[Ice Queen]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

I believe that the electricity board in Scotland, UK use them for access to the power lines when the weather is snowy up in the mountains.

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

I believe that the electricity board in Scotland, UK use them for access to the power lines when the weather is snowy up in the mountains.

I had some information that they were used in Canada for the same purpose. Are they still in use by the electric utility in Scotland? I'm amazed at how durable these little machines are. It seems that with reasonable care, they will plod along forever and their useful lifespan is not even close to used up when they are 30 or 40 years old.

 

[Snowcat Operations]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

Yes one of the major utilities company CN used the Snow Masters. They are now all gone and replaced with Tuckers (painted white).

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

Thought I would bring up my old thread with some updates . . .


Most of what I wanted to accomplish did not happen this summer do to a series of small health issues that kept me out of the garage. However, there has been a lot of activity lately in doing some upgrades to the Snow Trac.

I did NOT get anything done on the interior, but there are a bunch of little issues that are now in progress (some of these are completed, some are started but not yet finished, some I just have the parts for but have not started, all will be done in fairly short order) I wanted to get some radios added, some sound insulation installed, and considered building a wood dashboard but none of that got beyond the planning stages

• Dual Battery Set Up with 4 position switch to choose battery 1, 2, both or neither.
• New PIAA headlamps mounted above the front windshields.
• New Hella rubber armored side lights (one on each side)
• New Hella rubber armored rear facing lights
• New exterior mirrors mounted on each side of the cabin.
• New fuse block, with modern fuses, and almost all new wiring throughout the Snow Trac.
• New high output 95amp Alternator
• New high performance Bosch coil
• New high performance spark plug wires
• Engine Tune up
• New high flow air filter
• New fan inside the cabin that can be adjusted to blow on either the windows or into the passenger area (depending on weather!)
• Controlling the lights are "retro" looking Hella switches that are installed left of the steering wheel on the dash, they look stock because they are similar to switches that were used in the 1960's and 1970's.
• Local graphics shop is making up a new shift pattern and dashboard decals to identify everything.

Below are the switches, rubber Hella side/rear area lights & mirrors that are installed.

 

[bczoom]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

• New exterior mirrors mounted on each side of the cabin.

Exterior mirrors?

I would "think" that they wouldn't be much help on a snow trac. Between the terrain/bouncing and snow accumulation, I wouldn't think you could see out of them.

 

[Melensdad]

Re: 1972 Aktiv Fischer ST4 "Snow Trac"

Exterior mirrors?

I would "think" that they wouldn't be much help on a snow trac. Between the terrain/bouncing and snow accumulation, I wouldn't think you could see out of them.

They are basically going to be used for backing up off the trailer, into tight spots, etc. I would not expect that they would be used for anything other than tight space use like backing it off the 4 post lift, etc. Out in a field or even along a roadway I really don't see them as providing much utility. But it is sort of a pain to see toward the rear and I think these will help. I've seen many others that had them and always thought they would be good idea.

OH, and ONE MORE THING that will be done. The brakes will get fixed!!! I've got the Snow Trac up at my warehouse, before it goes home it will have working brakes (again).

 

[Melensdad]

I really need to get a new picture phone!!! Sorry about the terrible photos. I had some time to go play around and had my camera/phone with me so I snapped a couple photos.

The left side mirror is in place but not tighted up yet. The right mirror is not mounted yet, but it was a very easy job to mount. The top bracket is screwed into face of the windshield frame and the bottom mount is fastened under the wing window on the side of the cab. It fits nicely and is pretty sturdy. It will be interesting to see how much/little they vibrate under running conditions.

 

[Melensdad]

The first photo shows the 3 light switches, mounted into my dash.

The upper left side of the dash had nothing there and the 3 switches look just like they belong there. From the look of the switches anyone looking into the cabin would just assume they are factory originals One of the switches controls the 2 side lights, one controls the 2 rear lights and one controls the 2 PIAA front mounted lights.
​

Photo #2 shows the new fan mounted on the cabin roof.

Because the Snow Trac cabin is uninsulated and just made from single wall sheet aluminum I mounted the fan to a small piece of scrap sheet steel that was cut into a rectangle and mounted to two pieces of box steel frame that the cabin ceiling is attached to.
I am not sure how/where I will switch the control for the fan.
​

 

[Melensdad]

WOW another milestone has been achieved today!!!

When I got the Snow Trac, only 1 headlamp worked. It was about as bright as a birthday candle and just about as useful too. So I upgraded to some H4 Halogen inserts and they were a VAST improvement, but the lights were cabable of 'Hi/Low' Beam but I could only get the 'Low' beam to work. At the time that was an amazing improvement and I was happy to have that, but I knew it still could be better if I could get the wiring fixed.

The wiring is now fixed. I have Hi/Low beams. Today has turned out to be a very productive day Lights, switches, mirrors, fan!

 

[BigAl]

I would think adding the fan will be a great improvment . I have one for each end of my KT7 but I seem to be running out of room to install stuff !

 

[Melensdad]

I think the fan will be very good for keeping me cooler on SUMMER drives, and probably will help to keep the windows clear in the winter.

The thing I am looking most forward to is all the new lighting. Evening drives are common for us and so we are often out after dark. Having 4 very bright forward facing lights will really let us see what we are driving toward and the side lights will be nice for area lighting. I suspect the rear lights will have limited use, when backing up at night, when loading things into the Snow Trac, etc.

 

[Eric L]

Bob, what do you have installed/planned for interior lighting?

my Tucker has one small (factory?) lamp behind the drivers seat with a switch on it, ..useful, but lacking for actually seeing what your looking for at night.

Eric

 

[mlang2005]

You cant beat a compact fluorescent rv style light for an interior light. super bright and very low power draw.

 

[Melensdad]

Bob, what do you have installed/planned for interior lighting?

You cant beat a compact fluorescent rv style light for an interior light. super bright and very low power draw.

This is one of the many areas where I am really torn. I want to keep the "original look" and the classic 1960's/1970's "style" and appearance of the Snow Trac, but I also want to make it more practical and useable. The light switches I bought to control my new front/side/rear lights have old style "bakelite" knobs and look original, but have modern switch mechanisms behind the dash. The chrome fan I added is a modern fan, but it looks like the old fans that were in school busses, trucks and taxi cabs during the 60's & 70's. . . they are now commonly available in plastic and that would not look right. So a new flourescent fixture would be a modern addition that would not "fit in" to the look of the Snow Trac's interior, however, it would be a very practical solution.

I have an original Hella light, but at this point it is not wired to anything!!! So there is no clue if the light actually works, heck I'm not even sure if I have a bulb in the fixture. But according to the parts manual, it is only a 5 watt bulb So there is no way that it could provide much light output even if it does work.

I could probably find several old Hella lights and wire them to one switch to increase the light output? However, if I could find a modern high output LED light that I could put into the original Hella fixture, that would be my ideal fix for the problem.

For now, I'm going to try to get the original wired properly, once I have the wiring to that fixture correct, then I can take the next step to the upgrade.

 

[Eric L]

these would be cool for mood lighting. they're fairly bright and real low profile, but they dont fit the "retro" look.

1" wide by 4.250" long and .375" high

Eric

 

[bczoom]

This is one of the many areas where I am really torn. I want to keep the "original look" and the classic 1960's/1970's "style" and appearance of the Snow Trac, but I also want to make it more practical and useable.

Bob,

How does the Hawaiian theme interior play into keeping the "original look"?

Maybe some 12v rope lights around the roof perimeter would work nicely.

 

[Melensdad]

Eric L . . . if I could find some bright LEDs like that, probably a multiple bulb fixture, that I could take apart and fit inside the original Hella fixture, I would do that.

Brian . . . I'm sorry, all I heard was But I ask you, what could be more timeless & classic that a traditional Hawaiian barkcloth fabric on the bench seats? I suggest nothing!

 

[Jim_S]

Bob, Maybe some 12v rope lights around the roof perimeter would work nicely.

here's something that fits the theme or how about something farm themed?

 

[Eric L]

Eric L . . . if I could find some bright LEDs like that, probably a multiple bulb fixture, that I could take apart and fit inside the original Hella fixture, I would do that.

http://www.roundeyes.com/LED_Lighting-Off_Road_LED_s_6_Pack_Of_Mini_s_Any_One_Color.html these are smaller

 

[mlang2005]

Bob post a pic of your fixture I dont know what it looks like but could you use a rubber mount 4'' white LED reverse light for a big truck, cheap and bright.

 

[Melensdad]

Bob post a pic of your fixture I dont know what it looks like but could you use a rubber mount 4'' white LED reverse light for a big truck, cheap and bright.

The light looks like this one . . . (picture is from a VW parts supplier)
It is a little over 1" wide and maybe 5" long.