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Adventures in Snowcatting

Thanks, PG and groomerguy !!

I had been on a mission to plow the "sn-ice" away from the gate on the state snowmobile trail that crosses my land so it would be possible to open it.

Figured that I might as well help the power company trim the trees :mrgreen:

PG, you can have any one you like but shipping may be a problem :flowers:
 
Nice picture Sally, but I think you are overloading the suspension on that J-5:yum::yum:
OK why do you have only one yellow wheel bearing cover? is it so when its near dark you know which end is the front.:bonk:
 
pixie said:
Captured a wild Christmas tree.
Click to expand...

I like the Bumblebee paint job, makes winter look a bit more mild inspite of Global Warming..:mrgreen:

Looks like you pack a pretty mean lunch when out hunting Christmas Trees by the look of the Cooler strapped on the side!

Seems you were having way too much fun that day, keep it up!
 
Finally! :thumb: Spent the entire day out there packing trail around town. We still don't have much snow but enough to start getting a base down. I bounced back and forth between the Lamtrac and the BR160 training a new operator. It was a tad bit rough but nothing broke even though it was still very cold today(-35C)

http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t265/bcdlavis/?action=view&current=100_0655.flv

(sorry about the shakiness in the video, new operator at the controls and not much snow resulting in a rough jerky ride)
 

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On Friday both groomers were out breaking trail further to the east of Marathon. A drive motor hose wore out on the BR-160. A new hose was made up and installed on Sunday. They continued going east and after about 15km one of the tracks broke on the BR-160.

Paul and I went out yesterday morning and patched the track. Took a while to get enough heat under the BR engine with the tiger torch before the BR would start up.

We managed to continue on to Dunc Lake without any further problems. Less snow the further east we went. Dunc Lake is 5 km short of our eastern limit, but we will not go further east until there is more snow and the neighboring club to the east comes this way. Hope to bring the machines home after christmas.

http://www.sno-kickers.com/gallery/
 
I see its rough going for you guys too. Still not much snow. We'd like to start heading west on the A trail but we don't really want to be tearing tracks or breaking cleets on either machine. The br160 will be heading to Longlac soon as their machine is down with a busted manifold. They are waiting for parts apparently.
 
Great video. Fun to see snowcats in action.
Could you tell me how to post a video clip I have? "Doc" told me the photo gallery was the only alternative, but obviously you've found another way.
 
Headed out later this afternoon to break open a 97km run. this is the run I did last season in 21 hrs. But that was two passes. As I type this, the Lamtrac is on its way there. Should be an 11 hr run for them as they are breaking trail for the first time this season so it's slower going but I should make it back a little quicker than that this eve as there will already be one pass done and the creeks will be filled in.
 
This has been an outstanding Thread. Great Picts too. 94K? that's a "Long-Haul" for any track rig. Your machine must be a caddilac! Keep it up, Thanks!
 
Yep, 97km one way. I did the run straight last season two ways. That's one heck of a long day. Left at 3:30pm on a friday, ran through the night and got back around 1pm on saturday. I'd never be able to do that running the Bombardier. I've got a bad left shoulder and use my left hand for the steering(it's got the sticks). After a few hours, my left arm is on fire running that think. The lamtrac is different though. Steering wheel, more comfortable, more interior room even though the cab is narrower. Heck, it's even got cruise control!!!!! I use that for the long open stretches of trail on the pipeline that go for miles. It's not actually cruise control. Just a high speed idle knob. I get the machine going, set the idle at 2100rpm then just sit back and steer. You have to know the trail like the back of your hand though to do this. I know where all the obstacles such as creeks and rocks are.
 
What a long night!!!!!

We left at around 5:30pm yesterday after refueling and made it back at 7am. Everything went great up until the last 300 feet before getting to the garage this morning. Went to climb a bank on the shoulder of the road and when I raised the drag to clear the bank, a shear pin broke and the drag slammed back down. I had a spare though. Just popped a new one in and away we went for the last few hundred feet. Talk about timing. Everything goes great all night then, when the finishing line is within site, something breaks. Ah well, minor problems......no biggie.
Here's a couple pics. I took a couple videos also but it's taking a while to download them for some reason. I'll put them on later. Very tired......night night!!!!
 

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The last time I looked, this thread looks like it may hold the record for "Views", making it the #ONE Thread! I love it!
 
Correction: My mistake, it looks like "A Snow Cat Tour, with 18,247 views, and Thiokol 601 Restore, with 12,372 views hold the top spots. Still, only a few threads ever exceed 2000. This one certainly has been a winner. (It's a Mathematician/Statistician "Thing")
 
That was my original intention for this thread. For everyone to share stories and pictures of their snowcatting adventures. After all, that's why we're here, isn't it? Because we all share a passion for snowcats. The way I see it is that even though my snowcatting experiences are different than most on this forum, it all boils down to one thing we all share. And that's a love for snowcatting. Just spreadin the love.....

meanwhile.......while you were sleeping........

http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t265/bcdlavis/?action=view&current=MVI_1314.flv



(please ingnore the majorly cracked windshield, we kinda gave up on changing it as every new one we've put in came back cracked)
 
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Went out bright and early this morning for a 30 mile run(one way) heading north. I took a bunch of video's as I was alone on this run. This run has a couple rough spots. One being along the side of the highway where there's a bunch of rocks and stumps everywhere that makes it slow going. Then, there's the hill. It's a short hill but steep with very little snow on it which makes a lack of traction a big issue for us. I had to unhook the drag and make a pass up to pack it first. No problems the first run up but it was a different story with the drag on behind. I made it up but just barely. Spun right down to the gravel. Nothing broke which kinda surprised me the way it took a beating going up. Here's a few pictures from today. Video's to come once they're done uploading to the computer.
 

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[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPA6Rk9jdCg"]YouTube - Lamtrac Trail grooming1[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2gq0Y4gvm0"]YouTube - Lamtrac trail grooming2[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd52NS5_wM8"]YouTube - Lamtrac trail grooming3[/ame]

still more to come.....I had a mile stretch at the end of our part of the trail where the snowmobiles have to follow a bush road. I used my front blade to carry over snow from the bank on the side of the road while at the same time dragging it to make a base for sleds to ride on.

We've got a big poker run going on this weekend linking three different communities and clubs together. So, I wanted to make sure my part of the trail system is in top shape in time for the run.
 
I filmed a bit going down the hill....

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEsMcCyH050&feature=channel"]YouTube - Lamtrac trail grooming 5[/ame]
 
Here's a couple short clips showing how I rolled the bank back to make a trail on the shoulder of the bush road.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V76Q9u8gdYk&feature=channel_page"]YouTube - Lamtrac trail grooming4[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_eRxKmcaWg"]YouTube - MVI 1338[/ame]

And finally.....heading back to the clubhouse. This trail gets done lots so it's nice and flat. Smoother than most highways.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJHayGqapWc"]YouTube - Lamtrac Trail grooming6[/ame]
 
Yes, that is a very nice trail. Allot of our trails are like that. Smaller rolling hills and tighter twisties on some sections, other sections like the pipeline I groomed last weekend are wide, flat, and straight. Fun on a sled but boring to groom. Try going for four hours in a straight line without falling asleep after you've already done 7 hrs of tight twisty trails. Thank god for tilt steering, cruise control, satellite radio, air ride seats, built in jerky dispensor, and a good cup of coffee.
 
I like those videos, your trail systems are some of the best maintained, smooth, & flat trails you could ever ask for. We road from the Soo to Wawa & back last week :thumb:
 
groomerguyNWO said:
Okay....this isn't really snowcatting related but I'll put it here anyways since it has to do with my marathon snowcatting adventure last weekend mentioned in a previous post.

Today, I got a chance to do some snowmobiling with a few guys who work for a television show called SnowmobilerTV and a popular magazine up here called Snowgoer Magazine. Each winter, they tour different areas of the country and do some filming and take pictures for their show/magazine. I rode with them a good part of the day today over the trail I groomed last weekend. Before parting ways, they interviewed me for an upcoming episode on their tv show which will air next winter sometime. They appeared to really enjoy themselves and basically told me that my trails were some of the best they've driven on this winter.:thumb:
Click to expand...

Just got word that they are doing a two show episode of my area over the next couple weeks. Looking forward to it.
 
Have I mentioned how much I hate hydraulic leaks. Well, I hate 'em. Hate 'em!!!! We went out yesterday for a few hours with the lamtrac and drag over to a local sawmill to pick up a bundle of wood for a family sliding day this weekend. We are holding a poker run and a family sliding day as part of our towns winter carnival.

So anyways, everything went smooth yesterday but today was another story. Went over to fire up the lamtrac at my borther's place where we had it parked. The wood is still piled up on the drag so I had to unhook that drag, walk the machine 7 miles back out to the clubhouse and pin up to the 8 ft drag. That part went ok. On my way back to town, the machine started chugging. I knew right away I had a hydraulic leak so I stopped and started to fix it. Trust me, crawling around in the snow under the machine with hydraulic oil dripping all over you ain't no fun. There's two lines going from the main pump to each drive motor. These lines are 1 1/2 inch thick going into a 3/4 inch 90degree elbow into the pump. This is perhaps the only major complaint I have with the hydraulic setup on the lamtrac. The hoses aren't an inch longer than they need to be. So if you have any kind of ice buildup on the lines, they pull down away from the frame and bend the elbow creating a hairline crack. This happens about once a year and when it does, there goes 50 bucks for a new elbow and around 80 bucks for another pail of oil to add to the tank. Real pain in the A$$. I took a few pics today but forgot my camera in the lamtrac so I'll have to get them later.
 
dang that sucks. :( I guess at least your out side today.... I am recovering from a PITA cold. and just working in the office today.
 
Here's a quick video I took today heading back to the clubhouse to pick up the 8' drag. No sound on this one as I used the cheap camera today. It doesn't record sound.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE4k7OWsNmI"]YouTube - Trail grooming in Geraldton Ontario[/ame]
 
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