How much ice?

[Dmorency]

Hi, I just bought a Bombardier SV-301 the weight is 4955kg. I was wondering how thick the ice should be to travel on? Thanks

 

[pixie]

Check the graph at this website.

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/ice_fishing_safety.php

I searched for "ice thickness guide".

A pickup needs 12-15 inches. Your 10,000 pound rig ??? Two - three feet ???

Welcome to this forum. Got any pictures ?

 

[snowbird]

Glad to see you in the forum!
(I'd be too chicken to drive on ice of any thickness).

 

[Dmorency]

Thanks for the replies. Thats what I was thinking, at least 2 feet of ice. I have to cross 2 rivers and a couple of ponds. I have been grooming these trails before with alpines but wanted comfort and warmth.
I was just reading a few other posts and I see, snowbird that you have a sv-200 ( I think it was).How much does it weigh. I looks like my sv-301. I didn't think mine weighed that much, but that's what's on my registration.

 

[snowbird]

I'm going by memory (not a very safe plan), but I think the specifications page for my SV200 says 4400 pounds, so your SV301 could certainly be about 5000. I, too, was surprised at the 4400 pounds. They don't look that heavy. Maybe it's all that body putty Bombardier used to smooth the seams in the cab.

 

[pixie]

Dry weight for a SV252 is 6000 pounds according to the spec sheets.

A 301 has more hydraulics ( I think ? ) and might have wider tracks ?

Also a diesel and filled tires will add to the weight.

 

[Lyndon]

Try this, it's a complete Ice loading thickness government guide from New Hampshire. ON the "Slope" our Ice Road Engineer, a PHd in Ice Road construction made us beef up the ice a bit to run the 4000 Ton Modules across the frozen ocean. Seemed to work pretty good, no problems. One must take in to account the water movement underneath the Ice. On Ponds that don't have much tidal action you can put a lot of weight on just a foot or 18 inches of ice. River levels rise and lower according to ambient temperatures miles away. For large lakes like Great Slave Lake and Lesser Slave Lake in the Northwest and Yukon Territories, where the Ice road truckers show was filmed for the most part, one of the problems is creating a pressure wave ahead of you that wants to blow out as you reach the shore line. NOt good as these things go. According to the tables included in this linc you can put 6 tons on just 8 or 10 inches of ice. This Ice loading was assuming one was running on Tires, not tracks, and has some margin of safety built in.

http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/ierd/ice_safety/safety.html

 

[Dmorency]

Thanks everyone.Thanks for the link Lyndon. I may not even be able to use it this year, here we are on the 17th of Jan and we have only 2 inchs of snow and this is only in places. We had a couple of feet of snow before the new year, but we had a week of rain and really warm weather that took it all.There isn't any snow in the forecast for the rest of Jan. Thanks again everyone. Don

 

[alaska120]

Just a quick piggy-back on Lyndon's...quality is just as important as quantity. Good clear ice is much stronger than cloudy. I run my loaded pickup all the time on 10-12 inches of clear ice. A 4,300 lb truck with a cord of wood...