New guy looking for some direction

[DIYDAD]

I just found this forum and it seems to be the right place to pose my question and if I am mistaken just let me know where this would be best put.
I am looking for a small groomer as we have about 70 acres in upstate NY on Tug Hill and I want to make/groom trails for my family to snowmobile when we are not on the trails properly, also thinking I could plow with it where needed. I was originally looking at a couple of Bombi sw48's but when poking around I seem to have found some posts stating that they don't do well on deeper snow and are really only suited for plowing. That made me look at BR100's but they don't seem to have plows that would be a huge help up there when we show up for the weekend and have 20-30 inches of snow to move to park etc. So the question is what do you folks think is a better option? Thanks for any and all help

 

[Bobcatbob]

Welcome!

With 20-30 inches of snow, an SW48 would be perfect for plowing (they are mini tanks, lots of pushing power). For grooming, I think it’s to heavy of a machine. A Bombi would work well for that. To do both, you’d likely need a bigger machine...a Tucker or Bombardier BR160. My two cents.

I’d call Brad at Minnesota Outdoors in MN.....he sells all types of snowcats, would likely have the best option for your purposes.

 

[DIYDAD]

OK thanks for that, so Bombi is the name for a group of track machines a SW48 also a Bombi? or just bigger machines? SW for side walk, what is the BR stand for and is the next number the with of the machine for all of them? sorry for so many questions but it is challenging to find information and i was not hoping to spend months searching and reading posts to get up to speed

 

[DAVENET]

Far from an expert on these, but anything with the 'SW' prefix is a sidewalk plow. They have 3 large wheels plus drive sprocket, with fairly narrow tracks and built from steel. It would plow your drive up there, but would sink out of sight once you got in the woods. The 'Bombi' is in between the SW series and the BR60+ / BR100, but are similar machines. There are a few being worked on in the restorations sections. They have 4 wheels and wider tracks for a bigger footprint for better floatation. And I agree with Bob, reach out to Brad at Minnesota Outdoors ( http://mn-outdoors.com/used-equipment/ ). He will have answers to the questions you didn't even know you wanted to ask. And simple plows can be added to most anything.

Where up on Tug Hill? I'm a member of a club up in So. Colton near Rt. 3 / Rt. 56 junction.

 

[DIYDAD]

You are a couple of hours north/east of me i am in West Turin (officially Constableville) near Lowville or Boonville on the southern part of Tug So we are there pretty much every other weekend to snowmobile/atv or whatever else I will absolutely reach out to Bob. Thanks I was thinking I don't want to get too big as the trails i have now are only about 6-7 feet wide going through the tree's thanks for the info. also if you know anything in NY that might fit my needs just let me know. Thanks again

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

the smaller machines are going to be slow to plow with you might want to look for a grooming specific machine than find a small dozer like a john deere 350 for plowing, or if you are afraid of older equipment the kubota tractor with a snowblower is an impressive piece of machinery

 

[jflarin]

I confirm that whenever there is too much snow, my J5 just get stuck there because it doesn not have a plow in front. Last week end I could barely go in the forest (Montreal area) without any load to compress the snow in some trail so I can come back later. But very soon it will be too deep.
jf

 

[DIYDAD]

Ok so i am now official, i picked up a 1980 Bombi actualy from a member of the forum he put it back togeather and did a nice job. I plan on putting the hydrolics back on it with some modifications to make it more user friendly and weld up a "rack" to protect it going through the woods. only pictures i have at the moment as it was dark when i got home last night

 

[alryA]

Nice to have you here with us DIYDAD! Please post more photos of the Bombi when you can.

 

[DIYDAD]

Hey another question for you folks anyone know of a link for a service manual for a bombi? or even a printed version? Thanks

 

[Bobcatbob]

Try this link.....operator manual (only one I could find myself online). You can call the Bombardier museum in Canada, they’ll print up an original and send for a small sum (I think I paid $30 for the SW48), though I didn’t buy one for the Bombi.

http://museebombardier.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MA0D6D-1.pdf

Bob

 

[DIYDAD]

thank you very much that will be a good place to start