Question about Tuck sno-cat

[Tacoman]

I am the new operator of a 1984 Tucker Sno-Cat 1342 and have questions. I have no prior experience with Tuckers. It feels like something is dragging somewhere in the drive train. You take you foot off the throttle and it comes to a stop. No coasting it just rolls to a quick stop. Is this kinda normal? I have a bulldozer that will accelerate going down a grade if I don't use some brake. The Tucker will just stop on that same hill. Neither the emergency or the foot brakes are dragging enough to get more than slightly warm. Tracks were very recently rebuilt and have a little slack, but not drum tight. There is some give when standing on them. The manual I have only says 'tight enough not to ratchet' and 3/8in minimum between the first and second wheels. Is there some more practical advice? As a separate project I plan to align the tracks this spring. This may be normal behavior but some confirmation and/or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks
John

 

[Blackfoot Tucker]

John,

I’m sad to say that’s pretty much ops normal. Rubber belted Tuckers take a lot of power to move them, and stop almost immediately when that power is removed (that’s also why an automatic transmission is such a nice upgrade).

 

[Tacoman]

Thanks for the reply Blackfoot. The drag does seem excessive. I am in the process of dialing things in. I still want to check the track tension. Is there a rule of thumb for setting the tension? Typically with a metal track, like on a dozer, the manufacturer will specify the sag between the top rollers. Is there something similar for rubber tracks? To me, it just seems a lot tighter than reasonable, but that just may be my dozer experience. The tracks were recently rebuilt and I suspect they were installed tight thinking there would be some initial stretch.

Anyway, thanks again. I appreciate your thoughts on the subject.
John

 

[Bennyboy1337]

It feels like something is dragging somewhere in the drive train. You take you foot off the throttle and it comes to a stop.

That dragging feeling is 50 bogie wheels and rubber in a loving embrace with each other If it makes you feel any better my '62 doesn't even have a parking break, you just leave her in gear and she won't move. Some older cats you don't even shift gears when running, you pick a gear and run exclusively in that gear, no way in hell you're shifting with the amount of drag on most of these guys.

Might be a good idea to make a post introducing yourself and your cat over on the resto section, take some picture and it will help the old cat guys on this forum with any current or future questions you have!