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Posted by Sherman in Idaho [24.32.202.166] on Wednesday, January 02, 2013 at 13:28:32 :
In Reply to: OT: Wheeled Track System... posted by CSCameron [68.228.198.56] on Wednesday, January 02, 2013 at 12:11:17 :
I have not seen that particular kind in action. There was an outfit here using the bolt-on kind (replaces the wheel) on a regular van as a snow cat for a ski touring operation a few years ago. I would wonder how the track-n-o ones stay attached if you have to go through dips or side hills or turn sharply. The tracks that you can put on an ATV are pretty popular around here. The general complaint with them is you have to really wind the engine up to get any speed at all with them.
The problem I see with any add-on tracks for regular vehicles is flotation. The vehicles are considerably heavier than a dedicated snow machine and the tracks are much smaller. Lots of machines do fine on flat ground and firm snow. I knew a guy who recounted how, when he was a teenager somewhere out in Eastern Montana, they would make a "snow cat" by taking some old truck out of the bone yard, removing the fenders, separating the brake system left and right and hanging an extra pedal and master cylinder, and wrapping some old conveyor belting around the tires. They'd block the steering wheel straight ahead and use the two brake pedals to skid steer it. Apparently it worked okay out on the flats. I suppose the next step up would be to bolt a bunch of angle irons across the belting as cleats.
The real test is deep, soft snow and hills. Before I bought my Tucker, I tried out an "Argo", which is basically a low-budged plastic Weasel (still $15K, though) and the salesman couldn't even get it 1/4 of the way up the mountain towards my cabin before it was wallowing around hopelessly bogged down in the snow. It was kind of sad to see his confidence diminish as the test drive progressed and the snow got deeper. Same with most regular snowmobiles. I'll can easily take the Tucker past where the snowmobilers have gotten bogged down and given up.
Depending on your terrain and snow conditions, aftermarket tracks might work. On the other hand I suspect for what they cost you could buy a good older snow cat (Tucker or otherwise). Going a long distance on hard snow and flat ground, the aftermarket setup would probably be more comfortable but for steep roads and deep snow I'd go with the Tucker, despite the slow speed and the track maintenance. They simply do not get stuck.