Pisten Bully 400 service and operations

[ArlyA]

The tracks were pulled to service the torsion bars, hubs bearings and the tracks themselves. These are not the wide at 30+" something. (I forget there actual width) In the second photo is the cylinder that keeps them tensioned which is adjustable via the operator.

 

[ArlyA]

While the tracks were off, I replaced all the bent tack mount brackets as seen in the 1st 2 photos. The water bottle was to cool the plates as they were ground down. I also had replaced a complete cleat and guide since a bolt was broken within the unit but no photos were taken.

 

[number two]

I found it interesting that the wiper arms/blades are heated with engine coolant.

 

[IXLR8]

How long does it take to do this service? I am guessing this is the yearly get ready for winter service.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm quite new at this but we've been working on these two machines for two weeks now. Granted that's as we await on parts and others impairments, so this is not solid work time..... Oil changes, suspension works, tracks idler bearings etc, etc. Snow machines need lots and lots of maintenance.

How long does it take to do this service? I am guessing this is the yearly get ready for winter service.

 

[bridge4]

 

[BrokenTrack]

In watching YouTube Videos, it seems Pisten Bully is getting into agriculture now too. Their ability to pull, yet float over wet ground is where farmers are most interested in them. With PTO's and 3 Point hitches on some of them now, I can see the draw. The tracks seem like a maintenance headache, but what kind of tracks aren't really. If you go where most machines cannot, then there is going to be a cost for that.

Congratulations on the job. I bet that will be fun!

 

[civilian]

In watching YouTube Videos, it seems Pisten Bully is getting into agriculture now too. Their ability to pull, yet float over wet ground is where farmers are most interested in them. With PTO's and 3 Point hitches on some of them now, I can see the draw. The tracks seem like a maintenance headache, but what kind of tracks aren't really. If you go where most machines cannot, then there is going to be a cost for that.

Congratulations on the job. I bet that will be fun!

I assume the Bully tracks are similar to dozer or excavator tracks as far as dirt usage. Jon

 

[ArlyA]

You can purchase whatever cleat style and width, to fit your particular needs. Ours are on the narrow side at 38" due to the medium moisture content snow we receive here and our trails narrow width. Those cleats make the Bully very close to the same width as the drags we use. We use rubber cleats for road crossings. Cleats also come in steel or aluminum construction and up to 6ft wide for the 400. They are different from construction machine tracks.

I assume the Bully tracks are similar to dozer or excavator tracks as far as dirt usage. Jon

 

[ArlyA]

Here are photos of some of the suspension components. The 1st one is some of the torsion bars used in each machine. Do note, 2 of them go all the way across so they are longer. Next are 2 sets of driver cogs on machines that are in the shop today. Yes they are different. Then 2 idler arms and yes, they do break. Last one is a welder working on suspension breaks. Clear as mud???

 

[ArlyA]

Kässbohrer has had there fingers in the ag industry for many years. I friend of ours in Sioux Falls SD runs a business pushing beets into processors with his bullys each fall. I just looked for a video of that being done but could not locate any. I'll email him and ask if there is any.

In watching YouTube Videos, it seems Pisten Bully is getting into agriculture now too. Their ability to pull, yet float over wet ground is where farmers are most interested in them. With PTO's and 3 Point hitches on some of them now, I can see the draw. The tracks seem like a maintenance headache, but what kind of tracks aren't really. If you go where most machines cannot, then there is going to be a cost for that. Congratulations on the job. I bet that will be fun!

 

[TCowner]

Our snowmobile club had a Bombi BR180 for trail grooming for several years. Maintenance and some pretty high depreciation on these specialty trail grooming vehicle caused us to go in a different direction. We purchased a new 150 hp Case IH tractor and installed Soucy tracks. The cost was comparable to that of the larger specialized groomers like new Tucker Sno-Cat or Pisten Bully. The advantage we saw was that we purchased a new tractor with a warranty and service that could be done by our local dealer. The dealer was also a Soucy dealer so there was experience with these types of tracks on tractors and combines.

So we purchased a tractor that could be sold with about 500 hours and would have its new tires as they were never used. Low hour tractors hold their resale value so well that we found the cost per hour for the equipment was lower than for the specialized equipment.

Now, there is an issue with weight and when they get stuck, and they do, they are a bit of challenge to "unstuck" them. And on some of our hills, when icy, we can struggle. We are looking into some ice studs for the tracks but no final decision has been made.

In SE Minnesota are snow depth levels are much, much less than that in the UP of Michigan so the tractor/track program may indeed not work there. But for our use, with a much more moderate snow base, we are quite happy with the results. In fact, we were so happy that we added a John Deere with tracks to our trail grooming arsenal about 3 years ago.

 

[ArlyA]

This organization just sold there last tractor which was a JD with a Soucy kit. They tell me it towed well but steering was an issue but the real negative was they completely rebuilt the tracks every 2 years or so for about 20K. Before that I know they ran some new Hollands with some different track kits.

Our snowmobile club had a Bombi BR180 for trail grooming for several years. Maintenance and some pretty high depreciation on these specialty trail grooming vehicle caused us to go in a different direction. We purchased a new 150 hp Case IH tractor and installed Soucy tracks. The cost was comparable to that of the larger specialized groomers like new Tucker Sno-Cat or Pisten Bully. The advantage we saw was that we purchased a new tractor with a warranty and service that could be done by our local dealer. The dealer was also a Soucy dealer so there was experience with these types of tracks on tractors and combines.

So we purchased a tractor that could be sold with about 500 hours and would have its new tires as they were never used. Low hour tractors hold their resale value so well that we found the cost per hour for the equipment was lower than for the specialized equipment.

Now, there is an issue with weight and when they get stuck, and they do, they are a bit of challenge to "unstuck" them. And on some of our hills, when icy, we can struggle. We are looking into some ice studs for the tracks but no final decision has been made.

In SE Minnesota are snow depth levels are much, much less than that in the UP of Michigan so the tractor/track program may indeed not work there. But for our use, with a much more moderate snow base, we are quite happy with the results. In fact, we were so happy that we added a John Deere with tracks to our trail grooming arsenal about 3 years ago.

 

[bridge4]

This organization just sold there last tractor which was a JD with a Soucy kit. They tell me it towed well but steering was an issue but the real negative was they completely rebuilt the tracks every 2 years or so for about 20K. Before that I know they ran some new Hollands with some different track kits.

How much/how often do you need to do similar to the current machines you are running?

 

[cdaigle430]

I see these everyday-they make them about 500 feet from where I work in Lewiston Maine.

 

[ArlyA]

I'm new here but they did tell me that maintenance was a issue with the JD and its Soucy pods. Towed good but operators had difficulty keeping it on the trail. Sorry I can't be more informative.

How much/how often do you need to do similar to the current machines you are running?

 

[cdaigle430]

370 hp seems like a lot for grooming trails, compared to what some semis have. Jon

They need to work hard at high elevations and the push snow while dragging snow.

 

[jonsstihl]

I used to drive snow cats for a ski hill started on a br 275 then went to br 350 even got to drive a prinoth beast back when it was a BR500 prototype. double the horsepower of a br275 and 50% wider blade on the front. Bombardier sold out to Prinoth but they are still assembled 20 minutes from where I live. Drove a pisten bully as a demo at the ski hill. does it have the ball for the joystick??

I would think the maintenance would get to you but you definitely float better in thick powder. the pisten bully i drove had aluminium crossbars on the tracks.

keep an eye on those cross bars they can really do a number when they break. We had carbide cleats on the cross bars for ice but if you put to many on it actually made it worse because there was less pressure per cleat the more you add on. I think we had two carbide cleats per cross bar but not on every cross bar.

the coolant hoses around the wipers really helped when operating near snow cannons that stuff really gummed up the machines.

 

[jonsstihl]

there are aftermarket companies that rebuild rear sprockets but the recipe for the plastic (resin) is very important to make them last.

 

[ArlyA]

More service photos taken today. First ones are repairing of the cracked torsion bar anchor tubes. Then what the all-way blade setup looks like.. Last ones are the next welding job to replace the worn blade cutting edges.. Do they need it?? :confused2: