Tracked snow groomers

[musselmark]

Our ATV club here in eastern canada is looking a buying a 1995 Bombardier BR160 tracked groomer with 6500 hrs to groom winter trails with a drag. Can a machine like this be used for anything in the off season in terms of trail maintenance. Also would a machine like this be a giant headache in terms of parts and repairs needed. I know it depends on previous owner but generally speaking.

 

[ArlyA]

Mussel Mark, This question might be best asked on the forums/forums which of course you already have. Sorry that no one has yet responded on it but I'm pretty sure some of those guys are running BR160's. It a pretty small number of poeple on it but I'd still guess that they will in time. Just be patience... Sorry I can't be more helpful...

 

[musselmark]

Mussel Mark, This question might be best asked on the forums/forums which of course you already have. Sorry that no one has yet responded on it but I'm pretty sure some of those guys are running BR160's. It a pretty small number of poeple on it but I'd still guess that they will in time. Just be patience... Sorry I can't be more helpful...

Thanks, not much info available online about them

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I think you will find them high maintenance, even in the winter, let alone off the snow...

SR

 

[ArlyA]

A fellow on forums/forums did respond. Old machines do not have less maintenance, but more. We use a UTV in the summer for trail maintenance.

 

[jaydee325]

Since there does not seem to be much solid info out there, I'll ask a question of the OP.

Does your ATV club do any snowmobile trail grooming now? If not, your club should identify who will be operating the grooming machines and send them through some training. This will allow a more educated group to go out and shop for a groomer. Also, trained groomer operators should be able to determine if a snow trail grooming machine can also move dirt.

The old saying, "Right tool for the right job" comes to mind here. I'm thinking for dirt ATV trail maintenance, something like a skid steer would be better suited for this task. When our local snowmobile club preps trials in the fall, I've seen a skid steer more than once being put to work.

 

[troverman]

Around here all the clubs groom trails with Tucker Sno-Cat vehicles. Best vehicle for the job, in my opinion. You could use them in the summer but they are clearly designed for snow use and the tracks are vulnerable to rocks and other normal summer debris. The Tucker is probably the lowest maintenance, but still often require frequent repairs.

Sometimes you can get a good used snow cat groomer from a ski area that is getting a new machine, for a good price.

 

[ArlyA]

Around here all the clubs groom trails with Tucker Sno-Cat vehicles. Best vehicle for the job, in my opinion. You could use them in the summer but they are clearly designed for snow use and the tracks are vulnerable to rocks and other normal summer debris. The Tucker is probably the lowest maintenance, but still often require frequent repairs.

We get snow here and Tuckers have been tested but broke down while doing a single loop. They don't work everywhere. Nonetheless, all machine types have there pluses and failures.

 

[oosik]

Long ago, and today, the oil consortium - ALYESKA - use tracked vehicles, both summer and winter. The winter time vehicles had very wide tracks. The summer use vehicles had noticeably narrower tracks. The local power utility & local water utility also used tracked vehicles - Thiokol & Nodwel.

Repair & maintenance costs were high. This was because there was seldom a designated operator and these tracked vehicles HAD to go wherever the job required. I know, for a fact, that ALYESKA never cared a whit about repair or maintenance costs. The entire building of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System ( TAPS ) was a cost plus project from the get-go. You need tracked vehicles to build a project - you will need tracked vehicles for maintenance & repairs.

I would definitely suggest a newer type vehicle and one where parts, etc are readily available.

 

[Trails2004]

We get snow here and Tuckers have been tested but broke down while doing a single loop. They don't work everywhere. Nonetheless, all machine types have there pluses and failures.

Do you know what caused the Tucker to break down?