Snowcats – anyone have one?

[SkiingNinja]

Anyone here have a cat for personal use? I'm debating saving up for a used one and am curious to hear if it's worth the hard search, restoration, upkeep, etc., or if I should just get a sled. I'd like to be able to go on week-long basecamp missions in the backcountry and bring friends, large tents, wood stove, etc. that sleds would be tough to do, unless we had multiple.

**This thread was edited on Nov 12th 2020 at 1:15:34pm

 

[OregonDead]

threads. this is like a pie in the sky fantasy for me. can you even drive them legally many places? would be sweet to have my own tucker

 

[cydwhit]

I don't. Search and rescue has one that we inherited from the building we work out of.

Upkeep is expensive, they get stuck easily, and you have to put a lot of work into building cat roads to be able to drive them into the backcountry. It's not like a sled where you can just brap around wherever. So they're best used as part of a bigger infrastructure, like at a resort or a cat ski opp.

Basically, you're not going to get a cat into anywhere that you couldn't get a trail sled with a trailer behind it, and the sled will travel a lot faster, and be a lot easier to maintain. (And IDK if you've started pricing out cats yet, but I bet you could buy 5 cargo sleds for the price of a cat.) If you're just looking to travel on groomed backcountry roads, a side by side with tracks is probably a good option as well. Cats just don't make sense for smaller-scale use like you're talking about, unfortunately.

 

[SkiingNinja]

I don't. Search and rescue has one that we inherited from the building we work out of.

Upkeep is expensive, they get stuck easily, and you have to put a lot of work into building cat roads to be able to drive them into the backcountry. It's not like a sled where you can just brap around wherever. So they're best used as part of a bigger infrastructure, like at a resort or a cat ski opp.

Basically, you're not going to get a cat into anywhere that you couldn't get a trail sled with a trailer behind it, and the sled will travel a lot faster, and be a lot easier to maintain. (And IDK if you've started pricing out cats yet, but I bet you could buy 5 cargo sleds for the price of a cat.) If you're just looking to travel on groomed backcountry roads, a side by side with tracks is probably a good option as well. Cats just don't make sense for smaller-scale use like you're talking about, unfortunately.

Super helpful perspective! Thanks for the insight. I'll likely get a sled + trailer option for personal use and then push my company to get a snowcat

 

[Bended_Toenail]

My boss has one that I helped to fix up over the summer. We are planning on taking it out for a couple of longer tours and booter building activities this winter.

Even he says that he doesn't need it, he only got it as payment for building a bunch of jumps and privately grooming for some rich dude. But I'm stoked for trying it out.

**This post was edited on Nov 13th 2020 at 11:49:00pm

 

[soup]

I don't. Search and rescue has one that we inherited from the building we work out of.

Upkeep is expensive, they get stuck easily, and you have to put a lot of work into building cat roads to be able to drive them into the backcountry. It's not like a sled where you can just brap around wherever. So they're best used as part of a bigger infrastructure, like at a resort or a cat ski opp.

Basically, you're not going to get a cat into anywhere that you couldn't get a trail sled with a trailer behind it, and the sled will travel a lot faster, and be a lot easier to maintain. (And IDK if you've started pricing out cats yet, but I bet you could buy 5 cargo sleds for the price of a cat.) If you're just looking to travel on groomed backcountry roads, a side by side with tracks is probably a good option as well. Cats just don't make sense for smaller-scale use like you're talking about, unfortunately.

This. A friend of mine got an old tucker at his old man's cat skiing operation. The idea behind it is way cooler than the actual reality. Just a big old hog of a diesel that gets stuck, and trailering it around is an absolute nightmare. Get a sled and a tbog.

 

[cobra_commander]

Zero experience but knowing all ski areas have a massive maintenance bay and full time staff of mechanics to keep them running is enough to convince me it’s not worth it. I’d also hate to have to brake track in snow especially in the middle of a pow day or family/friend vacation. I also know what my OR rate was in heavy units in the Army... don’t want to go back.

It’s not to say it couldn’t be a great idea and a ton of fun. The western US is crisscrossed with logging and forest service roads which can get you to a lot of places.

sounds like more work than a snowmobile, and snow mobiles are more work than I want. Best way to use a snow machine is to use your buddy’s.

 

[Bended_Toenail]

Zero experience but knowing all ski areas have a massive maintenance bay and full time staff of mechanics to keep them running is enough to convince me it’s not worth it. I’d also hate to have to brake track in snow especially in the middle of a pow day or family/friend vacation. I also know what my OR rate was in heavy units in the Army... don’t want to go back.

It’s not to say it couldn’t be a great idea and a ton of fun. The western US is crisscrossed with logging and forest service roads which can get you to a lot of places.

sounds like more work than a snowmobile, and snow mobiles are more work than I want. Best way to use a snow machine is to use your buddy’s.

Yeah it's definetly a ton of work. They are really designed for a resort with a big team of workers, and not some ski bums.

 

[50Kal]

Could you operate a snowcat privately on public lands? Yes. You would have to register similar to a OHV and follow your public lands rules and regulations.

One problem you would find is that you need roads wide enough to fit a snowcat. Lots of public winter trails (in my experience) go through woods, limiting it to people traffic and snowmobile. Logging roads and two tracks would be the limit.

Keep in mind, the second you travel with your snowcat and plow a logging road, sledheads and skimo bros will follow.

Another problem is location. You would want to live right next to the public trail that your intending to travel on.

The normal way to transport a snowcat on a semi-truck. I imagine Op is not CDL class A certified nor wants to spend the first 3 hours of the day getting to trailhead in a semi-truck.

When it comes to buying a snowcat, its buyers choice.

Older, prone to break, easier to maintain snowcat or newer, lower hours, harder to maintain electronic parts, require computer to diagnosis/certified mechanic to maintain warranty (which is critical if you intend to resell snowcat).

I drove Prinoth and Bombdiner snowcats when working at ski resorts. Great machines but because of heavy use we would put them through, they do break more often then you think.

But maybe if you have the right location, and endless stream of money go here for used snowcats. https://www.skiresortequipment.com/snowcats

Hit me up if you need an experienced snowcat driver. I'd teach you how to drive them.