Woooow! This could possibly be the greatest TGR group buy ever!

[Alpental Rocks]

I have to say, i started grinning like a 4yearold on christmas day when i saw this thing...

snow cat

besides the fact that it may(/will) need a lot of work, just seeing it and imagining the possibilities has me grinning from ear to ear

if we had 100 mags donate $100, we might just have the cheapest catskiing available... I know i'd be willing to put some of the little money i have into this

[smuggs]

unfortunately we would all have to throw down on some land too as base camp.

[bossass]

That thing will sink like a stone in deep snow. You'd need some super mellow cat roads.

[hitmanbob]

i know this idea is all in good faith, but come on man, you need to be a bit more realistic. go get a loan, buy it, start a business, give us maggots discounts

[LightRanger]

That thing will sink like a stone in deep snow. You'd need some super mellow cat roads.

Word. Those tracks aren't very wide at all. Plus, it's probably made of solid steel with a paint job like that.

[carlobee]

looks like a very good idea.

[ill-advised strategy]

[P_McPoser]

That's a piece of shit for 10k....Smokin' crack.

[Foggy_Goggles]

http://www.resortboneyard.com/main.php

[Trackhead]

I owned a small Bombardier snowcat for a while and did countless hours of research about small cats.

The cat you want for personal use is a Thiokol Super Imp. It comes standard with a wide track, more powerful motor than the Imp, and has parts readily available. You can pick a decent one up for 8-12k. These old cats hold their value because they are still desirable for folks who have cabins in the mtns, etc. And also because they are easy to work on without special tools unlike the newer, huge, heavy, hydrostatic drive cats of today. The step down from this is the Thiokol Imp. Somewhat underpowered, but has a good psi rating of around 0.6psi.

The dream cat if you have 15-20k is the Thiokol 1500. It's a more modern cat built in the 80's that has a powerful motor and a psi rating of about .5psi on the snow. Prior to this cat, other big cats that are good are the Thiokol 1200's with the wide track.

For a cat to travel well on deep snow, the gold standard is something that only places 0.5psi. So if you're considering a cat, look for that rating or don't bother.

Super Imp, the Maggot transport.

[mr. motorcoach]

Yo, wasnt that in the shining?

[ACH]

One of my neighbors on the pass has a snow cat. I can tell you from first hand experience that the Forest service will want nothing to do with you, and will pretty much go out of it's way to say get off of our (public land that we control) land. Owning is one thing, access is another. Owning snowmobiles while only slightly less of a hassle will at least get you to the goods without someone telling you to get off the mountain.

[huck4bucks]

I had a landlord who collected old personal cats like these and refurbed them. Had 3-4 of them in his driveway. He told me for every hour of operation, it's an hour in the shop for repairs. 1:1 maintenance time isn't a very good deal. Plunk down the $300k and buy a new one.

[Shadam]

6 people??? VW enigne ??? no plow on the front ??? it might be ok in the praires, but ... will it push a load up a mountain on anything other than a logging road? Far too high in maintance, sled me please.

[sftc]

"It's powered by an aircooled VW motor."

Sign me up before I miss out on this deal.

Two quick questions: Do all of the door handles work and can I roll down the windows?

[Duker]

My family actually has a cat just like the one on the C-list add minus the camo. ours has wider tracks and is souped up a bit though. Its not a great cat but not bad either. Trackhead is right though the thioklol/lmc 1500 is the way to go, that cat is so good that pisten bully recently started making it again and calling it the scout. www.petersonequipment.com

[ACH]

no plow on the front ??? it might be ok in the praires

Good point here, forgot all about this one.

If....
The forest service granted you permission to operate (Which by the way would mean having to have a large liability binder in place) anything that is on angle worth skiing means that you will need an approach which is likely also off groomed roads.

Roads get side hilled off by blown in snow, and in some cases by slides. Without a blade you can't cut an approach. And from a practical point of view, if you aren't out managing the condition of these approaches between storms, you'll find that most of the day gets spent, just getting the place you want to ski because the road needs to be cleared all over again.

Not trying to piss on your parade, I've just been here through others experiences and frustrations.

[jmf]

The tracks you can throw on your truck always seemed like a great idea, until the day I looked into buying some. I never got the whole story, because the ballpark was like $30K.

[eldereldo]

http://www.chameleoninc.com/snowcats/index.html

[vailcat]

Umm grab a PB 600 or a new prinoth forget the name and number but has the operator seat in the middle. Thing was the snizzle when we used it at vail last winter.

[Jong Slaughter's Mom]

I have to say, i started grinning like a 4yearold on christmas day when i saw this thing...

snow cat

besides the fact that it may(/will) need a lot of work, just seeing it and imagining the possibilities has me grinning from ear to ear

if we had 100 mags donate $100, we might just have the cheapest catskiing available... I know i'd be willing to put some of the little money i have into this

Another epic fail by the beleaguered Alpental Cocks.

[jwolter7]

This might be less expensive...

http://www.mattrackspowerboards.com/

[jwolter7]

Get a fast one they look like more fun.

http://www.safetyoneinc.com/actionph...dierVideo.html
http://www.safetyoneinc.com/actionph...ckerVideo.html