Groomer woes

MZEMS2

New member
Was out grooming yesterday and we were trying to open up a trail that was drifted closed at a road crossing. The road was closed for 3 days, til yesterday when we got up there. The trail boss says, "if you get enough speed, you'll be able to bust through".....uuhhhh, no, I don't think so! Here's what we ended up with ...LOL.... Shoveled for a half hour and got pulled out by the neighbor. Needless to say, this crossing will be relocated for the rest of this season, and moved for next season. The tractor was hung up on its belly, along with the drag teeter-tottering on the snow bank. I should have listened to my own gut and not even tried it....
 

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jr37

Well-known member
Do you have a stiff hitch set-up on that groomer? Is it possible to raise it entirely out of the snow so you have no snow load in the drag? Our drags can ride entirely on the pan and the front of the drag can be a couple feet above the snow, makes it easier on the tractor in situations like yours. But once your hung up, it doesn't much matter what you have. A couple years ago my dad and I got our Tucker hung in a drift, and didn't even have the drag on it. Didn't help the the drift we were in was 6' deep or more and 200' long.
 

MZEMS2

New member
Yeah, normally we bust down the road crossings with our tracked Tucker...not sure why he thought I could get through it. The drag is set up on a stiff three point hitch. I had the wheels down and the hitch as high as it could go. The pan of the drag is actually still partially out on the road at this point in the pictures. It was just too high of a bank from the plows, too deep of a ditch, and too deep of a drift, so I got "dummy hung". Lesson learned. Next time we'll use the Tucker to push it back first. This is the last trail we had to open up crossings on, and it's a long way from the shop. I was already out grooming and he called me and asked me to head that way to give it a whirl. A whirl was what we got. This trail is in the NW quadrant of Dane county. It's open to sleds now, but people had to bypass this crossing the first couple days.
 

groomerdave

New member
Been there before. Usually will make it if you drop the drag off and bust through it a few times, or find a sledder to pack it down a whole bunch of times. Don't know till you try!
Think Snow! -Dave
 

79_srx

New member
Hey i know you that That's our groomer! when that happen? i was out with the tucker fri nite and all day sat 119 mi grooming. was that on the ranch trail? if it was i bet Chris sent you that way. that's unreal how much that will go through! We will be parking the tucker soon and only using the deer ,tucker is geting 1mi per gal the deer gets 8mi gal
Was out grooming yesterday and we were trying to open up a trail that was drifted closed at a road crossing. The road was closed for 3 days, til yesterday when we got up there. The trail boss says, "if you get enough speed, you'll be able to bust through".....uuhhhh, no, I don't think so! Here's what we ended up with ...LOL.... Shoveled for a half hour and got pulled out by the neighbor. Needless to say, this crossing will be relocated for the rest of this season, and moved for next season. The tractor was hung up on its belly, along with the drag teeter-tottering on the snow bank. I should have listened to my own gut and not even tried it....
 

lookin4snow

New member
We ran the Tucker the first three nights and then got the tractor out. Between the two we probably have 40 hours of machine time in since the snow arrived. Going out to test the trails shortly. Have not been down your way yet.

I was down by Roxbury on Saturday and met a group of mountain sleds. I was on my new Summit XM breaking it in. The stupid jerks were riding in a alfalfa field carving powder going right around the stay on trail signs, alfalfa field. I motioned to the last sledder who had to work to get around the closely placed stakes to keep sleds out and he had his blinders on. What a bunch of jerks.

We have had major corner cutting issues on our trails from this snow storm. Further, there are many fields where people have just decided to rip it up. I sure hope we are able to keep peace with our landowners but they have a right to be upset with some of the idiots out there.
 
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79_srx

New member
Did you get both groomers out? learned the hard way how to tare a track fri nite at least i was 40 ft from the road. hows your tucker on fuel?
We ran the Tucker the first three nights and then got the tractor out. Between the two we probably have 40 hours of machine time in since the snow arrived. Going out to test the trails shortly. Have not been down your way yet.

I was down by Roxbury on Saturday and met a group of mountain sleds. I was on my new Summit XM breaking it in. The stupid jerks were riding in a alfalfa field carving powder going right around the stay on trail signs, alfalfa field. I motioned to the last sledder who had to work to get around the closely placed stakes to keep sleds out and he had his blinders on. What a bunch of jerks.

We have had major corner cutting issues on our trails from this snow storm. Further, there are many fields where people have just decided to rip it up. I sure hope we are able to keep peace with our landowners but they have a right to be upset with some of the idiots out there.
 

MZEMS2

New member
Hey i know you that That's our groomer! when that happen? i was out with the tucker fri nite and all day sat 119 mi grooming. was that on the ranch trail? if it was i bet Chris sent you that way. that's unreal how much that will go through! We will be parking the tucker soon and only using the deer ,tucker is geting 1mi per gal the deer gets 8mi gal

Jay is that you?, this is Rick, and yup, Chris was determined it would make it. He stood on the road and motioned me to "give 'er" and this is what happened Saturday morning. That was, and still is quite a pile and drift up there. I think we'll still have to take the Tucker up there to open it up. Sleds have it opened up a bit now. I went up from the ranch side up to Sherbel but no farther than Kahl. After this I went back down to the ranch, we weren't gonna attempt going down to Willey's. The tractor is finally starting to stay on top and not breaking through, but as soon as 4wd is used it cuts in. Probably go back out Wed night, not sure yet. What nights are you grooming? I went to the Whiporwill Sunday night.
 

79_srx

New member
next time tell him to do it because hes never wrong!Tonight at 11 still going to use the tucker tho . don't hurt my deer! me and her bonded over the years ha ha
Jay is that you?, this is Rick, and yup, Chris was determined it would make it. He stood on the road and motioned me to "give 'er" and this is what happened Saturday morning. That was, and still is quite a pile and drift up there. I think we'll still have to take the Tucker up there to open it up. Sleds have it opened up a bit now. I went up from the ranch side up to Sherbel but no farther than Kahl. After this I went back down to the ranch, we weren't gonna attempt going down to Willey's. The tractor is finally starting to stay on top and not breaking through, but as soon as 4wd is used it cuts in. Probably go back out Wed night, not sure yet. What nights are you grooming? I went to the Whiporwill Sunday night.
 

MZEMS2

New member
next time tell him to do it because hes never wrong!Tonight at 11 still going to use the tucker tho . don't hurt my deer! me and her bonded over the years ha ha

LOL....I won't hurt her, we've been bonding too. She likes me! I'm gonna PM ya my phone number.
 
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