Can't seem to catch a break grooming

[lenny]

Superior Snowmobile Club (Greenland/Twin Lakes)

man,,,,we have had 4 flat tires, charging system problems, suspension problems and machine have been down a lot this year so far. We are getting the front tires foamed on a few of the machines to prevent this from re-occurring. Seems like one problem after another of unexpected things not associated with regular maintenance. Sorry guys but we are pulling double shifts with what we have. New front foamed tires arrive on Wed and than we will be back to normal,,,,as long as we can groom and no more breakdowns. Hang in their guys, this foam in tires should alleviate a load of down time concerning flats.

 

[bonnevier]

Appreciate all that you and the team does...and to hear that folks are pulling double shifts is truly amazing. One can always tell where the Superior Snomo Club starts grooming on 13!

We'll be cruising thru there on Friday on our way up to Copper Harbor!

 

[Pit Grunt]

You may want to rethink the foam tires. A club by me did the same thing and then the front axle broke off due to no give. They went back to air. GOOD LUCK...

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Be careful with the foam tires as stated they can cause breakage issues because they are heavy and don't have any flex. They also don't get as good of traction because the tires can't squat and flex to the terrain.

 

[snoluver1]

When ever I have a machine that doesn't want to cooperate, I just smack it with a BFH. Make that groomer see things your way!!

 

[lenny]

thanks for the advice guys. I personally have no clue about the foam dealy. I guess we are gonna try it though because they'll be here tomorrow. Trails on our end have not been in the best shape. I'm gonna go out now and groom 13 loop and get that into shape as it's been many days since it's been groomed last. I'll keep you guys posted on the foam tires.

 

[scottiking]

I was on 13 on sat afternoon and it was in great shape! close to twin lakes tho!
lots of branches down all over tho! there has been no end to that so far! we saw trees and branches all over the trails and it would be clear on the way in and a few hours later more would be down!


I would imagine the foam tires will help!
I would assume you'll have to try to drive it a little less aggressively in those areas that "don't give" and cause those harsh breaks?!
Thanks to all you guys for giving so much of your time to make it enjoyable for all the trail riders!
Lenny- just keep the shinny side up and outta the ditch! jk

Scottiking

 

[old abe]

Keep your chin up Lenny, sounds as if it can only get better now. We all greatly appreciate all you groomer guys and gals do!

 

[Woodtic]

This is what sets you and your club above a few others,no need to mention names. You put it out there when there is a problem,and when it should be fixed. Thanks for the info,and the hard work.

 

[LarryD]

I have used foam on forklift and bobcat tires and there are versions of it that still allow the sidewalls to squat or flex with load and terrain variations just like it still has air in it.

 

[Pit Grunt]

The tire are inside the tracks on a New Holland tractor type. The club I know like said did this same thing from Truetrack and the whole front broke off. Just a heads up.. Good Luck and have a good week...

 

[sleddinfool]

Hmm, never thought about this before.. Flat tires?? Not being funny or anything, but how does one get a flat when the groomer is on snow the majority of the time? Sticks and logs? Nails (hope not)? Too bad about the groomer breaking,, How old is it..? Kevin

 

[lenny]

Hmm, never thought about this before.. Flat tires?? Not being funny or anything, but how does one get a flat when the groomer is on snow the majority of the time? Sticks and logs? Nails (hope not)? Too bad about the groomer breaking,, How old is it..? Kevin

I would only be guessing but it seems like the bead brakes and they loose air. Sometimes the driver doesn't notice right away and it doesn't take long running without air before the tire is trashed. I think track tension is important as it can slip the tire on the rim especially climbing in 4x4 dif lock and turning. I think I am going to go to the Groomer show in St.Germain coming up and see what some guys have to say.

 

[Admin]

Lenny.

I know you guys have been running New Hollands for a long time and probably have a nice stack of spare parts and also a great knowledge of the machines, but might be worth it to look into the PistenBulley. They are a purpose built machine for snow grooming, not a converted farm tractor. Ever since we made the switch, our issues with machinery have gone WAY down.

Just a suggestion.

-John

 

[polaris62]

Lenny groomer problems or not I just came home from a stay at twin lakes and have never seen the trails in such good shape. Thank you to you and all the guys who spend their time on a groomer its much appreciated.

 

[jr37]

Lenny, I assume you are refering to a Sur-Trak groomer hear. Some people may not know what that is. Maybe a picture would help.

I got to test drive one of them years ago and was very impressed with their capabilities, but I sure do hear a lot of clubs with troubles with them now. I don't know, do they still build them?

 

[favoritos]

Lenny.

I know you guys have been running New Hollands for a long time and probably have a nice stack of spare parts and also a great knowledge of the machines, but might be worth it to look into the PistenBulley. They are a purpose built machine for snow grooming, not a converted farm tractor. Ever since we made the switch, our issues with machinery have gone WAY down.

Just a suggestion.

-John

We have seen a number of those "blue" machines down on the trail over the years. I have only seen one Piston Bulley down, and it slid off the trail. I have yet to see a Tucker or a JD tractor sitting with cones.
Are those that reliable, or just not many around the trails.

It seems like a good JD would also be a decent investment. Those things are still crazy in the used market. I have noticed that the Watersmeet group has a pretty good sized tractor that appears to be mostly stock. Granted, those tracks are not set up for deep and steep, but maybe run one with the PB on the trail systems.

BTW Lenny,

Thank You.

Thank the whole group. It is not easy working the trail, but it makes our trip better every time we see the groomers working a ribbon.

 

[groomerdriver]

Lenny, I assume you are refering to a Sur-Trak groomer hear. Some people may not know what that is. Maybe a picture would help.

I got to test drive one of them years ago and was very impressed with their capabilities, but I sure do hear a lot of clubs with troubles with them now. I don't know, do they still build them?

Is it a Sur Trac Lenny?

jr37 - personally I'm not a big fan of them if you only have one groomer. But they have their place on straighter trails or RR grades. My friend runs a grooming operation and two of their three groomers are Sur Tracs. They don't seem to have very many problems at all. Just my .02 and we all have our opinions on groomers right??!! LOL!!!

EDIT - Lenny - I talked to my friend with the two Sur Tracs and they do not run foam in their tires. In the several years they have had them they have had a tire go down 1X. He commented that there must be something in the tracks causing the tires to constantly go down. He went on to say that the foam will likely add a lot of weight but that might not be an issue for you guys.

 

[Deleted member 10829]

The Piston Bulley's do seem to be the way to go for a major grooming operation like up there. Lake Gogebic runs 3 of them and I can't remember the last time they had groomer issues for any length of time at all. They've had the most consistent grooming for several years IMO. To be fair, LG groomers are paid, and that makes a difference too.

I just got home from 700 miles in 4 full days of riding, and the only rough trail we had was from Norwich Road up through the Greenland half of the 13 loop. They had 2 groomers down, so that was understandable, not much you can do about that. We did ride through again yesterday and from Rockland south they had done a groom and it wasn't too bad, but needed one more round trip pass to make it perfect again. They did a nice job considering the moguls they had to groom!

 

[lenny]

I would say over all the machines have done very well. We have one with just under 8000 hrs which translates to it going out 1333 times. I agree we probably have something particular causing the tires to go flat. It's nice to get feedback on the issue and I hope we can figure it out.The machine with 8000 hrs we call "big Blue" and wow does that machine run well. Recently we had a walking beam crack and come off the machine, rear tire. I don't ever remember a rear tire going flat. It has been the front tires on the New Holland 135, I agree something is going on with the track tire fit tension or something. I came back grooming last night and the foamed tires are sitting next to the machine, tracks off and ready to go. There should be guys there today putting it back together.

New machines will happen when the time comes so for now we use what we got. I was just frustrated with hearing of the 4th tire going down.