Everything Grooming....the grooming thread

MZEMS2

New member
Couldn't find a grooming thread. What's a snowmobile site without a grooming thread?? HEHE. Well, I'll start it out for this season. Where do you groom and what machine(s) do you use to groom?

Our club uses a John Deere tractor mostly. We also have a Tucker tracked machine, but it's small. It's nice to open things up after a big dump (those are very rare around here). But it rarely pulls a drag. The tractor does a great job.

I groom for County Line SnoBusters, in Dane County, WI.
 

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jim_golding

New member
We have two Tuckers both are 2002, however one is a 2000 (173HP) Terra and the other is a 1000 (134HP) Terra. We used to run Track Trucks but they are too small and would get stuck in the ditches. We thought about tractors, but some of our bridges could not handle the weight. Overall we are very happy with the Tuckers, very simple to work on. We pull an 8' drag on the 1000 due to its lower power and a 10' drag on the 2000. We just opened our trails today in Manitowoc County - Kettle Range Snow Riders.
 

ILBoyz

New member
I agree. Would love to hear what's going on with our groomers and good stories of course. I'm sure they have seen it all.
 

jr37

Well-known member
We have a Tucker and a Case IH tractor. The Tucker is easy to operate, but the rear visibility sucks and it just requires to much maintenance. The tractor has excellent visibility and low maintenance, but is not for everyone to operate. Our club is due to update to a new machine, we just are having a hard time convincing the majority to spend that much money.


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Sorry, I don't have any pictures of them in action.
 
D

Deleted member 10829

Guest
I groom for Lake & Pines Sno-Trails in Burnett County. We have (2) Case IH 125 HP tractors and drags made by Spooner Machine. We typically trade the tractors before they have 1,000 hours on them, usually every 3 years, and only have to pay about $12,000 to boot for new ones. This works great for us.

I've taken the last 2 nights off, but prior to that, I had spent 7 nights in a row in the groomer. I'm training 3 new groomers this year so lots of time is involved at the beginning and I've only trained one so far.



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packerlandrider

Active member
Our club's main unit is our Tucker 2000 Terra.

snow day 2008.jpg

As jr37 stated Tuckers do take quite a bit of maintenance (and sucks fuel), but at the same time I couldn't imagine a machine that is more "nimble" in the conditions our club has. Whether it is extreme drifting, deep ditches/steep plow banks, or very wet swamps, I think our Tucker has really exceeded all expectations.

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Three years ago, our club club bought a tracked New Holland T115A (very similar to the on below).

Blue Lemon.jpg

Our club wasn't really sure what it was capable of, so after a big December storm, our club got it out and started it on our RR grade trail. Sections of this trail are prone to extreme drifting, and needless to say the Tractor got buried. So, the Tucker was brought over, drag unhooked, and it was crazy - the Tucker was running around the Tractor like it was on bare ground (instead of 6-8 ft drifts). They hooked the Tucker up to the tractor, gave a pull, and the tractor doesn't even budge. It ended up taking a very large tow vehicle to pull the tractor out. Since, the tractor has gotten hung up in many ditches that aren't even the worse we have. So, it has earned the nickname of "The Blue Lemon." As probably many clubs can attest, these New Hollands are great once a trail is established on RR grades or forest roads, and thankfully our club maintains ~20 miles of RR grade. So as long as it isn't following a major storm, the tractor stays on the RR grade, where it is actually faster and can pack a tighter trail than the Tucker.

As far as other stories, nothing really stands out right now - just to say that thinking about some of the "occurrences" over the years makes a person realize how dedicated trail bosses, groomer operators, and other club members are. My day has some absolute classic (crazy?) stories from back 15+ years ago when cell phone usage still wasn't that prevalent and our club groomed with a Track Truck and two Bombies.
 
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surtrack

New member
We have two Surtracks with 9 ft drags. Some members say they are hard to handle, but a few prefer them, With the tracks and 36 inch angle bars, it pretty much does a good job for us, We are the Kelly Snowshoes in Weston-Schofield area.
 

favoritos

Well-known member
I'm impressed with the work that we have seen on the "great trails".

I'd also be curious to see what kind of breakdowns are causing the problems. Snow should be lighter than fieldwork, so why do tractors break down moving snow?

Thanks Again,

It is impressive to see all the work on the trails. I can't imagine how much more it takes when machinery breaks down.
 

jr37

Well-known member
Tractor themselves are very reliable. It is the tracked machines that seem to be more prone to problems, especially the steel cleated tracked machines. Steel tracks cause lots of vibration, vibration with give you trouble sooner or later.

This is a picture of a recent breakdown we had. All we were doing is panning the trails, and this was a section that had been covered already, so there was absolutely no snow load in the drag. The machine was pre-season serviced and all checked over, yet breakdowns happen, it's just something you deal with.

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slimcake

Well-known member
013.jpg 014.jpg 015.jpg Bought a new Piston BUlly 2 years ago and that is what I blame our lack of snow on.... She is quite the animal. Custom made drags by a machine shop just south of us. Hopefully we get to use her one of these days....

- - - Updated - - -

I should also mention that we put the steel tracks on. Just had no traction in our hills with the rubber tracks
 

millertime

New member
Former Groomer in SE Wisconsin (Hill & Gully Snowriders) using a Tucker with an Arrowhead drag and roller drag.

Now in Texas trying to find a club.....
 

dfattack

Well-known member
so am I understanding this correctly...the smaller groomers (tucker's & Piston bully's) are less prone to get stuck and can handle more variations in terrain than a large tracked tracker like a New Holland?

If so, why would clubs not stick with one or the other? I've seen john deere with tires and tracked, New Hollands with tracks and tires and then the smaller groomers. I'm confused why one type isn't clearly the favorite choice. Is it the cost?
 

slimcake

Well-known member
I sell ag machines New Holland Case IH. I would not call Piston Bully a small machine. 200 horsepower mercedes baby!! Just lower profile. Our problem was weight. The tractors after you put tracks on em they get over 20k pounds. Plus they are tall. The money is about the same believe it or not. Tractor would be more universal i.e. put tires back on in spring and use it for trail work or even some clubs lease them out to a farmer during the warm months. The tractors will have a better market for resale so trading is easier. Some clubs like ours just is set in its ways and stick with what works. Something that is designed for its purpose and does it very well.
 

79_srx

New member
been there done that .... more then once
Tractor themselves are very reliable. It is the tracked machines that seem to be more prone to problems, especially the steel cleated tracked machines. Steel tracks cause lots of vibration, vibration with give you trouble sooner or later.

This is a picture of a recent breakdown we had. All we were doing is panning the trails, and this was a section that had been covered already, so there was absolutely no snow load in the drag. The machine was pre-season serviced and all checked over, yet breakdowns happen, it's just something you deal with.

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