4 Wheeler or Snowmobile

Angler II wrote:

I’m not sure what brand of tracks your buddy has but they don’t sound like the work very well.

I think they are Mattracks? Yours sound almost magical. What brand are yours?

They definitely aren’t a cure all as there are downsides. Your speed is cut in half, it’s kind of rough and you can’t ride on snowmobile trails.

These were Camoplast brand.

I have a set of Camoplast Tatou4S tracks for my 800 ranger.

I can not imagine what type of snow it would take to stop them, as I have been unable to find it yet. Deep drifts in the low spots of my field – up to my chest – stop and take off without ever spinning a track. Deep slush on lakes will stop them, but I have always been able to back out.

downsides – They are slow and they throw a LOT of snow dust. Without an enclosed cab, if the wind is wrong, you get covered.

Mine have less than an hour on them, and I am looking to sell them, because my sleds are more useful to me.

T

Angler II wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>suzuki wrote:</div>
How do those tracks do in deep snow? Not the hard pack in the pic that anything could drive on.

Other than running through deep slush, I’m not sure it’s possible to get them stuck in powder. They sink about 4″ on fresh powder…That’s it.

Thank you. They seem cool as hell.

Timmy wrote:

I have a set of Camoplast Tatou4S tracks for my 800 ranger.

I can not imagine what type of snow it would take to stop them, as I have been unable to find it yet. Deep drifts in the low spots of my field – up to my chest – stop and take off without ever spinning a track. Deep slush on lakes will stop them, but I have always been able to back out.

downsides – They are slow and they throw a LOT of snow dust. Without an enclosed cab, if the wind is wrong, you get covered.

Mine have less than an hour on them, and I am looking to sell them, because my sleds are more useful to me.

T

I’d agree with everything you posted. The only snow I’ve seen them stuck in was very deep snow in cattail areas. In most dry snow a track will go anywhere.

If you are looking to sell your tracks I know a guy that has been looking. Just send me a PM if you’re interested.

What kind of maintenance do ATV tracks require and how many hours can you put on them before parts need to be overhauled?

They look cool, but I look at all those little bogie wheels and the drives and in my mind I see a maintenance NIGHTMARE coming down the road when all those little moving parts start to fail.

Has anyone had tracks long enough that they had to start replacing parts? What goes first and most often and how much does it cost?

Grouse

Grouse, we run rangers with tracks at work. They typically see 900-1300 miles a year. They are rebuilt often but we leave them on year round and they do not like summer use. Rocks ruin them faster than anything. Usually the lead wheels go first, I am sure do to pressures of the track bending there as well as being the first part to bump over things. Length of time they last varys greatly (different people driving various terrain) but if I am remembering the correctly the shortest I have seen a set last was 600 mile before a lead wheel broke sending the rail through the rubber track. If you think about that, that would be like driving from the cities to LOW and back in a ranger with tracks on it.

The biggest thing is check your all the wheels on the track, make sure the tracks are tight (but not to tight) and keep them clean and lubed. The ones at work see a lot of rough ditch bottoms, and tilled fields which I am sure do not tend well to their longevity.

Classic Debate

My sled finally wore out a few years ago and so I opted for a 4 wheeler. I love it and get use out of it most the year. I have an auger rack on the front, storage, and a gear box on the back. GPS mount on the handle bars; it’s an ice fishing machine.

However, there are times I miss the sled. For running long distances on Mille Lacs you take more of a beating in the wheeler and go much slower. Plus on high snow years (like this year) you will get stuck on occasion.

I think the best solution, if you have the storage space, is to have both. And if they are used mostly for ice fishing, not trail riding, neither should take too much maintenance.

A friend had a track come off on the Turtle Flambeau Flowage. He had no way of hauling it back , so he left it there. He lived 10 minutes away ,so he drove the 3 tracks back to the landing ,loaded up went back home to get his sled and tub to haul the track in. He gets back to the the spot where the track was. It was gone ,gone ,gone ,someone had picked it up and left with it ! Ouch that got expensive real quick! And what in the world are you gonna do with one track ?

So much to consider. The other thought that comes to mind in regards to tracks is sure they will go through most things and get you places that others without tracks won’t get to. Take what we have on the lakes now for instance. What are you gonna do once you get there? You jump off your wheeler and your chest deep in snow and slush. You gonna drill a hole there and start fishing? Same could be said for a sled.

This winter is a anomaly I know but for most of the past 7 years I could get wherever I wanted or needed to get to with the wheeler without tracks for most of the season.

Well, I am not sure of what the two guys I know who got tracks stuck up here in N. WI, but I’d be sled and a widetrack to boot!!! It certainly makes sense that the ATV makes the most sense for year round application, but if I was ice fishing up here right now I’d be prepping my icefishing spots… What do I mean???

Well ditch the pull behind for the time being… run the sled to your fishing spot and make a widened path and circle back. Do this two to three or four times and let it set. Might be a day or two, we usually only waited a day/overnight, then attach the Otter and away ya go. Punch holes where you want off the track and leave your transportation topside. Water from punched holes floods/runs up to the set track and starts to move away much like a levee. The fishing area becomes a mess, but the Otter never picks up and water/ice crystals which turns it into an ice anchor and gets ya stuck in other slush areas.

Good Luck, Stay Safe and have fun!!!

Mark

When you do get stuck with tracks, sure does look like a bear to get unstuck. This is from Walker bay after eel pout.

How about a sno bear? No worries, there… Nope!

Forgot the attachment

Ouch! that would suck.

I went to pull my house off last weekend which was BURRIED! Two snowmobile stuck, one ATV stuck, and when I finally made it to the house, she was buried!

The only way I got her off was with a snow blower! Took a day and a half blowing through 2’+. I had a match ready…

Man. machine and mother nature are always in a arm wrestling match. Sometimes man and machine win sometimes they don’t. I would say for the last month or so mother nature has pretty much won the battle. Right now track machines are having difficult time getting around and like I said earlier if you can get out there off the beaten path what are you going to do? Drill through chest deep snow and slush just to be standing in 4 inches of water 15 minutes later? No thanks. You just have to know when it’s not smart or worth it to be out there.