Aktiv Snow Trac ST4, Trac Master and Snow Master ST4B
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The Snow Trac is a small personal snowcat.
In 1954, Lars Larsson, the chief design engineer for a Swedish farm equipment company, AB Westerasmaskiner, decided to develop a tracked vehicle to take him and his brother on fishing trips in the winter. The company put his snow vehicle into production in 1957. It uses a unique steering mechanism called a variator that allows the steering of a tracked vehicle to use a traditional automotive steering wheel instead of levers.
The Aktiv Fischer Snow Trac is a tracked vehicle which was manufactured from 1957 to 1981 in Sweden. It runs on two rubber tracks powered by a Volkswagen flat 4 industrial boxer style engine and is suitable for both deep snow and soft surface use. The engine developed roughly 40 horsepower, but that varied from year to year as the earlier models developed 36hp. With a length of approximately 12' (3.6 meters) and width of 6'2" (1.9 meters) the vehicle is the size of a small car.
In the standard cabin configuration, only the driver is facing forward the interior equipped with side facing bench seats and offers place for 7 (including driver). The entrance is made by a door attached at the tail. There are not other entrance possibilities however many are equipped with a large sunroof which could double as an emergency exit. Unlike most other snow vehicles, the Snow Trac uses a traditional steering wheel.
The Snow Trac was also available with a 2 person enclosed cabin which had an exposed cargo area. Alternately it could be ordered with only a windshield and side wing windows and a canvas top (most of the military versions were equipped in this fashion). A completely open top version was also available and this version was used on sand in Texas oilfields as well as used by the British Commandos to carry a WOMBAT anti-tank weapon. Military units are differentiated from civilian units by utilizing a 24 volt electrical system instead of the civilian 12 volt system. Military units also had the fuel tank moved outside the cabin area and mounted over the left (drivers side) track on the cargo ledge. Many military Snow Tracs were used by NATO forces as well as British forces, the Snow Tracs were later replaced by the 4 track articulated Volvo BV202, and those were later replaced by a more evolved and amphibious BV206. Military Snow Tracs were often equipped with special hooking points so they could be transported quickly to remote regions by being carried under a helicopter without the need for special cargo carriers.
Snow Tracs were also renamed Sand Trac and saw use in the African desert as over-sand transport vehicles. The crawler track design was well suited for either sand or snow use but was not generally suitable for all terrain use. The track, to function properly, required a loose ground to properly function so it was able to work equally well on gravel, sand, snow, or other loose material like tall grass.
An industrial version of the Snow Trac was called a Trac Master, and later renamed a Snow Master. The Trac/Snow Master was equipped with a longer and wider track that made it more suitable for the deepest soft snow conditions. Optional hydraulic implements were available for the Trac/Snow Masters for grooming ski trails. Implements for grooming were capable of being mounted on both the front and the rear of the Snow Master and were powered by an auxiliary hydraulic pump that was an option on the Snow Master units. At least 8 Snow Masters were shipped to Japan and used in the 1972 Soporro Olympic games. Shipping records show that Japan was a popular destination for Snow Masters and many are still in use by private owners in the northern regions of Japan.
The Swedish made Aktiv Snow Trac of which 2265 were manufactured in Sweden between 1957 and 1981. Production of the Snow Trac ceased when VW stopped European production of the engines that were used to power these vehicles. The Snow Trac was used successfully by NATO forces during the cold war between NATO and the USSR. Numerous accounts from Antarctica related successful use of the Snow Trac by research organizations such as A.N.A.R.E. in Antarctica.
Because of the common use of VW engines, transmissions and other critical parts, the Snow Trac is still a very popular vehicle with many 30 to 40 year old vehicles being used daily during the winter months. Snow Trac vehicles are commonly used as personal vehicles for transport, and often are used for providing tours to tourists in remote areas. The Roughwoods Inn, located in Nenana, Alaska, runs a small fleet of Snow Tracs and Snow Masters for tourists in the winter months. Other resorts and hotels also use Snow Tracs and other model snowcats to provide tours of remote snowbound areas.
Until production ceased, Snow Tracs competed successfully with much larger Tucker Sno-Cats (Medford, Oregon, USA) as well as Bombardier (Canada). Kristi Snowcats (Colorado and later Washington, USA) were also produced at this time but were not commercially successful and under 200 units were manufactured. Bombardier remains in business manufacturing personal watercraft, ATVs, and jet airplanes, but no longer produces snowcats. Tucker Sno-Cat continues to manufacture snowcats and other specialty vehicles and is widely used in polar regions.
[edit] See also
- Snow Trac
- Bulldozers
- Snowmobiles
- Tanks
- Kristi snowcat
- Sno-Cat
- Snow coach
- Snowcat
