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Snow Trac
The Snow Trac is a small personal Snowcat that is roughly the size of a modern compact car. Aktiv Snow Trac were manufactured in Sweden between 1957 and 1981, with additional vehicles manufactured in Scotland.
In 1954, Lars Larsson, the chief design engineer for a Swedish farm equipment company, AB Westeråsmaskiner, 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 a tracked vehicle to be steered using 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 about 40 horsepower, but that varied from year to year as the earlier models developed 36 hp, and later models developed 54 hp. With a length of approximately 12 ft (3.7 meters) and width of 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) the vehicle is the size of a small car.
In the standard cabin configuration, only the driver is facing forward. The interior is equipped with side-facing bench seats and there are enough seats for 7 people (including the driver). The entrance is by a door attached at the tail. There are no other entrances, but 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 instead of levers. Early brochures describe it as follows: As easy to drive as a car.
While manufactured in Sweden, the Snow Trac proved to be a successful export with over half sold to North America. Approximately 550 Snow Tracs were shipped to Alaska. At least 200 units were shipped to Canadian telephone utility Northwest Telephone in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Approximately 200 Snow Tracs ended up at the Canadian National Railway, and Snow Tracs were also located at each of the microwave sites along the length of the ALCAN (Alaska Canadian Highway). At least 400 more Snow Tracs were known to have been shipped to the Lower 48 states of the United States. At least 200 were known to have been shipped to Scotland.
The ability to configure the basic vehicle in many different ways allowed it to be suitable for multiple uses. In addition to the standard 7 person cabin, the Snow Trac was also available with a two-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 fully open-top version was also available and this version was used on sand in Texas oilfields, as well as by the British Commandos of the Royal Marines to carry a L6 Wombat anti-tank weapon.
The Snow Trac was used successfully by NATO forces during the cold war between NATO and the USSR. The REME Museum at MOD Lyneham in England has a Royal Marines Snow Trac on display as part of its Military Tracked Vehicle collection. 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 (driver's side) track on the cargo ledge. Many military Snow Tracs were used by NATO forces as well as British Royal Marines forces. Military Snow Tracs were also 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. The Snow Tracs utilitzed by NATO were later replaced by the 4-track amphibious articulated Volvo BV202 Bandvagn 202, and those were later replaced by a more evolved Hägglunds BV206 Bandvagn 206.
Snow Tracs were also called Sand Tracs and saw use in the Sahara 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 rocky all-terrain use. The track required loose ground to properly function so it was able to work equally well on gravel, sand, snow, or other loose material like tall grass. Because of their ability to be used in many conditions and climates, the Snow Trac was used worldwide and still is in use today by emergency organizations and some commercial enterprises, although large utilities no longer use Snow Tracs.
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Snow Trac AI simulator
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Snow Trac
The Snow Trac is a small personal Snowcat that is roughly the size of a modern compact car. Aktiv Snow Trac were manufactured in Sweden between 1957 and 1981, with additional vehicles manufactured in Scotland.
In 1954, Lars Larsson, the chief design engineer for a Swedish farm equipment company, AB Westeråsmaskiner, 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 a tracked vehicle to be steered using 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 about 40 horsepower, but that varied from year to year as the earlier models developed 36 hp, and later models developed 54 hp. With a length of approximately 12 ft (3.7 meters) and width of 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) the vehicle is the size of a small car.
In the standard cabin configuration, only the driver is facing forward. The interior is equipped with side-facing bench seats and there are enough seats for 7 people (including the driver). The entrance is by a door attached at the tail. There are no other entrances, but 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 instead of levers. Early brochures describe it as follows: As easy to drive as a car.
While manufactured in Sweden, the Snow Trac proved to be a successful export with over half sold to North America. Approximately 550 Snow Tracs were shipped to Alaska. At least 200 units were shipped to Canadian telephone utility Northwest Telephone in the Yukon Territory, Canada. Approximately 200 Snow Tracs ended up at the Canadian National Railway, and Snow Tracs were also located at each of the microwave sites along the length of the ALCAN (Alaska Canadian Highway). At least 400 more Snow Tracs were known to have been shipped to the Lower 48 states of the United States. At least 200 were known to have been shipped to Scotland.
The ability to configure the basic vehicle in many different ways allowed it to be suitable for multiple uses. In addition to the standard 7 person cabin, the Snow Trac was also available with a two-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 fully open-top version was also available and this version was used on sand in Texas oilfields, as well as by the British Commandos of the Royal Marines to carry a L6 Wombat anti-tank weapon.
The Snow Trac was used successfully by NATO forces during the cold war between NATO and the USSR. The REME Museum at MOD Lyneham in England has a Royal Marines Snow Trac on display as part of its Military Tracked Vehicle collection. 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 (driver's side) track on the cargo ledge. Many military Snow Tracs were used by NATO forces as well as British Royal Marines forces. Military Snow Tracs were also 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. The Snow Tracs utilitzed by NATO were later replaced by the 4-track amphibious articulated Volvo BV202 Bandvagn 202, and those were later replaced by a more evolved Hägglunds BV206 Bandvagn 206.
Snow Tracs were also called Sand Tracs and saw use in the Sahara 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 rocky all-terrain use. The track required loose ground to properly function so it was able to work equally well on gravel, sand, snow, or other loose material like tall grass. Because of their ability to be used in many conditions and climates, the Snow Trac was used worldwide and still is in use today by emergency organizations and some commercial enterprises, although large utilities no longer use Snow Tracs.