The latest Muskeg Carrier shown with my very happy bride
2018 marked our 22nd anniversary of marital bliss. The Boss requested an exotic location for a foreign dinner with a unique gift, so I drove her down to Sudbury for some Swiss Chalet then over to a gravel pit to negotiate the purchase of a 1965 vintage Muskeg Carrier.
Lucky gal!
In 1937 Joseph-Armand Bombardier sold his first twelve B7 snow machines. The B was for Bombardier and the 7 for seven passengers. These were originally constructed with a wooden body.
Although Joseph started out making a machine that could get folks across the snow which led to the machines we know today, the company made its meat and potatoes from the work machines it built. The SW48, J5s, Muskeg Tractor and Carriers would all prove to be quite the working machines that got a lot of Canadian projects up and running through terrain that existing machines could only dream of traversing. All four machines were built on the base of a closed-in, waterproof chassis resembling an upside down top hat that housed the engine, manual transmission, differential and cockpit for the driver enclosed with a crude cab. The SW48 was a task-specific machine designed to clear snow from sidewalks, hence SW and the 48 being 48 inches wide.
Originally built with no heat and the only buffering from rough terrain a vinyl covered seat, these were designed for the job and not operator comfort. All of these began the journey powered by a flathead inline Dodge six cylinder engine, some with options such as hydraulics and winches (purchased from the Braden Co. in USA.)
My present machine (the third I have owned), is a 1965ish and originally came with the traditional cab, two vinyl covered seats, heat, one wiper, 4-speed synchromesh transmission and PTO, some of which were missing at the time of purchase. It was originally designed to haul six ft. length pulp wood out of the forest but quickly adapted to many jobs; mine was originally used by hydro to hall large spools of wire for high voltage towers. The specifications on this model were:
--engine-Dodge flat heat inline 6 @ 125 hp.
--transmission-synchromesh 4 speed ahead, 1 reverse
--length-11 ft. 8 in.
--width-7 ft. 3 in
--height-7 ft. 4 in.
--weight-6000 lbs.
--load-6000 lbs.
--track width-28 in.
--# of bogie wheels: 16 (eight/side)
--# of drive sprockets: four (two/side)
The most amazing of all the stats is the weight displacement of 1.0 lbs/sq. in. or about 144 lbs/sq. ft. Weight displacement has become a concern with today’s large farm equipment on tires as more and more manufactures are providing treads to replace the conventional tires. Equipped with front and rear PTOs, this machine could harvest crops despite any ground saturation issues. For years farmers on the Holland Marsh around Bradford Ontario have used wide tracked dozers for field work; it’s not a new idea.
In action this past winter motoring through four feet of snow with no issue, showing its ability
I purchased this machine for a few reasons one of which was to be able to get onto my turf runway at any time of year and keep it travelled on to maintain a solid smooth surface by driving it back and forth in low speed which is about 30 feet per minute (top speed is about 12 MPH). At first I was concerned about the footprint that I would be leaving on the ground until I stepped off the machine mid field to check everything and immediately sank beyond ankle height. My weight displacement is about 80 lbs each leg or 240 lbs/sq. ft, which is 96 lbs. more than this 6000 lb. machine.
With over 200 acres of mixed bush on our property, my buggy will also be put to use retrieving firewood. Equipped with a 15,000 lb. Braden PTO driven winch and dump deck I should be able to fill it with dead fall for quite some time before ever having to fall any trees. It turns within its own length making it quite maneuverable and leaves almost no footprint making it environmentally friendly. It does however leave evidence of its presence, especially when tight cornering as the steel grosser’s dig in chewing the surface. I was able to use this feature this year during our nine month winter which started out with a three inch coating of ice. Nearing the end of this onslaught my wee tractor was finding it a tad treacherous to maneuver on this surface so I broke out the buggy and went for a drive flattening all ice that dared to come in my path. After this winter of looking through the rear window of my tractor cab while snow blowing day after day my back came up with another novel idea for the Muskeg, she will be installed with a seven ft. rear mount conventional tractor snow blower out front so I can sit normal, in a heated cab and blow snow. This Muskeg is the third that I’ve owned and all were previously owned by a welder. It seems that members of this profession really love to have equipment that they can add or remove just about anything with the use of their welding equipment.
Although it is getting hard to find parts for the older machines those that can’t be found can be made and the design is quite simple and relatively easy to repair other than everything seems to be done using either jacks or a cable puller because of weight. These older machines use three strands of simple conveyor belt material as the tracks which are attached with carriage bolts to the grosser (cross members) making them relatively inexpensive to replace compared to the new one piece tracks used in today’s farm implements.
The first retrofit was a wiring overhaul before it caught fire as there were no fuses in the system. Something to consider is the Muskeg was designed to go almost anywhere. If you obtain one then drive to anywhere and get stuck or say break down you’ll need to find someone else with a Muskeg to go get it!
— Dan Kerr