What purpose does a tracked Can-Am serve? Well, if you have a 500-acre ranch to prepare for guests, it’s indispensable. We hooked up a snow groomer and learned just one of its many functions!
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Check out the full feature at https://www.utvdriver.com/reviews/can-am-tracked-for-snow-video/
For more stories, reviews, and first-looks check out https://www.utvdriver.com/
Want to see even more shenanigans from the UTV Driver team? Give us a like and follow:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UTVdriver/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/utvdriver/
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SportsTranscript
00:00 We're back still in Montana in the Bitterroot Mountains at Alpine Falls Ranch and
00:04 When you're in Montana, and it snows this much as it's doing today
00:08 You need a special rig to get around and we're here with a can am defender limited
00:13 HD10 with a really cool modification these came from can am
00:18 set of tank tracks
00:20 They transform the way that the can am handles in both good ways and bad if you're on gravel or tarmac
00:26 They don't really work very well the rig tracks and wiggles around but out here when years when there's a blizzard coming down
00:33 There's really no way other else to get around
00:35 It doesn't quite change your can am into a snowmobile
00:38 But the things that this thing will do with these tracks on it is absolutely ridiculous
00:43 As you can see I mean just right off the bat the weight distribution that you get from the tracks is incredible
00:49 So you float up on top of the snow as opposed to sinking down into it
00:53 You get an extra what is that foot of ground clearance and that really just keeps you up out of the deep stuff now
00:59 We don't have a ton of deep powder today. It's mostly just kind of icy hard pack, but the traction is incredible
01:04 I don't think we've slipped once and
01:06 We've driven all around this farm so far
01:08 We're gonna take you around the rig and just show you what's going on with it. Basically. It's a defender limited HD 10 four-door but
01:16 With these tracks on it, so let's take a look at how they attach
01:19 *Music*
01:26 Action all right, let's take a look at how these tracks attach to the can am what's really cool about it
01:32 Is that there's not much modification that you have to do everything bolts right on and comes off easily
01:37 So you can switch between wheels and tracks in the space of about an hour if you have a couple guys doing it
01:42 They're not very light, which is probably the biggest issue with getting them attached, but otherwise it's super simple come around this side
01:49 Let me show you
01:51 All right, so in here
01:55 It's a little hard to see from afar
01:57 But these are just your standard can am lug nuts and that bolts right to the hub so you've got your standard can am disc brakes
02:03 Your standard spindle everything on this side is track and everything on that side is can am
02:10 Now to give you a little bit of control and so the tracks don't just flop and wander around
02:14 Come around this side, and I'll show you how they handle that
02:16 *Footsteps*
02:18 So for one thing you've got these limiting straps which keep the steering from
02:23 Getting away from you, and there's basically an extra
02:26 Control arm that's made out of steel plate that bolts on to the top and bottom of the existing control arms
02:32 And then bolts to this little strut in here which acts both as suspension and again more steering control
02:39 But as you can see this all just kind of comes off
02:41 This is the ball joint the standard can am ball joint and nothing is physically attached to it
02:45 It's just sort of mounted beneath it, and then there's another ball joint here to control the track
02:49 That's it as I said it takes about an hour to get all four of them on the fronts a bit more complicated than the back
02:56 Thanks to the steering, but again around back
02:59 We've got the same deal
03:06 Same standard lug nuts and then the same additional control arm beneath and a little piece of plate that bolts on
03:14 That's it guys
03:16 Now the tracks aren't light as I said you'll need a couple of guys to put them on just to maneuver them into place
03:23 Someone who's strong can probably do it by themselves
03:25 But we attach these with a couple extra guys
03:29 The last time we were here at Alpine Falls in June and again with a jack stand and a couple of guys it took about
03:35 An hour so really that's no time when you consider you do it once in November if you live out here
03:40 And don't take them off again until the spring let's check out how they drive
03:45 (Machine noise)
03:47 Action
03:56 All right, we're here Steve Paulides is back with us, and he's brought out a snow groomer for us
04:02 These are the trails at Black Bear Ranch
04:05 Which is the other side of the road from Alpine Falls?
04:08 And they've got a lot of trails out here for snow machines and tracks side by side so Steve
04:13 What is this thing and what can you tell me about it? So this is a snow master. It's a 72 inch wide
04:17 Groomer we groom the trails for cross-country skiing snowshoeing
04:22 snowmobile touring
04:24 And side by sides so it does a really good job
04:27 Putting down what the ski area would call a corduroy, okay?
04:31 but yeah, it makes it super smooth easier to ride on and
04:35 Really kind of just gives the guests a pathway of where they're going on the trails
04:40 Please tell me what a corduroy is and how this achieves it
04:44 So essentially the corduroy would be the grooves right here
04:48 And what we've got we've got weights in the back, so there's sandbags in the back
04:53 you've got fins off the side, and that's what's laying it down, and then there's a
04:59 Like a tiller in the front and the tiller in the front kind of turns the snow and levels everything out, okay?
05:05 So it's basically like a snow cone
05:07 Exactly, okay, and you just drive it around is there anything to it nothing to it. Just drive it and pull it, okay?
05:13 Well, let's jump in and see if we can't groom this trail up here. It looks like it needs it with the new snow
05:19 Sounds good. All right
05:22 I got this
05:49 We're taking off
05:51 Steve you were telling me earlier how this thing works describe again kind of what it does
05:59 First bar that it is kind of
06:05 Almost like a road grader
06:10 And then the second lays out the corduroy
06:17 So you kind of get the best of both worlds there, and it makes a really nice surface to
06:23 It just does a really good job of like maintaining the trails
06:30 And like a ski resort or
06:34 You know like my cross-country place are they pulling these things behind you TVs most of the time or like you see it behind tractors
06:41 What's the normal go?
06:43 Normally, you know at a ski area you see it behind a snowcat
06:47 And all the snowcats it's not a bar in the front. It's an actual tiller in the front
06:52 That's kind of heating and turning the snow up and then laying it out. But this is a great way to do it for
06:58 You know for small ranches or anywhere where you're trying to make
07:03 Nice cross-country trails or anything something like that for guests to come enjoy the trails
07:13 Anywhere this rig will go
07:15 How deep that first foam is
07:18 But we've added up
07:24 About a foot of powder before and it does a really nice job
07:28 How long do you spend on average dragging this thing around to groom a trail like the trail network here at Blackburn or Black Bear?
07:34 It's very long
07:39 Typically you would do it in nighttime and that way it freezes up
07:43 So it's really nice in the morning and you're not gonna kind of destroy it as you go down
07:49 It's just like something that I help the ranch out with
07:51 You know, whatever they needed but not particularly what I
07:57 Do I just help the ranch get these things gone and help them get it set up so that way we can bring it
08:04 You know a little bit of a different clientele for the wintertime
08:07 Oh
08:09 Even without skis on the front this UTV is just eating this up. It's just like
08:15 I don't think I've had any worry about where we can and can't go all morning. Absolutely
08:22 The tracks on it, it's a little bit easier to deal with in a set of wheels, right? Yep
08:33 Yeah, they really just I mean they I don't know that wheels would make it through here yep, but
08:40 Really do an amazing job
08:45 Like powder snow. Can you take can you take these tracks in?
08:49 Obviously, it's like seven or eight inches of fresh stuff. Yeah
08:53 Without the groomer
08:58 You can definitely get into a few feet
09:01 Let's say, you know, two feet is probably you can rip through it pretty nice
09:05 The groomers obviously going to hold you back and stuff like that. The ideal situation is where you
09:11 Continue to groom and that way you're continually packing that trail down
09:16 Alright, if you like this kind of content make sure to smash that like button and subscribe to us
09:23 We post every Saturday and you should click the bell to be notified. Thanks for watching
09:28 Wow
09:30 Wow
09:32 (upbeat music)