Figure 1. Drawing diagram of a homemade snowmobile
I attached the lugs to the conveyor belt with two 6 mm furniture bolts with a large semicircular head. When making a caterpillar, it is very important to maintain the same distance between the lugs, otherwise they will “run” onto the teeth of the drive sprockets and the caterpillar will begin to slip and slide off the rollers.
Figure 2. Plastic pipe cutting device:
1. wooden block;
2. plastic pipe;
3. metal corner.
To drill holes in the conveyor belt for 6 mm mounting bolts, a jig was made. The holes in the tape were drilled using a wood drill with a special sharpening.
Using such a jig, you can drill 6 holes in the conveyor belt at once to attach three caterpillar lugs.
At the store I purchased four inflatable rubber wheels from a garden cart, two drive sprockets from a Buran snowmobile and two sealed bearings No. 205 for the caterpillar drive shaft.
I asked a turner to make the drive shaft of the caterpillar and supports for the bearings. I made the snowmobile frame myself from 25x25 mm square pipes.
Since the axes of the ski and steering hinges are on the same line and in the same plane, you can use a continuous tie rod without ball ends.
Ski turning bushings are easy to make. I welded 3/4″ female plumbing couplers to the front cross member of the frame. I screwed pipes with external threads into them, to which I welded the bipod of the steering rod and ski racks.
I recommend using skis from the Argomak children's snow scooter. They are lighter and more flexible, but they need to be equipped with corners for attaching to the snowmobile's rotating stand and a metal undercut at the bottom - for better control of the snowmobile when moving on crusty or compacted snow.
The chain tension is adjusted by moving the motor.
Driving a snowmobile is very easy. When you increase engine speed with the throttle handle located on the steering wheel, the automatic centrifugal clutch is activated and the snowmobile begins to move. Since the estimated speed of the snowmobile is low (only about 10-15 km/h) and depends on the density of the snow, the snowmobile is not equipped with brakes. It is enough to reduce the engine speed and the snowmobile stops.
I’ll share a few tips that may be useful when repeating this design.
1. I cut the pipe for the tracks lengthwise using a hand-held circular saw for wood, first on one side, then on the other. This makes it smoother than cutting both walls at once. It is more convenient to process small workpieces. If you immediately cut a long pipe lengthwise, then the plastic will melt and the saw blade will jam.
2. Caterpillars can be made of any width. And each designer has the right to choose what is more convenient for him: to make a wide but short track or a narrow and long one. Just remember that with a large caterpillar the snowmobile will be difficult to control and the engine will be more loaded, and with a small one it may fail in loose deep snow.
3. Some of my photos show that there are plastic “barrels” installed inside the caterpillar. These are guide stops for the slide, which should prevent the caterpillar from sliding off the rollers. But during the operation of the snowmobile, the caterpillar did not slide off the rollers even without slipping, so “barrels” can not be installed, which will reduce the weight of the snowmobile.
4. At the end of winter, I completely disassembled the snowmobile to determine its weight. The weight of its individual nodes turned out to be as follows:
- caterpillar - 9 kg;
- drive shaft assembly - 7 kg;
- two pairs of wheels with axles - 9 kg;
- engine and steering wheel - 25 kg; pair of skis -5 kg;
- frame - 15 kg;
- double seat with posts - 6 kg.
In total, everything together weighs 76 kg.
The weight of some parts can be further reduced. Nevertheless, the weight indicator for a snowmobile with a track of this size is quite satisfactory.
The geometric dimensions of my snowmobile are as follows: snowmobile frame length - 2 m; distance between the axes of support wheels (rollers) - 107 cm; The width of the caterpillar is 47 cm. The pitch of the caterpillar lugs depends on the thickness of the conveyor belt and it must be selected experimentally (I got 93 mm).
I do not provide exact dimensions and drawings of the snowmobile parts, since anyone who plans to repeat the design will be guided by those parts and components that they can purchase or manufacture on their own.
The photo shows the stages of manufacturing a snowmobile according to the above diagrams and drawings:
- Blanks for the lugs of the future caterpillar.
- Special drive sprocket from the Buran snowmobile.
- Homemade track drive shaft with sprockets installed for the chain and track.
- A jig for drilling holes in the conveyor belt.
- Track rollers with axles and mounting brackets to the snowmobile frame.
- The drive shaft of the track is driven from the engine by a chain from the motorcycle.
- Snowmobile frame with drive shaft and track rollers.
- Ski turning control mechanism.
- On this snowmobile I installed plastic skis from Chinese children's sleds. But the plastic from which they were made turned out to be very fragile and by the end of winter one of the skis broke.
- Skis from the Argomak snow scooter with an installed undercut (skate) and mounting angles for installation on a snowmobile.
- Ski turning bushings. It's very simple: no bearings. You only need to apply lubricant to the threads, and a long service life is guaranteed. In addition, by screwing in or out the pipes, you can change the ground clearance of the snowmobile.
- The axle of the front wheels (caterpillar rollers) is fixedly attached to the frame, and the axle of the rear wheels-rollers can be moved by rotating the bolt to regulate the tension of the track.
How to make a snowmobile on tracks: photo for article
Do-it-yourself homemade snowmobile: photo
1 PC. handmade felt homemade fabric flowers craft feltro…
A crawler snowmobile made from a walk-behind tractor is perfect for moving through snow-covered forests, overgrown hummocks, and frozen swamps. The machine is manufactured over the summer, using simple tools: metal jigsaw, electric drill, chisel and hammer, welding, etc. You will also need electric welding. Bearings can be purchased at an auto store, and shaft ends can be ordered at a workshop.
DIY tracked snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor
To make a tracked snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor with your own hands, simple materials are used. The frame is made of stamped channels and square pipes. Round water and gas pipes were used to make the shafts. The engine was used from the Neva walk-behind tractor.
The snowmobile looked a little rough. But after conducting winter tests, good driving characteristics were revealed: speed, cross-country ability. It is also light and compact, and quite economical in fuel consumption. The original design assumed an asymmetrical engine arrangement. This provided a number of advantages: during maintenance - good access to the engine; convenient starting and gear shifting; redirecting the chain drive directly to the track drive shaft.
But during testing, when moving on loose snow, when making a turn, the snowmobile often fell over. Because of this circumstance, it was decided to place the engine in the center of the front of the snowmobile. The design has been improved, especially the front of the frame. An intermediate shaft was also installed, which transmitted torque from the engine to the track. In addition, modernization was carried out, which improved the driving performance, comfort and reliability of the snowmobile.
How to make a snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor with tracks
Diagram of drive units and frame of a homemade snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor:
- homemade frame (1);
- second intermediate shaft sprocket with 17 teeth (2);
- intermediate shaft (3);
- first intermediate shaft sprocket, 21 teeth (4);
- track shaft driven sprocket, 37 teeth(5);
- track drive sprocket, 8 teeth (6); track drive shaft (7);
- two supports of the support ski, made of steel pipe 32x4 (8);
- two track tension rollers (9);
- the axis of the tension rollers is made of steel pipe (10);
- towbar (11); tension device (12);
- four drum flanges made of steel sheet (13);
- four track sprocket flanges made of sheet steel (14);
- steering puff (15).
To place the engine with the subframe in the center of the front part of the frame, a platform was welded there in which holes were prepared for the “legs” of the subframe. Similar holes are made in the traverse. The holes in the “legs” of the subframe were converted into longitudinal slots to tension the drive chain when moving the engine.
The underframe has also been redesigned and moved back a little. Thanks to this, the engine is started on the handle. A big plus was the presence of a forced cooling walk-behind tractor on the engine. I used this to direct the air heated while cooling the engine to the carburetor. The gas tank was also moved to the body. It is installed there on stands in the corner to supply gasoline to the carburetor by gravity through a long hose.
Moving the engine to the center of the car resulted in increased stability. Thanks to this, the track of the steering skis was reduced to 950 mm, which led to improved maneuverability of the snowmobile.
After the intermediate shaft was installed, the angular velocity was reduced due to the increase in torque. The speed of the snowmobile was slightly reduced, but the traction characteristics were significantly increased. Now the snowmobile is able to carry two riders with a load, and pull a light sled with luggage. The drive sprockets of the caterpillar mover were also replaced with the same ones of a smaller diameter.
Diagram of a snowmobile steering column made from a walk-behind tractor
- Steering column diagram:
- front frame cross member (1);
- stand made of steel pipe (2);
- steering wheel support made from angle 25x25 (3);
- steering shaft made of steel pipe (4);
- crossbar made of steel pipe 28x28 (5);
- bipod (6); bronze washer (7);
- support sleeve with angle (8);
- nut, type M10 (9).
It was this small improvement that led to improved cross-country ability of the snowmobile. The sprocket has lifted above the support ski. As a result, the caterpillar reaches the upper layers of snow much easier, and also overcomes hummocks, sastrugi, etc. more confidently.
Diagram of the intermediate shaft assembly of a snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor
Intermediate shaft assembly diagram:
- seat support made of steel (1);
- frame cross member made of steel pipe 28x28 (2);
- stand made of steel pipe 18x18 (3);
- a traverse made from a 45x25 corner (4);
- a jib (5) made from a 40x5 steel plate;
- two bearings 204 in the housing (6);
- steel intermediate shaft made from 27x3 pipe (7);
- first sprocket with 21 teeth (8);
- frame spar (9);
- second sprocket with 17 teeth (10);
- rubber casing (11).
Checking the snowmobile before modernization revealed frequent sprocket teeth jumping onto the wooden track. Therefore, it was decided to cut off all the teeth, making them rollers. After modernization, the caterpillar transitions from skis to rollers smoothly, silently and without crackling. The tension mechanism has also been improved: it is now screw-type.
Diagram of a homemade snowmobile track block
Track block diagram:
- made of steel rod, two ties with an M8 nut (1);
- track block drive sprocket (2);
- track drive shaft (3);
- tensioner and roller (4 and 5);
- track made from rack (6);
- homemade frame spar (7);
- track shaft driven sprocket (8);
- support ski (9);
- support ski suspension bracket made from channel (10);
- bolts: M8 and M6 (11 and 12,13);
- brass guide (14);
- screw (15);
- support ski sole (16);
- mounting the bearing housing (17);
- axis of tension rollers (18).
They didn't forget about redesigning the caterpillar. The number of tracks was increased to 33, and the distance between them was correspondingly reduced to 38 mm. The dimensions of the tracks are 500x38x18 mm. To ensure accurate installation of the tracks, a jig template was assembled. This allowed us to avoid distortions.
The front steering skis have also been upgraded. From above they were reinforced with spars. Springs were introduced into the ski suspension, which allows the snowmobile to ride smoothly on snow crust. This increased the life of the skis and frame. A handle was attached to the body pillar to make it easier to pull out a stuck snowmobile. For the same purpose, a similar handle was attached to the wads.
We present drawings of homemade snowmobiles on tracks for your reference.
Design diagrams:
A- caterpillar is laid in a U-shaped bottom
B - one caterpillar, supported by two skis
B - two tracks, one ski
L - tracks at the front, connecting trailer at the rear
D - two skis, two tracks
If a snowmobile has two tracks, then its control is built by braking one of the tracks. The maneuverability of the machine is determined by the ratio of the length of the supporting surface to the track. This ratio should be 1.2.
Let's look at the general view of the snowmobile, which is shown in the pictures.
The presented model consists of two parts:
frame
chassis and suspension
FRAME CONSTRUCTION
We will make a snowmobile frame from wooden blocks and sheets of moisture-resistant plywood. The thickness of the sheet is taken to be ten to twelve millimeters. We glue all the parts together with wood glue and press them with screws. First, we assemble a wooden frame, indicated in the figure by the letter (A), to which we attach three parts (B); (IN); (G). Upon completion of assembly, we will attach a galvanized steel sheet with a thickness of 0.6...0.8 mm to the bottom of the sliding runners. After assembly, the body is covered with hot drying oil and a paint coating is applied.
CHASSIS AND SUSPENSION
D (side view), E (top view) mounted:
front shock absorber (1)
shock absorber mounting (2)
structural frame (3)
driven shaft tensioner (4)
driven shaft (5)
teeth (6)
platform fastening (7)
engine mounts (8)
drive shaft (9)
shaft gear (10)
lever (11)
fastening eye (12)
runner (13).
F(drive shaft assembly):
Trumpet (1)
flange (2)
bushing (3)
frame (4)
track gear (5)
driven gear (6)
bolt (7)
bushing (8)
nut (9)
chain tensioner (10)
Let's look at the drawings of homemade snowmobiles on tracks, a typical design with a front engine
Have you decided to make a snowmobile yourself? If there was a desire... Of course, to create a decent vehicle you will also need metalworking skills, basic knowledge of physics, ingenuity, materials, spare parts and some tools. There is no doubt that you have all this, and what you don’t can be acquired along the way. The main thing is what the result is! A self-made snowmobile moving on snow, overcoming snow-covered off-road terrain - that’s cool!
Features and advantages of homemade snowmobiles
The basis of the design of a winter vehicle is a caterpillar drive and steering skis. Of all the advantages of homemade snowmobiles over factory models, the following can be highlighted:
- The price of motorcycles assembled from scrap materials is 5-10 times lower.
- The ability to assemble a model of the desired configuration, power, etc.
- Reliability of the design, thanks to the use of high-quality materials and proven mechanisms.
- The benefit is that you don’t have to buy new materials and parts, but use those stored in the garage.
A homemade snowmobile is a vehicle that can be found not only on country roads and ski resorts, but also on the streets of populated areas.
Manufacturing a snowmobile according to drawings
How to make a snowmobile with your own hands, what parts and components will be needed? To create a homemade tracked vehicle for moving on snow, a list of necessary components is compiled, a sketch is made and drawings are made. In the future, they will serve as a guide for creating a vehicle.
The standard design consists of several elements. It includes:
- A frame that can be borrowed from an ATV, scooter, scooter, motorcycle, etc. If this is not possible, it is made by welding from thin-walled metal pipes with a diameter of 40 mm.
- The seat should preferably be made of water-repellent material.
- The engine can also be from a walk-behind tractor, motorcycle, scooter, etc. The choice is determined by the speed and weight of the vehicle.
- A tank, which is a 10-15 liter container made of metal or plastic.
- Skis for a homemade snowmobile on tracks can be taken ready-made or made from nine to ten-layer plywood, 3 mm thick.
- The steering wheel, like many other elements, is taken from a two-wheeled unit.
- A drive that transmits rotational movements from the engine to the track, which can be a motorcycle chain.
- The caterpillar is a complex component that requires detailed consideration.
How to make caterpillars with your own hands?
Homemade tracks can be made from car tires. The advantage of using tires is that they have a closed circuit, which reduces the likelihood of bursting. To make tracks, the tire beads are cut off with a sharp shoe knife. Grousers are attached to the remaining flexible web, using plastic pipes 5 mm thick and 40 mm in diameter, sawn to length. The pipe halves are cut to the width of the tire and bolted every 5-7 cm.
Caterpillars are made from a conveyor belt in a similar way. Its advantage is that if it is used, there are no restrictions on length. But there is a need for coupling by overlapping the ends of the tape with an overlap of 3-5 cm and fixing with bolts. When making tracks with your own hands, V-belts are often used. Connected by lugs, they represent a full-fledged caterpillar with ready-made cavities for gears.
A wide track improves the cross-country ability of the unit, but reduces its controllability. Factory models have three options:
- Standard – 15;
- Wide – 20;
- Ultrawide – 24.
The sequence of creating a snowmobile with your own hands
To make a snowmobile on tracks with your own hands, you first need to connect the frame and steering mechanism. The height and angle of inclination are selected, then spot welding is performed. In accordance with the drawing, the engine is installed and fixed. It is necessary to ensure that there is no strong tilt. To avoid a long fuel line, the tank is located at a close distance from the carburetor.
Next, the caterpillar is installed. The driven axle with the canvas is attached behind the frame (depending on the design, on a suspension, fork, shock absorber, etc.), the drive axle is attached in the middle of the snowmobile (usually under the driver’s seat), closer to the engine. The axle gears are pre-engaged. After this, the fuel tank, throttle and brake cables are connected, the seat is mounted, and other work is carried out.
Do-it-yourself snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor
Creating a snowmobile from a walk-behind tractor is the most popular option. A vehicle intended for agricultural work can be used in whole or in part. It should be noted that walk-behind tractor engines, as a rule, are designed for the weight and pressure of wheels, which are several times smaller than a caterpillar wheel. For this reason, it is better to equip your snowmobile with low-pressure wheels. This will help avoid excessive fuel consumption and premature wear of parts. How to transform a walk-behind tractor into a homemade snowmobile, watch the video.
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When making a snowmobile, you need to listen to the advice of experienced craftsmen:
When cutting pipe with a circular saw, it is recommended to cut one side and then the other. This way you will be able to get even workpieces. It is better to first cut the pipe into pieces of the required length, since when cutting long pieces, the plastic will melt and the saw blade may jam.
The size of the caterpillar can be chosen at your discretion. It can be wide and short, narrow and long, but it should be taken into account that the controllability of the vehicle will depend on its width. A vehicle with a wide track is more difficult to control, and the load on the engine will also increase. A small track will sink in deep, loose snow.
In the northern regions of our country, one of the most popular means of transportation is a snowmobile. Considering the fact that the cost of most modern models is quite high, it is much more economical to assemble this device yourself. You just have to use your wits, the necessary tools and find some free time.
To implement the idea, you will need a regular walk-behind tractor. In winter, this device is installed on the prefabricated structure of the snowmobile, and in the spring it is removed and used for its intended purpose.
A snowmobile is a specialized vehicle designed for driving on snow. There are many different modifications, each of which differs in its technical characteristics and capabilities. There are models:
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In addition, various engines (air- or water-cooled) and types of transmissions can be installed. Despite their differences, all models are united by one common fact - they are universal means of movement on snow and crust. Due to specific technical characteristics, in winter snowmobiles have a number of advantages over other devices:
- Economical. Snowmobiles use much less fuel than other vehicles.
- Speed. If we take into account the fact that cars, due to their weight and design, often get stuck in deep snow, snowmobiles pass through snowy areas much faster.
- Maneuverability. Thanks to their small dimensions, snowmobiles are able to move with ease even in winter forest conditions (which is very useful for people who are keen on hunting);
The scope of application of these vehicles is very wide - rescue work, winter hunting or fishing, tourism, travel - this is not a complete list of cases where they are a necessity.
Similar "" are used wherever there is snow cover. And they are conventionally divided into serial and home-made.
All that is needed for creation is tracks, steering wheel, runners and engine. No more, no less.
How to assemble a snowmobile on tracks
The development of snowmobiles begins with the creation of a drawing or sketch. To do this, they use both their own author’s visions and ready-made sketches, abundantly presented on the Internet. In any case, it is necessary to provide for the presence of a driving and driven part. The driving part consists of a drive, frame and power unit, the driven part consists of runners, steering wheel and shock absorbers.
Frame
First of all, you need to assemble the frame. For this, ordinary pipes with a small diameter are used (traditional craftsmen advise giving preference to motorcycle frame structures). To give it the required shape, you need to use a welding machine.
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Initially, the parts are secured using spot welding - this is necessary so that in case of errors the assembled structure is not destroyed. After the frame is ready, it must be welded with a continuous seam.
Power unit
The engine is a regular walk-behind tractor. In addition, it is necessary to create a drive that can drive the tracks. As a rule, a conventional chain drive is used, which fits directly to the drive shaft. At the same time, the snowmobile turns out to be maneuverable and lightweight, and the traction force and stability of the entire device are significantly enhanced.
To create, you need a regular motorcycle chain, a tracked drive shaft and two sprockets. Assembling the drive is no more difficult than putting a chain on a bicycle. A larger sprocket is installed on the shaft of the power unit, a smaller one is put on the drive axle of the caterpillar, after which the chain is tensioned between them. And this is all that is needed to create a full-fledged and sufficiently powerful drive.
Caterpillars
The tracks are made independently - this does not present any difficulty even for a novice technician. An ordinary rubberized or transport tape is taken, onto which the lugs are installed. The lugs (tracks) are transverse slats that are fastened at equal intervals along the entire length of the belt to “rakes up” the snow. Tracks can be made of durable plastic or, for greater reliability, from a thick sheet of tin.
The tracks are fastened with bolts. When attaching the lugs, you need to take into account the same distance between them, otherwise the caterpillar will slip over the snow surface and slip. When choosing a transport belt, it is important to consider its width in relation to the size of the device - the larger the equipment, the wider the belt. We look at all the nuances in the video below.
The runners must have optimal gliding characteristics on snow and/or ice. From available materials, you can use impact-resistant plastic or metal. It is recommended to use wide strips, which will provide a larger contact surface with the coating and, therefore, a higher driving speed.
The snowmobile is assembled in several simple steps:
Video of a snowmobile on a track
The video shows the design of one of the homemade snowmobiles called "Snigir".
In addition to tracked snowmobiles, craftsmen make wheeled ones:
