“Snowmotractor” Geared To Go 50 Mph

“Snowmotractor” Geared To Go 50 Mph MOWERS To build a wintertime family-friendly recreational vehicle Kevin Alberts put snowmobile skis on the front of a Wheel Horse 1054 tractor     First he replaced the original rear wheels with used dune buggy paddle tires The 1054 frame was wider and heavier than most standard Wheel Horse frames so it handled the size and weight well After reconfiguring the sheet metal he redrilled the hubs to make them work     He pieced together the better parts from two early 90’s Polaris Indy 440 snow sleds he had in his boneyard to make one working engine     “The sleds ran a maximum rpm red line just under 8 000 ” says Alberts “Online they’re rated between 70 and 75 hp which I knew would be plenty ”     He used 2 by 4 tubing mounted to the bottom of the engine with 2-in spacers added to bring the crankshaft centerline up to where it needed to be Flipping the exhaust manifold gained enough vertical clearance to accommodate the steering     Albert’s next goal was to link the Polaris engine to the Wheel Horse transmission By adapting the centrifugal clutch and outer plate he lined everything up and trimmed the clutch spacers to make it work without the stock Wheel Horse clutch     After some trial and error he got the fuel system to operate as planned and even the hood still fit over the motor     The seat came from a friend Alberts believes it’s the only red white and blue 1054 seat made     “The Snowmotractor is mainly just a fun machine ” he says “I even put 2-wheel dollies on the front to scoot around on the dirt ”     Albert’s goal is to make it go faster in the 50 mph range     “The whole idea was to have another recreational vehicle to fly around but the power transmission for more speed has been a bear ” he says “The issue I’m fighting is too much power through a V-belt but too much speed for a chain I’ll be investigating a snowmobile chain box with lubrication to bring the jackshaft speeds down then modify the jackshaft transmission to chain drive ”     Alberts says the Snowmotractor might never truly be done as he continues to tinker with it He estimates he’s put about $2 000 into the machine with most of the cost $1 500 going to tires and wheels     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Kevin Alberts fjplatteservices@gmail com

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