Continuous track or tracked treads are a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle better than steel or rubber tyres on an equivalent vehicle, enabling continuous tracked vehicles to traverse soft ground with less likelihood of becoming stuck due to sinking.
A snowmobile, also known as a snowmachine, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow.
A crampon is a traction device attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as crossing glaciers, snowfields and icefields, ascending snow slopes, and scaling ice-covered rock.
BRP Inc. is a Canadian manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, side by sides, motorcycles, and personal watercraft. It was founded in 2003, when the Recreational Products Division of Bombardier Inc. was spun off and sold to a group of investors consisting of Bain Capital, the Bombardier-Beaudoin family and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Bombardier Inc., was founded in 1942 as L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitée by Joseph-Armand Bombardier at Valcourt in the Eastern Townships, Quebec.
In the 1950s, LeTourneau Inc. developed several overland trains, essentially oversized semi-trailer trucks that could travel over almost any terrain. Their intention was to be able to handle logistics needs without being dependent on local road or rail systems, allowing them to operate in back-country areas. The US Army had three experimental units built, the largest reaching almost 600 feet (183 m) long, which holds the record for the longest off-road vehicle. Road trains are in use in certain roles today, but the US Army examples and a few derivatives appear to be the only off-road examples built.
The AMC Eagle is a compact four-wheel drive passenger vehicle manufactured and marketed in a single generation by American Motors Corporation (AMC) for model years 1980 through 1987 and continued by Chrysler Corporation following its acquisition of AMC in 1987, for the 1988 model year.
A snowcat is an enclosed-cab, truck-sized, fully tracked vehicle designed to travel over snow. Major manufacturers are PistenBully (Germany), Prinoth (Italy), and Tucker.
Arctic Cat is an American brand of snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles manufactured in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The company was formed in 1960 and is now part of Textron Inc. Arctic Cat designs, engineers, manufactures, and markets all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and related parts, garments, and accessories.
Snow grooming is the process of manipulating snow for recreational uses with a tractor, snowmobile, piste caterpillar, truck or snowcat towing specialized equipment. The process is used to maintain ski hills, cross-country ski trails and snowmobile trails by grooming the snow on them. A variation of the technique is used to construct snow runways in Antarctica.
The M29 Weasel is a World War II tracked vehicle designed for operation in snow. Built by Studebaker, Weasels were also used in sandy, muddy, and desert terrains, including towing loads over terrain wheeled vehicles could not negotiate as in the U.S. Marine invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
A snow coach is a specialized passenger transport vehicle designed to operate over snow or ice, similar to a large, multi-passenger snowcat equipped with bus-style seating. These vehicles may have multiple sets of massive, low-pressure tires, or they may have tracks. Snow coaches may seat ten or more passengers and are often used for sightseeing tours or over-snow transportation.
An idler-wheel is a wheel which serves only to transmit rotation from one shaft to another, in applications where it is undesirable to connect them directly. For example, connecting a motor to the platter of a phonograph, or the crankshaft-to-camshaft gear train of an automobile.
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was a vehicle designed (1937–39) under the direction of Thomas Poulter, intended to facilitate transport in Antarctica during the United States Antarctic Service Expedition (1939–41). The Snow Cruiser was also known as "The Penguin," "Penguin 1" or "Turtle" in some published material.
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.
Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are engineered, manufactured, and assembled in order to produce motorcycle models with the desired performance, aesthetics, and cost. The key components of modern motorcycles are presented below.
The Allis-Chalmers M7 snow tractor was designed for use by the U.S. Army Air Corps as a rescue vehicle in remote northern bases.
The Model WC was a tractor made by Allis-Chalmers from 1933 to 1948. The WC was designed from its start as a nimble, low-cost, but well-powered row-crop tractor that would make the best use of pneumatic rubber tires, which Allis-Chalmers had just introduced to agriculture in 1932. A successful model at the historical height of row-crop tractor demand, the WC was the best-selling tractor model that Allis-Chalmers ever built.
Grousers are devices intended to increase the traction of continuous tracks, especially in loose material such as soil or snow. This is done by increasing contact with the ground with protrusions, similar to conventional tire treads, and analogous to athletes' cleated shoes. On tanks and armoured vehicles, grousers are usually pads attached to the tracks; but on construction vehicles they may take the form of flat plates or bars.
The Vityaz DT-30 is a multi-purpose articulated tracked carrier developed in the Soviet Union. It was designed to carry heavy loads in difficult terrain like swamps, sand and snow in extreme weather conditions.
Kharkovchanka or Kharkivyanka, code name: Manufacture 404S, is a model of Antarctic off-road vehicle made circa 1957–1958 in the Soviet Union, designed and built by the Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant, Ukraine and later manufactured in Kharkiv by the Malyshev Factory. Based on the AT-T tractor platform. In December 1959 two of them were delivered to Antarctica and reached the South Pole. The massive off-road snow vehicle had a total of a small galley, toilet, oven, and eight beds.
