Snow VP
01-25-2006, 09:54 AM
THe big news...l the the equipment is finally complete. Mark from Alpine Custom Fabrication dropped off our new drag yesterday. Good thing too, the drivers were complaining about the orange drag more and more, minor problems, but still annoyances.
The new drag has more cutters than before. Each back wrenching Mogul will first get smashed by the front blade on the tractor, and then get shaved by at least 3 cutting blades before the now processed snow is gathered, and leveled into a smooth highway for our faithful riders. This drag is also a full five feet longer than the orange drag, and built of much heavier steel than last years model. We hope that it will serve us faithfully for years to come.
From what I am told, our John Deere 8120T, together with the front grooming blade, and this new huge drag is amount the biggest, if not the largest grooming tractor/drag combination in the state. (let us know if you know of a larger one) Whey does this matter to you, the rider? Because with each grooming pass, you effectively get 2 grooms, one preliminary one from the front blade, and then a final one from the drag. The longer drag means that the "waves" than can form on the trail when your tractor and drag are the same length will be minimized.
We have experienced Groomer Nick headed out in the next couple of hours, I will post his take to this thread when he returns. Funny thing is this equipment really shines when there are 2 foot tall Moguls and the trail is all tore up. Our whole system is like a superhighway right now, If I know Nick, he will head to the worst spots to see how it works.
The new drag has more cutters than before. Each back wrenching Mogul will first get smashed by the front blade on the tractor, and then get shaved by at least 3 cutting blades before the now processed snow is gathered, and leveled into a smooth highway for our faithful riders. This drag is also a full five feet longer than the orange drag, and built of much heavier steel than last years model. We hope that it will serve us faithfully for years to come.
From what I am told, our John Deere 8120T, together with the front grooming blade, and this new huge drag is amount the biggest, if not the largest grooming tractor/drag combination in the state. (let us know if you know of a larger one) Whey does this matter to you, the rider? Because with each grooming pass, you effectively get 2 grooms, one preliminary one from the front blade, and then a final one from the drag. The longer drag means that the "waves" than can form on the trail when your tractor and drag are the same length will be minimized.
We have experienced Groomer Nick headed out in the next couple of hours, I will post his take to this thread when he returns. Funny thing is this equipment really shines when there are 2 foot tall Moguls and the trail is all tore up. Our whole system is like a superhighway right now, If I know Nick, he will head to the worst spots to see how it works.