To pull drags, it is easier to purchase a ready-made mini snowmobile, motorized towing vehicle or pusher than to make it yourself. However, as practice shows, factory models have many shortcomings, ranging from low quality parts to design flaws. These motorized dogs don’t want to pull drags. It is not surprising that in the instructions for motorized towing vehicles you can see a warning not to drive further than a kilometer from home without being accompanied by another driver. Do you agree, getting stuck in the snow far from home? not a very encouraging prospect.
In Chinese motorized dogs, the carburetor constantly breaks down, the clutch gets upset, the caterpillar weakens, or something else breaks. Therefore, to avoid such troubles, it is best to make your own motorized dog or pusher completely from scratch, or remake the factory version. The main disadvantage? This is a labor-intensive process that requires time and skill to manufacture the frame and fit the parts.
Why homemade motorized towing vehicles are preferable
What shortcomings can be avoided by developing your own model? Due to improper design, the tracks of towing vehicles can become clogged with snow. In another case, a motorized dog rears up and buries itself in deep snow, throwing it onto the rider and the drag. Homemade motorized towing vehicles with a front engine, unlike most factory ones, where it is located in the rear, are much preferable. Road traction is much better, which allows you to save fuel and pull the drags faster. In addition, additional compartments for supplies and gear can be provided in a tow or pusher for fishing and work.
In addition, the towing vehicle’s grip on the road directly depends on the installed track. The Buran track has good traction, which, unfortunately, is not installed on all modern towing vehicles. To improve traction, you can add studs to the tracks if desired.
Well, the main advantage? for the price of the cheapest Chinese towbar, you can make a more durable homemade towbar or pusher. For the same money we get an excellent engine, a powerful track and better parts.
Using a snowmobile attachment for motor cultivators
If you are the owner of walk-behind tractors: Salyut, Neva, Cascade, Tselina, MB-2, Luch? or “Favorite?”, then you can purchase a two-track snowmobile attachment. So far this is the best way to make a towing vehicle or pusher from a walk-behind tractor. Previous models of such consoles were criticized by users. However, these are strikingly different from their predecessors. Unlike a chain drive, like conventional motorized dogs, two plastic sprockets are mounted on the axle of the walk-behind tractor, onto which the tracks are mounted. There are special slots in each track for these drive sprockets.
Using a walk-behind tractor to pull the drags is very convenient. The design can be quickly disassembled, allowing it to be placed in a passenger car. However, the disadvantage of the walk-behind tractor is that the engine installed in it has a power of 6 or 7 hp. With. A motorized towing vehicle made from a walk-behind tractor and a drag will move at speeds of up to 15 or 20 km/h, and the average speed may be even lower. Such a towing vehicle can hardly pull some drags, not to mention the others.
How to make a motorized towing vehicle with your own hands
To assemble a homemade model, it is better to buy some spare parts ready-made. The caterpillar and rollers can be taken from Buran. Can the engine also be purchased separately? Today there is a huge selection of them on the Internet. Among the many Chinese, it is better to give preference to a 9-13 liter engine from Honda. With. For the carburetor to work well, pay attention to the presence of the Design in Japan inscription. Such a carburetor will create fewer problems for you during maintenance. This carburetor is better tuned and adjustable.
An engine from a Ural chainsaw is unlikely to be suitable for making a mini-snowmobile, towing vehicle or pusher, since it will, at best, pull the drags at walking speed. Chainsaw power? Ural? 5 l. pp., and this is not enough for a full-fledged motorized dog. Chainsaw motor? Ural? Only suitable for installation on a children's or adult snow scooter. Instead, you can use a moped or motorcycle engine. Most likely, it will be more powerful than that of the Ural chainsaw, but do not overdo it, since the motor is too heavy? this is also bad.
Unlike other parts, the towing vehicle needs to make the frame itself. To do this, you can use square metal pipes 20 x 40 x 120. Mountings for the gearbox, engine and track need to be welded onto the finished frame. Like the frame, control arms need to be made from 120 metal pipes. However, for this it is better to take a round pipe. Two pipes are fastened with jumpers, and the clutch and gas are placed on one of them.
The housing to protect the engine of a motorized towing vehicle is made of tin, but in some cases you can do without it. If the engine is installed in the front, then the housing is not so necessary. If the engine is at the rear, then protection from snow dust will definitely be needed. In any case, whether to make a body or not is up to you. You can also use the body from an old motorized towing vehicle.
So, you don’t need much to create a homemade motorized dog. The main thing is the ability to work with a welding machine to weld the frame, and some understanding of mechanics. How about adjusting the carburetor, adjusting the clutch or tightening the track? it's all a matter of practice.
If you are making a motorized towing vehicle with your own hands, then you need to take into account the design features of this device before starting work. As experienced craftsmen note, manufacturing this equipment will not be too difficult for anyone. If you do not want to use the help of specialists, then you need to familiarize yourself with the technology of doing the work. The high popularity of the described motorized towing vehicle, which is also called a motorized dog, is due to the fact that it has small dimensions and good maneuverability. Such equipment is unpretentious in operation, and in the process consumes very little fuel.
Design features
If you are making a motorized towing vehicle with your own hands, then before starting these manipulations you must understand all the design features, as well as become more familiar with the assembly process. Considering this equipment, it can be noted that it is a small-sized motorized tracked unit, which is used to tow various small-sized cargo.
Selection and installation of the motor
If you decide to make a motorized towing vehicle with your own hands, you need to think about an important component of the homemade product - the engine. A common moped engine is used in the manufacture of such models, which is known under the brand name Ш-58. It is made in Russia. The main advantage of this device is that it is designed to use exclusively a manual box switch. It should be noted that motorized dogs can use foreign-made engines. If you want to create a motorized towing vehicle with your own hands that will last a longer time, then it is best to use engines that are produced under the Yamaha and Honda brands. The main feature of these motors is versatility, since such equipment can be used to create both a motorized towing vehicle and any other device that requires an engine. Among the latter, oversized power plants can be distinguished.
We take the issue of choosing an engine seriously
A homemade motorized towing vehicle requires a high-quality engine. It is necessary to choose its characteristics correctly. The master must think about the number of engine cycles. It is preferable to use a two-stroke variety, which has impressive size and weight compared to a four-stroke. But as for the power characteristics, they remain almost at the same level.
The important part is the controls
For operation, a homemade motorized towing vehicle must have control elements; this should in no case be forgotten before starting the manipulation. Experienced professionals recommend using a steering wheel with built-in controls. The design will have a switch, as well as a gas and clutch handle, which can be borrowed from used equipment.
Motor dog assembly technology
Before making a motorized towing vehicle, it is necessary to prepare a design diagram that will allow you to avoid errors. You only need to assemble them after you have prepared the bushings for them. A welded frame must be used as a supporting structure. It will contain tubes of different diameters; in order to give these elements the desired shape, they must be filled with dry sand. Now the master seals both ends with plugs, which you can make yourself from wood. The workpiece is placed in a vice, and then slowly bent using hot air should be applied to the required place. It is important to ensure maximum bending, for this it is recommended to use a reference template. You can make this workpiece yourself using a plywood sheet.
Work methodology
Once the variator for the motorized towing vehicle has been selected, you can check whether all the elements have the required shape. The components are fixed to each other, and welding clamps must be used. These works are carried out so that if defects occur during assembly, they can be easily eliminated. After all errors have been eliminated, the frame is well secured by welding. The drawings of the motorized towing vehicle, of course, can be borrowed from the article, but for carrying out the work you can prepare them without the help of professionals. In order to install the motor on the frame, you can use blanks that are pre-made from sheet metal. They must be made of fairly thick cardboard. It should be equal in size to the frame. The workpieces are well secured to the engine, only after that the structure is fixed in the frame system using the same welding clamps. The craftsman now disconnects the engine from the workpiece to finally attach it to the frame system.
Manipulations with collapsible shafts
A motorized towing vehicle, the technical characteristics of which will depend on the elements used in the work process, can be made independently, but before starting manipulations it is necessary to think through every step. In the tracked unit, it is recommended to use collapsible shafts made of bearings and bushings. The latter are carefully turned for the former, and the wall thickness should not exceed 5 millimeters. The motorized dog will experience the heaviest loads on the rear axle. She should be the leader. For this purpose, a drive sprocket is attached to the rear shaft, which must be connected to the gearbox. This is done through a chain transmission. You can make a sled for a motorized towing vehicle yourself using wooden runners and a lumber-based frame. In addition to composite shafts, the structure must have composite wheels. Each of them consists of cheeks, the dimensions of which are 3 millimeters. In addition, several dozen hooks are used; they are necessary for adhesion to the soil. They are made using metal pipes. In order to dampen vibration of the wheels, rubber bushings are installed on the hooks, and specifically at their ends.
Information about movers
If you are thinking about making a motorized dog, then it is important to decide how the tracks will be made. Here we consider an example that involves the use of a conveyor belt.
The width is set to 220 millimeters. Tracks for motorized dogs are made of smooth canvas slats; their length should be 1260 millimeters. In order to provide reinforcement to the tracks, metal ridges should be used, which are installed on bars during the assembly process. The track components are fastened using bolts; you need to choose those with M6 threads.
Finally
If before starting assembly you thought that controlling a motorized dog might seem unnecessarily complicated, this belief is false. Driving such a structure is no more difficult than driving a moped. On the right handle of the steering wheel there will be a gas handle, but on the other there will be a lever used to shift the gearbox. The clutch handle is also located here. The steering wheel is fixed to the frame using two tubes, which are fixed by welding using a U-shaped fork. The latter is fixed on the rear axle, and for this you need to use metal washers.
Due to the fact that the motor is located inside the track, it will not be possible to use it using a kickstarter. It should be somewhat modernized. What is used for is a piece of pipe in which a hole will need to be made, the size of the latter will be sufficient to drive the lever. The pipe and the kickstarter lever are secured together by welding. A sled for a motorized towing vehicle can be made from scrap materials, for example, thick rubber is often used for this.
A motorized towing vehicle is an essential purchase in places where a car cannot pass - these are fields, forests, areas where there is deep snow most of the year. The advantages of this technique are that it is relatively small in size, weighs little, can cope with various skids, and also easily passes through hard-to-reach places. It is especially good to have a motorized towing vehicle for people who are interested in winter hunting, fishing, and also for transporting small-sized cargo and firewood. The device will be useful in winter and summer. You can buy a motorized dog in a store, however, if you don’t want to overpay, you can assemble it yourself.
What is a motorized dog for a walk-behind tractor?
The track attachment is represented by a module on which there is a seat for a person and a place for installing a walk-behind tractor. Instead of standard wheels, the walk-behind tractor is mounted on tracks.
You can control a motorized dog while sitting on a trailer or standing on a sled. The motorized towing vehicle starts and stops by pressing the gas or clutch lever, which are located on the steering wheel of the walk-behind tractor. You can set turns and hold them using the steering wheel.
The motorized towing vehicle can be easily disassembled and easily placed in the trunk of a car or in a garage. Making the device is as easy as disassembling it.
The assembly time of the motorized dog does not exceed 15 minutes. Does not require special care, easy to use.
The Russian Federation has launched the production of motorized dogs for walk-behind tractors. By purchasing a motor cultivator and tracks, you can make a reliable device at home. The snowmobile attachment will help hunters and fishermen pass through impassable places in winter. The motorized dog pulls up to 2 ski trailers and standard sleds weighing up to 150 kg.
Factory motorized towing vehicles
After the hype for tracked attachments, they began to be produced in our country. Motorized towing vehicles for walk-behind tractors Salyut (Agat) and Neva can rightfully be called one of the most popular.
Snowmobile attachments for Salyut (for example, model SP-MB-S) and Neva (models SP-MB-2, SP-MB-23 and others) began to be produced 15 years ago and managed to win the hearts of many people for their ease of use and simple repairs .
Due to its small parameters, the motorized dog can be easily kept in the garage and transported by car.
Walk-behind tractors have a small engine, so it is better to buy a two-track attachment for them. Each track has holes, and standard models have the usual 2 plastic sprockets on the axle, where the tracks are mounted. This technical point is more practical, since motorized dogs often break down due to this problem.
But there is a significant drawback: the engine has low power (7 liters), so acceleration will be no more than 20 km/h, or even lower. It is difficult for these models to pull several drags, because... they are lightweight options. When choosing a tracked attachment, you need to pay attention to this fact, because The devices are not suitable for heavy loads.
Do-it-yourself motorized towing vehicle for a walk-behind tractor
It’s not difficult to make a motorized towing vehicle yourself. It is important to decide on the engine. You can buy both domestic and foreign engines. Yamaha and Honda engines have good performance reviews. They are universal, so they will fit any device model. As for the caterpillars, you can make them yourself; you only need materials, a little time and patience.
Homemade tracks for a snowmobile attachment
There are many ways to make a caterpillar, but today we will tell you how to make it from V-belts and chains. To do this, we take belts, fasten them to lugs or wheels, thus getting simple homemade tracks.
The circuit for assembling a caterpillar from chains is no less simple. You need to take two identical chains, find the last links, open them and bend them to form a vicious circle. Then we fix the links and weld them with a soldering iron. Reinforcement of chains is done made from steel plates. They are secured with bolts. For presentation, you can see the diagrams:
If you don’t want to do it yourself, you can simply take a caterpillar from other unnecessary equipment.
More details about. or other materials, is written in a separate article.
Assembling a crawler attachment for a walk-behind tractor
When assembling a snowmobile attachment, you need to outline a drawing that will prevent unnecessary mistakes.
- First you need to select support bearings, and machine bushings for them.
- We take a welded frame in which the pipes will be located, and fill them with sand to give the required shape.
- We cover the 2 ends with wooden plugs, place them in a vice and slowly begin to bend it using a soldering iron. The bend should be maximum, so in order not to make a mistake, it is better to make a template that you can use as a guide.
To make it easier to imagine, you can familiarize yourself with the diagram:
It’s easy to make a snowmobile attachment; you just need a little time, ingenuity and provide for all the little things, since saving on good equipment is stupid. A self-assembled motorized towing vehicle will serve without interruption.
After the sale of the snowmobile, it was decided to make a motorized towing vehicle based on a Greenfield 15 hp engine, Ride caterpillar and Buran roller suspension... With a leading Safari variator from Buran and a driven one from the Taiga snowmobile. The variators and motor are assembled on a separate frame for quick disassembly into blocks... 
Buranovsky bogies have been converted into symmetrical ones + expanded to accommodate a 500 mm track. The guide shaft is an expanded Buranovsky, the driver sharpened it himself, according to his sketches... The rear Kamazovsky is installed as a mudguard, 
cut into two parts, long at the back and short at the front...
Photos of the first fishing trip to Morozovo 
After which the body kit was made 
and the towing vehicle was converted into a pusher 
, now, if desired, you can go fishing, both on a pusher and in a towing configuration, 
depending on fishing conditions...
To prevent the pusher from lifting his nose in deep snow, a special lock is installed, 
which prevents the tracked block from making spark plugs, thereby increasing good cross-country ability...
For remote control of the choke, the pusher is equipped with a choke cable from the VAZ 2108 
, and the choke handle is located on the front wall of the pusher behind the seat...
Among the disadvantages - for transportation you need either a trailer or a large loaf-type machine... Rolling in pusher mode (needs skill)... But the advantages are good cross-country ability and power...
P.S In winter, there was a big shortage of old Buranovsk skating rinks 
- when water gets into the ice, it gets into the bearings of the rollers, after which it freezes there with all the consequences... To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to install plastic rollers 
, they provide for the installation of sealing seals... In the spring I changed the rollers on my axlebox to plastic ones...
Some short photos and videos
And so, you decided that you need a motorized towing vehicle for hunting, fishing, transporting goods, or just for driving, but you want a more powerful engine, larger standard headlights, heating, and a special color. But in the product catalog there is no such individual model, just for your taste. But it’s not scary, today you can assemble high-quality DIY motorized towing vehicle. You just need to have a little experience in locksmith work, a set of tools and a desire to get unique equipment. The assembly process can be divided into several technological stages:
- Choosing the configuration of a future motorized towing vehicle: at the first stage, you need to decide what kind of motorized towing vehicle you want, draw up its description and technical characteristics: determine the load capacity, engine power, type of start (manual or electric starter), select the type of transmission, sled (drag) and color frames And also decide what additional equipment you want to equip the motorized towing vehicle with manual assembly: for example, a winch, a protective cover, chain protection, etc. headlights, etc.
- Once you have decided on the package, you need to select the necessary parts on our website. You can buy separately the motor, electrics, base for the motorized dog (chassis and body) and other necessary spare parts.
- Order all the parts for self-assembly. All components will be packaged and shipped. The necessary instructions will be attached to the main components.
- After receiving all the spare parts, you will need to familiarize yourself with the parts and their descriptions. Be sure to check the package.
- Assembly is the most important point in independently designing a motorized towing vehicle. It is necessary to install all the components on the base, connect everything according to the attached instructions. If you have any questions, you can call and get advice.
- Test it. Now you need to make sure that you have assembled everything correctly, check the reliability of all components and connections for your safety.
That's it, ready. This way you get exactly the equipment you want at the cost of a regular model, and sometimes even cheaper. And it will be a self-assembled motorized towing vehicle, which is doubly nice. But still, before assembling it yourself, you should carefully study the catalog, maybe you can find the model you need.
By making a motorized dog ourselves, we are not responsible for the final product; all work is performed entirely under your responsibility.
