Suncook Valley Sno Riders Groomers
Donation protected
The 2014/2015 snowmobile season was one of the best we've seen in many years! Lots of snow meant excellent riding conditions but it also meant our dedicated team of volunteers spent countless hours out in the groomers. It wasn't uncommon to hear these guy talking about the 8-10 hours they spent grooming. And I don't mean this season, nor do I mean in a week. The snowmobile trail grooming crew has been known do that all in one trip, and several times a season. Besides the time spent grooming they have also been busy with breakdowns and repairs. Imagine being a few miles from any road with a dead groomer. Not fun! Sometimes it took a few hours, other times and entire day just to get the groomer out of the woods, not counting the repairs.
And to think they do it as volunteers!
With all the above said, I would like to say thank you to our groomer operators!
The Suncook Valley Sno Riders snowmobile club has 4 groomers:
1992 Tucker Sno-Cat (23 years old)
1992 Massey Ferguson Tractor (23 years old)
1980 Tucker Sno-Cat (35 years old)
2001 Ski-Do Skandic (14 years old) - shown without the drag.
Now for the not-so-good news...
Because all of these machines are aging they are breaking down. This year we have 2 groomers broken down to the point they are not trail worthy and the other two need repairs but are trail worthy.
SVSR cannot afford to replace these groomers so we are forced to repair what we have. The Skandic is in need of a gear that is labor intensive, somewhere around 23 hours labor to repair. The 1980 Tucker needs a shaft that holds on the entire rear drive train (broke twice this year and had to be welded). One of those times a group of volunteers welded it on the trail:
The Massey tractor may need some small repairs after the season is over.
The biggest problem we have by far is the 1992 Tucker. The entire drive (sprockets, tracks, etc) are in need of replacement. Band-Aid repairs have been done over and over again but it has reached the end where now we must consider either replacing the groomer or repairing what we have. At the last meeting we discussed it, buying a replacement groomer is not something the club can afford right now. If we have a rebuilt drive system installed that seems to make the most sense. The guys have run the numbers many times over and we are hoping to get most of the money needed for the repairs from the state of NH in the form of a grant. This is something the state does annually. The very best we can hope for is that the grant is approved which will leave the club with about $10,900.00 that we need to come up with to cover the cost of repairs. The total cost of repairs is estimated around $45,000.00 - if the state grant is not approved the club will not be able to afford the repairs at all without this fundraiser and we will be left with only 2 of the 4 groomers for next season and buying a newer groomer in the next 5 years will not be an option.
Any donation amount is welcome! Every dollar we get is one dollar closer to getting this done...
Donations can be made anonymously if desired.
If you prefer to mail a donation...
Suncook Valley Sno Riders
PO Box 301
Center Barnstead, NH. 03225
We also accept donations through our website using PayPal.
http://www.SuncookValleySnoRiders.com
Let's get these groomers ready for next season!!
Thank you!!!
Matt Goodwin, President
Suncook Valley Sno Riders
And to think they do it as volunteers!
With all the above said, I would like to say thank you to our groomer operators!
The Suncook Valley Sno Riders snowmobile club has 4 groomers:
1992 Tucker Sno-Cat (23 years old)1992 Massey Ferguson Tractor (23 years old)1980 Tucker Sno-Cat (35 years old)2001 Ski-Do Skandic (14 years old) - shown without the drag.Now for the not-so-good news...
Because all of these machines are aging they are breaking down. This year we have 2 groomers broken down to the point they are not trail worthy and the other two need repairs but are trail worthy.
SVSR cannot afford to replace these groomers so we are forced to repair what we have. The Skandic is in need of a gear that is labor intensive, somewhere around 23 hours labor to repair. The 1980 Tucker needs a shaft that holds on the entire rear drive train (broke twice this year and had to be welded). One of those times a group of volunteers welded it on the trail:
The Massey tractor may need some small repairs after the season is over.
The biggest problem we have by far is the 1992 Tucker. The entire drive (sprockets, tracks, etc) are in need of replacement. Band-Aid repairs have been done over and over again but it has reached the end where now we must consider either replacing the groomer or repairing what we have. At the last meeting we discussed it, buying a replacement groomer is not something the club can afford right now. If we have a rebuilt drive system installed that seems to make the most sense. The guys have run the numbers many times over and we are hoping to get most of the money needed for the repairs from the state of NH in the form of a grant. This is something the state does annually. The very best we can hope for is that the grant is approved which will leave the club with about $10,900.00 that we need to come up with to cover the cost of repairs. The total cost of repairs is estimated around $45,000.00 - if the state grant is not approved the club will not be able to afford the repairs at all without this fundraiser and we will be left with only 2 of the 4 groomers for next season and buying a newer groomer in the next 5 years will not be an option.
Any donation amount is welcome! Every dollar we get is one dollar closer to getting this done...
Donations can be made anonymously if desired.
If you prefer to mail a donation...
Suncook Valley Sno Riders
PO Box 301
Center Barnstead, NH. 03225
We also accept donations through our website using PayPal.
http://www.SuncookValleySnoRiders.com
Let's get these groomers ready for next season!!
Thank you!!!
Matt Goodwin, President
Suncook Valley Sno Riders
Organizer
Matt Goodwin
Organizer
Laconia, NH
