How thick does the ice need to be?

[Bruski]

I have a JD350 crawler/loader. Does anyone know how thick lake ice needs to be to drive it across?
Thanks, Bruski

[neil]

6" of good blue ice 3600 lb--- 7" --------- 4900 lbs
8" --------- 6400 lbs---9" --------- 8100 lbs
10" ------- 10000 lbs---11" ------- 12100 lbs
12" ------- 14401 lbs --13"---------16901 lbs
14'' ------- 19601 lbs
15" ------- 22501 lbs
16" ------- 25601 lbs
17" ------- 28901 lbs
20" ------- 40002 lbs---24"--------57604--lbs
This info comes from northen Manitoba Highways winter road builders.
They also have 1"---100-lbs-----2"---400-lbs
I have a page copied but don't know how to send it. Hope this covers
what u need.

[Lavoy]

I personally would aim a little higher than what the chart requires. There is going to be a lot of shock load from a crawler, way more than a rubber tired vehicle, so take that into consideration too.
Lavoy

[Bruski]

Thanks Neil,
Does it make any difference as per the pounds per square inch. Obviously a track machine coves a much bigger footprint than a wheeled machine.

[Bruski]

Hi Lavoy,
Yeh the lake is about 300' deep. My snorkel is much shorter. I am hoping for about 15-16'" of ice. I think my machine is 10-12000lb. Hopefully that would be enough margin.
Thanks

[Lavoy]

I think they are referring to gross weight carrying capacity.
One qualification to what I said earlier, if there is a cushion of snow, that will take out the shock. Of course if there is too much snow, then the ice thickness will be poor.
Lavoy

[Bruski]

Well I will wait and see how mother nature does this year. Thanks for the info.
Bruce

[neil]

One thing is to watch your speed when you approach the other side. There is a pocket of air under the ice approxamately 2 to 3 vehicle lengths ahead of a heavy machine(semi truck loaded) as the machine itself will be about 2 to 3 inches below the water level. You have to leave time for the air pocket to dissipate as you come up to a solid shore. I'm not sure of the max approach speed, but 8 to 10 mph might even be on the fast side. Slush along cracks in the ice if the snow is deep can get tricky too. The snow would have to be a 10" average to be real problems.
Lbs/ sq in of track surface compared to tire surface is a big advantage for the tracked machine too. My father and uncle diamond drilled for the mining companies back before they knew about colored pictures. One story I heard was they would tear down a model 40, fly it in in pieces put it back together use as long as the job lasted and abandon it when they flew out. Don't know the whole truth there. It's kinda like the lost gold mines in california

[neil]

another thing I forgot was that Manitoba Highways would have to post ice levels and weights that the vehicle insurance would cover so a safety margin would already be there.
Been on ice alot of years and it's real hard to stop the stories. Here's to a happy new year and a model 40 that's working on it's third generation of fisherman.

[bighamlin]

Just my humble opinion - You Guys are Crazy!!!

I always look in the chamber to see if a gun is loaded, Not down the barrel.

I would think it would be hard to drive a crawler in a survival suit.

Seriously, you all have more guts than me.

Paul

[Lavoy]

Well, the best part of putting a crawler through the ice is you don't have to wait for the cab to fill with water to get the doors open to escape!
lavoy

[neil]

one thing about crawlers is when they do go thru and u are fast enuf with no cab the ice is thick enuf for u to stand there dry and watch it go down.
Spring is the hardest time to judge ice strength.
My great uncle put her thru one spring and the only person to get wet was on the sleigh.

[Stretch]

Well, one thing for sure. I don't think the crawler would out run a crack in the ice , but it sure will be a hell of a story to tell.
Stretch

[GraderDan]

Couldn't help to read your thoughts about driving a dozer over ice, about 8 or 10 years ago a guy over in New Hampshire not far from where I live was returning a dozer he borrowed, he decided to cut a cross a lake at night, he left behind a wife and kids and I don't know if they ever did get the dozer from the bottom of the lake.

[Tigerhaze]

I went to SD this week for work, and picked up a brochure about driving on ice from their division of game, fish, and parks. This brochure is titled "Caution! Weak Ice".

Anyhow, I thought it was interesting as this brochure indicated that there had been studies conducted by the U.S. Army that show there is a "critical velocity" depending on the depth of water beneath the ice at which cracks will be initiated propogated by wave action beneath the ice. You're fine if slower or faster than the critical veolcity, but at the critical velocity the chances of cracking the ice are greater.

This is what they showed on the table in the brochure:

Critical Velocity of Moving Loads on Ice

Water Depth (feet) 4 6 8 10 15 20 30
Critical velocity (mph) 9 11 12 14 17 19 22

Thought it might help someone who drives a truck on ice; I doubt anyone is going to get their crawler moving that fast.