Adding power steering

[fancydog]

How hard would it be to add power steering to a B12

[the old trucker]

How hard is it to steer one of these machines without it? I have never driven one yet. Is it hard to turn? How did you make out with regards to buying one of those b 12's.

[fancydog]

They can be hard on the thumbs,The 2 machines are still up for sale,not sure if I really need one with the high price of gas.Also not sure how much I would use one.

[the old trucker]

No pics yet??? They must be in excellent shape for the price. I guess it's not too bad a price though, for someone that don't have the tools & capabilities to restore one of these beauties. Considering a new snowmobile can cost 10-15,000, for 1-2 people.
Fancydog do you have friends that have bombers that you have been in & driven??? I guess it's not the point of need, it's more about the want. The satisfaction of owning something like that. Since I have bought that magazine with the article about Cameron McLean in it I became hooked. After some research, I've found 25-30 within a 200 mile radius of me. To bad there not for sale.

[Swamp Dawg]

They can be a handful to steer when your going slow through a trail.  We might try rig something in, in the future.

[plott hound]

we used to have 3 machines with factory power steering.it was the same unit that was in older dodge imperials.

[the old trucker]

Strange, I haven't heard anyone talk about it before. What year & model were the machines that had it??? Maybe Ted , Bob or Cam may be able to add a few ideas to this subject.

[fancydog]

old trucker....My relitives use them to commercial fish,brother in law also has a nice one with power steering he uses to get to the cabin.I have driven them,and prefer the power steering.Still can not make my mind up if I want one or not.

[the old trucker]

   I guess if your in laws have it on his, it shouldn't be much trouble to rig it up. See if you can get a couple of pics of it for Swamp Dwag & the boys. It may help them along if they plan to do the same.
   What does your brother in law have for a machine???

[Cranman]

The later model wide guages had power steering as well as auto trans. It is not any easy thing to put on an existing machine but Cam and Daryl McLean have great systems on their wide guage woodens. Ted and others heped them with the design and construction and they are neatly installed under the floor. Very neat jobs. Have seen hard copy photos but doubt and have been taken digital that can be emailed.. To my knowlege no one has put one on a narrow guage wood but it likely is possible. THe spacing is much tighter.

[the old trucker]

    Cranman you should check it out with a photo shop or someone like Staples. They should be able to scan it. I think it would be a great to have power steering. I was talking to a couple of owners down here & they are interested in putting it on theirs.
   Please let know if you can come up with anything. I'm sure they would appreciate it very much.
   Can you still see Cam's setup, or is it completely covered over??? Cranman do you have any pics of Cam's work that you could put on here. I have found a new friend that has recently acquired a Woodie that he is thinking about restoring in the future. Never know I may get to give him a helping hand. 

[bsonthelake]

Just wondering if anyone has pictures of the power steering units or maybe you could use some kind of rack and pinion divise please advise. thanks bill

[the old trucker]

    I agree with you bsonthelake. There are 6 people down here that are asking me every other day if I heard anything yet!!! You know the old saying: a picture is worth a thousand words. If a fellow had something to go by, I think he could do a pretty good job of gearing it up.

[the old trucker]

  Cranman what does a power steering unit consist of ?? I still have the power steering pump that was on my engine. Would a small push/pull hydraulic cylinder work with it ??
                                                                                               Can you steer an ol' trucker straight ??             

[marcdds]

hi there is a guy in the saguenay that sells kits for power sterring on b12 different system than on a steel body