Toboggans:

Two Grizzly toboggans (SM051 and SM053) were used by K042 primarily on the sea ice and generally gave few problems. SM051 and SM053 each travelled about 910 and 950 km respectively. The variator belts were changed once on SM053 and twice on SM051. The fuel filter was replaced on SM053 and had to be cleaned (only partly successful) on SM051. Only one new disposable filter was available from Scott Base. Two-stroke fuel was mixed at 35:1 in the field from bulk 44 and 12 gallon drums. Fuel was mixed in the field because some of our equipment required MOGAS only.

Toboggan SM051 was fitted with a precision odometer for surveying on the sea ice. We also installed a 12V plus via the back light to run the echosounder from the toboggan battery. We found this to be very convenient and saved carrying an extra battery specifically for the echosounder.

Daily maintenance of the toboggans included; checking gearbox oil, variator bolts and most importantly the running gear. The nyloc nuts on the running gear are liable to come loose with several days use. This can only be prevented by careful daily checks for which we used a ramp and snow pit at Butter Point.

The few mechanical problems we encountered with the toboggans are attributable to dirty fuel which appears to be a common problem for many field parties. Fuel contamination could be eliminated by:

1. Providing quality fuel containers which are less likely to rust internally. Plastic containers designed specifically for petrol would be a satisfactory alternative.
2. Providing drum pumps with fuel filters attached.
3. Providing sufficient new in line disposable filters for the toboggans. We estimate that these filters should be changed between 300 and 500 km. The dirty filters cannot be successfully cleaned in the field.