Penguin Mkll

[Lynn Eades]

Are Racoons better or worse than Skunks? Obviously the Racoon can make you dead, and the Skunk can make you wish you were dead. Do either of them have pluses?

On another note,I have to wonder why a Canadian built vehicle, of the day, was named after a Ratite, who's natural range was never north of the equator.

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

I have to wonder why a Canadian built vehicle, of the day, was named after a Ratite, who's natural range was never north of the equator.

See here http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/showthread.php?t=46773 for another snow RAT. In this case, Remote Articulated Tractor, made by Canadair which has since been swallowed by Bombardier.

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Are Racoons better or worse than Skunks? Obviously the Racoon can make you dead, and the Skunk can make you wish you were dead. Do either of them have pluses?

On another note,I have to wonder why a Canadian built vehicle, of the day, was named after a Ratite, who's natural range was never north of the equator.

Actually, I'll take the raccoon over the skunk any day. Both do get rabies in this area, but more-so the skunks.

I think back to when Gordon Falk and I were in Northern Ontario recovering Bren carrier bits. The skunks would come in the evening to our campsite, and take whatever they wanted with impunity. Gordon and I had been "tree'd" in the back of the pick-up box while the skunks hunted for the baloney sandwhiches we had just made. We held the lantern over the edge of the truck to see what they were up to, and the brighter the light got on the skunks, the higher their tails went.

If you shoot a raccoon, they bleed and die. If you shoot a skunk, it's muscles relax and it lets go. The area will stink for the next two weeks.

I'll take the raccoons over the skunks any day.

[David Dunlop]

Rob.

A few other areas worth looking into for the larger Bombardier snowmobile are St. Laurent and Gimli. Large commercial fishing operations in both areas. Also, there used to be a farm implement dealer on the north of the Trans Canada at Elie who sold a number of used Bombardiers a few years back. Think he also wheeled and dealed in Argos around the same time. Any Bombardiers you find would be worth a closer inspection. I would not be at all surprised to find a few original military contract vehicles made it into the fishing industry and may still be out there. Bodies would be easy to restore and the power plant was the trusty Ford flathead V8.

Lynn.

I have always wondered why the Canadian Military never used the name 'Raccoon' for any of it's vehicles. The little buggers are extremely resourceful, can go anywhere and can get into absolutely anything they set their mind to. There was a show on the National Geographic Channel a couple of years back about the racoon population in Toronto, Ontario. Wildlife experts claimed there were half as many racoons living in greater Toronto as people. So when you think about it, the name 'Racoon' would be a great name for a Recce or Commando vehicle.

Since fate has already named Rob's new toy the 'Penguin' (indeed odd for Canada), perhaps he should come up with a name for it. "Happy Feet" perhaps. Or how about "Chilly Willy"?

David

[rob love]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Rob.


Since fate has already named Rob's new toy the 'Penguin' (indeed odd for Canada), perhaps he should come up with a name for it. "Happy Feet" perhaps. Or how about "Chilly Willy"?

David

I think I will stick with "Penguin Mk2 Ambulance".

That is Luke's that you are talking about in Elie. I haven't seen any of the large snow vehicles there in a long time. I did stop there years ago for a can-am 250 part and sure enough they had it on the shelf.

[chris vickery]

Back to the raccoons...

Two stories. Firstly, I know of a fellow collector/supply guy who is in our hobby that got tangled up with a raccoon out in one of his storage trailers. while searching for a part in a dimly lit trailer, he reached up to a top shelf where, lo and behold a very pissed off raccoon was hiding out. It went up one side of him and down the other and during the process bit him. A trip to the hospital and some rabies shots...not nice.

Secondly, pertaining to the abilities of these creatures. I was camping in N Ontario one time and did my best to raccoon proff my campsite.
I went so far as to set the seat of the picnic table on top of my cooler so the weight of the table would hold my cooler in place to keep the coons from helping themselves.
In the mddle of the night I heard some noise outside the tent so got up with flashlight in hand to see what was going on. I could not believe my eyes when I saw a raccoon on his hind legs, forelegs grasped around the handle of my cooler trying his hardest to pull my cooler from under the pcnic table seat!
They are a pain but they are smart. Even more so, they are usually not timid of humans neither which makes the risks associated with them even greater.

Sorry to hijack your post Rob.

[rob love]

I have tried to amend the title of the thread to "Penguin mkll / Canadian Raccoons, but I think a moderator would have to do that. I can only change the title of the first post.

I have said it for years....it is not unusual for any thread on MLU to meander through various topics. I think sometimes that is what keeps this forum so interesting and at times hilarious.

[derk derin]

I am headed to Gimli right now for the day and will use my Icelandic family connections to see if there are any Bombardier parts around to pick from.
Derk.