Here's a bit of history-still happening-FMC/KMC

nice model what is it built from

i work for soft track attack in yaak montana. i operate these fmc's and the two 560 skidgines we have. like us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoftTrackAttack

Acquired this old Dinosaur a few months ago. Sure is neat to run. Gotta figure out what to do for tracks and track tensioners. Also when I pull the lever to right it feels weak compared to the left. Very neat machine though. I knew what I was getting into when I bought it.

Nice Leebox! I wonder if M113 undercarriage will work for ya

End of an FMC

sawmilleng said: We just sold three FMC/KMC tracked skidders that we converted into forestry firefighting machines some time back. They're an interesting machine that might have had a future in logging if some of the early problems were fixed sooner. They were originally built by FMC, and based off of one of their military tracked carrier designs. FMC made about 1100 of these things before selling the rights to KMC, based in Nelson, BC in about 1988. KMC is still around today but I'm not sure just how many new machines are sold nowadays. They are basically a tracked carrier that can have pretty well anything you can imagine attached to it. diamond drills, augers, off-road manlifts (for power utilities), tracked dump trucks, welding machine carriers for pipeline work, and, in the case of forestry, log skidders. We bought three units in about 1988 and used them for 4 or 5 years as grapple skidders. I believe they cost too much to operate so they were put out to pasture. They were very utilitarian--probably a leftover from their military beginnings--take a look at the photo of the cab interior. They were differential steer, and these ones were Detriot powered. However, they were a decent carrier and our management at the time decided to convert the machines to fire fighting water tankers with pumps and related equipment. I don't think they saw a whole lot of service but they sure look like they are ready for a serious fire! I sure would like to hear some opinions and experiences from anyone who has used this equipment. Please correct me if I have any of the history wrong! Jon. Click to expand... Been operating an FMC 220 Soft Track T1 Skidgen and a M548 Soft Track T1 Skidgen for about the past 25 years. Great equipment, but like you said, super expensive to own. Here's a couple of pics of my equipment. Known far and wide as 'Montana Mountainmen With Heavy Metal'. Yaak MT is the current FMC capital of the world. Soft Track Attack owns and operates several. You can find us online at Wildfirefighters.com. Currently redoing our website for more info on this type of firefighting equipment.

Cool! Welcome to the HEF.

Coaldust said: Cool! Welcome to the HEF. Click to expand... My kinda Tribe, thanks!

I guess everyone saw the interview with the guys who had purchased the rights to make new KMC's in Uruguay.

I had no idea. Interesting.

Fished another set of investors into that mess of a design.

Hello everyone. I came across this forum and thought I should jump in. My name is Alex, and I am the guy in the video shared by the user “Plebeian”. I just wanted to comment that we are aware of the historical challenges with the old versions and manufacturers, and we are spending a ton of time working on them. For a heads-up, we are bringing a new wildfire machine lineup with built-ins and standard safety features that no other machine on the market offers. They will be in 3 sizes, namely KMC MAX 100, 200, and 300. All of them are hydrostatic, and we are updating everything from the ground up, including the parts suppliers, which you were right about; they were not up to the standards. I can go into detail on what we are working on, but it would be too long and likely boring; just a heads-up: the torsion bars are now from a European steel manufacturer with much better quality, to the point that we don’t have to “break” the steel right and left. All machines will come with Volvo Penta 5L and 8L engines, new, more modern, and comfortable cabins from GSGR in Wisconsin, and, as I said in the video, MULTI-task platforms you can run year-round. By the way, cabins will be a lot quieter, so no more earplugs will be necessary! The KMC MAX 300 Wildfire MULTI-platform is, and here is a quote from one of your colleagues in the industry, “the dream machine”. It uses the Fawvett Cannon water tank system with 2,640 gallons of water, auxiliary hoses for ground troops, and front hydraulic pumps to convert the machine into a masticator after fire season. If this is not good enough, the whole tank rolls off, and a new platform can roll on to change the back from a water tank to a dumpster or a personnel carrier, just to mention a few ideas. The powerplant is an 8L Volvo Penta with 340HP, powerful, fuel efficient, and quiet. It is an outstanding machine that you have never seen before! There is still a lot to be unveiled... Machine manufacturing is always improving, so there's no news here; machines are an important and significant investment. To help you offset the upfront costs, our goal is to give you machines that operate year-round, giving you continuous work to pay it back. It will not sit and only cost you money; instead, it can be a consistent source for fulfilling whatever need, such as firefighting, masticating, or plowing, just to mention a few uses. Please respond to this post with any questions, and I will do what I can to answer them! Have a productive and safe day out there! Alex

Wow. What an introduction. Welcome to the HEF. Good to have you. You might want to chat up our moderators to discuss how to manage this discussion within the framework of HEF. I look forward to hearing about your adventures. I can’t recall in HEF history, an actual, legitimate OEM, stopping by to chat us up. Besides the Chinese BOTS. lol. We are a welcoming, but cynical & critical bunch, because we are the slobs tasked with fixing this stuff. So, please don’t get offended. There are plenty of outstanding SME’s on the HEF. If you are seriously interested in building a top class product, you could probably farm a bunch of ideas from them.

I saw a video of you and your machine on youtube. Looks like a great idea. Hope it is a success. As a young man I faught fires in the interior, mostly following a skidder with a tank attached, work well but it seemed the tank was never big enough. Spent a lot of time waiting while operator went to water source to refill. You obviously put alot of knowledge and experience into your design. I also saw a story online about a lowbed driver being caught in Richmond with an over size load, your machine. Free advertising sorta!

Hi all, Coaldust and Doug1966, thank you for the positive feedback and for holding your rocks for later on! LOL. It is tough to get exposed, but forums like this one are the best way to learn and try to do better. As a background, I am very involved with forestry operations; I spend a lot of time in the woods from Fort McKay/Canada, all the way down to Argentina- yes, many happy days for my wife not having to deal with me! But wildfire is new, and I am trying to learn from you guys and build from it. I think there are too many people behind desks building machine solutions, and a gap to reality. Honestly, our biggest challenge was/is what to do with manufacturing costs. We have great engineers working on technical stuff, but we have to decide whether to lower parts quality to make it cheaper or go for high quality/performance. Nobody buys one of our products for a run in the park, meaning quality and being tough were a must. So, after many discussions, with a reasonable amount of beers and bourbons involved, we came up with the current mantra: instead of cutting costs, we need to improve earnings. It is like in a home: bills are higher than your income, so you either cut bacon or find more work. I like bacon!! So, all our new machines will be multitaskers. It is like buying a masticator that also has a water tank for fire season, but also can pull a plow, also works as a feller buncher, and also have an auger; you get the concept. You work year-round with the new KMC MAX, so, yes, grocery costs are higher, but income is much higher. Fire season may offset the yearly cost of the machine, and the rest of the year will be to buy bacon and beer. By the end of the week, we should have our new website uploaded. There you will find new information about what we are working on. I am sure you will like it! Have a productive and safe day out there! Alex

If you have a superior machine, especially for wildfire work it should sell. Wildfires are major news topics nowadays.