...half-tracks aka half track snowmobiles?
 

Watching movies or tv shows about World War II, seeing a half-tracked truck was pretty common so I assume these half-tracked vehicles which had wheels w/ tires up front for steering, and two half-tracks in the back for traction, were more in use back then than today.

What with the shortage of snow, it seems like equipping a regular snowmobile with wheels up front instead of the two skis, plus the standard single tread in the rear could be a usable adaptation for no snow or low snow conditions.

I'm seeing lots of snowmobiles with For Sale signs all over, out front of homes and businesses in the lakes region, so could be that a "half-track' adaptation could be an intermediate use for snowmobile as opposed to their becoming a no-go when there's no snow.

Seems like it would be pretty simple to design, and probably could be a do-it-yourselfer wheeled sno-mo invention. The cure for no snow; the half-tracked snowmo!

......hey, half tracks must have worked good for WW II so why not for no snow conditions?

Thats a pretty good idea.
I wonder what would happen to the trail surface? Would they create ruts over time, and quad riders may see a similarity in the chassis with the wheels and ask for the same low snow trail usage.
I am completely neutral regarding this, I don't have a sled or quad, just my .02, and its not even worth that much.
I'll put my fire suit on just in case.:coolsm:

There are actually wheel kits for snowmobiles that flip down for operating on the asphalt already. Unfortunately, most NH trails are not smooth enough without snow. The rock and roots would kill a sled.

There are half tracks. The Moultoboro Snowmobile has one, they were made by a company called ASV. Here is a pic of one

half tracks
 

seems to me that I seen a new dodge truck that was modified with tracks on the rear, a triangled shaped track.

Also on a snow mobile, it is my understanding that the tracks kick up snow which cools the engine. and without snow the engine goes bad.

Snowmobile tracks require snow/water Lubrication between the tracks and the skids that support the track....or they will burn up. Tracks with "bogey" wheels as shown in the picture above are a whole different story...they will run wet or dry. :D NB

also most modern snowmobiles are liquid cooled and require snow to be moved over the radiators wich are up inside the tunnel a fan cooled sled would be differnt

Any siginificant volume of snow that reaches the radiator will block it causing the engine to over heat. It's air passing through the radiator that removes the heat. Who ever told you that saw you coming... :emb:

Not necessarily I will go into further detail as it is more of a heat exchanger than a radiator ( usually aluminum plate type with cooling fins not your car air type) they are mounted in the tunnel or to the bottom of the running boards and require snow passing over them to cool the engine...... with a few exceptions most liquid cooled sleds have been designed this way for the last 30 or so years

Those are called MattTracks. People who have used them have mixed experiences. They are available for almost any truck.

I respectfully disagree. I own 2 liquid cooled sleds, and both have cooling fins in the tunnel that the engine coolant circulates through. Snow kicked up by the track cools the hot coolant coming from the engine. In low snow conditions, the liquid cooled sleds are prone to overheating.