RESTORATION
All in the Family at
Tucker Sno-Cat
The industry pioneer honors its roots with their Classic
Cats by Tucker restoration program
By Ty Dilello
Tucker Sno-Cat has made a name for itself over its 78-
year history and is considered “the oldest successful
manufacturer of snow vehicles in the world.” Although
the company continues to move forward, they remem-ber
and honor their roots with their Classic Cats by Tucker
restoration program.
Based in Medford, Ore., Tucker Sno-Cat was founded in 1942
by E.M. Tucker Sr., and is currently still owned and operated by
the Tucker family:
• CEO – Maralee Tucker Sullivan (3rd generation Tucker)
• President - Marcus McNeil (4th generation Tucker)
• Vice president – Jeff McNeil (4th generation Tucker)
• Purchasing manager – Steven Tucker (4th generation Tucker)
History
The late E. M. Tucker, Sr., was one of 13 children, born in a log
cabin on Jump-Off Joe Creek in 1892, near Grants Pass, Ore. He
spent his early boyhood near Trail, Ore., in a stone house built
by his father in 1901. The house overlooks a broad stretch of
Rogue River and is still a landmark.
During his youth he walked to school through deep snow,
and even at this early age he began working on different de-vices
for transportation over snow which eventually led to the
development of the world famed Tucker Sno-Cat® vehicle. In
the early 1920s, Tucker built several spiral driven machines,
but had very little success with the principle involved. After
these experiences, Tucker realized that unless he could come
up with a completely different system, he would never achieve
his desire to build a vehicle to travel over deep, soft snow with a
minimum amount of mechanical trouble and expense.
Tucker worked in Los Angeles on prototypes, perfecting the
idea of an over-snow transportation. He then moved to Grass
Valley, Calif., where the first production line was established.
This successful venture was terminated by a move to Medford,
Ore., a decision driven by Tucker’s long expressed desire to
return to the Rogue River Valley. Tucker spent 50 years building
and improving his snow machines and his firm is recognized
as the oldest successful manufacturer of snow vehicles in
the world.
During the second half of the 20th century, different models
have been used for expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctica.
The Sno-Cat differs from other truck-sized snow vehicles, com-
PHOTO COURTESY OF TUCKER SNO-CAT snowopsmag.com | SnowOps 35
/snowopsmag.com
