Shovelling snow can be a chore, but one Prince George resident has found a way to make it fun.
Ron Marwood spent roughly seven months designing and building a custom radio-controlled bulldozer, which makes short work of snow – as long as it’s not too deep.
“The blade is only five inches high. We’ve been getting seven or eight inches… when the snow is that deep, it’s not the ideal tool,” Marwood said. “(But) I’ve been wanting to build a bulldozer for years and years. It’s been fun. I had fun building it and I enjoy playing with it.”
Marwood is a member of the Prince George Aeromodelers club, and has been building and flying model and radio-controlled airplanes for roughly 70 years. He’s built dozens of model airplanes over the years, and designed a few himself.
He used a photo of a real Caterpillar D8 bulldozer as a model, and built the chassis out of aluminum deck railing. The two-way electric drive motors came from a local hardware store, and likely were intended for a car’s power seats.
Marwood finished work on the machine in January, but is still working out a few bugs.
“I’m still having trouble with raising and lowering the blade,” he said. “It works, but it’s not perfect.”
