Skilifts.org / SORT Forum

Which is better?

What are some of the reasons to go with a vualt drive vs a overhead drive?

Is a vualt drive easier to work on then a overhead drive?

from what I understand (correct me please if i'm wrong), vault drives (on doubles) are all pre - 1970's, from before there were overhead drives. I am pretty sure that overhead drives weren't even invented yet. Some early HSQ's (ie. Flyer @ Copper) are vaults. (John correct me,) But I believe that this was done by Pomalgski of France, and because the: very large drive for a 9900' quad, and all of the necessary parts for the detaching and candencing would not be able to fit into an overhead terminal.

I am sure that there are more reasons. But basically, vault drives are not really built anymore. there is another thread somewhere about this topic.

Some gondolas now still have vault drives now, two that come to mind are the Strawberry and Needles gondolas at Snowbasin, both Doppelmayr 8-passengers from 1998

An advantage for vault drive is that it is quieter and cleaner. By cleaner I mean no brush dust from the motor ect. With overhead drive, the terminal gets dirtier.

How is brush dust going to be different in a vault drive? It's still going to be expelled from any DC motor.

Could it be that they have vault drives for larger engines that can't fit in the top? Would it just be easier to work on the drive in that room? Also, is it somewhat inconvenient for the drive to be in the room and the terminal is inaccesable directly from the room?

Everything has its good and bad points. Vaults have more room for the drive and drive accessories i.e. gearbox coolers. The terminal on a vault-drive detachable is also more spacious because there is no motor, gearbox, aux, et cetera. The disadvantage to a vault is that when you're doing certain maintenance items, you end up going up and down more than you'd like. My e-brakes come to mind since the pump and fluid reservior is in the vault and the brakes are on the bullwheel. There is also much more construction time involved, and you need a certain topography to avoid simply digging a pit and installing stairs. I worked in four vault-drive doubles at Baker and it was actually pretty nice since the buildings were built with plenty of room. We actually used one (old chair 4) as an ancillary parts house. That said, overhead drives are nice because everything is in one place and there's no long, heavy drive shaft to worry about.

Another point is cost. Vaults are typically more expensive and ski hills are typically more cheap. :D