Caterpillar tracks

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King Caractacus
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Caterpillar tracks

Post by King Caractacus »

Ok so not a Patrol, but I thought these were interesting

Used by an Ice-fishing guide in Wisconsin, USA, on an X-Terra
They simply take the wheels off at the beginning of winter and bolt these on
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Quite a hard ride, and relatively slow on the ice
Apparently a 2:1 ratio to the wheels, so actual speed is half of what is indicated on the speedometer

They also had them on a GMC Suburban, and two Yamaha 6-seater ATVs
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Re: Caterpillar tracks

Post by Peter Connan »

I have seen pictures and videos of several similar systems, and I have always been interested in them. The first one I know of was fitted to a Land rover back in the '60s.

I do wonder whether there is something like this that could actually work fairly well in sand and mud?

I presume the chains are there to stop the bogies pivoting so far that the tracks touch the body?

Any chance of a trip report?
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Re: Caterpillar tracks

Post by Reenen »

Geen reduction , maar wel reduction effek, want die roterende “wiel” is baie kleiner as die standaard band.

Wonder of daai xterra se steering rack dit sal hou in modder of sand?
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Re: Caterpillar tracks

Post by King Caractacus »

Peter Connan wrote: 29 Feb 2020 10:46 Any chance of a trip report?
:biggrin:
We got into the vehicle at the slipway, drove a couple of miles to the little cabin, probably about 20 minutes, and spent the day fishing
Not very exciting

I did a quick google, and i think this is the brand used in the pics:
http://www.americantracktruck.com/
Most of the pics on their gallery show the tracks being used in snowy winter conditions
I'm not sure how/if these will work in sand
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Re: Caterpillar tracks

Post by Spike »

A friend of mine had (had, as in deceased. shot and poisoned. long story) a tracked vehicle in northern Moz. Looked like a scaled down version of those arctic articulated things. Used in a very sandy area as well as the low tide hard beaches. Theoretically great but he battled to keep the rubber tracks serviceable and crazy expensive to import spares.
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