Back in early '96 a friend from work had just bought a new Yamaha Banshee and wanted to bring it over to my house to ride around my property. I wanted to go too, but had nothing to ride. Being the genius that I am, I got the smart idea of pulling the mower deck off my old John Deere 317 rider, and did my best to keep up with him. Of course those lame turf tires balled up at the slightest mud, and I was left puttering only in the drier sections of my mostly swampy woods while he zipped darn near everywhere. I vowed then to get something for myself because it was fun and his quad seemed so capable. Not too much later I happened to be leafing through a hunting mag in the break room on lunch and in the back was one of those tiny little ads for Recreatives' MAX II.
I'd had a 12" G.I. Joe when I was a tyke, and my favorite set for it was "The Secret of The Mummy's Tomb" which came complete with the awesome 6WD Adventure Team Vehicle. Until I saw that R.I. advertisement I never realized that those little machines were REAL. Well sir, my fate was sealed right then and there. I went to the bank, took out small loan, and purchased the most powerful set-up RI offered at the time for a Max II (18 Briggs w/ 23" RH III's). Then it was my friend's turn to try and keep up with ME! Ha!! I loved that the Max was as much a mini-bulldozer as it was open-field runner. Small brush and such didn't faze it and couldn't stop it. My buddy had to turn around and find alternative paths that were more open, while I just made my own plowing along in the Max. That's when I really fell in love with it. The amphibious abilities were just icing on the cake. Anyhow, despite some frustrations and mishaps I honestly don't regret a single day of AATV ownership. Then, about a year after I'd bought the Max I spotted a similar teeny ad for the Rokon Trail-Breaker and... well I just had to have one of them, too. Weird & different have always appealed to my nature and are way more fun than just being an "also-ran" member of the crowd like the zillions of dirt bike and quad owners. :-)
In the Spring of '98 the annual Boat, Sport and Travel show was in town. I thought, "do I really want to spend $8 to walk around the place for an afternoon?". I walked in, and didn't make it a 100ft till I saw argo's on display. That $8 cost me $12000 eventually. Sure have enjoyed riding it, but the close friends I found who enjoy the sport are what really makes it fulfilling.
For me, it was all about load carring capacity. My wife and I always did fine out riding our quads, but once we started a family, we started running out of room. With the addition of the Conquest to our fleet, we had the ability to haul anything we wanted, and then some.
Mostly i was/am more interested in improving things that i got my first aatv. I usually look at things to see what limitations they have and finding ways to improve them. Also i mean improve not turn into a hotrod.
I'm still a big fan of terra-jets.
6x6/8x8 are inherently simple an reliable , and are not difficult to repair in the woods. Unless the motor or tranny blows.
I finished the trapping course and helped my father in law a bit with Beaver Trapping. I saw where he goes by hip waiter and quad and has to park it way to far back to walk and slug a 45-60 lbs. beaver over his shoulder. I wanted to get a 8x8 to help him out and also maybe get a chance to go moose hunting for the first time this upcoming year with him.
Also for the thrill of going anywhere anytime. The Kids love it too. Guess I better get it done so we can have some fun.
Dezi Gebel
2 Early 70's Argo's Will Merge To Make One!
To get were the ducks are you have to go where the hunters aren't (at least were I hunt). I used to park the quad and walk and wade though some nasty stuff. This meant you had to leave that much earlier to go hunting. I would always be sitting in the honey hole thinking there has to be an easier way, and I bet those “Argo things” are the way to go. For a long time I thought that they were really expensive and that I could never afford one. I finally found out that these things have been made for years, and if I could find an older one and fix it up I’ll be set. So I struck out looking, found one, then another, then another…. Well the story of the addiction is the same for many of us.
I used to hunt waterfowl in my younger years and if only I had one of these machines back then!! I remember slogging though mud, sloughs, levees, all sorts of terrain that would have been a joy ride in my Argo. Of course, I always slept like a baby when I got home at night.
These are great stories. Thanks for the respones
Terry
well i was sellin a jeep at my buddies car lot and some kid offered a 95 max6x6 as a 600 dollar trade in it ran and looked fun that was 2 months ago. just picked up a 80s argo 8x8 that runs of craigslist for 550 but the motor is so slow so im swapping that and hoping to build for my dad for hunting but 2 years ago seen a guy @ sandlake OR do a 360 and always thought i should get one of those to add to the quads, odysseys , and the beloved rzr all toys are fun and i like the advenutre factor with these ill be throwing up some pics ofmy project 8x8 shortly cause be kice to knwoexact year
with me it was JEALOUSY!!! A real good friend in the late 70's popped up with a hustler 6 wheeler at the local gathering spot for us...the real dirt dirt bike riders....funniest contraption I ever saw.. I was taken by the fact that it had steering like the crawler we had on the farm...he showed off a little by blasting through a creek, a couple of 360's then put one side in forward, one side in reverse and dared anybody to hang on with him in an array of endless merry-go-round style 360's....dam thing threw me about 20 feet....ran like a scalded dog. had a kohler 440 in it....had to have one...very rare back then but, I found an argo 8x8 about 150 miles away, (friend of a friend type deal ya know). drove up, looked it over, 300.00 later I owned it....it wasn't a six wheeler,but it had room galore in it...been thrown out of a couple of good floating rivers with it, never carried more than 2 16 gallon iced down kegs with 9 really good friends and I was hooked....still have that old argo some twenty years later.. oops 30 years later...man! how time flies....the stories I could tell