All UHMW Escargo-style track available soon

[Buzz]

I agree with you...and I"m guilty as charged. I never would have guessed that members would have dismissed a new set of tracks the way they did. I am guessing videos might do a better job of showing the qualities of a track. I should have known. What I won't do is "diss" everyone else's machine and everyone else's tracks. I'll always call it like I see it, and if that means calling b.s....b.s. then so be it. Fair objective information is what helps people. We are all responsible for our comments. It always sparks good conversation regarding the topic at hand. We're all adults, and I'm not easily offended. I'll throw in my two cents and then I'm over it...no sugar coating necessary. If we can be one thing, it's honest. For example, "KgHills" had excellent input, and I appreciate his tact in doing so....

[gearhead]

going back to route6x6

[Buzz]

[kghills]

I have had 2 sets of Escargo tracks , argo plastic tracks , argo rubber tracks and a friend who owns R.S. Bolduc 20" rubbers. imo for snow the rubber tracks flat footprint cant be beat plastic is way too slippery, swamp tracks no matter how wide you make them or add to the width of them will never offer floatation on snow like rubber.With swamp tracks the bellypan drags on the deep snow and yes the tracks drag it through slowly but turning becomes a chore, making deep snow travel no fun; where a nice flat footprint of rubber will keep the belly off the ground the wider the better pending on weight.In the mud and swamp the open design swamp tracks are king .

Good information here. What kind of snow depths are you running in. The big SnowCats I see pictures of do not seem to run a fully closed rubber track. Maybe it's because manufacturing limitations but you would think if it was advantageous that is all they would use. On my Max IV with the Adair 18.5" tracks over 25" tires my floatation on snow seems every bit as good as the factory waffle rubber tracks. I have only been able to run in about 20" of new snow though. At that snow depth the belly pan would only drag occasionally and turning did not seem to be an issue. These tracks also work good on dirt, mud and swamps plus they swim OK. Glare ice sort of sucks as does frozen hard packed dirt hills. Tim at Adair is sending me bolt on cleats to install on every other grouser. I plan on exploring the frozen marshes and lakes in my area with the new cleats installed. If they work as I hope, even though I know there is no perfect machine or track I honestly feel for all the things I want to do I will be close. Spring, summer, fall, winter, trail riding, hunting, fishing, exploring, logging, hauling, dirt, gravel, sand, mud, water, snow, ice 110 to minus 30deg F works for all of it for me.

...That said; no matter what material they are made of ,the real inventors of all these track designs can be flattered
-Bombardier!

You might want to check out this link on Bruce Nodwell Northern Tracks.com - Bruce Nodwell, An Inventor With Drive

This is a quote from the article: "Instead he used conveyor belting with an overlap splice. He also invented a double sprocket which made it possible to drive this wide track and also keep it in place while using a single row of wheels." I know the Nodwell's use a sprocket to drive them but the grousers are also arched for tires to ride in and guide them. To me this is what you guys are calling an "Escargo" track and is from the 40's. You are just not using the drive sproket. Were there Bombardies before this?

I am still very curious about the "escargo" design as you call it. The steel grousers design sort of scares me a little for general riding. The first time I saw a set in real life at Beaver Dam Argo my mind flashed the image of Edward Scissorshands. They sort of seemed for ice only to me, but with a UHMW grouser I would think it would open up many more options. Would really like to see them in use in riding conditions besides snow. Maybe when it melts eh?

Keith.

[brebett]

Hi, I would like to see videos with the chanel track, the adair. the escargo and rubber tracks ( rs bolduc, argo or others) side by side to see how well they perform in the same conditions and the same machine. Chanel track are very similar to escargo ( but a lot lighter) and adair with uhmw ( about the same weight) grouser but are a lot cheaper in price. Is it the quality materiel and if so it would be nice to know the reliability of the chanel track. So far and sold to chanel because of the price.

[kghills]

Hi, I would like to see videos with the chanel track, the adair. the escargo and rubber tracks ( rs bolduc, argo or others) side by side to see how well they perform in the same conditions and the same machine. Chanel track are very similar to escargo ( but a lot lighter) and adair with uhmw ( about the same weight) grouser but are a lot cheaper in price. Is it the quality materiel and if so it would be nice to know the reliability of the chanel track. So far and sold to chanel because of the price.

Hey Jack, I would like to see this also. Hopefully as time goes on more people will have them and more videos will be posted. Can you explain the big difference between the channel track and the escargo besides price? I am not really seeing it. is it just the grouser is a piece of U shaped steel and not an L shaped piece?

THanks, Keith.

[gearhead]

going back to route6x6

[brebett]

Hi Keath, the chanel track are a lot lighter ( 94lbs each)and for an avenger and $2,100.00 for the avenger. They are U shape.
Jack

[kghills]

kghills heres some reading for you http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_Inc. 1930's
as for quote "The steel grousers design sort of scares me" you really should try to conquer your fears.lol

I found this address: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombard...ional_Products and love the B12. Tracks look just like the Nodwell's from what I can see but might be different according to this quote: "Each track is composed of 2 or more rubber belts that are joined into a loop. The loops are held together with interior wheel guides and exterior cleats, commonly called grousers." If I understand this correctly the Nodwell tracks have no interior track guides while the Bombardier tracks do. If the Escargo style or channel style tracks have no interior track guides they are then just like Nodwell tracks. Am I correct in this? Very cool stuff.

Yeah, just seeing those escargo tracks at Beaver Dam made me curl my toes back up in my boots. I know this weekend I ran over an extension cord in the garage when I parked the Max. Probably would have 3-4 if I ran over it with a blade style grouser. I still think the UHMW offers a lot of versatility for the tracks and all sorts of different types of traction aids can be attached to them to fit specific needs and removed when the season changes. Although I bet a UHMW insert could be attached to the metal grouser the same way giving them the same options.

Hi Keath, the chanel track are a lot lighter ( 94lbs each)and for an avenger and $2,100.00 for the avenger. They are U shape.
Jack

Thanks Jack. That is not really a very bad price for a big machine like an Avenger. Weight isn't bad either.
Keith.

[kghills]

Found this picture of a Bombardier track.



Not what I expected. It looks like what a Nodwell track looks like. I do not see any interior track guides like described on the wikipedia page.


Here is a Nodwell


Now I'm confused.
Keith.