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fun stuff !! i just measured my subframe max 2. if i switched over to 2'' axles that stuck out past the tub far enough... i could run a fat style soft tire with a 42'' to 44 ' diameter. that would give a clearance of 4'' between the tires. the center axle would still be the drive shaft to the front and back axle. those tires would come up to the height of the tub where you step in. there would be 19'' of ground clearance from the frame to the ground. 2 other things you would have: a wider machine ...depends on width of these tires and some kind of fender the length of the machine so your not covered in mud !! anyway, thinking about tires...what about those large wheels used on the 3 wheel bikes you ride on ponds ? are they tuff enough, etc. sure sounds doable ! johnboy
Good planning J.B., those big tires and clearance on a Max2 would set the design trends for years. Those 3 wheeled pond spiders I'm unsure of the tires, but one of the Ag tires they use on the rice field buggies are pretty soft, although pricey from what I hear.
I guess this thing needs to some more research before someone jumps into it. Let's say we are all in the design mode at this point.
Problem with huge tires are (ignoring gear ratio that can always be fixed) tire weight jumps exponentially a single 44x19.5/15LT Bogger weighs 143 pounds EACH lol,
Though it would be cool
I agree with you that traditional tires like Bogger would be too heavy. Something big and soft like the tires Sherp uses would be needed. I've been searching the internet for such a tire but have yet to find one, but will continue researching the issue.
yea ' i can't find any either ..... have you seen some of those '' sherpa copies '' some of the russian guys have made ? looks like they take a wheel and large inner tube and then wrap the tube with rope or something to get traction. probably be good in snow and maybe mud with no sharp rocks. i checked out the water tricycle wheels, $ 350 a piece. if they were made from tuff poly like the aatv bodies they maybe could work. i don't think they are very heavy. johnboy va.
The problem with those water tricycle wheels is they will not deform and contour to the ground as a low pressure tire will. It may seem counterintuitive but even a massive tire with hi PSI (or in this case an inflexible tire that mimics 150 PSI tractor trailer tire is going to have very little contact patch with anything but water and very soupy mud.
Or is the Sherp a copy of those Russian homemade contraptions since they came first lol.
The large roped on inner tube is very popular in Russia, I’d love to know how they get it to work or even deem it useable. It takes just a twig to puncture and I’ve seen them use such a tire on grass and rocks as well. Maybe they have some sort of home brewed tire sealant as well? I’d like to experiment with such a set up but in the states such a massive inner tube would likely cost as much as an entire tire! So I don’t see the feasibility.
If you watch enough Russian 4x4 videos you will notice a trend towards big fat tires, many makes, styles etc. Sort of like how the US has a plethora of Mud terrain tires, in Russia they have all of these giant balloon tires. I did find a manufacture a while back but didn’t see any way to import. They where pricey too. I find it funny how in America 4x4 enthusiast argue over wide vs skinny tires and their debate will revolve around a 11.5 vs 13.5” tire, in reality I doubt there is much of a difference when the Russians use 2 foot wide tires and the South American 4x4 enthusiast use 8” wide NDTs etc.
These big fat tires really seem to be the bees knees in marshes, bottomless mud, snow etc. But it should be noted in the rare instances of hills (something lacking in swamp lands of Siberia) these pillow tires really struggle.
yes sir....those russians do like the fat tires !! the inner tube style must hold up fairly well. the way they lash on the outer covering for protection and traction is the ticket. i would'nt think a rim and tube would weigh alot. the tricycle wheels i agree are not feasible.i designed and built a motorized cart with 4' wheels. i had a co. bend 4'' round pipe to that diameter, then welded spokes to a center hub. they worked good...but not much cushion to them. it was a funny looking amusement ride i sold to a circus. they loved it. j.b.
Haha that's a fun story about the 4' wheeled kart, must have been a riot!
I'm sure there is some Russian forum with all sorts of set ups for these inner tube tires, really just need to start doing some research, obviously inner tubes are not designed to run by themselves so it can be hard find the right size IE, you can look up the tubes to go in any tire, but when looking up the tube its hard to figure out what size tire it can go in sometimes. The best thing about them like you said is they are light, I'd image extremely light. Even a 46" tall set up would weigh less than 25 pounds rims included. You could also get away with smaller lighter rims since they'd expend to fill in the space I'd think.
If you really want to dream go to Hydratrek.com, their cheapest model starts at $74K and is a true hydraulic six wheel drive, kind of like what MuddOx should have been so that the headaches of having chains is eliminated, plus the Hydratreks have a twin propeller system for the water so that the tires can be no-compromise traction monsters for the mud and sand instead of having to pull double duty as land traction and water propulsion. Sweet machines but pricy, luckily used ones are available for the price of a new MuddOx or Argo. Happy hunting!
I know I sound like a broken record, but weight is critical in our application. I’m SURE these do what their intended to do, but if you take their tracks off I’d bet they’d have a hard time going the places a Max or Argo could go, like wise a Max or Argo should go anywhere these can (with tracks) with the exception of these hydrostatic machines being much less a hassle to maintain and much easier to drive. That said with the 6x6 models weighing 4,200 pounds… and the 8x8 weighing 7,200 pounds… cringe well.. there is such a thing as too heavy duty. The Sherp a MUCH larger machine weighs JUST 2,866 pounds, perfect, excellent weight engineering.
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