Project: Argoceptor

[great white]

Well, finally got tired enough of being rained on, snowed on and snow/rain inside the argo that I made a top for it:




Thats an outdoor rated, water “resistant” fabric. Sort of like “sunbrella”, but a little lighter and a membrane adhered to the under-side of it.

Thats a good start. *Next will be the sides. Sides will zipper on to the roof and have large clear plastic windows.

But for now, the top by itself is a 100% improvement....

[JSmith]

Nice Job

I have been a machinist/toolmaker/programmer for 30 years so I can appreciate your craftsmanship. I only wish I had the machines to undertake such a project, as I have the tools.

[great white]

Well, I finally got tired of the foam mat (Think: yoga mat) I was using in the back of the Argo, over the aluminum rear floor.

It just wasn’t up to the task. It ripped easily, it slid around and folded upon itself and just was an all around pita.

So:



Thats a big, heavy horse stall mat cut to size. Its nice and thick, so it won’t squirm around or fold on you when you’re in the back. It’s also heavy enough to keep the aluminum floor from “clanking” when traversing rough ground. Theres no way in heck you would be able to tear it. As an added bonus its ribbed on one side and flat textured on the other. So one side can accept a bit of water and still have a dry standing surface, whike it can be flipped over if you need a flat surface to place something on.

It does add a bit of weight to the Argo, but when your rig already weighs around 1000lbs, 20 or 30 more really makes no difference.

[great white]

Got tired of the weather beating up the winch when parked outside so:





Nice simple project. A little bit of seam sewing and some pop snaps and she’s covered!

[tbone9]

Looks great. Nice work.

[JSmith]

Where did you get the material for the roof? I need to find some to make a cover.

[AcezHi]

I build a cab for my Honda Pioneer from www.onlinefabricstore.net
I originally went there for the 40mil clear vinyl for a roof and door panels.

I have ordered there a couple times now and am happy with them.

Has survived Maine winters so not too bad.

[great white]

Couple pics of the Argo out doing stuff that I built it for:






Thats the back of our lot and I’m just working on cleaning out deadwood and general mess. Plan is to (eventually) build a small boardwalk back to the river and a small deck where we can sit and enjoy nature.

River has fish, mostly trout and sometimes atlantic salmon, but I haven’t fished in years. May take it up again now that I’m full on retired...

[great white]

Double post.

[john swenson]

your argo looks perfect sitting in that setting !! hope it's performing well for you. quite the custom machine with lot's of creative fabrication. johnboy va.

[great white]

Where did you get the material for the roof? I need to find some to make a cover.

Local fabric store.

[great white]

30 years of SAR has left me pretty beat up. Pretty broken. I was the guy who could grab a 302 short block and walk across the shop with it. Now I struggle with a couple paint cans.

In the shop isn’t a big problem, I’ve got cranes and lifts to move heavy stuff. Outside is a different story.

So I built myself an all-terrain “crane”:



First job was to lift up the lawn tractor so I could spray the caked grass off the deck. Worked great!

This will be quite helpful for my yard and woods work!

And if I want to remove it, its just two bolts and pull the pin in the pulley to release the winch cable.

I just have to be careful how much weight I try to lift as the plastic tub will inly support so much...

[curtisbyrne]

cool