Argo Springer

[LarryW]

The places that I,ve taken my Max IV, and the unknown things that are often underneath the waters surface, is why a springer kit on my machine would not be practical. The A arms would also get snaged more easily than an axle would that runs parallel to the lower tub. Your water speed would also greatly be diminished as well, because the A arms force the wheels lower into the water. The lower your tires sit in the water, the worse your water speed becomes. In thick mud the A arms would cause a LOT more drag, greatly increasing the chance of getting stuck.

What if you could find a wide wheel with a positive offset. It would suck some of the A-arms inward.
(Positive offset is when the hub mounting surface is toward the front or wheel side of the wheel. Normally found on front wheel drive cars)

[mudbug3]

The places that I,ve taken my Max IV, and the unknown things that are often underneath the waters surface, is why a springer kit on my machine would not be practical. The A arms would also get snaged more easily than an axle would that runs parallel to the lower tub. Your water speed would also greatly be diminished as well, because the A arms force the wheels lower into the water. The lower your tires sit in the water, the worse your water speed becomes. In thick mud the extended width of the A arms would cause a LOT more drag, greatly increasing the chances of getting stuck. For the majority of people that own an amphib, a springer kit would be more of a disadvantage than an advatage.

[LarryW]

We thought of this concept 20 yrs back, but due to the massive increase in weight with all the springs/ shocks/ brackets and u-joints, to gain what? 4 inches of ground clearance, while at the same time seriously jeopardising your River/Lake/Swamp crossing ability due to said weight increase, said to hell with it, it looks great and all, but my winch will deal with most everything an extra 4 inches of ground clearance would do for me,(barring deep snow, but thats what tracks are for) I don't make a habit of straddling logs length ways. Very interesting concept, i fit had any merit I'm sure ODG would have put it out years ago, as we would have at Northern Alberta All Terrain when we were open...

Good points but for the hardcore user like you it. It does have disadvantages. But for the the average Joe who wants a better ride on the recreational amphibious vehicle its awesome.

[Bushpig]

We thought of this concept 20 yrs back, but due to the massive increase in weight with all the springs/ shocks/ brackets and u-joints, to gain what? 4 inches of ground clearance, while at the same time seriously jeopardising your River/Lake/Swamp crossing ability due to said weight increase, said to hell with it, it looks great and all, but my winch will deal with most everything an extra 4 inches of ground clearance would do for me,(barring deep snow, but thats what tracks are for) I don't make a habit of straddling logs length ways. Very interesting concept, i fit had any merit I'm sure ODG would have put it out years ago, as we would have at Northern Alberta All Terrain when we were open...

[Mike]

bcsteve initially posted this but since it was lost this week I thought I would revive the Argo Springer thread. Hopefully the owner will be stopping by this week but we will see. Perhaps Martwell from sentier 6x6 forum will chime in as well.

Here are the original videos and images that bcsteve posted:

http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af253/santaria733/Argo%20suspension/?action=view&current=Testdelasuspension.flv

http://s1013.photobucket.com/albums/af253/santaria733/Argo%20suspension/?action=view&current=141_4187.flv

You can view the entire album here: Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket