Breaking thru ice

[TerryA]

I have an ARGO that came with plastic tracks and ice cleats. My question is; If I go out onto a pond and I break thru the ice, can this machine climb back onto the ice???
Thanks, Terry

[Bw6]

Terry, Others may have some different info, but we did a test, broke through the ice and then tried different techniques to get out. It took 45 minutes, came out backwards.

[AlaskaGrizzly]

My experience... No, you would not get it to climb back up on the ice. I have run mine into thin ice on a lake and broke through at the edges. Once I was out far enought that the ice wasn't breaking it would not go any further. It did back out fine. As Bw6 stated you'll get farther backwards because the rear floats higher as long as it is not loaded.

[LarryW]

Get a good riding buddy and go do a test! Put some thought in it first like hook up the tow strap to your machine and have the other end in the machine so you just have to throw it out to other rig. Life jackets. Make sure your machine dont leak. Plenty of fuel. Plenty of batter life in the camera, lol.

My machine and setup is a lot different but here is my video. I ended up getting out and driving the machine while pushing it/picking up on it, to get it out. Im curious if your tracks with ice cleats would help. Seems like they may.

[Roger S]

More of a danger is how you break through as you go in, people have got in trouble/sunk because only one side broke though and water came over the side.

[lewis]

Another item that you may consider. Not all Argos have a skid plate and puncher could occur with the ice. The front is most likely the one going down first and the skid plate if it has one only goes up so far and this could be problem. Remember a iceberg sank the Titanic. Just my thoughts about the ice.

[LarryW]

I have played alot in the ice. Full throttle creek enters and such and have worried about punctures and such to the fragile abs of my 208tt but havent hurt it. But if a stump/log/fence post/sign post or whatever us under the ice then that could be bad. When I broke through in the video the left fell in first and then the right slowly sunk in.

[thebuggyman1]

Get a good riding buddy and go do a test! Put some thought in it first like hook up the tow strap to your machine and have the other end in the machine so you just have to throw it out to other rig. Life jackets. Make sure your machine dont leak. Plenty of fuel. Plenty of batter life in the camera, lol.

My machine and setup is a lot different but here is my video. I ended up getting out and driving the machine while pushing it/picking up on it, to get it out. Im curious if your tracks with ice cleats would help. Seems like they may.

Great video Larry, it made me laugh! It is funny when it happens to someone else, not funny when it happens to you! So, how cold was the water?

[LarryW]

Thanks, The water temp was below freezing, lol.

Buckhtnr17 and I did this for a test just like I was saying. But after riding around everywhere trying to break through I gave up. I figured I wasnt going through. Then the left fell in and the right fell. We hope to do it again! Its fun to take your machine to the limits and beyond. I love the challenge.

[TerryA]

Thanks for all of the input/advice. I think the wise thing to do at this point is to stay off the ice. After I gain some experience with the machine I may rethink it....... Ok, I rethought i ! I don't like the idea of crawling, wading, or being pulled from icy water. I'll leave the ice thing for the younger guys/gals.
Thanks everyone.
Terry

[rosed]

i've tried frontwards, backwards with tracks and cleats, with just tires, and there is no way i have been able to get traction to climb out.