Has anyone ever sunk his aatv?

[Marc]

Hi,
i have dumb general question. Has anyone ever sunk his aatv?
I want to know if this is possible with an Argo or a Max.
Even havy parts like the engine replace the same volume of water so they may sink but they are not as havy as on land. So in my opinion the poly body and the tires should keep the vehicle at the upper edge of the water or?
This question has no usage so please do not try it for me
I´m only curious and want to know what will happen if i forget the drainplugs.
Shoud i seek my aatv at the ground or can i pull it to the shore?

[George]

There's a photo on this site showing a Max about as sunk as you can get it. I think Whipper posted it. It shows two rear wheels bobbing in the water. I don't know if it was a ll or a lV because the body is almost completely submerged.

[rdr]

yes you can sink it i sunk my max ii in a creek with a big cooler of ice and beer in it the creek was about 4 ft deep and it sat on the bottom .we pulled winched it out and started draining every thing i drove it home. . also mike sunk his in the creek to it;'s on here under max gallery . robbie

[whipper-ag]

I was told by RI. that they will fill up and stay on the surface for a while, but will eventually go to the bottom like the Titanic.

Whipper

[artist1018]

Rumor has it that an 8x8 Argo cannot be sunk due to the tires being able to support the machine. The U.S. Coast Guard drilled one full of holes & were unsuccessful in sinking it!!

[Roger S]

I heard an 6x6 argo (10 years ago) sunk like an iceberg, mostly underwater but the light end/axle on the surface.

[Bw6]

Sunk Mine 2 Weeks Ago

How can someone forget the drain plug, and then not notice that it is slowly getting lower in the water, lol. Well about 2 weeks ago, my friend and I went on a ride, he had his Frontier and I had my Hoot. We were on this series of beaver ponds, for about 10 minutes when I noticed that my Hoot was sinking. After it got above the floor boards it went down in 30 seconds, like a rock. He was ahead of me, and I only had time to yell "Cam I'm sinking" and down it went.

So there I was sitting on the bottom in about 4 ft. of water. Only about 6" of the handlebars was above water. Worst of all it happened so fast that I didn't have time to switch off the engine. So Cam had about 100 ft. of rope, we tied one end on the front bumper and the other end on the rear of his Frontier hitch, I shifted my weight to the rear and he pulled me close to shore and then used his winch to pull me ashore.

After draining the water out, and bailing what was left, I removed the spark plug, turned it over, the water came out like a garden hose! I put the plug back, turned it over a few times and repeated the procedure to get the remaining water out. I checked the oil it was emulsified, I added about a half a liter of oil, installed a new plug, full choke and low and behold she fired up. The muffler was shooting out water and steam, and then blue smoke. I killed every blackfly and mosquito for about 1/2 mile. Now I needed a plug, the one that supposed to be there was gone, so I cut a sapling in a wedge shape and pushed it in, it seemed to be ok.

We tied a short rope between the two AATV's and headed for home. We had previously tried to go back through the bush but it was too thick in that area. When the bush thinned out we completed our trip on land. All I can say is the Hoot is one tough machine, and those Frontier tires are amazing!

[Roger S]

How can someone forget the drain plug, and then not notice that it is slowly getting lower in the water, lol.

I think it's a guy thing.. passed down from father to son. Can't remember how many times Dad launched the boat with drain plug out. But it was on the inside, he'd drain it after he got the boat on plane.

I did a winter boat launch and took on a lot of water, too cold to jump in and install the plug.. should have seem me get to the ramp and back the trailer at about 20 mph.

Or trailer the argo with drain plugs out in case it rained, machine all clean and prepped for a ride. Then get to ride and take off hitting all the nasty holes, drain plugs out

[Marc]

I asked cause i dont want to end like the guys at the end of this video.
By the way a very interesting vehicle even if it is no aatv.
YouTube - can he really swim?
I also once forget to install the drainplugs but fortunately the lake was very small so i get out before it gets dangerous.

[mudbug3]

A few months ago I had two male adults in the back seat of my Max IV , with the intention of impressing both of them of its amphibious abilities . But ,the joke was on me though , when I tried to drive my Max IV out of the water and up a small hill . I could not drive out , so I looked behind me , thinking that my belt was slipping , because it was wet from water . It was then that I noticed water shooting out from under the engine cover . I then remembered I,d forgot to reinstall both of my rear drain plugs . I then had to winch my Max out , and allow the water to continue to drain , before I could reinstall my drain plugs .

[GREASEMONKEY]

I have crossed about a 150yd wide pond with no plugs in the argo. I endedup with about 4-5in of water in the floor as i came out the other side.
It's about 50ft deep in the middle, so it could have been very bad!

BTW: Trying to cross open water with a breeze + top, windshield, or both is a PITA!

[Amphiman1]

sinking feeling......

Aye Matey!! i sank a amphicat in lake erie.....like a good captain...i went down with my ship.lol 30' water.....drain plug popped out far from shore
OHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHIPPPP!

[6X6]

The Amphiman Fitzgerald

Amphiman, you took an AATV out on lake Erie?!?! WOW that must take a lot of guts, ( Or a lot of beer ) Seriously, with such a low freeboard, I would be nervous to take it out on one of the small lakes around here. But I am now considering pool noodle floatation in between the upper inner and outer sections to help keep it from becoming a submersible. (And yes, I know that was lake Superior, but you're wrecking my joke.)

[x.l.r.8]

Bazoo's sink!, especially in current when the plug pops out climbing out the bank, on the return journey while ferry gliding across the water it lost all response and spun around, at this time I saw the water flicking around the engine case (flywheel submerging) only seconds before I thought, if the pick up gets wet it's going to stall, pop pop bang engine dies. The front stuck against a tree facing down stream and the rear below the surface meant the water got forced into the hull, it sunk untill the front dropped below the tree and get wedged under. Only 5ft deep but I had to haul it out inch by inch, then hump it onto a bank/island just under the water level so I could even get a rope around the axle. With my arms about to drop off I swam to shore and got my suv and a big rope, then once I got my suv stuck I went and got the tractor and a chain and pulled them both out, 20 minute walk each way I thought the suv would save me a lot of time...............wrong!

[Amphiman1]

sinking feeling.....

Actually, i was at my aunt/uncles lakefront property, it was a very calm day out..... untill i sank...... relatives just laughed and laughed4 of us got a rope and pulled it in good thing i had more aatv's,lol