Limits of operation for 6x6, 8x8

[Tour1]

In case anyone is wondering what happened, the winning vehicle is a lawn tractor. I found a nearby handyman special for $50 and after a couple or so hundred more it's ready to challenge the hill.
A few 6x6s in the classified section recently caused me regrets but at least I've been doing something.
A lawn tractor has shortcomings that AATVs don't have. One tiny disk brake that's part of the transaxle won't do a thing if either of the rear wheels slips. It has nice gearing for my needs though, you'd prolly call it slow as ****. I may try converting it to a tracked vehicle. If I do that I might post some pics here but it wouldn't be amphibious and thus underqualified.
What it will do, I hope, is help an old man drag bricks and such up the hill as far as it can, where path-building will take place to go further next time.
Thanks for all the advice! I hope you all enjoy this season and many more.

[Tour1]

Honestly it's 65 seconds across at 6 mph if you could go 6 mph. It's not remote, it's not big, and I routinely drive my 11 passenger van through the deepest mud. I'm thinking about building omething just for the purpose but it likely wouldn't technically be an AATV. Some AATV parts & principles would give me a real head start even if they were slightly repurposed.

[johnedwardketch]

you can go 60 degrees if ya dont punk out and never leave off the throttle if ya have a attex 500 chief ive done it its abit scary you let off that throttle just asecound you wont make it

[allwheeldrive]

cool video
Craig_B
These machines are great in the bush.

I'm in central VT, likely 4 hours north of you.
Unless there is a fair bit of land to drive around on with challenging terrain not sure if I'd make such a long trip down.

[Tour1]

The property is in Callicoon, NY, in the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreation area.
Made of glacial deposits, like much of the Northern US but there's probably solid rock in there somewhere.
The trees are often a foot or more in diameter and dozens of feet tall.
The steep slope is partly due to the river being relatively close and 400 feet down.
I don't have to go over the big boulders, around them is no problem.
Videos show 8x8s going over boulders much worse than necessary, but slopes in the mud zones are limited to short climbs.
I'm in decision paralysis right now, resorted to buying stuff I don't need for the bike just to calm down & pass the time.
More value added that will not get a higher price ;-)

[Craig_B]

This might help as a visual aid. A video I took this summer.

It looks like similar topography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_mqkUdsm3s&t=53s

[allwheeldrive]

reminds me of VT forest. Where are you located in north east? (if you already mentioned I've forgotten)

[Tour1]

The forum really compresses those files so I'm not sure what will show after it's posted.
The 1st pic is some big rocks that would be on the left going straight up the "AATV" way (just assuming that could happen). The camera angle is looking uphill a bit and the rocks are about waist-high,
The 2nd pic is looking down the hill from near those rocks. The red tape on a tree parks the property line with the right-of-way to the right of the tape.
I can and do park my van where the jeep is shown. The spacing of the trees and height of smaller rocks kept me from trying to bring the jeep in further.
In NY an ATV has to be under 70 inches wide as I recall. I haven't measured any 6x6s yet but I expect they would qualify. Besides thinking y'all should suggest I buy my own 6x6 to experiment with, I'd want to walk the proposed track up with a board long enough to prove the vehicle would fit where it has to go..

[john swenson]

i'm still thinking if you have the power and traction... some kind of bar across the back with a couple of skids could keep you from flipping. it could slide into a reciever type hitch so it would easily be removed when not needed. spring loaded with a adjustable stop so it would float over the terrain but would'nt let the machine get to a tipping point . like funny car dragsters. any thoughts ? j.b.

[whistlepig1]

Tour1,please post pics of your hill. Here in east tn we routinely climb slopes that steep or steeper with 6x6s,buggies,jeeps,dirt bikes and quads. But there are also some hills that ain't as steep that are almost impossible . There's way to many variables to say yes or no. If you where closer to tn we would bring the gang and climb your hill or at least have lots of fun trying.

[Tour1]

Is this Argo 8x8 hill climb any of you?

https://youtu.be/b_42fy-sN7g

I found a little 20 hp kohler-driven tracked skid loader type thing at a supply store.
You stand on a little step behind it but it's around $18K new.
Things that make sense for business use don't always make sense for the home user.

Another place I saw something called a SnowDog. It might be good for me if I had a narrow but easy path up. I'm not sure about pulling stuff up my hill with it. I'm sure it's not an AATV though.

What are the odds that somebody in the northeast would want to try their machine on my hill? I don't have room to park more than 1 or 2 vehicles right now.

PS when I put so much in a post that I'd be sorry if it got lost I copy it to notepad. Then if it gets lost I can log in again and paste it the way it was.

[allwheeldrive]

(after writing a very nice lengthily post 6x6world decided I was no longer signed in and deleted it! THANKS )

SO in SUPER short summery:
8x8s are very stable and great hill climbers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-STWecPM4

Sounds like your looking for a Coot http://www.6x6world.com/images/broch...ting-atv-3.jpg

I've personally pinned my clinometer past 45 on nearly every outing. There may be machines that climb better, but I've never driven one that was more stable!
Also you get your heavy duty tractor durability, and 6mph insane torque top speed lol.

[coffinman]

I don't know if this helps, but Mrs. Coffinman and I pull a 52" DR field mower behind our "Snurf" (a 2005 Avenger with a 25hp Kholer,) up and down some pretty good slopes on our 50 acres with no problems. It's proven itself to be not only a rec/pleasure vehicle, but a REAL work-horse as well. It's rated to tow 1800lbs and the mower only weighs 850lbs, so there's power to spare.

https://www.facebook.com/monique.charlotte.50/videos/10210148410266917/

[ARGOJIM]

Here's a tech question;
How much room is there to increase the sprocket diameter on the wheel axles?
At 6 MPH a vehicle could cross my property in about a minute.
Speed is not essential, low gears and torque are better for me.

Most machines are near their limit to sprocket size at the axles from the factories and do in the 20 to 25mph range except 2 strokes, which you do not want as they will not WORK as well as 4 strokes, you can change the gearing at the transmission or the jackshaft with some extensive work to achieve lower speeds and more power. These are light amphibious machines intended for recreation or light commercial work like spraying or wetlands clean up.
Personally if I was dealing with this grade I would hire an excavator to lessen the grade making a longer sweeping grade, with easier access be it by 6x6 or other vehicle if I were to traverse it regularly. While most all of these machines will plow snow, none will grade terrain like a rocky hillside on an extreme angle. Perhaps an old Snowcat type vehicle is what you could look into, more commercial and heavily built drive lines.

I wish you luck in which ever direction you go.

[Tour1]

I said in my self-intro post in another thread that *smart people* said my bike was worth $500 in a forum 50% dedicated to my make & model of bike.
(Just in case somebody didn't read all 6,500 messages in the other thread.)
It's like selling freezers to eskimos over there, and I expect the same applies here but not for bikes.
I put $1400 on a sign today and my mailman almost bought it.
I'm a bad salesman, instead of closing or taking a deposit, somehow it came up that he might find it cheaper on the internet and he doesn't have a license to ride it. But he's coming back when he gets a license...

Take my word for it, my $500 bike has over $1300 worth of recent new and improved parts, easy.
It comes with, maybe another $750 of parts that can be installed to restore it to as-delivered condition.
And it comes with Haynes and OEM repair manuals.
I might even throw in that 32mm or whatever it is socket that fits the big nut.
I did make improvements since that $500 comment got posted (it wasn't even an offer, just a guy talking dealer-type talk).
That's why I think I might get a great 6x6 bargain on this 6x6 forum, because that's what bike people get on the bike forum.

As far as my budget goes, it's spend it now, spend it later, or leave it to my heirs.
Not that there's so much, just that there are competing expenses and tactics if that's what you'd call it.
The great thing about spending it later is you can change your mind without losing as much money.

Here's a tech question;
How much room is there to increase the sprocket diameter on the wheel axles?
At 6 MPH a vehicle could cross my property in about a minute.
Speed is not essential, low gears and torque are better for me.