tracks and chains

[john swenson]

just wondering if anyone has found any difference on a 6x6 with tracks by not running the front chains or not running the rear chains ? does'nt perform as well , turns , etc. i know on some of the 8x8 some tires freewheel or chains are removed. thanks friends , j.b.

[Delduck]

I pulled my fronts years ago after wedge said something to me about breaking parts and I promise it will never see a front chain again. Best thing I ever did.

[john swenson]

thanks delduck for the reply ...so i guess you don't loose that much pulling power on the tracks with the front tires not engaged ? i imagine that depends also on the style of tire tread and wether your driving in real slippery mud or snow. i have noticed watching these homebuilt russian tracked 6 wheelers that they make using car rear axles that drive only the rear tires...it's impressive the deep mud and snow they drive through with only the rear tires driving the tracks.i think i'll give it a try to see the outcome. johnboy va.

[Delduck]

I destroy my max 4 new axles,bearings chains, t20 trans rebuilt 2x, the list goes on but the 2 things that were the best overall improvements were remove the front chain and I made a support bar to go from center line of axle to axle. It’s made from a peice of steel shaped like a “U”. The machine is used for work so when something breaks, it is somewhat paid for in the job cost but those 2 were the best improvements for my tracks. I have rubber tracks and have tried many others, I’m sticking with the old rubber style as long as I can keep getting them. I have a morooka 125 n machine that has rubber tracks and it has 1 front drive sprocket and the rest of the tracks run threw the bogies and around the rear drive, same with the bobcat mini excavator. As long as you can keep pressure to the track they seem to work well.

[john swenson]

thanks again...i'm going to give it a try. i've got some pretty good mud holes here at home in the pasture. i'm interested to see if there is any difference in the tire gripping on a track with space between the grousers compared to solid rubber tracks. it may not matter . i do have some rubber inbetween my modified tracks. i know on my adair max 2 track set, the tires that came with it were a '' waffle '' style tread .. not real aggresive. sometimes in really deep gooey mud the tires spun in the tracks. my tires now are more of a mud grip pattern. i'll let you know how it goes on my testing . maybe someone else will chime in with some experience they have had. j.b.

[SlimChance]

I've been running the factory rubber tracks for the last 2 years without the front drive chains with no slippage issues. My tires are the chevron style which may account for that.

[john swenson]

good to hear . i'm just finishing up some mods on my tracks for the 25'' tires and will remove front chains for some testing before i go to busco gathering in april . j.b.

[AJB]

So in theory, if you remove the front chains, and throw them under the seat, you would have a back up plan if one of the others break?

[tbone9]

I’m running Adair’s on 25” Rawhides on my IV and removed the front chains with no issues. I run mostly in snow. I figure if the going gets that tuff some slippage is good on a relatively light duty machine.

[ARGOJIM]

So in theory, if you remove the front chains, and throw them under the seat, you would have a back up plan if one of the others break?

Not in an Argo Bigfoot, I've never heard of anyone with an Argo removing front chains.

[john swenson]

i did remove the max 2 front chains and ran at busco's heavy mud in april . i did'nt notice any tire slippage in the tracks, and a little more power and easyier turning. i did'nt get alot of riding that weekend because i lost a track early on. ( not because of the chain ) . i'm going for it again after the track repair . j.b.

[ArgoNewf]

Hope i can get some input. I have a 2006 Big Foot 6x6 tracked. Should i remove the front chains ? less wear ? I like the idea of keeping them in the Argo for spare if rear fails. Thanks from Newfoundland !!! TUG O WAR GUIDING !!!

[philipatmaxfour]

Hope i can get some input. I have a 2006 Big Foot 6x6 tracked. Should i remove the front chains ? less wear ? I like the idea of keeping them in the Argo for spare if rear fails. Thanks from Newfoundland !!! TUG O WAR GUIDING !!!

Read the reply just 2 answers before yours. Your Bigfoot is not the same as a Max2 or 4.

[Noel Woods]

For the Max and Hustlers out there removing the front chains is a good thing. That doesn't work for Argo though. I've never ran without chains on the Argo, but looking at the chain dynamics it should work fine to remove the rears. For those with the Mud Ox, the rear chain can also be removed, and really needs to be removed.

[Deedeelin1]

Mr. Woods, You are saying I can remove the chains in the rear of my OX. I will check that out soon as it stops raining.