Half tracks on max ii

[Mythane55]

Has anyone done this? Any feedback? I have 2 brand new snowmobile tracks and want to fit them to the back 2 wheels. Will use 1/4 steel tire guides. Suggestions?

[john swenson]

i made my own half tracks for my max 2. bent the guides out of 3/16 flat bar to follow contour of the tire.then sandwiched 3/16 x 8 conveyor belting between guides and another piece of 3/16 straight flat bar. welded the to together. then ran chain between each tire guide.they clear tub just enough not to need wheel spacers.tried them out at busco beach last month. worked great. easy on and off. cost me about 100 dollars a track. try them in snow soon. john in va.

[twinlakemike]

i made my own half tracks for my max 2. bent the guides out of 3/16 flat bar to follow contour of the tire.then sandwiched 3/16 x 8 conveyor belting between guides and another piece of 3/16 straight flat bar. welded the to together. then ran chain between each tire guide.they clear tub just enough not to need wheel spacers.tried them out at busco beach last month. worked great. easy on and off. cost me about 100 dollars a track. try them in snow soon. john in va.

any pics of them?

[john swenson]

i am not too good with a computer so i am not sure how to get pics on here. i will see if my wife can. put your name and address and i will be happy to send you a good drawing. john in va.

[hydromike]

I don't have a picture but I will attest that John's tracks were great! I think that John rode around with us for at least a day or two before he pulled them off after his testing was complete. I hope that John has some pictures, because they looked and worked great...

[twinlakemike]

i am not too good with a computer so i am not sure how to get pics on here. i will see if my wife can. put your name and address and i will be happy to send you a good drawing. john in va.

sent PM

[Buzz]

Sounds like fun!
Have you considered running a "front" half-track. Especially with the shorter wheelbase of a 6-wheeler, I think it would actually work really well in most situations. It would surely help your nose from digging in.

Unlike an 8-wheeler with a front-half-track, a 6 wheeled "front" half-track will still keep "clawing" over the crest of a really steep hill...allowing the nose to drop down. On an 8-wheeler, I've actually had to move the half-track back an axle so that it is a "middle" half track or back again so that it was a "rear" half-track. I really like the front half-track, but sometimes you need the 3rd axle back to grab so that your nose will break over the hill. Often times, the rear tires cannot grab enough to do this and you can't get over the top. Not a problem if you move the half-tracks back at least an axle.

But, on a 6-wheeler, your weight balance should be such that even a front-half track will continue to grab until the nose of your machine breaks over. And, you'll be able to "back-out" of most any situation.
As a front half-track, it might just do alright in the snow. You really need more surface area, but everywhere else it should do pretty good. It will skid-turn easier and be a lot harder to walk-out of the track too!

As a side-note on an elevated-belt track, running a half-track is also one way to eliminate the differing-tread-speeds that the track-belting encounters. Not applicable in your situation but worth noting.

[john swenson]

i have not tried them on the front 2 wheels yet. good idea. i just need to make sure on the max 2 there is enough tub clearance up front. the just do clear the back o. k. someone at busco thought maybe back was better because of better weight since the engine is in the rear.thats what is fun,is trying different stuff.hey hydro mike,hope you and alisa doing well. also i cant wait for busco again in the spring. i will reply to twinlakemike when my wife shows me how to get your message on this computer.i am much better with mechanical stuff. john in va.

[rodp]

Twinlakemike, your inbox is full buddy.

[Dw89xj]

How well do the half tracks work in snow on the max ii?

[john swenson]

mine worked good up to about 12'' to 14'' and real well in pretty deep mud. ( look at video on this site under johnboys half track max ). if you keep the tracks you make low profile as i did, you won't need a larger third tire in order to get the same diameter as the other 2 with the tracks. i never had any issues that way with '' chain windup''. .once you bend all the guides, bolting them to the rubber tracks is pretty easy. either way, half tracks will do better than no tracks in most cases unless you have the really aggresive style tires. for snow they will give better '' floatation''. keep us posted on your project......johnboy va.

[Dw89xj]

mine worked good up to about 12'' to 14'' and real well in pretty deep mud. ( look at video on this site under johnboys half track max ). if you keep the tracks you make low profile as i did, you won't need a larger third tire in order to get the same diameter as the other 2 with the tracks. i never had any issues that way with '' chain windup''. .once you bend all the guides, bolting them to the rubber tracks is pretty easy. either way, half tracks will do better than no tracks in most cases unless you have the really aggresive style tires. for snow they will give better '' floatation''. keep us posted on your project......johnboy va.

Cool I was kind of thinking something is better than nothing, and half tracks be a little easier on the pocket book. I definitely will be posting up dates as I go, I'm in tear down now, I need chains and bearings so I'm at the point where I might as well tear it the whole way down.