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Mudd Ox vs other Hydro drives

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  • #16
    Howdy again mudd rats!
    I have been out for the usual month of swamp running for moose. We got the biggest moose I have seen in 40 years of Alaska hunting. The horns were a knarley poor excuse for a big bull, but the 268 lbs. of hamburger made up for it. The hind quarters went 240 lbs each. Anywhoo, I put my new Ox diesel through every bad thing we had to offer, including the notorius "Black Water Swamp". which is little more than a lake of mud and peat moss floating on water.
    I was riding on top of the rack when my partner managed to kill the engine due to doing dumb stuff like pushing forward on the sticks with out giving it power. He was never able to get it right.
    We walked right out of the swamp with no problems.My argo driving buddy was very impressed!
    Of all of the other AATV"s I have owned, nothing comes close to the diesel Mudd Ox. Unbelieveable power and manuverability.
    The drop off into Black Water has a sharp-close 90 at the top of a very steep grade. Coming up out of there is a fright at best and with that 90 on that steep grade makes for an aatver's worst nightmare. I was able to reverse my tracks, spin sideways and keep on going. The diesel had the power at the worse possible moment. It is where all of the others stall and cause some dark stains to appear in shorts.
    I rode swamps that was little more than water with a few weeds growing in it. The 20 inch tracks left very little sign and made it necessary to use my GPS to navigate at night when I had to get back to camp. While I'm on the subject, the GPS I use for road driving worked fantastic at night when I could not see the trail to get back. I was able to follow the back-track back through the flat timber studded swamps that was impossible to see through at night when the ground fog formed in the swamp.
    The Mudd Ox also rolled over tall alders with ease. Some of the time I could not open the doors due to the thick brush.
    I tied the Mudd Ox to the big bull and towed it up out of a thick brush covered hill side that was full of downed logs and sink holes 3 feet deep. I then used the 5000 lb. Viper winch to pull it up and on the trailer to haul to camp.
    No, I didn't have a camera man and I was too busy to just film the hunt.
    I got my Mudd Ox loaded with most of the features, and I would do it again! I had no problems. I did cut new cold air vents in the engine cover, but it run very cool. The turbo-powered Kabota was more than enough to handle all the loads and long hard pulls through the soft-muddy bogs with out bringing the temperature up enough to notice.
    The fuel consumption run less than 3/4 gallon an hour under the hardest terrain, and less under normal conditions.
    So.. what did I find that I would change???
    I think Matt done his homework on this machine! I had no problems and no complaints! It certainly makes it easy for an old geezer like me to hunt far back in the bad places, miles from camp, in places that I could not walk out of, and feel confident that I could get back. It is no "light weight", flemzy built machine. Instead it light-footed, quiet,tough, and very responsive. Matt has coupled the power of the diesel with the proper hydraulics, and come with the kind of machine that will last me for a long time.
    George"Bubba"Hunt, oldbearhunter@alaska.net

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    • #17
      George "Bubba" Hunt

      That was an exellent write up about your deisel Mudd-Ox in action. Its great to read about another satisfied Mudd-Ox owner!
      Last edited by mudbug3; 09-27-2010, 01:08 PM.

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      • #18
        So i gather from your post that you are happy with your machine. I enjoy a good happy customer!
        Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways , cigar in one hand, whiskey in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO-HOO, what a ride!!!"

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        • #19
          I’m curious,
          When using the tracks do you remove any of the chains?
          What are the tracks made out of and how do you put them on?
          Do your tracks take dual wheels?

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          • #20
            Lewis, yeah, I'm more than happy. It has been a lot of years since I got this excited about a new AATV. Matt has "listened" to his supporters and came up with a machine that's hard to beat.
            My Mudd OX is tough enough to pack a moose through sink holes, log jams and everything else we have up here.
            I would have broken a lesser machine, and where I hunt in Alaska, I can't afford to break down.
            This is definately a "muscle machine".

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            • #21
              GunHunter, No I don't have to remove anything to put the tracks on. The tracks are made from a very heavy "belting" type of rubber, like a conveyor belt. The guides are bolted on with spring steel bases to keep the track from flexing too much, and it springs back into shape when going throgh ruts or hits a stump on the side. It's very tough stuff.
              Putting them on only requires a 27 foot large ratchet strap. I usually let the air out of the two end tires, which makes it a lot easier to ratchet it up. I use a battery operated drill, set in reverse to spin the 1/4 inch aircraft cable through the loops on the track. It works very easy and only takes a few minutes to put a track on when you learn how to do it.
              No, I don't have to use dual tires. My machine came with axle extenders and external side rails to protect the wheel extenders.
              I only use the tracks in watery mud and I'll be using them this winter in the snow. Otherwise the Mudd Ox goes about anywhere with just the tires.

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              • #22
                That is exactly what my Triton has except I have to change over to the dual wheels to install the tracks. I am also considering removing all the chains when I put my tracks on.

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