Help my Mudd-Ox sunk!

[kmac]

I need some help fast. After waiting over year for a mudd-ox after it was recommended by some folks on this site, my mudd-ox was finally delivered today. I bought two for a project that i am managing in Jamaica. One came with an aluminium cab and a 9.9 outboard but both was shipped sans the tracks, and the second was shipped without any of the accessories I had ordered. I wanted to test before taking it on a crocodile infested river. So i drove it on a beach in front of a house that I am renting. As it hit the water it just started taking on water, sunk and flipped sideways. I tried using the bilge pump but that eventually died. We used the second mudd-ox to drag it out of the water, but eventually the winch on the second ox died. The tires are locked and if they can run free we would be able to tow the thing home. Any suggestions? Can i remove the chains? or even slacken them? Pictures and more to come. I am very upset because matt had mentioned that it was unstable in water when he tested it and he attributed the lengthy delay to the fact that he was putting on a wider body so that it could float better. I am sure that he didn't do that and i am just glad they didn't come with the tracks and sank in the croc infested river. I have given up calling matt, he only seems to respond to text messages. But my phone died. I need some help pronto and to figure out a way forward (how to get the ox going again). But i am going to eventually throw away the aluminium top.
Any help or suggestions are welcomed!

Kurt

[trebmaster]

i believe mud ox is driven by a single hydrolic motor so if you remove the chain from that point all the wheels should spin free togeather

[smokeeter]

You can tow it forward with the levers pushed forward, I did it with mine last spring. you won't beat any land speed records but you can get it mobile. steering will be a bit of a chore so straight ahead, at least you can pull it up onto a trailer where you can take it to work on.

[kmac]

Thanks for the advice. I tried pushing the levers forward, but it didn't work. The tires aren't turning. I found the link on the other chain attached to the motor. I'll have to take off the chain and hope that the tires spin.

[azz7772]

hi there it will have two hydraulic pumps in tandem and they should have a valve on the top of each one that you can use a small crescent wrench to give them a quarter turn that will put the hydraulic system into free flow so you can tow it. If it does just have one pump then there will be just one valve

[oldbogger]

Hellow kmac I work with a lot of hydrow powered equipment . not up on your units setup but if the hydralic motors are easly accessible just make up a loop hyd line that u hook up between the 2 lines at your hyd motor cap the lines coming from your pumps. your motors will get the lube theyneed and the motors will turn freely. do not require or should you run your motor .to steer the unit use a tow strap wraped around both front axles and back to your tow unit.I wouldnot tow the the unit athigh speeds withoutchecking the motor temps often but my brother and i towed my bobcat 6 miles out of our huntng area when the drive coupler failed. hope this helps Bob

[mudbug3]

I used to own a Mudd-Ox with Adair tracks on it and it would take on water over the sides very quickly when driving down a bank and into the water. Because of this you really need to choose your entry in the water very carefully. A Mudd-Ox is also heavy in the front with the driver, so it does'nt climb out of the water and up a bank as easily as a much lighter Argo 8x8 will. I would not recommend driving a Mudd-Ox into a crocodile infested river!!

[azz7772]

I used to own a Mudd-Ox and it will take on water over the sides very quickly when driving down a bank and into the water. Because of this you need to really choose you water entry carefully. A Mudd-Ox is also heavy in the front with the driver so it does not climb out the water up a bank very easy either like a lighter Argo 8x8 will. I would not recommend driving a Mudd-Ox into a crocodile infested river!!

do you know how to put the hydraulics into neutral for towing? Mudbug3

[mudbug3]

azz7772

I did'nt know much about my Mudd-Ox when I owned it, and I could'nt find any dealer in the US that I could call for indepth questions pertaining to it. Matt is VERY HARD to contact on the phone, emails, or cell phone. If I needed to ask an electrical or hydrolic question I would then have to call the Mudd-Ox dealer in alaska who knew about these subjects.

[Bazooo guy]

Is there not a pressure relief valve on the pump?
you can back it off and allow the motors to freewheel.
Usually cast into the pump head...
looks like a cylinder with a hex head threaded into it.

[thebuggyman1]

Amphibs don't sink.......OK, sometimes they float upside-down

[PA Jeep]

I would remove the chains from both drive motors. It should roll easy.

[mudbug3]

The Mudd-Ox has a V bottom tub and this is an advantage over a flat bottom tub because it helps channel the mud much better when driving forward or backwards. The V-bottom tub becomes a negative though when floating in deep water with tires and even more so with tracks. In deeper water this is where a flat bottom tub has an advantage over a V-Bottom tub because it makes the tub float higher out of the water.


In this video I'm driving forward and straight ahead of me you'll see a raised mound of dirt above the water line. Because the Mudd-Ox has a V-bottom tub it floats really low in the water and any sudden angle changes on either side of the tub will cause water to pour over the side closest to the water line. I had a friend riding next to me in the front seat and as we drove over the raised mound of dirt the angle of the terrain and water line changed very quickly. When this happened the tub started leaning towards the left side. Water then began pouring in. I then had the choice of driving slowly to let the tub self correct and allow water to pour in ,or drive faster to make a quicker correction change and allow water to pour in even faster. I had Adair tracks on the Mudd-Ox when I owned it and they weigh a whole lot less than the rubber tracks that Matt sells. The heavier rubber Mudd-Ox tracks will make a Mudd-Ox float even lower in the water.

This is a diesel Mudd-Ox in the water with only tires. With an aluminum cab and the heavier Mudd-Ox rubber tracks its even more unstable in the water.

[LarryW]

Not sure you if you just want to tow it on to a trailer or a distance but removing chains is a pain but easy enough. I am also not sure on the hydraulic set up. But assuming there is 2 lines going to each motor. Why not just put a tee on both lines on each side and connect them with a line and a ball valve. Keep the valve closed with a zip tie during normal operation. In an emergency you could cut the zip tie and open the valve and it would let the hydraulic fluid just recycle through the motors. Sounds like there are multiple motors on each side so I would put the by pass line up near the control valve.

[Rock Doctor]

Amphibs don't sink.......OK, sometimes they float upside-down

Wow, that brings back some memories. The first time I saw my 6x6, it was sunk in a swamp like that, with only a little piece of one back tire sticking out into the air, lol.

RD