Help my Mudd-Ox sunk!

[brushcutter]

Not sure how to do that math, but I would think 8 would be 600lbs and also the number of wheels on a standard mudox

I'm still now sure if eight J-wheelz will add enough floatation for the heavier Mudd-Ox diesel with tracks. I'd also be very uneasy of driving a machine this heavy in a crocodile infested river.

Right, right and extra right. If 4 j wheels add 300# of floatation, you are getting 75#/wheel, 8 wheels X 75# = 600 lbs of floatation. Kmac, we've yet to lose a member to a hungry croc that I know of, and we don't want to start now. I have GOT to agree with Mudbug on this, don't do the Jwheels. The Pontoon idea is your best bet, there's no need invoking as much risk as you are looking at. Sunken ox, AND crocs = big trouble at the least. I would go with a minimum 10" diameter pontoon, and as was stated before they can be built so that they will swing up out of the way. I did a little looking and came across something that should answer some of your questions and could probably fab up with materials from your area. and they even did the math for us.

RebelCat - Flotation Chart

Come to think of it you might luck up on a banged up catamaran over there that you could buy for a song... just to try it out.

[amphibious drew]

Well I am surprissed that a ecosystem such as that still exists on the island. I have been to a resort there and to and from was a wasteland. Yes the beaches are blue, but the only wildlife I saw while swimming was a local trying to sell ellicit narcotics in the ocean. Dont ask me how he was doing it, I didnt take him up on his offer, but I must say he got me thinking as to how many tourists carry cash while swimming in the ocean at their own resort as well as how does this guy keep his narcitics dry in the ocean. Anyway, hopefully your set up will get there fast enough to where you can please your financial backers. If you need any experianced drivers, I got 2 weeks vacation left and only require a modest fee but need to renew my passport. Just tell your backers that you require an experianced aatv operator, but no I will not test your equipment next to the big lizzards. I am a little crazy, but not dumb enough to be gator bait.

[coosaridgerider]

You could run some pvc pipe with caps on each end down each side of your machine.I have seen it done on i think a kid.Looked like it worked pretty good.

[kmac]

The place i work is the black river lower morass..i'll post some pics when i can or you can google it...

[kmac]

buzz,
I really want to keep the solution simple and durable. I thought about all of those options including getting a pontoon and building a frame to fit around the base of the ox with arms that can allow me to extend or retract the pontoon.
The problems is, i can run into what we call blue holes. The bedrock is limestone so there are areas of weathering with an upwelling of water that can be up to 20 m deep. So i have to have a rigid structure in place and the ox has to be ready to float at a moments notice....

[Buzz]

you could always strap a floatation device, maybe even an appropriate size/length rigid pontoon down the underside of your machine (down the center). If it was rigid, you could easily secure it at the front and rear with ratchet straps. maybe? For that matter a non-rigid floatation device like an sport aircraft float (foam-like material) or a inflatable pontoon could be also be placed down the "vee" in the mudd-ox belly and secured sideways. Though I haven't done it, I think that even with tracks on you could hook the top of the bearing cage on one side, wrap the belly of the machine with a ratchet strap and then hook top of the bearing cage on the opposite side without getting in the way of the tracks. that'd be a cheap experiment.

[Buzz]

What type of terrain are you in, would it be more appropriate to use an airboat, or a large open skiff with a mud-motor? Even a large open jon boat with a 72" bottom could carry your ox and plow along pretty darn good with your 9.9 motor until you needed to drive. I know it doesn't help you out much NOW, but........ I wish I could picture the country.

[kmac]

Ok guys, i think you've convinced me...i will go with the duallys...but, but.i might try to run the tracks on them....so i don't know if i will be cancelling out the advantage. But i do need all the traction i can get and the tracks are a must. My aussie mate who recommended the ATVs hasbeen out here and knows how sticky it is..and he has said that i must..and i repeat, i must get the tracks...
So i spoke to Matt and he said he would work on a set of spacers for the dually that will allow them to run tracks. He will test the set up as well. He's also working on the floats for up front. All of this plus my extra outboard, the steering box for my outboard, my extra tracks, my enclosed cargo trailer (all of the outstanding items that he's failed to ship) and the wheels that I need, will be ready to go by friday. So I'm going hold him to his word and let you all know how it works out...

But understand this, everything takes a while to get here, so i have to go with what works. I can't decide that i need something extra after the fact, because i will loose time waiting for it to be shipped to me. So i have to order everything and get it sent to me and cross my fingers that it works. So if i try the duallys and they float well but i keep getting stuck..it will take me three weeks to two months just to get the tracks here. So unfortunately i have to spend extra just to cover my ass. I have already lost two years of work and have one left. A lot of money spent and nothing but a drowned atv to show for it....and my funders wil be on my ass if it doesn't because they were skeptical in the first place...i want to thank you all of the advice..i still think the j-wheels will work..i just didn't want to put too much strain on the machine with the duallys...

[mudbug3]

Kmac

Since you own two Mudd-Ox 8x8's ,I'd jack up one of them on both ends and remove the tires and then install them on your other Mudd-Ox when you get the extra wheel adapters. This will give you a good indication as to how much added floatation and stability the extra set of wheels adds in the water. If you buy eight J-WHeelz and have them shipped to you and they don't work out as planned, you've then wasted more money. Dual wheels is a proven concept that works almost as good as tracks, plus they are a whole lot lighter than the heavy rubber Mudd-Ox tracks.

[amphibious drew]

I would suggest duallys over tracks. Sell them rubber tracks and get a set of swimmers 1 inch narrower diameter than your inside tires to help ease turning. Your psi will be almost as low as tracks in the muck and your tires will add floatation

[mudbug3]

Kmac

Running dual wheels will give you a whole lot more floatation than the J-Wheelz , plus with the wider spacing of dual wheels you'll also be more stable in the water. Dual wheels also lower your ground psi as well. As Tim mentioned , the J-wheelz were never designed as a floatation aid, but for increasing traction and lowering the ground psi for people who own atv's that don't want to spend the additional money for bigger rims and aggressive atv tires. Tim could make you a floating trailor. I'd put the tracks in the trailor and pull it behind the Mudd-Ox

[kmac]

Well all i can say is that this is a great community..the reality is i couldn't afford anything else and if the mudd-ox performs in the muck and i can get it to float then it will be mission accomplished. And don't worry, in my line of work i spend 70% of my time sorting out technical issues. It has taken me close to two years to solve technical issues before..i just thought that this did what it said on the tin...have amphibious atv -- will float... so i need to now try to brain storm and solve this issue..and i appreciate all of the ideas. But i've already spent a boat load so i need a cheap solution....

[Obsessed]

I am still waiting on someone to say croc bait! it's worth a try..i'll test it first on the beach close to where i am now...if it fails..you will hear about it!

lol...that is funny...but i dont think you will really find anyone here that will pick on you considering the serious consequences of your situation or the luck you've had...there is nothing funny about an honest guy that has done his homework and attempted to make an intelligent decision...spent a lot of money...and then gets off to such a rough start...

many of us really feel for you...

tim

BTW...on a funny note...i was at a ball game last week and i heard a young kid behind me complaining about "FUN SIZED" candy..."there is really nothing fun about LESS candy"..sorta hit me...that was pretty funny! :-)

[Obsessed]

Don't even think about using J-Wheelz for a floatation device on a machine that weighs as much as yours does. I have a friend that weighed a Mudd-Ox on a truck weigh scale ,and if I remember correctly, the weight of it was 1,868 with out a driver. This was with a winch and a brush guard.

I think i would agree that the purpose of the J-Wheelz isnt really for boyancy in deep water as much as for traction in mud or snow... I think that you would do better with just adding the dual tire adapters and a second set of cheep, light weight, balloon tires from your local atv source...

or better yet, i also think that if you could come up with a light weight set of argo's 24" swimming tire on an 8" rim (argo uses an 8"x7" rim, where as Recreative industry uses a 8"x8" rim which would would be slightly better by holding a bit more air) there might be enough of the 10" wide tire hanging out past the edge of the track that it might improve swim speed a bit also and for sure would make it much safer and more stable machine in the water...plus where you are at, the extra set of spare tires might come in handy some day...

just my thoughts

Tim

[kmac]

I'm still now sure if eight J-wheelz will add enough floatation for the heavier Mudd-Ox diesel with tracks. I'd also be very uneasy of driving a machine this heavy in a crocodile infested river.

I am still waiting on someone to say croc bait! it's worth a try..i'll test it first on the beach close to where i am now...if it fails..you will hear about it!