Help my Mudd-Ox sunk!

[Bazooo guy]

Stainless steel everything...$$$$$$$$$

[Bud]

I am surprised that your machine can withstand exposure to" SEA" water without damage. Are you sure that the axles and bearings will withstand the corrosive affects of salt?

My thoughts and concerns exactly. Having grown up on the Texas Gulf Coast, I know firsthand what kind of damage salt water can do.

[philipatmaxfour]

I am surprised that your machine can withstand exposure to" SEA" water without damage. Are you sure that the axles and bearings will withstand the corrosive affects of salt?

[kmac]

Yeah we are discussing some options. It seems if the top (from where the base meets the top) of the ox could extend up to 6 inches it wouldn't be a problem. I was given some instructions to follow so i'm trying to get the water out of the engine as i type....

[thebuggyman1]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8515[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8514[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8513[/ATTACH]Hi,
I have talked to Kurt and we are working on getting his machine up and running. He will be adding the float kit. The front float adds 350 pounds of floatation.

Matt

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

Did I misunderstand? I didn't think he sank, but tipped sideways and took on water instead. Does the front float add sideways stability too, or does he really need an outrigger type?

Kurt: Matt would not have put a wider HDPE (plastic) body on.....that tooling approches $100k , and for one machine, I can't see it happening. Matt does custom machines, and when I visited a couple months ago he had 2 larger (huge) machines with aluminum bodies. They looked nothing like the Mudd-ox machines we all know.

The 6 wheel ox (at least the first one) was an 8 wheel machine cut and spliced.....Maybe a wider one could be made that way, but you would have a seam down the middle.

[Noel Woods]

[QUOTE=Matt O.;118116]100_7239.jpg100_7237.jpg100_7238.jpgHi,
I have talked to Kurt and we are working on getting his machine up and running. He will be adding the float kit. The front float adds 350 pounds of floatation.

That's great to have the manufacturers support behind you, especially with a new machine(s).
Kurt, please keep us posted on the progress.

[Matt O.]

100_7239.jpg100_7237.jpg100_7238.jpgHi,
I have talked to Kurt and we are working on getting his machine up and running. He will be adding the float kit. The front float adds 350 pounds of floatation.

Matt

[azz7772]

hi if your project that you are doing can allow you to afford two mud-oxes. I would get one of those boats that are designed like a landing craft where the front opens like a drive on ramp, and use that to ferry the mud-oxes and gear through the sea part and drop them off in the river system where applicable then you have a safe fast way to get out in case of emergency.
can maybe make a cheap one out of an old pontoon boat.

[kmac]

Noel,
I think the only way i could have gone in any lighter was to ditch the aluminium cab and the rack. We had no other weight except a jerry can with fuel and the outboard motor fuel, and someone at the back. But it is a lesson learnt. I will definitely ditch the aluminium cab and take off the rack. I will test the second atv first without the outboard motor and then with the outboard motor and see how it gets on. We usually use the sea to access the river, but some of the swells and waves that our 14ft jon boat has stood up to, i am not sure the ox will stand up to. But I'll see how it goes. Unfortunately they guys (my field staff) don't have any faith or hope that they can eventually meet our needs.

@mrtic..to be fair to matt, he suggested adding something similar to a pontoon as an additional floating aid, but i didn't want a unit with these cumbersome features because i had intended to do a fair amount of driving in tight spaces.

[mudbug3]

Kmac

If the motor was running when the tub turned over in the water , check the oil to see if it has any water showing on the oil dip stick. Is you see any water mixed with oil on the dip stick I'd drain out all of the engine oil two -- three times or until you no longer see any indication of water on the oil dip stick. Also check to see if you got any water in the air cleaner element.

[mrtlc]

HI Matt and Kurt
It sound like this machine may need a set of small pontoons for stability and the area Kurt want to use it in.

[Noel Woods]

I always hate to hear of a swamped machine. Lesson learned for anyone reading this thread: start light when going in the water. Experiment with load as your skill with your machine increases.

I hope Matt O can assist you in getting the machine back in good order. Please keep us updated on status, and good luck with getting the machine going again.

[kmac]

Matt,
I don't have my phone, it was swamped and the sim isn't working. I went for the chain and that worked. Also i understand the need for balance but it was just two of us with a jerry can of fuel. One person at the front and one person at the back. So unless it can only handle one person, i think it was balance was ok as far as we could determine. I will send an email to you with a number that you can reach me on.

[kmac]

Buzz,
That's fine I'll take all the suggestions. I was naive, but i just thought it was tested and was fine and that it was fitted with a wider body so that it would float better. I went in the water confident that it would float and handle the water better. I wasn't reckless or anything. I just drove up to the water expecting it to float and it didn't. But now i know that these machines are land-lovers that can go on the water if needed and not really a 50-50 machine (50% land and 50% water) which is what i really needed. Also I hope that i'm not scandalising matt but my experience to date hasn't been great, and this is just the icing on the cake. I'm just glad that it wasn't shipped with all the fancy fan dangles because I would be screwed and i am glad it happened now so that i can know the limitations of these machines. I'm going to ditch the aluminium top for sure and possibly the rack and see what happens...but in the mean time i need to check the engine if it was flooded and to determine if there are any problems. I also need to drain the fuel tank. So i would welcome any suggestions on how to get the ox back up and running...

[Matt O.]

Man, that's horrible news. I hate hearing that. I'll question going in the water with an aluminum cab (top-heavy) mounted in the front plus two big guys sitting in the front as well as additional weight in the machine- plus a diesel. Additional options take away payload. A true water rig in the argo/mudd-ox body size needs to be kept as light as possible. Having wheel-spacers and/or longer bearing cages/axles to put the tires out wider help a lot with stability. Riding in the back (w/kicker)would have been a much better option. 1st time I floated my gas machine (2010) 15" rubber tracks,brushguard, skid-plate, canvas top- I did it empty to get an idea how it was balanced. I've towed it with a boat for a steady 30 minutes(into-wind+against-current) and even though I was concerned that the front of the machine was going to "plow" a bit, I didn't take on any water. I've made the same trip "with" the wind while riding in the back of the machine operating the kicker and found it to be very stable. An unbalanced,heavy load in that size tub is asking for trouble. My machines 1-gas, 1-diesel have placards on the dash stating payload-minus-accessories. The newest frame in the diesel is over 100 lbs lighter and stronger which helps. My old avenger with those options would not faired
much better in the water. I'm not trying to kick a brother when he's down but it seems like there's more to the story. I'm just a casual observer, but it doesn't seem right to place all the blame on someone else. I've had great capability on the water with an ox that's set up correctly. I really am sorry to hear about your bad luck, it makes me sick.

Hi Kurt,
I just found this thread. I will give you a call right now to help you get your Mudd-Ox up and going again. Buzz is correct. You have to balance the load. passangers and cargo. I have made changes to the machine to lighten it up and make it float better and your machines have this done. To tow the Mudd-Ox direct drive machines ( No Clutch) mid 2010 and latter Gas or Diesel There are 4 relief valves on the hydro pump. Two on the top and two on the bottom. They are in the center of the pump and are about 1" round and take a allen wrench to turn them. You will turn each one counter clockwise about 2 turns. This will allow you to tow your machine and leave the chains on.

Matt