My "new" tracked ATV

[deereguy]

It's not amphibious, but it's still pretty sweet! I was searching for an 8x8 argo when i stumbled upon this:

It's a PasseParTout or PPT for short. I'm still searching for a good name for this beast. Perhaps "the panzer"

by my calculations, i has about 16.5 square feet of track on the ground.

It has about the same footprint as a john deere gator or an 8x8 argo as it just barely fits into the bed of a pickup truck.









I will post video's and more photos later. It climbs over logs, drives through bogs, swamps, mud, climbs steep hills, turns on a dime, it's nearly unstoppable!

It is powered by an onan twin cylinder boxer engine with full pressure lube. It sure is an interesting setup that powers this beast, I'll have to take some photos of the menagerie: It has a snowmobile CVT setup that powers the argo type gearbox with reverse, neutral, low and high. That gearbox feeds into a pair of automotive clutches. Turning the handlebars releases a clutch while engaging a brake caliper. It is a feat of engineering! lol

In the future, I am contemplating swapping the drive system over to hydraulic, and building a cab to transform it into a mini-snow cat similiar to this:



I have an older commercial lawn mower that i plan to rob the hydraulics from.

[Adondo]

From looking at that first picture, "The Panzer" would be a pretty good name.

I think it looks kind of like an old Russian T-60.

[countrycummins99]

that's awesome!!

[deereguy]

I believe my hydraulic motors are rated for about 166 lb/ft of torque. I will work at calculating the torque of the current drive setup and see if the numbers are even remotely similar. Although it will take some research to guesstimate the gear reduction of the cvt snowmobile clutch which i think is about 3:1 at it's max.

I suppose one of the simplest methods would be to attach a small magnet to both the flywheel and the final drive sprocket, then find one of those fancy tachometers that sense the magnet passing by. That would tell me the actual gear reduction. I'm sure somewhere on the internet is the torque spec for the onan 16hp engine. note: A 16hp briggs engine has about 24 ft/lb torque.

[drjim1948]

That is seriously cool!

[Andyman]

That is seriously cool!

X2

[rodp]

You can get a tacho off ebay that reads a reflective strip. Self adhesive reflective material comes with the tacho or you can just use Tippex (correction fluid). Simpler and safer than having magnets winging their way across the shop

[George]

I think Joe M picked up two of those a couple years back.

Very cool!

[Dozerlarry]

That's sexier than socks on a rooster!

[Adondo]

The hydraulic system sounds like a viable plan, after all Hydratrek does it. MPAV MULTI PURPOSE AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLE So did Cushman with their Trackster. We had one here at our shop years ago. We used it as a snow cat for radio site access. Now, we have a Yamaha Razor with tracks instead. (And used for sand playing otherwise, sans tracks)

The Trackster wasn't amphibious, but they had a version that was. It has a T handle and there's lots of finesse control with hydraulics. I have a hydrostatic lawn tractor, and I can "inch" around obstacles MUCH easier than any slipping belt clutch could ever hope to do. Your mower setup would make for easy to get parts later.

[deereguy]

here is a photo of a disassembled ppt from another member here on the forum. If mine is built using similar construction with the entire powertrain connected to a single removable "cradle" then it would make it relatively easy to remove the stock powertrain and swap in the engine/hydraulics from the lawn mower. If the hydro option was not satisfactory, it would take almost no time at all to put the stock cradle containing the engine and clutches back in the PPT.



I am just finishing a massive 3 month long project (built my own outdoor wood boiler to heat the house) and the wife has been missing me. So i cannot tear the PPT apart quite yet......I'm sure it'll consume at least a couple weeks of my time doing the hydro swap.

[Joe M]

Yep... I picked up 3 PPT's. Sold one; still have two.

[deereguy]

Here is a video I shot last night. More footage coming soon

[brushcutter]

Don't look like that log was much trouble at all. Nice PPT, AND it drives, can't beat that!

[john swenson]

you know it would not be real difficult to build a 6x6 out of a zero turn radius mower. take off the deck,and front caster wheels. add 2 more independent axles like on a max . then add sprockets to the mower axles and new axles,run chain and tensioners. may not be waterproof but would manuver like a mudd ox. probably have plenty of clearance for tracks too. what do you think. john in va.