Back to Dual Wheels

[North Country Tough]

Just dropped off more axles and flanges to the machine shop today,the dual wheel setup I had used for years would not work with the big 25 Argo swimmer tires the width of the new tires made the original spools to short so we are having a new set whipped up,this time the big 25" swimmers will be on the inside and my 24.s on the outside,this will improve steering effort in the dry but still provide the in water load capacity that I need so much as well as the ability to span the nasty deep ruts that the four wheelers put in the trails I travel,heck they have ruts so deep that they are cutting threw the bush because they cant get thru them.Only issue this time the machine will not fit in my enclosed only my open with the dually,s on,but this is a summer thing so I can live with that,I have taken some flak in the past for this setup but facts are facts I use my machine a ton in water transporting cargo back and forth to my lake access cabin and this year with the new tires I had singles all year and it sucked I had to cut my loads back make more trips and the machine felt too unstable so back to what works for my situation,Cheers NCT

[Eldon]

Do they use a wheel extension fitting for a dual setup? I have a Max II and want to try the dual wheel setup. I want to put 22" Goodyear Rawhide III on the inners and 21" Goodyear Rawhides for the outer wheels. I am assuming that to attach the outer wheels to the inner I will use a setup similar to my wheel extensions for the tracks except it will need to be longer than the 5 inch extensions. What type of problems are associated with dual wheels in moderate usage ? They sure do look cool.

[North Country Tough]

I have used the setup and built it myself for twenty plus years,in my gallery are pics of how it was done,there are some disadvantages that is true but I have got around most of them and the load capacity in water and stability is incredible,axle issues I have had none but the Argo is inch and a quarter solid,bearing issues I have not seen a shocking increase in bearing replacement,mind you they are greased quite often with a marine grade grease due to the excessive use in water,big issue I have not built a satisfactory looking set of full length mud guards so I just slow down,trailers can be a pain because of the width,the enclosed I use just fits mine with the 24,s once fitted with the 25,s its a no go unless 4 of the outers from one side are removed for transport,other than that it is on a flat top,some trails are to narrow,not a huge one for me 95% of where I go its not a problem the other five percent a chainsaw fixes,the key is moderate usage you probably do not load your machine as I load mine and spend as much time in water so although Iam not familiar with the Max axle/brg setup I would think you would be happy.NCT

[Eldon]

Thank You for a fast response on a Saturday morning. I am thinking of trying it more out of fun than necessity. The Max II has 1 1/4 inch solid axles and three bearings per axle, the inner on the frame,one at the tub and one on the bearing cage out from the tub about 6 inches or less. The wheel extensions for the tracks bolt on to the wheel (five bolt) extends out 5 inches then the wheel bolts on five studs same as it would on the main hub.I think the dual must connect to the inner wheel with a similar device only it would have to be longer than 5 inches probably 6 inches to exceed 1/2 the total width of an 11 inch tire though inflated on the rim from here hard to say how wide it actually is. Interesting. Southern Ontario.... Niagara Peninsula? Best Regards

[timnexxial]

I have a max2 that I've used duals on until I fitted tracks last year. The axle extension is longer as you mention, closer to 10 inches but I'd have to brush off the spiders and measure them. I loaded a couple of photos titled max2x12 a while back which shows the setup. The smaller outers you mention would be a good idea for lowering turning stress on harder surfaces, otherwise I found the max performed very well and was well up to spec for that configuration. Caution, you'll go just as quick but be a tad wider, "watch out for that tree!" George of the Jungle. Have fun ; D

[Eldon]

LOL....I hear you on the tree,as with my tracks it is a bit wider and a tree will stop it. LOL. I look forward to checking out your pics. Did you build the adapters or buy them? I have looked at my regular extensions and to get the plates/discs centered on the pipe looks challenging. I'll look for your pics and thanks timnexxial.

[timnexxial]

LOL....I hear you on the tree,as with my tracks it is a bit wider and a tree will stop it. LOL. I look forward to checking out your pics. Did you build the adapters or buy them? I have looked at my regular extensions and to get the plates/discs centered on the pipe looks challenging. I'll look for your pics and thanks timnexxial.

Most welcome Eldon, I've always got lots of help from the good folks on this site!
I got the axle extensions from our max distributor here in Oz and they'll bolt your rawhides straight on. Centering an extension would be pretty important and i build a few things but wasn't comfortable building these as messing up the drivetrain would cost a lot more time and money. (did I mention it will still go just as fast?)
Again, have fun, there's not too many things that will stop you!

[Eldon]

I am similar to yourself in building etc but would rather the professionals handle issues of the drivetrain.If and only if you ever get a chance to snap a pic of the adapters perhaps you could drop me a copy with the dimensions.LOL I'm wading snow here but I'll bet it's hot where you are. Best Regards from Canada to Oz. !! Thanks So Much for the advice!!

[North Country Tough]

Thank You for a fast response on a Saturday morning. I am thinking of trying it more out of fun than necessity. The Max II has 1 1/4 inch solid axles and three bearings per axle, the inner on the frame,one at the tub and one on the bearing cage out from the tub about 6 inches or less. The wheel extensions for the tracks bolt on to the wheel (five bolt) extends out 5 inches then the wheel bolts on five studs same as it would on the main hub.I think the dual must connect to the inner wheel with a similar device only it would have to be longer than 5 inches probably 6 inches to exceed 1/2 the total width of an 11 inch tire though inflated on the rim from here hard to say how wide it actually is. Interesting. Southern Ontario.... Niagara Peninsula? Best Regards

So far Niagara,moving north soon,good luck with your project I understand there is a cool factor to that setup.Cheers NCT

[Eldon]

Does anyone have a proper dual wheel adapter for a Max II that they could give me the specs/measurements on and possibly even snap a picture?

[timnexxial]

Modified to take a different, thinner rim.

[timnexxial]

Hi Eldon, just wondering if you got the message I sent re. this thread?

[Eldon]

Sure did Tim. I sent a private message regarding the info. The site was acting up when sent so very possible you didn't get it. I really appreciate the information. I have a machinist buddy who assures me he can build them. When the dual tires are installed on your machine (by memory if possible) how close are the two tires? Do they just touch or is there a small gap between them? You had indicated a pipe length of 11 inches plus the plate thickness of the wheels. I am planning on dualling 21x11x8's with 22x11x8's. Were the two tires you used 11 inches wide? The machinist is going to cut twelve 5 5/8" circles of the plate,drill them for the studs with the set that will have wheel studs being undersized a couple of thousands for inserting the studs then is going to turn the 3" pipe on a lathe to uniformly taper the ends for accurate placement on the wheels. I can buy a set of 6 for $480 though if I show any appreciation to my machinist and welder it will cost there too. I look forward to getting it set up though no real plans to use often more of a "customizing toy" for my machine. The information you gave Tim was as complete as could be and I really appreciate it. Best Regards.

[timnexxial]

That's good mate, I'm not used to measuring in inches and fractions! They will be pretty straight forward for an experienced fabricator so you should be fine. Can't say I noticed any tapering on these.
My inner wheels are the 22x11x8" rawhides and the outers the same width. I had the plate welded on as the rim on the outers had a different bolt pattern and thickness. From memory the gap between the tyres was about an inch at the top and they pretty much touched at the bottom at about 4psi. The overall axle extension length of 11.5" should be correct for the tyres you mention on the standard rim.
It is a stack of fun, but remember, they'll be wider than your mudguards so it's gonna get messy,but you'll only get mud in your teeth if you smile!!! ; D

[famvburg]

I stumbled upon this thread just being curious about putting duals on an AATV. I've used these golf cart spacers on a couple of small Harbor Freight trailers to get clearance on the hubs to put wide golf cart tires and rims on them so they won't sink, or sink as badly, behind my Max II and Big Red 3 wheeler. It sounds like most of y'all are using or making fancy hub extensions to install duals. I reailze to get the clearances required for these wide tires you'd probably have to screw 2 or 3 together, but especially using smaller tires outboard, I can't imagine strength being a problem. I think I made a post a while back about using these to get more tire-to-tub clearance, but hadn't thought of duals. So, just curious if anyone's thought of these. 5" EZ Go EZGO Club Car Golf Cart Wheel Spacers Spacer | eBay