New Type of Tracks - Chanel Tracks

[matt308]

Hey guys. Been following these tracks for a while now. Was in touch with the fabricator and he tells me they will fit on an Argo Bigfoot without needing to get smaller tires. Has anyone tried runing these tracks on the 25 inch tires?

[Old Tucker]

Lets see if this will work. Video of a ride I took into the local hills. with the channel tracks http://youtu.be/wBdoLVkwJEE

[Buzz]

Old Tucker-
awesome job. Thanks for the video!

[thorn]

Lets see if this will work. Video of a ride I took into the local hills. with the channel tracks http://youtu.be/wBdoLVkwJEE

Pure propaganda! There is no way that old Argo could climb over and up that much B.C. snow. I should be getting my Chanels tomorrow!!!

Seriously nice job Al.

[guyfox]

That is some great looking country you have out there...There is a lot of snow.....I think I am getting to old for snow now.....Might have to pull RD trick and head south for several months....lol

[plott hound]

sweet!

[6x6jamie]

Hi everyone. New to the forum, have been reading it for a while now. Just brought my 03 6x6 bigfoot home today and have a similar question to matt308. It has rawhides 25x12-9 on it and looking at the chanel tracks to put on it. This is all new to me so I am wondering also if chanel tracks can go on this size of tires or need smaller tires, I believe I would need track turners for the center wheels, and possibly wheel spacers also. There dosen't seem to be much room between the tires and the tub. Can someone provide me with a contact number for Marcel Cousineau. Also any other info would be helpful. Thanks

[guyfox]

Hi everyone. New to the forum, have been reading it for a while now. Just brought my 03 6x6 bigfoot home today and have a similar question to matt308. It has rawhides 25x12-9 on it and looking at the chanel tracks to put on it. This is all new to me so I am wondering also if chanel tracks can go on this size of tires or need smaller tires, I believe I would need track turners for the center wheels, and possibly wheel spacers also. There dosen't seem to be much room between the tires and the tub. Can someone provide me with a contact number for Marcel Cousineau. Also any other info would be helpful. Thanks

Welcome to the site and congrats on your new to you argo.

Marcel is on this form as member "patenteux". You could always send him a private message.

[jjort]

I deliberately go looking for trouble in my creek and believe me, I found it today
I was floating and trying to get back up the bank backwards. One side grabbed and the argo lurched sideways and threw the track.
luckily it was half on the bank and half in the water..... It took me another half hour to finally get out of the creek...I had to drift and bob around until I was finally able to back out.
Then I limped over to where the track was, threw it in the back and limped back to the house...boy its had to get traction when two of the wheels have track tuners on them.
I was able to put the track back on by letting the air out of the corner tires and rotating it back like a bicycle chain.
I am having a ball with this argo

[amphibious drew]

Glad you're having fun and made it out of the swamp. I swear claims have been made that this type of track cannot be thrown, but I guess they were wrong.

[jjort]

Glad you're having fun and made it out of the swamp. I swear claims have been made that this type of track cannot be thrown, but I guess they were wrong.

I really had to work at it.... was quite surprised but I think they have too much slack.... I put more air in the corner tires...see what happens now
I am actually having fun seeing how bad I can get stuck.... My creek is about 15 feet wide, 4 feet deep (mostly) and has banks that are muddy...at least its on my property so If I have to leave it, it should be safe

[Buzz]

Glad you're still having fun! High resistance to "driving out". Nothing is impossible, nor have I ever run the shallow guide angle of the channel track, but I have a couple thoughts... I can think of one situation that can pull a track off any machine. Which side (track) had problems? Were you able to back out finally with only one track on? Thanks JJort

[jjort]

Glad you're still having fun! High resistance to "driving out". Nothing is impossible, nor have I ever run the shallow guide angle of the channel track, but I have a couple thoughts... I can think of one way to drag/pull any track off a machine. Which side (track) had problems? Were you able to back out finally with only one track on? Thanks JJort

The left hand side came off. It took me quite a while to get out..I am pretty sure it was because of the track tuners. I had to hit the brake on the left side and pivot around with the track which of course put me parallel to the bank and then lost traction. maneuverability was very difficult both in and out of the water. lifting the mud filled track into the argo was quite a chore too. At least I didnt have to winch out this time

[Buzz]

Sounds like maybe the left was the uphill side that was straddled up over the bank edge? ...and maybe the other side was down in the water? Also, did your machine turn or skid that high side off the bank edge? This might help others know what to try to avoid anyway or when/how to be careful.
Less track slack would help, I know during testing with loose tracks, I've had success starting to "pull" a track off when the high side is up over a ledge....and I'm working down the bank, trying to get the low side to turn up the bank....which drags the uphill track back down over the edge. Of course w/o any real weight on it and the bank edge providing resistance, the track will try to pull off.
Going tighter will help, or in the case of a loose track (flat tire) just be careful...you can usually reverse your tires from driving on the belting back down into the track guides very easily.
I don't know if that's at all what happened to you, but maybe it will help if nothing else. Thanks for any input, and we look forward to more video!

[Old Tucker]

Glad you're having fun and made it out of the swamp. I swear claims have been made that this type of track cannot be thrown, but I guess they were wrong.

When you have a mismatch between tire and crosser You will walk out of any track. The tire has got to provide a fairly flat surface so the crossers can distribute the weight across the tire evenly. If you do not have that, of course the crosser is going to want to twist as you put force to the outside edge of the track, and if the track is loose. It will walk off the tire.
The big problem is to have a track system set up right you need two sets of tires. One set for the tracks and one set for summer use that will be a more rounded tire. Even the Adair tracks should have a fairly flat tread and the curvature of the crosser should match the tire. In doing so you will not have a problem of the track wanting to walk off the tire.
Lets put it this way, all season tires are good for all year round. BUT they cannot replace a good winter tire. And you would not run that good winter tire in the summer.[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG]kIjaKWL.jpg[/IMG]

You can see the difference here.
Sorry I tried to repost jjorts photo of his tire and track but it did not come through. But If you go back in the posts you will find it and you can see the difference in how the crossers fit the tires. I would say there is where the problem lies