What Tracks for a 55hp@5500rpm 3 bearing per axle beast for swamps, steep rock?

[spookum]

Good production today. Cleaned up the metal parts and drilled holes in the steel.





That was the jig already used up. I have 4 steel pieces in there. The 1/4 inch bolt is just dropped through to pin them all together. I wasn't the best with getting my lengths correct + or - 1/16"... But hey, it works.

[riotwarrior]

damn fine man...damn fine, I know yer cost is near/equal to purchased tracks, however that can be done over time instead of one lump sum, thus for some people it could be a better deal. Buy platic parts cut, store it, buy the metal store it, buy belting, and bolts and fab away over time!

Cannot wait to see how these work. Ever consider a ^^^^pattern on the steel?

[spookum]

Hi buddy! 2300 so far. Not too shabby considering alaska prices.... Raw materials up here are expensive!

I thought about serading the steel but since when I skid steer the machine slides sideways, I want it to slide. Also, due to the bearing desighn, our machines (especially Argos! !) destroy the inner bearing upon side impacts to the axles.

As always, there must be some loss is traction to be able to steer!!!!.... Having said tat wait till you see the bolts that will be sticking up... Should look knarley.....

[Buzz]

it's nice to have traction forward/backward, but not too much resistance when skidding. Kind of an ideal situation in regards to traction. You'll adjust your driving style depending on what situations you're in. Your chances of driving out of a track are far less if your track moves with you when turning as well.

[bigbuck]

I had envisioned doing almost the same thing with my Adair 18 inch snow tracks..of course its one thing to imagine it, yet another to execute it especially with limited know how, so this project of yours is exciting to watch. Cant wait for updates and to see them in action!

[spookum]

Hmmmm.... I don't want to step on any toes, but using a table saw with a fence could cut the channel in to insert the steel. It takes Some fiddling.... If you center the blade in the middle you may have to off set it to take an extra 1/32" off, them flip it and run it through again.... It is nice to get a snug fit. I also KNOW 3M makes a two part adhesive if you would like to skip bolting them together

....also the risk is kind of high that IF the steel touches the plastic tub it is going to cut a hole in it FAST. There is the possibility that it could ruin a good day quick. Remember, all it wold take is one front or rear tire going flat.

[Buzz]

table saw would work fine, depending on your blade thickness and desired slot thickness. It's easy on crosser designs that you could run a continuous slot from one end to the other. The only real limitation (or pain in *ss really) is if you wanted to slot a crosser but needed/wanted an insert narrower than the entire width of the ground-contact patch of the crosser. Sometimes the the fastener locations can give you problems if you try to slot right through those locations. Trying to slot just the "center" of a crosser w/o running the full thing through the table saw is where it becomes tricky or even a bit sketchy....trying to drop the crosser down onto the blade..yuck. Setting up a jig in a sliding miter saw is another option if you can stay tight/square w/o slop. Less than a full width slot leaves a rounded over-cut from the blade on either side of the slot. Smaller diamter blade/tool like on the router table is preferable but not necessary depending on your slot/crosser. I prefer to replace any removed material (slot) with steel and don't like to remove more material than necessary because there was no other way.
I'm not too keen on any kind of adhesive with UHMW. They actually have some UHMW that has a "rough" side or maybe its even fibers manufactured into one side? of the sheet so that it can be vacuum-epoxied to the underside of jet boats (1/4") comes to mind. Not really applicable to these inserts though, and nothing sticks to UHMW. Mechanical fasteners are easy and easy to remove/replace.

[MAX IV Mark]

....also the risk is kind of high that IF the steel touches the plastic tub it is going to cut a hole in it FAST. There is the possibility that it could ruin a good day quick. Remember, all it wold take is one front or rear tire going flat.

You are right about that. I would be tempted to bolt one or two sacrificial rub rails on the underside of your tub before that first oh crap moment.

[Buzz]

I agree with the rub rail thought Mark. I think I remember Spookum mentioning something like that if necessary.
Typically if you find a way to lose a track that skid-turns easily, you're going to lose it outboard of the machine on the side that is skidding or slowing. In Spookum's case, he could could get a little tilting "up" of the crosser outboard of the tub, if the rear tire began to drive up on the belting.
Now Spookum has some pretty tall, mean-looking cleats. I don't know for sure how any "tilting" would affect his tub clearance specifically. I hope there is more clearance than I think there might be. He does have the crosser-guide-belting design in his favor though.
Even with a very loose track, you'll have to work pretty hard to get your machine to start to drive up onto your belting. And if/when you do, it happens slowly so you can see it/catch it in plenty of time to reverse skid-turn your machine and/or get out and "kick" the track to get it re-aligned. But it has to be incredibly loose. With typical tracks (moveable tire guides) once you're partially derailed over a rear tire, the next axle ahead is usually effed-up as well because of the track twisting. With Spookum's track, it should take something like flat tires or an incredibly loose track (built too long prior to install) to even start to drive up on the belting in certain situations. You'll stil be able to drive your machine and keep your tracks on even if they're loose like this, you just need to be aware of the warning signs that you're super-loose and what conditions to be "careful of." Slipping of drive axles, very saggy track belting, making inside turns when your inside track (unweighted, possibly on sticky terrain) is steeply uphill. Just be aware of it, and also try to completely brake (stop rotation) of the inside track while turning, instead of "slipping" the turn and allowing the wheels to continue rolling. Let your driving side drive and your braking side "stop" if you need to continue skid turning with lets say a flat tire.

[bigbuck]

Great job! Can't wait to see them in action!

[Buzz]

I am very anxious to see that machine rock and roll. I am most interested in seeing what kind of track speed you're able to get and maintain in snow. Very nice work!

[spookum]

If you find me a rebuild able avenger trans and break system to go with it I'll stuff the 90 hp cam in it :P

[Buzz]

Nice.....now we're talking

[spookum]

Getting jiggly with it.



Rubber is drilled. One down one to go! ... But I got to tighten it.

[Buzz]

yeah buddy. Hard to complain about that. If you're willing to put in the man-hours, you'll have an amazing set-up. Don't forget to check the bevel on the inner belt...bevel 45 degrees away from sidewall. Bevel will end up outboard of the vertical portion of the guide.