Tracks for swimming

[zoood]

Ive seen a lot being talked about on what tires swim the best. But how about tracks? I'll be putting on the plastic tracks that came with my hustler. Ive the spacers as well.
I like the wider stability of the 5" spacers on the atv when in the water. The terrain I have to go through here requires tracks.







zoood

[amphibious drew]

If you need tracks that swim adair are the only way to go. No other track swims.

[MAX IV Mark]

Yep, my rubber tracks do nothing in the water besides splash alot. Although if I spin them fast enough forward, I will move backward at about .01 mph from the water its throwing forward. Once I am floating I am at the mercy of the current until it touches bottom again.

[zoood]

I kinda figured that. So I have a machine shop making me a secret project that I'll be adding to my set-up. After I test them out, with the tracks on. I'll post a video then.

[mudbug3]

Zoood

The Adair swimming tracks are the tracks you need for the terrain that you want to drive into. The places that you want to go don't get much more extreme that this!

[zoood]

Yeah thats extreme! I wouldnt even imagine going through that. Especially with the fear of getting stuck out in that and possibly ringing the dinner bell for all those nasty critters. I did take notice that those fellers were in that swamp during the hibernating time of the year. By chance you have pictures or links to a closer look at those tracks? I'd like to see what makes them so special, to swim. The tracks Im putting on should take me through and over what I have here. The obstacle I foresee is that if I get in water that my tracks miss the bottom or shallow water over soft mud?. Im "up the creek". It comes down to having paddles, that without closely looking at the adair tracks, is what makes them such a necessity over the other types of tracks.

I found a picture of them -

[mudbug3]

Zoood

What people like about the Adair tracks that run them is the open grouser design. On a solid plastic or solid rubber track ,clay mud can continue to build up in between the solid track and the under side of the tub making it very hard for a solid track to continue moving forward. In contrast though, the open grouser design of the Adair tracks were made to allow thick mud or clay to fall off between the grousers each time the grousers roll over a tire. The open grouser design also scoops the water as the wheels turn the tracks ,thus having a paddle wheel effect. I,ve been in mud so soft that I really thought that I was stuck because my Argo stopped moving forward. I then remembered some thing that Tim told me about the Adair tracks. When you're in really soft mud and your Argo is hardly moving forward , back off of the throttle to let the tracks sink down into the mud and then slowly increase the throttle. This trick has worked every time for me.

[zoood]

thank you for that explanation. That is a pretty nice design. The price for them, well,... out of my ball park for now. In the mean time. Like I mentioned before. I've an idea set in motion. I have a machine shop making a design I came up with. But before I let the cat out of the bag. I need to test them out. If they work the way I'm hoping they will. I'll put up a video of the results. Here,... the mud is basically sand or very loose mud, not clay. Mostly its underwater because theres beavers that dammed the creek up and flooded my woods. A lot of the terrain I have to ride on is dead sticker bushes that lay down and die in the winter months. I'd most likely get stuck in that with just tires. But with the plastic tracks. I believe I won't. Ive 3 acres of wet lands joined by another 40 acres that no one has been in. The tracks would help me make a trail on the of boarders of my property. Hell I cant access all of my property any other way and that irks me that I own it and cant see what I have out there.

[zoood]

Mudbug3, I was looking at my plastic tracks and I just may modify them like the ones you explained. Looks like I can get away with it.

Zoood

What people like about the Adair tracks that run them is the open grouser design. On a solid plastic or solid rubber track ,clay mud can continue to build up in between the solid track and the under side of the tub making it very hard for a solid track to continue moving forward. In contrast though, the open grouser design of the Adair tracks were made to allow thick mud or clay to fall off between the grousers each time the grousers roll over a tire. The open grouser design also scoops the water as the wheels turn the tracks ,thus having a paddle wheel effect. I,ve been in mud so soft that I really thought that I was stuck because my Argo stopped moving forward. I then remembered some thing that Tim told me about the Adair tracks. When you're in really soft mud and your Argo is hardly moving forward , back off of the throttle to let the tracks sink down into the mud and then slowly increase the throttle. This trick has worked every time for me.

[smog]

When you're in really soft mud and your Argo is hardly moving forward , back off of the throttle to let the tracks sink down into the mud and then slowly increase the throttle. This trick has worked every time for me.

It's the same trick in snow with tall lugs rubber tracks, let the track grip. It's fun to throw snow around but not as effective.

[brushcutter]

That is definitely some sweet looking amphib territory you got there!

I've also read (no experience to back this up though) that the adairs are a also LOT easier on the machines that run them when turning- especially hard turns-even more so than tires!

[highrollinmopars]

Did you get your tracks modified? Just curious how it worked out for you.

[zoood]

After reading about the Adair tracks. I see how they work at pushing out the mud that can accumulate on the tracks. On my plastic tracks. I plan on modifying them. Hopefully what I do will allow for my tires to also push the mud loose that accumulates on them. I havent tried that idea yet. Ive been working on another possible solution that may or may not work. This other idea is still in the prototype stages and I want to make sure it works before disclosing what I'm doing. I dont have the moola to go out and purchase ( 2000.00) a new set of tracks when I have a full set of plastics here that I can experiment with.

Did you get your tracks modified? Just curious how it worked out for you.