Smarter than me and as crazy as me. I think I’m in love! So what are your thoughts of how to do this tracked vehicle? The only problem with using a hydrostatic drive is a slow ground speed. But it will have plenty of power. Using an open rearend (non-positraction) from a golf kart or a small car would give it a higher ground speed but would significantly increase size and weight.
AWESOME! I was afraid that no one would be interested. Let’s build it!
Ok, let’s be realistic about the challenge we face. Every step of this build is going to require possibly months of testing and adjusting. For example, the tracks alone won’t be fungible commodities. Chances are that there is some in-depth technical calculations that must be precisely adhered to when ordering even the most mundane parts, like tracks.
Transmission is the toughie - but certainly doable. We have many options. I‘ve owned several subcompact tractors and a New Holland LX885 Turbo skid steer. I understand the principle of power delivery. But our obstacle is going to be money. I’d like to build something super cool that doesn’t cost more than simply buying a brand new skid steer or Argo. One thing that I really want to make sure we incorporate into our final design is the ability to expand features as our budget grows and we want to get more out of the vehicle. Specifically I’m talking about the ability to power an independent pto driven hydraulic power head that we can add later to facilitate cool implements like possibly a front end loader or a three point hitch on the back. And obviously thos idea is beyond the scope of this forum as it is mostly the domain of tractor forums. But never under estimate how beneficial hydraulic attachments can be.
i have a Twitter friend who is an extremely talented engineer and I have queried him in this topic before. He gave me three approaches. And since you sound interested I’ll do some quick cad mock-ups to get your opinion.
What do you think?
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