I have always been interested in tracked vehicles,
and in the mid 90's I gathered the ideas
of different types of tracked vehicles that
I had seen over the years and built an All
Terrain Tracked Vehicle. It was built rigid,
with a V6 ford engine, automatic transmission
and a Chevy drive train.
(click on any of the images for a larger
view)
It was very heavy (over 5000 lbs.), and used
differential breaking to steer but performed
quite well. I could drive over 3 to 4 inch
diameter trees and climb some very impressive
hills.
However there were some short falls, it rode
awful and had a few other minor problems.
Making a living got in the way for a few years
but I kept thinking of ways to improve the
design and in the last couple years I have
incorporated many new ideas. A change in
the suspension, much lighter, and many other
subtle changes. In the last 6 months I have
been changing and testing many ideas. This
New and Improved ATTV is simple to build, requiring minimal machining
and average metal shop tools.
The
"How I Built My All Terrain Tracked
Vehicle" Part 1 is now available. Infomation on making the
tracks, the type of engine to use, rear end,
frame and suspension system, etc. are described
in the Videos.
My
Action Video of this machine doing its stuff is also
available if you would like to see some of
what it can do.
I have worked very hard at applying the
KIS Principal to this machine. I will give you the dimensions
and thickness of steel to use and a wealth
of other information.
If you are interested in building one for
yourself, it will save you a "
GOB" of hours and a "
GOB" of money experimenting. "For
those of you not from the Midwest, a "
GOB" is a lot".
Very useful and straight forward information!
More ATTV Pictures here.
The "
How I Built My All Terrain Tracked Vehicle", is now available as a 2 Video Set. 4 hours
of video, from laying out the first frame
rail to the finished "Tank" ATTV.
The set sells for one price of
$149.95.
