Tracked Wood Hauling ATV project...

[Jags]

Its gonna be interesting.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Progress report:

After another couple hours I finally removed the cradle. I'm a handy guy. I fabricated my own OWB, i spent a decade building buses with full size jacuzzi's inside, I consider myself a master tinkerer, and i was really surprised how much effort and time it required just to take this thing apart. I was careful to not damage anything so that i can put it back together someday if necessary. The bolts on the underside, had the heads worn down significantly after years of dragging on mud and snow making them impossible to turn with a socket or wrench. They were in a location that prohibited the use of a grinder, and my torches were not handy, so i ended up blowing them out with the welder turned up to 200 amps.



Then i used a hydraulic jack to lift the cradle out of it's position. I am confident that the new powertrane will be lighter than the original. I did some research and it's likely that the hydraulic motors spin at a max rpm of 400 and produce about 2000 in/lb of torque. If my math is correct, using a 1:1 ratio With an 8" drive wheel that works out to about 7 mph.



Here are the drive sprockets:

 

[Jags]

That drivetrain looks like it was built for a military tank.

 

[ironpony]

Very ambitious project, I would be tempted to try the same thing. With that being said, after reading this and thinking about it, I think this is what I would do.
The vehicle is probably very old, run hard and slightly abused and it lasted quite along time. My thought would be to rebuild it as it was, it will function better than it did and last along time. The drive train appears to be bullet proof, being what it is moving and hauling. The tracks on that are creating incredible forces on that drive line. To switch to hydros you are looking at needing probably 40 plus horsepower. A zero turn setup MIGHT move it in a straight line, not going to make it turn. when you get enough hydro to turn it you are probably going to start breaking gear boxes/ final drives. Hydraulics have zero give, things break. Belt drive has give and slippage saving other parts. Right now it is fixable, I fear if you go to hydraulics, something breaks that is catastrophic, then you have scrap. The clutch that failed appears to be the same as a golf cart. As long and hard as that has been run, do not change it, it is almost built to perfection. Back when they built things to last.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Maybe 40 hp would be needed to drive this beast with hydro's, but it's important to remember that a skidsteer with 40 hp weighs several thousand pounds more, plus the skidsteer also runs hydraulics for the bucket and arms, plus auxillary hydraulics to run a wood chipper, broom, post hole digger, snow blower etc.

In a few days we will all find out if this hydro setup will run the machine......

I started disassembling the mower.





And mocking it up:



The motors will need to be slightly offset from each other because of space limitations.



I'm going to mount the motor to this 1/4" aluminum plate, and bolt the aluminum to a steel frame. While dissimilar metals can be a bit of a problem, i don't think it's much of an issue in this application. I simply don't have any nice sheets of steel laying around. I like using parts i have on hand rather than buying new.




Next i have to run to town and spend money! I need sprockets, and new chain, and hydraulic hoses. while i'm at it i'll also change the hydro and engine oil. I hope that the chain and the hydraulic lines are standard sizes that i can find them at tractor supply. The current drive sprocket has 48 teeth, so i plan to start with the same on the hydro's. If it doesn't make enough torque, then i'll be forced to buy smaller sized sprockets.


Since this machine was built by a company that at one time was french-canadian the sprockets may be some crazy metric size in which case i'll have to purchase two sets.

 

[ironpony]

A+ for effort and ingenuity. I was not wanting to come across as being negative, just a different point of view. I look forward to the maiden run.

 

[greg13]

Keep a close eye on the Aluminum for cracks, I am not sure if it will hold up to the constant torque changes.

Greg

 

[Lapeer20m]

I wish i had more time to devote to this project, but i worked 72 hours this week, plus i have family obligations. When i was a younger man, i would work 20 hours straight on these sort of crazy projects.

I "mounted" the sprocket to the motor. The sprocket still needs to be trued and welded.

I cut a hole in the aluminum plate:




and mounted the motor to the plate:



Then i set the plate on the honey badger in order to mock up exactly where it should rest. I obviously need to cut off the excess aluminum plate, but i didn't have the proper cutting tool handy tonight.









Next i have to actually mount the aluminum plate and repeat the process for the other side. Then pretty much all i have to do is connect the hydraulic lines and take it for a test drive.

Total spent so far is about $130.00. I have reconsidered, and i am hoping to NOT purchase new hydraulic lines. Mine do not have the standard fittings found at tractor supply. Buying them from a custom hydraulic hose shop will probably cost another hundred bucks.

 

[Lapeer20m]

A couple more photos....

here is showing the size of the new sprocket compared to the stock tire. I was wrong and the tire is 16" in diameter. The drive sprocket is only 8", so there is more gear reduction than i originally anticipated. Hopefully the speed is still adequate.



another "perspective" photo. both sprockets are the same size, 8" in diameter and 48 tooth iirc.



There is no gearbox or anything complicated. The final drive sprocket is connected to a 1 inch shaft that is supported by industrial grease-able bearings. The shaft turns the 8 inch cog that drives the track.

The red arrows point to the shiny metal drive cog which is connected directly to the drive sprocket inside the honey badger.



The track has a little bit of slack in it that should provide enough shock absorption for the drivetrain. The track is goodyear conveyor belt with "teeth" bolted on the inside that interface nicely with the drive cog. It is a beautifully simple setup.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Been too busy to work on the machine until today.

I made great progress! The pumps are mounted, sprockets welded, and chains connected.

I crudely mounted the engine/pumps so I could connect the hydro lines and take her out for a test drive.

I wouldn't call it a failure, but the test drive left a lot to be desired. The mounts for the hydraulic motors are simply too flimsy. They flex enough to allow the chains to slip and eventually pop off the sprockets.

I will reinforce the mounts and install idler sprockets for the chain.
She seemed to have plenty of power, but we will learn more after the motor mounts are fixed...

 

[scooby074]

A PasseParTout! Friggin sweet!

Interesting on the hydraulic conversion. I likely would have tried to find a used Skidoo clutch locally to sub in.

There are other similar rigs that are hyd powered, like Cushman Tracksters. The shop manual is available online for them if your curious and need some advise.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Two steps forward one step back....

I reinforced the mounting brackets and created a makeshift idler sprocket and took her for a test drive.

She drove awesome! Steering was exactly what I had hoped it would be. I could even turn one track forward while spinning the opposite track in reverse.

Then the engine stopped abruptly. Something really bad happened. The engine will not turn, not even with a 3 foot cheater bar attached to the crank.

I decided this was a great time to stop for lunch.

I have a significantly smaller engine I can mount for now but not sure if I have the appropriate sized pulley. The two engines have different sized crankshafts of course. The new engine may not have enough hp.

Time to start searching Craigslist.

Grrr!

Here is a video of the old drivetrane.

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[ironpony]

Ouch, do you think it was coincidence? I do. I think if it was a power issue it would of just stalled. Sounds like it was operating good until then, did the hydros seem to be straining at all?

 

[Flatbedford]

Maybe there's some kind of binding between the hydro pump and the engine and not engine failure?

 

[ironpony]

Maybe there's some kind of binding between the hydro pump and the engine and not engine failure?

good call might of blown up the hydro pump

 

[Lapeer20m]

SUCCESS!

she is far from finished, but I have proof of concept now.

The new temporary engine is from a push lawnower. It's a Briggs intek 6.5 hp. It runs wierd. I suspect that in its original configuration it uses the mower blade to supplement the lightweight flywheel.

It's slow and I'm walking behind the honey badger using the commercial mower controls. The speed controls have a severely limited range of motion with this setup. When I get the power pack remounted and new controls it should travel at leadt as fast as a riding lawn tractor.

Here is a video from tonight's test :

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[Lapeer20m]

Maybe there's some kind of binding between the hydro pump and the engine and not engine failure?

That is a good thought. I removed the belt that drives the hydro pumps and was still unable to turn the engine over.

Ill tear it down someday and determine what failed and if its worth fixing. I cannot turn it either direction so I'm guessing a piston stuck in the cylinder or the crank spun a bearing. If it were a broken rod it would likely turn a few degrees one direction or the other.

 

[salecker]

Check behind the flywheel
I picked up a 6.5 hp Honda at our dump a few yrs ago,it was in a New Honda box.I reached in a tried to turn it and it was seized.But i'm a hoarder so i grabbed it for parts i have one one a packer and water pump.Fast forward about 8 months i'm board in my shop and decide to look at the Honda sitting in the box.Turns out one of the bolts from the tank had fallen out and wedged between the flywheel and block.It must of fallen out after the motor stopped because it never did any damage.It now powers my splitter.