OT wifey amazes me AGAIN

they do well even on uneven terrain. its only the really rocky areas that seem to get em.

if youve got back troubles already, i think the lack of suspension would answer that question.

the ones i looked at used a long chain that powered each side. there is no articulation since there is no suspension. to build a machine like the argo except with a suspension/articulation i think youd end up with a $20,000+ machine and thats out of range for most. the closest to fit that need (assuming you dont need floatation) would be the 6x6 ranger

Well you are the Rock Rider after all. I've seen the pics of what you go up and down and it's way out of my skill level. Be interesting to see how well a side by side does. I'd be very interested to see how well the Rhino does in water and Mud. I guess where you ride you don't have much of either.

Yeah once you get onto the nasty stuff but here there were/are a lot of wooded trails. So on some sections you can open it right up. Too fast and you'll eat a tree for certain. We don't have rocks like you do. But like you I am considering a move and like to keep my opions open.

Around here except for the big 4x4's it's all swingarm stuff as we mostly have trails. I used to ride them. Now everything is built up or private property. I think in something like the Rhino the way to go is an Independant suspension. The ACT suspension is similar IIRC. For trails either would be good as you can't get going really fast. At least not until they open up.

I looked atthe Ranger and it looks like a serious machine. The Rhino seems to have better articulation but how well these do in mud or handle still water and small streams will really be the key as well as the degree of incline/decline that they can handle. I've seen the pics of the Rhino going up some steep stuff and I doubt the Argo's could go up anything that steep. I'd imagine you'd have looked at those as well as the other ATV's.

That is what the Argo needs something on that level for speed and power. I guess Kawi now has a 700 as well.

I can imagine many guys will justify either the Ranger or the Rhino by using it as a plow vehicle. I'm not married anymore so I can buy what I like. I just have to tow it to where I want to go. Throw some chains onto either add some sand bags into the back and it should plow really well. You'll need that when you get up to South Dakota. Great info tho, thanks.

That's pretty impressive if it does almost as well as your Cat. Probably be a good idea to add a snorkel onto it and waterproof the engine a bit. Now snow is a whole nother matter. :)

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 02:04:48 GMT, "Nathan Collier" wrote:

Nathan many of the newer CD players offer buffering I had one a while bac that had like 60 seconds of buffering. I didn't believe the guy at Best Buy so he's like go ahead shake it up. So I shook it up like a beer on a hot day. no skips at all. but CD's honestly suck for off roading. Most guys I used to hitthe pits with had tape because it didn't get ruined as quick. Even with buffering all the pounding the CD takes will throw the laser out of whack. Your best bet is to get an MP3 player that is digital no skips and less stuff to vibrate loose. But back when I used to work at the Airport. You's see all the sea planes needing their electronics replaced radios 4 tiimes as much as tarmac only craft Ditto for stuff that lands on fields or gravel. My advice buy a cheap tape player or a Digital MP3 player you will lose both in time to vibration. As much as you hate Hummers. Check out a full blown Military version and look at the center radio mount. The springs on that are incredicle and that's to keep the radios from being pounded while off road. Even with that they don't last long. If you have a Boat/U.S near you for Marine supply get a waterproof tape player no electronics are really waterproof but they can handle being splashed. That way when it dies and for certain it will you won't have thrown away a lot of dough on an expensive CD system that will last just a few outings. If you go with a CD get a portable unit as they can take much more of a pounding than like an in dash unit. You get more buffering as well.

I remember the Banana Splits having fun in them. No rocks but they looked fun.

Yeah good point!

I think I'd just go for an M29 Weasel you get everything the Argo offers including floataion plus you can knock over small trees! Top speed is only 35 mph but it was a heck of a tracked scout car. Kinda big for tight trails but smaller than a short bed pickup truck. I believe they had boegy wheel suspension too! My trouble is I have to tow whatever I buy. I think a Rhino is at the upper reaches of my tow ability wth a light trailer.

agreed. the biggest factor in my decision was that i dont like the polaris front drive system. many swear by it and think its great and i know its effective, i just dont like it.

the rhino articulates MUCH better, especially considering that the rear of the ranger is on a swing arm. the 6x6 ranger is unstoppable in mud because you have 6 wheels pulling. i think theyre about equal in incline/decline with the ranger having the edge on traversing since its so wide. thats not saying the rhino is "tippy", it sure doesnt seem that way......just that the ranger is as wide as a house so basic physics dictates that it would be harder to roll although neither would roll easily.

they sell arctic cat sleds for that. :-)

the rhino is 1049 pounds. my jeep had no problem pulling it even at 70mph on the interstate.

once upon a time pioneer used to make a cd player specifically for trucks for off roading. were these any better about holding up?

Why what is different about it? I know with the big Kawi you hold a lever in to keep it locked in. But isn't Polaris a push button deal where it's a sort of LSD 4x4?

Well wasn't the original idea behind the HumVee that if it was wide enough soldiers wouldn't roll them like they did the Willy's style Jeep? I don't see why anyone would want a 6x6 unless they were using it on a farm but if all 6 wheels are powered that would give it some serious pulling power. No doubt if you hit mud all the time then you really want mud tires on whatever you have. On traversing sometimes the machine can handle more than the operator can. Many people can't climb rocks like you can but the machine is capable.

No that's what they make Ski Doo's for. :) Still same position pretty much as a Quad even with the REV-1 design and now way can I afford an Elite. But 150HP for a side by side sled. That has got to have some serious speed on the straights!

Yeah but on most cars the default rating is 1,000 pounds that's including the trailer. My car is rated to tow 1,000 pounds according to the dealer. For me it was a compromise vehicle as it has AWD. If I drove any more highway miles I'd probably look at getting a Toyota Prius 55MPG highway 60MPG city Yeah it gets better in the city but 55mpg is real good on the highway. If I could cut the driving down then it wouldn't matter.

Some CD players have some really good vibration dampening in them. These are the ones they install in 4x4's and boats. Boats will beat the s*it out of electronics. You might be better off to buy a portable and then plug it into a set of speakers. The Scooter riders have setups like that where they plug a digital MP3 player into the speakers which are waterproof. Probably similar to a motorcycle. of course the problem is volume since it's not a boosted signal. The first time you see the water reaching up high enough to enter your CD player is going to dampen your fun if it's an install type. At leastthe Boat/U.S stores are honest and tell you waterproof really means that if you drop a portable radio into a wet bilge it *might* still work. We no longer have a Boat/U.S. store nearby or I'd swing in and ask them for you. You are better off getting 2 cheap Digital MP3 players and head phones. Of course your daughter might be too young for that. Just remember if it can get wet it will. Oh and I did drop that radio I bought into about 3 feet of water and it still worked. Nice thing about a Boat radio is you have 10-12 weather stations that update you literally every 5 minutes on the weather and with incredible accuracy. You will only get 2-3 stations unless you live in a lakes Region but each station covers a particular area.

It can float pretty good It's rated for two people in water but I did have three LARGE people in it with no worries. True it wouldn't handle rough choppy water too well. But it is rated for a 9.9 outboard

Look closely it's got a extra wheel "in the middle" :-) unlike a Quad or Jeep

Argos also make an 8 wheeler. There is another company that makes a machine similar "Max" I believe is the name of it.

Tracks are only needed for floatation on the snow. The 6x6 drive has a LOT of traction.

I wouldn't recommend making it faster. I think it's too fast in the bush already

It goes through mud just as well as going through the Loon s**te

No No cars can make it to the camp. But getting to the field were the deer dropped That's where it truly shines. My hunting buddy's love the machine as they never have to drag deer out of the bush again.

Understood, this machine is unique and a lot of people can't visualize what this machine can actually do (with the right operator of coarse) I just am curious since my

Truthfully the argo (to me anyways) is a piece of hunting equipment not a toy It sits in storage most of the year to be pulled out at the start of small game season. Then after deer back in storage. My Nephew use to bug me all the time to rip around in it (which I kinda disliked) Whew thankfully his fricken Dad bought him a dirt bike. Took a lot off pressure off the Argo.

My Ski Doo is my real toy

I agree Nathen. I'd prefer to go around those situations if possible (extreme rocks I mean. If I wanted to traverse those situations I'd build my Jeep up)

Could be eh :-)

Yes 4x4 quads. Floatation has a big part in it. Because it has six wheels it tends to stay on top of mud, Loon s**te etc...\ It only weighs 800 pounds. The first swamp I cross, leaves the quad on shore. I know this for sure, as a path I made across a small swamp a 4x4 quad tried to follow and he got stuck bad. I had to pull him out. heh heh I drove by,around that stuck quad a couple times just to piss him off. ;-) You had to be there.

I can see your concern on ground clearance but remember it's got six wheels not four. those two extra in the middle make a big difference.

It doesn't need more power. The drive system is the same as a snowmobile (primary secondary variable belt drive connected to a 2 speed gear box) in low range, I doubt you'd be able to stall it. You'd probably snap an axle before that happens.

In all honesty it's not perfect. you want to traverse deep snow...buy a long track ski doo you want to traverse large rocks.....build up a Jeep You want to traverse large rough bodies of water....get a boat. You want to get to that fresh venison...............buy all three above or get an ARGO.

Yea those Ski Doo Revs I've heard they revolutionized snowmobiling Hence the Rev...get it...:-) Got.... to .....have .....one!!!!!! The new rider position eliminates the bumps inherent with the older design. I think the Elites are rated for "almost" 100mph but alas it's only good for trail riding, I would guess. I'd hate to get stuck in deep snow with one of them monsters.

when you engage the front drive on any polaris, the front wheels still dont pull unless the machine senses rear wheel slippage. this is basically accomplished through using slightly different gear ratios (18% difference) front and rear with cams that dont engage so long as the front wheels are spinning as fast as the rear wheels. if the back tires slip almost 1/5 of a turn more than the front then the front cams lock in and the front wheels pull. as soon as there is no more rear wheel slippage the front cams disengage leaving you with 2 wheel drive again. while this does make steering a little easier, it takes away your ability to power steer on slick surfaces when youre moving at speed. with this system there is no 4 wheel engine braking either, its rear wheel only.

no, when the polaris locks in all 4 wheels pull. my problem with it is that it doesnt lock in when you tell it to. for some this isnt an issue. for me, when i lock it in front drive, i want the front wheels pulling right _then_. again, in all fairness it serves many well and they swear by the system. it just isnt the system for me.

yup. the same principle applies here.

cool points. :-) its also great for serious mudding. another advantage is that it has the longer wheel base for going up steep hills (rear wheels) but it also has a short wheel base for topping the hills (middle wheels) giving it an awesome breakover angle.

yeah.....thats pretty insane!

the ratings are typically conservative ratings with the idiot factor being factored in. with a little sense, you can safely tow a good bit above the rating. i think the 6x6 comes in around 1500 pounds and that plus the trailer weight would probably be pushing it. a 1049lb machine being towed on a 200lb trailer (mine is grossly over-built which you can see in the pictures) should be no problem.

lol....my brother in law did the same thing in his 6x6 ranger when my brother and i both buried our 4x4 atv's in the swamp. that was the first time that i ever considered a SxS to be "trail rated". :-)

Drive an ARGO 6x6 Bigfoot every day for work, customed to run RTK-GPS equipment for beach and dune surveys (read Heavy Duty roll cage bolted to the steel ladder frame and fog and search lights, etc). We haven't rolled it yet, but it's been amazingly close a couple times.

It definately has a top speed in the low to mid-twenties, but to be completely honest, that speed is pretty much the most I'd ever give it. With no suspension other than the bounch in 4psi tires, even a 2-inch drainage channel on the beach will smack your head against the windshield if you don't feather the throttle right. (Never mind the foot deep scour hole I found a couple weeks ago which launched the whole thing into the air)

As for wether or not it will chew through real mud, i have my doubts. It has no problem with sand, even dry fluffy stuff, and i've only seen it stuck once (co-worker got it centered on the ridge of a dune with the wheels hanging on either side). But if you lost forward motion and sat the body down on some thick mud, i think you'd have the same problem as with every other vehicle.

Now the fun one - it has very little freeboard. I think it will float longer than the engine will run, but I've never tested this theory. I've crossed small tidal lagoons with it, even before the roll cage, and you only have about 5 inches of freeboard. Anything with chop or real waves and you're in trouble.

So...

What's wrong:

Low clearance No Suspension Could use a bit more power in low range, but the speed's ok. Weak Alternator Low Freeboard Press-In Grease Nipples (pulled one out with the gun this morning)

What's right:

Amphibious Easy to drive Hauls a ton of stuff Pretty Low Maintenance (We flush the body out after each survey and re-grease because of sand, but I think we go a bit overkill. Grease is cheaper than metal though...)