Amphibious ATV
- Thread starter Don in LA
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Michaeljp86
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heres a duece
Michaeljp86
Member
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2008
- Messages
- 30
Heres a landing craft I seen at Ft Eustis
Thats me standing next to it. This thing was HUGE.
Thats me standing next to it. This thing was HUGE.
sparc
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- JD 4410, NH TC-25, Bobcat M610, JD X534, Dig-It Model 158, JD Ztrak 737. 6X4 Gator
The H1, which is the civilian version of the HUMVEE and was known as the Hummer before GM got involved and screwed things up, CAN do deep water (over 30") IF fitted with a snorkle on the intake and the exhaust is raised above the roof line. BUT, it was not designed for that and will suffer some damage to electronics and some electrical circuits, namely thise above 36".
When the HUMVEEs and Hummers are coming down the assembly line they start out the same. But about half way down the line splits right where the wiring harness and the firewall get installed. The wiring harness is completely waterproof on the HUMVEE and the firewall is different than the Hummer. The HUMVEE also does not have the creature comforts that people want in their Hummer like A/C, AM/FM/CD, electric windows, etc. So none of those items are designed to be submerged. But everything below 36" in a Hummer can go fully submerged without damage. The axles are vented to above 36" and there is a pressure equalization system to stop water from migrating in to submerged components like the tranny, axles, geared hibs, etc.
I drove my Hummer a number of times through 30" deep water for over a mile. To drive a river bed you need to pull the drain plugs in the floor and let the truck fill with water which means you will be wet up to about your waist (depending on how you have the seat height adjusted). When you drive out onto land the truch has better than 150 gallons of water inside, both sides of the transmission tunnel will be full of water to about 20" deep. You have to let the water drain out before moving as you are very heavy at that point. But in the water you need this to keep the truck from floating away. Its loads of fun, just make sure you didn't leave anything of value on the back seat or on the floor.
handirifle
Veteran Member
OK thanks for that, some things I wasn't aware of.
deuces stock can handle 3' of water stock, ~7' if equipped with a snorkle and the proper equipment. I have a deuce and would not reccommend it for your application, sure it will work but the amount of work needed when the axles are submerged as per the TM's is in my opinion not worth willingly driving the vehicle into water. I had a situation where there was a hazard of something that justified the day of work replacing fluids, checking the entire vehicle over and ensuring it is road worthy, i would drive it submerged. steelsoldiers is a great source for information on mv related things. you might want a vehicle that does not require ground traction and actually floats, like an argo,max,terra tiger, due to the possibility of underwater obstacles where you may get a wheel stuck, if your driving on a road then that is a different story but the video abve shows what happens when the tires break free of the ground, the vehicle starts to drive even in modest currents.
the men in those trucks were a few reporter/photograhpers, and a few state police as well as the 3-4 national guard memebers, if i remember correctly they were disaplined as it was not a rescue and they were sight seening and then man that drifted away started to drown. they placed additional rescuers in danger as they violated the #1 rule in driving across water, know the exact depth and profile, for the exact reason in the video.
the guy in the m35a3 is just nuts but you can see there is no current visable and he keeps the water below the windshield for the most part
the men in those trucks were a few reporter/photograhpers, and a few state police as well as the 3-4 national guard memebers, if i remember correctly they were disaplined as it was not a rescue and they were sight seening and then man that drifted away started to drown. they placed additional rescuers in danger as they violated the #1 rule in driving across water, know the exact depth and profile, for the exact reason in the video.
the guy in the m35a3 is just nuts but you can see there is no current visable and he keeps the water below the windshield for the most part
power trac has a amphibious utv that you might want to take a look at. I have never tried out one but I was at the factory in Tazwell Va. when I was trying out a pt425 there was about three men trying out one of them and it seemed to do good on hills. They took it down into a creek bed but it was dried up, but it climbed back up out of the creek bed without any problems. It is supposed to float and propell itself across water.
Bladehauler
Gold Member
I have a MAX 4 that I picked up last summer for $300 .I need to rework the engine and some other Items. But my point is you can find them cheap if you look hard.You can also get kits that mount 2 trolling motors on the back for better water use.
