Amphibious Tractor

Yesterday I took the tractor through the partially frozen swamp.  Does pretty good as an ice breaker!


Leak spotted comrade!!!

That thing is so awesome

But does it float?

prancstaman wrote:

But does it float?

In theory it should. I will bring along a life jacket and bailing jugs never the less once I test it in the deeper part of the swamp

Nice!!!

Went to the deepest part of the swamp, it was partially floating.  I think the tracks were partially touching the bottom whenever I shifted from side to the other.  No other leaks though after fixing that one!





One thing I noticed too is the steering brakes don't grab real well when they've been submerged for awhile.  Gotta do shallow turns to dry them off, after they dry, it does well.  A price for economy and simplicity I suppose.

Did some drawbar testing last night to test the hydraulic cylinder concept.  1,459 lbs of static drawbar pull.


Old cylinder dimensions: 3" bore x 1-1/4" rod
Soil Conditions: Semi-saturated vegetated sand and loam

Haven't measured the weight yet of the machine to give an accurate drawbar pull/vehicle weight ratio, but right now I am probably under 1.  I think 3/8" grousers might get me to the 1:1 ratio I am looking for.

Just curious, has anyone measured the drawbar pull of their wheeled tractors with ATV tires?

Lost my right steering brake.  Clump of swamp goo got caught up in the sprocket and snapped off the main brake line lol.


I think this is a sign to park it and start on MKII improvements and of course paint .

YIKES! Was you able to drive it back ok?

MightyRaze wrote:

YIKES!  Was you able to drive it back ok?

Just left turns like nascar!

Was able to get one coat of primer on this week. Next 10 days arent looking good temperature-wise, so I don't know when I will be able to spray the rest.

That looks good with the primer coat!  I forget what your final color was.  Still a super cool machine.

I hpe that wasnt a rattle can paint job. Thada taken a while!

Nice!

Looks great! Can't wait to see this thing done.

I like the front tow hooks.  I don't remember seeing those before.  I'm pretty since this thing is a tank you'll have to go with some kind of olive drag or dessert tan color for the top coat.  Or maybe a white and black winter camo pattern?

I like the tow hooks too. This thing is a beast.

So I put the first top coat on today and ran into a little issue, in some areas the paint is cracking when it drys.  I think it is a cleanliness issue because the writing from the steel paint markers also bled through from the plates.  I'm guessing when I start my second coat I can sand these areas down, re-clean and reapply paint?

TheBeal wrote:

I hpe that wasnt a rattle can paint job. Thada taken a while!

Haha, nah I used a harbor freight HVLP gun hooked to my 20 gallon compressor.  This is my first time spraying paint, it definitely is an art with getting the right viscosity and pattern.   Right now it looks like a Russian Navy paint job!  I'm sure with experience I will get better!

Crazy_Carl wrote:

I like the front tow hooks.  I don't remember seeing those before.  I'm pretty since this thing is a tank you'll have to go with some kind of olive drag or dessert tan color for the top coat.  Or maybe a white and black winter camo pattern?

Thanks.  I should post some pics of the Mark II updates.  The color I picked up was 'Jon Boat Green'.  It was the closest paint I could source locally that matched the color of old Soviet Iron

are you planning on roofing on some of it so the swamp splashes and rain don't get in.

A good paint job really comes down to how much prep work you put into it. At a minimum I usually hit all surfaces with a wire wheel on a grinder or drill and wipe the whole thing down with lacquer thinner before paint.

I've had that before. Even though I had thorough prep. Always on the 2nd or 3rd coat.

muckmudd wrote:

are you planning on roofing on some of it so the swamp splashes and rain don't get in.

Eventually I would like to build a cab, haven't decided if it will be a hard or soft-top.  I'm thinking the latter.  However, when I cab over the machine I have to think about where all my radiator heat will go.  Mr. Modified suggested using a remote radiator with electric fans so I can mount the rad to the side, which isn't a bad idea.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

good paint job really comes down to how much prep work you put into it. At a minimum I usually hit all surfaces with a wire wheel on a grinder or drill and wipe the whole thing down with lacquer thinner before paint.

I missed the step with cleaning with thinner .  I'm new to the whole painting side of things, so I will be learning alot when it comes to detailing.

Got the 2nd top coat on today while the weather was as close to 50° for the next week.  It's definitely not the best paint job out there but I kinda like the roughness of it, gives it character.

Canvas soft top? That could be cool looking.

lovin the green.

Yeah a beige canvas roll down top would look real classy.

TheBeal wrote:

Canvas soft top? That could be cool looking.

I second this!

Perfect color and yes the soft top is the way to go.  Maybe put in a mini bar for the ladies too.