Mudd-ox questions

[George"Bubba"Hunt]

I also will be ordering my Mudd Ox with the low gears. Sometimes I do have to travel several miles from bog to bog, but the low end speed will fit my use of packing moose.
Actually I really wasn't aware of anyplace that I could go that fast up here.??
I'll gladly give up the speed for heavy-packing in bad ground. The low end gears are a lot easier on the CVT too. Most of the time I'm creeping through deep grass loaded with stumps , down fall trees and deep sink holes. Hitting those things fast usually ends up with broken stuff along with missing teeth and a dislocated head. Those things I usually try to avoid due to the excessive pain invloved. I hate to admit it, but I have gone from the swamps straight to the emergency room more than once.
Bubba

[akexpress]

Hancock
I think your machine has actually got the high gear set. Your top speed is going to be influenced by tire pressure and the ground surface. Matt probably determined top speed on pavement with max tire pressure and one person in the machine.

[hancock]

My Ox is the higher gearing. I understand some folk's needs and wants for the low gearing, but as I stated earlier the higher speed was my particular desire. I spend a little time on roads in between trails and specifically wanted the higher top end available. It WAS a selling feature for me.

I am aware of the tire pressure/surface variances. The tires are a little on the low side as far as pressure goes and I will top them off and check it again to see how much difference that makes. I seriously doubt if tire pressure and gravel versus pavement will make a 25% difference, but we'll see. I may be a little overweight, but not that much larger than your average "one" person in the machine.

Anyhow....just passing along info as it becomes available for those inquiring minds out there.

Hancock

*Update*
just went 5 psi in all eight tires. A couple were on the low side, (1psi or so and most were around 3 to 4.5). No significant difference. I still reached roughly 18mph as a flat surface top end speed. I would still like to solicit some examples from other folks with the high gearing just to get a rough estimate of what others are experiencing

[AKfishhunter]

I will get the GPS out later this weekend and I'l get you some feedback. I remember having a GPS in the Ox on one of the first rides we went on. I had four adults in my red one- which has top, windshield, and all the bearing extensions- and I saw 19MPH - that was also in about 2" of snow. The Black Tracked Machine was getting 14 MPH also with 4 adults. So, I didn't think much of it but I will take mine out on a solo speed trial and get back to you.

[hancock]

that would be great. thanks. I've been talking with Matt a little here lately about this and the speed mine is exhibiting seems to be more in line with the low gearing. It came to mind that maybe somehow that is what wound up in mine. I'm going to check it out when I've got the time and see if that happened somehow accidentally. 22, 23mph.......something like that, I could see, but 17/18 seems to be quite a bit off. I'll keep you guys posted on what I come up with.

Something else I learned today, (per Matt), which is good to know. The hydraulics get their biggest workout on a straight cruise at close to top end speed, vs. heavy maneuvering, (back and forth with the sticks), at lower speeds. This may not be news to some, but was a little surprising to me. I saw hydraulic temps around 210 or so and was a little concerned at first. According to Matt, the cooling system should keep it below 220 and the higher temps in this realm of operation are expected. That seems to be how it played out. The Ox cranked out some serious heat from under the seat, as well, at this longer cruise.

I know it ain't a cruising machine, but like I said earlier, I spend a little time on the roads sometimes and am still figuring out all of the operating parameters.

[tracmaster]

High gear would be my choice..May only get 10-12 mph with low gears and the higher rpm may cause her to run hot all the time.

Question.. Is it the horsepower rating of the engine or is it the rpms of the engine that inturn runs the pump that produces power to the hydro motors? Can the same speed and torque be gotten from a smaller motor?

Tracmaster

[akexpress]

The hydraulic pump is run by a belt driven CVT so it is a combo of hp and rpms. I don't think a smaller motor would offer any advantages. We have been playing with clutching on my tracked machine with some significant improvements in power and lower hydraulic temps without sacrificing top end.
It is possible your secondary clutch is not opening all the way which would lower the top end in theory. Our tracks do affect this in a huge way so it may not correlate directly as our tracks have so much traction that more power is better and we don't try and go flat out that often but instead have tried to climb crazy places and very deep snow etc. As spring has arrived here slowly we have removed the tracks and can't wait for some Alaska mud to play in.

[hancock]

We have been playing with clutching on my tracked machine with some significant improvements in power and lower hydraulic temps without sacrificing top end.

whadaya mean? Have you actually done mechanical modifications, or do you mean you have been playing with clutching as in "throttle and stick technique"?

Also.....re. tracmaster's question. I'm pretty sure a smaller engine would equate to less volume produced through the hydraulics and in turn less response and top end. Not my forte', but that seems to me how it would play out.

[akexpress]

as in spring tension in the secondary driven clutch.. After some more testing on tires then we can be more definitive as to what works best but I will keep you informed. And yes I agree a smaller motor would not be desirable.

[B.M.]

I made a post about some of the limited experience I have seen with the mudd-ox. Iwasn't bashing it but was wanting to know if they worked out the problems with the body cracking. The demo unit I saw ran great and was a strong customer until going into the swamp and hitting either a beaver staub or a cypress knee. The body material flexed beyond tolerance and busted out a good sized hole and could have eventually flooded the whole engine compartment if someone hadn't had an avenger there to pull it out.

This to me looked like a small design flaw that could be fixed easily. If it hasn't been addressed though I wouldn't even consider one because thats the kind of stuff I ride in and the argos that i have been around have never had a problem like that.

I'm not bashing the mudd-ox because I think it was a truly sweet machine but I'm really wanting to know how they addressed this before I make such a large purchase. Any help with answers advice would be greatly appreciated. BM