Driving only front axles or front two axles with rubber tracks?

[Atvmodster]

Hey guys. We decided to pull our old 750 hdi out of storage and go through it thoroughly. Got engine out, chains off and tomorrow will start taking axles out. I remember before we parked it i was always fighting chain wind up. Has anyone every tried just driving front axles or front two axles and letting back two axles free wheel with rubber tracks? With enough track tension i would think it would drive fine. But maybe two much strain on front chains? Used to see adair track tuners but cant seem to find much about them nowadays. This allowd the middle two axles to free wheel. Maybe this will not work at all but i figured its at least looking into. Any input is welcomed! Thanks

[Noel Woods]

If you have good track tension you should be fine with two driven axles, and maybe even if you had one. From my experience as an Officer in the U.S. Army, I can tell you that nearly all tracked military vehicles ever produced relied on one drive sprocket to turn the tracks. Track tension has to be spot on to make it work. I have ran a Max 2 with the rear two axles powered (front chains off) with tracks and the difference was minimal compared to all axles being powered.
I have a yellow Argo Frontier 8x8 with Adair tracks and track tuners on the middle axles. This machine goes everywhere in the thickest gumbo mud swamps of east Texas and has never been stuck, maybe high centered a couple of times and walked out eventually with some rocking side to side. I also have a Cusham Traxster Swamp model, hydraulic power to a drive sprocket with rubber tracks. This machine goes all over the place as well even with rubber tracks.
I think you will be fine if you go as you indicate. I would make an experimental run to verify if your setup delivers as you think.
Getting back to my Argo with track tuners, the Adair folks designed those to alleviate the problems 8X8s have with chain binding. It works great and my chains have never been binded up. I know they still produce the tuners too and everyone I know who has them swear by them.

[john swenson]

glad you brought this up modster and got to hear noel's reply , he knows alot about tracks . i run half tracks on my max 2 ( back 2 tires ) and when i put them on soon i'm going to remove the back chains just to see how well the tracks do . i know they need to be fairly tight .. i may get a little tire slippage in wet snow or slippery mud . it will be fun just to run a test .i will let you know how it does' johnboy va.

[tbone9]

On my Max IV I have run off of only the back wheels. It’s a lot easier on the chains and worked well in deep snow. The only reason I changed it to two wheels is if I throw a track I can still move. When all three were driving the chain wind up was horrible even with exact same tire circumstances. Like Noel says every crawler is driven from one.

[Atvmodster]

Adair no longer makes the track tuners. I called today and was told after covid the company that built them can no longer build them. Other companies to pricey to build them. I have a local machine shop that will build them if i choose to go this route. After i get all bearings replaced i might try running just front axles first to see what happens.
Im thinking it might be to much stress for them short chains that run front axles..

[john swenson]

i'm not sure what size the axles are on a 750 hdi ...any way to replace the original hubs with one like it that has bearings in it ? then it would freewheel like a track tuner . how are the hubs fastened to the axle ? pinned or welded ? jboy

[Atvmodster]

Hubs are welded To 1.25 inch axles. I thought about getting machine shop to make
Middle two axle sprockets to sit on bearings and free wheel On shafts. But i like the idea of building tuners better. Very easy to go back to 8 wheel drive if a guy takes tracks off.

[ARGOJIM]

Let us know how you make out.
I think I would go Tuners before front 4, I believe the tendency to throw a track is more likely and with no rear drive no real way to suck it back on.
All the front driven machines are cog driven in and track is generally in a defined section of track with hard rollers.

[Atvmodster]

Im gunna index tires correctly and try removing rear chains. Run front 6 tires. By having one end freewheel might help. Ill give a try and let ya guys know

[Avenger Bob]

Interesting, that’s the solution to wind-up (removing the chains to the back axle) that Argo recommends. Should be worth a try.

[Buzz]

corner tires are critical for driving your track. With a rear tire (or worse yet the back 2 tires) disabled. You?ll slip inside and fail to drive track in higher load scenarios. Yes track tension will help, but tracks that are overly tight suffer more damage to the tracks themselves, hinges, corner bearing lifespan, tweaked frames, and broken axle flanges. Being as the inside of the track is smooth, you?d have to have that thing bow-string tight and then some to get it to drive reliably. I?d be worried big time about the front axle and chain. It would stretch quickly , begin drooping into the face of front sprocket and binding under heavy load maneuvers. Lifespan on the front chain would be pretty bad I think.
Unfortunately your rubber track has a high slip load under the middle tires. Just gotta index tires properly. Other tracks have a significantly lower slip load under the middle tires.

[john swenson]

always good info ... thanks buzz , jboy

[North Country Tough]

Interesting, that’s the solution to wind-up (removing the chains to the back axle) that Argo recommends. Should be worth a try.

I have ran the rubber tracks for near twenty years in snow only and had good luck with tires indexed and the center tires reversed and air pressure set as per argo spec and no issue once in a while thru the winter I knock back the adjusters a notch or two and let them reset driving without the full complement of tires what if you get a flat on your drive tire you are walking I have had flats and drove out cautiously and got back home everytime.NCT