ATV Swamp Rig

[Dane]

The hunting setup in my Gator worked so well my father is setting up an ATV similarly.

The roof sheeting is leftover aircraft aluminum to keep weight down while the frame is EMT steel tubing. The underside of the canopy is lined with fire resistant foil faced sound insulation and the windscreen is 1/4" Lexan. Well, if you're stuck driving and not doing the shooting you might as well be out of the rain and wind.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2015/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%204_zpsexopytwe.jpg

Up in back is a 360 degree swiveling shooting chair. There is an arm that swivels with the chair to provide a rest for when shooting. That coupled with the roof will hopefully prevent the person in back from pointing their gun in a stupid direction (at the driver). There is a 360 foot bar so the hunter can rotate their seat hands free. When there is nobody in the back seat everything is lower than the roof.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2015/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%201_zpszqw0azks.jpg

On the back is a "critter hoist" powered by a small winch mounted on the back of the ATV. It has worked well for deer. You can back up to the animal and strap it onto the frame while it's at ground level. Then hit the button and lift the animal. The second picture shows the crittler platform in the full up position.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2015/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%202_zpspye07pun.jpg

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2015/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%203_zpstuqcizgb.jpg

[Dane]

This vehicle will be taken to southern Florida to be used for hog and alligator hunting. So up front we knew it was going to need better floatation and after riding around in the shooting chair vehicle stability is on your mind. Initially dual wheel all around were planned. After testing with someone in the shooting chair it's amazing how much it unloads the front. So much so that steering is noticeably compromised. It's not an issue when driving straight or in moderate turns but there is a lot of pushing when turning sharply.

Dad has the hardware half machined for the tandem wheel installation for the rear tires. It's going to have 25" Ancla's like shipped stock on many Gators. Inboard will be 11" wide and outboard will be 10" wide ones donated from my XUV-550.

Initially the front will wear a standard sized single tire on each side. If that's not a floatation they'll be swapped out for 11" wide tires but we're thinking/trying to avoid duals on the front.

---
I forgot to mention that the base machine is a 2002 Artic Cat 500i automatic. I'm curious to see if it has enough power and belt drive to handle slogging through the swamp. I've been on a burning full size swamp buggy and don't want to repeat the experience.

[Dane]

Since we're not sure how the machine will drive with duallys my dad went with something quick that could be made with scrap material already in the shop. First came some custom lug nuts. Taller than stock and threaded all the way through to space out past the curvy features of the Artic Cat rims.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%20Duals%201_zpszgtwyvh8.jpg

Since this is test of concept at this point he's using my extra set of wheels and tires from my XUV550. The intermediate aluminum plate handles the transition from one bolt pattern to the other.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%20Duals%202_zpsv7gw30wx.jpg

The ghetto dually rig works! You certainly feel safer riding in the shooting chair seeing those tires out there knowing it's less likely to tip over.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/ATV%20Swamp%20Rig%20Duals%203_zpskys620mq.jpg

Driving around you can really tell why you don't see ATV's with duallys very often. Without a differential in the back end turning is a wrestling match. On pavement you can clearly hear the tires scruffing. On the lawn turning is better but it's destructive. It also takes a noticeable bit of engine power to turn as you're fighting the tires and forcing some to slip.

For swamp testing I'll probably siphon down my pond. One end is relatively shallow and will be exposed by taking the water down a couple feet. Attach a chain to the ATV and I'll send dad out onto the muck and see what happens from the safety/cleanliness of the recovery tractor.

The next step is to put my 11" wide Ancla's on the front and move the 9" wide ones currently on the front to the outboard rear. Since most of the riding in Florida is on top of the levees I'm thinking it might be better to preserve the firm ground handling and save the swamp for a airboat. Maybe have 11" wide tires on the front and look for superwide tires to run as singles on the back.

[jcummins]

Mad Max at work here.

[Bunky]

Dane, you can do so much.