I just happened to stumble upon this forum, but I've been romping tractors for years and its really nice to see a community with the same obsession . I basically took a Bolens 850 put 23" wheels in the front and custom built a tracked rear end. Then after some thought I turned it into a troop carrier for airsoft. Two hobbies for the price of one! Unfortunately I recently returned the Bolens into its original condition scrapping the rear track unit, it was a little unreliable. I don't mean to deter those who want tracks, but tracks are a WHOLE different animal compared to wheels. picture of basic frame
video
I also have more pictures if guys are interested of how the tracked unit worked.
richie thomas Veteran Member
1000+ Posts
1000+ Posts!
2014 Build-Off Entrant
2014 Build-Off Entrant
Age : 29 Join date : 2011-08-04 Points : 6423 Posts : 1434 Location : east dublin georgia
im very interested lol this would be good for me in the swamps lol i actually was thinkin of how to build solid aluminum wheels that float, kinda like the tractor on ax men
Here is how the track system works: The wheels support the load of the vehicle, but the guidance system itself is done using a piece of u channel to prevent wear on the wheels (plus it helps keep the track from coming off alot better than using the wheels). The drive is transferred from the transaxle to cage & pinion sprocket (rods on drive wheel engage into the track guides). The tracks themselves are wood screwed onto conveyor with steel pads. The choice of wood for a track material was the ultimate downfall and led me to return the Bolens to its original condition. pictures
Hope everyone here in the US had a safe and fun 4th of July!
Stretch44875 Administrator
500+ Posts
500+ Posts
Age : 50 Join date : 2012-04-05 Points : 5724 Posts : 959 Location : Mansfield, Ohio