I saw that a long time ago and wondered the same thing. You would think that a version with the propelling "fins" raised some more would work really well in mud, too.
Of course for mud or other applications the chassis/engine combination could be something much more lightweight than a tractor.
Nice toy!
With the right drums and geometry you could potentially even run it on water.
> Nice toy!
>
> With the right drums and geometry you could potentially even run it on water.
It has been done. for some reason it didn't do to well, commercially.:-P
Sir Edmund Hillary To The South Pole
In 1958 as a part of a British Antarctic crossing New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary (First to climb Mount Everest) was engaged to lay supply stations from one direction. Ther equipment was standard diesel Ferguson farm tractors with tracks over the wheels pulling sledges. Hillary was only supposed to do the supply stations but one should not ask a hero to play a supporting roll. He instead continued on to the South Pole to await the British. The first to do so overland since Scott did it in 1921.
I remember this vividly from the all advertising brochures. My father was a Massey-Harris-Ferguson farm equipment dealer. As I recall they were model TO-35s with 3 cylinder Perkins diesel engines. They were amazingly efficient having won the Nebraska Tractor Tests for most working horsepower per gallon of fuel. The firm started in Canada and they made tractors in plants in the US, Belgium and throughout the British Commonwealth. Parts from any plant were totally interchangeable.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/dash-pole-tractor
Many tractors were in fact equipped with half tracks for use in boggy conditions. In winter the front wheels were replaced with skis for use on snow. Those open top windscreens were standard on farm tractors in winter, full cabs did not appear until 10 years later. The only modification was to lock the steering wheel, add the idler wheel and tracks. Steering was acomplished using the separate left/right brake pedals. Once started the engines were never shut off for several weeks.
Paul in PA
That used to be my old pickup line.
High wear on the drums and flights. Wide tracks would give the same flotation and the grousers would not be slipping on the surface to wear them out. Only the pins, bushings and rails would be the high wear points and hardened steel would give many hours of use. Snow cats use tracks designed for snow with little track wear.
jud