This evening, I went out for a walk before making dinner and I saw the ARKTOS vehicle doing some more demonstrations. As you can see, it really does float in spite of its size and weight. Here, they were just going back and forth demonstrating the maneuverability before heading back to the beach.
I had seen the their video earlier showing how easily it pulled itself up on the beach but seeing it first hand was pretty impressive. The beach here is really loose gravel and it is pretty difficult to even walk on. With a four wheeler, you need to keep your speed up to avoid getting bogged down. The hydraulic coupler between the two units is used to transfer weight where there is more traction and the water jet units are also used to help push the unit up onto the shore.
Posted with Blogsy
Wow, that's pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteIt is an amazing, flexible vehicle. On one of their videos it was functioning as an ice breaker to make a path for a tanker.
DeleteThat's what I was going to say Kari.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Richard, it really is neat. I can only imagine how cool it is to behold up close and personal.
After hearing their presentation, it actually looks smaller up close and personal. The interior is pretty cramped with the exception of the pilots seat.
DeleteYep. What bluekat said. It would be neat to see in person. How much does it chew up the tundra?
ReplyDeleteLike any tracked vehicle, it is pretty hard on the ground but then again, that's not what it's designed for. If there is no ice, there are other options available. If there is broken ice or lots of rubble and ridges, much fewer options.
DeleteThey show it crossing muskeg which is really swampy tundra and it doesn't sink far i.e. lots of surface area. They did point out that a year after the video was made, you couldn't see that it had been driven there.
Technology will save us! Did not the locals use sealskins to similar effect?
ReplyDeleteIn this case, technology seems to be also causing the problems that we need saving from...
DeleteSkin boats are still in regular use up here for whaling.
Cool vehicle!
ReplyDeleteIt'll even go where a Ural can't.
DeleteRichard it is a very interesting looking vehicle and if I saw it on land and you told me it would float I'd say, you're kidding right? Not sure if you told us before but was is it's purpose other than to amaze us with its amphibiousness (is that a word?)
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't look like it it floats as well as it does. It is designed to be a multi-purpose vehicle for use in the arctic and can be configured with cranes, drilling rigs, side looking radar, oil spill response or in the configuration demonstrated here, search and rescue. Like anything else, they had to make compromises such as balancing size and weight and fuel/cargo capacity.
DeletePlus, it's Canadian. That should make it awesome by definition...
DeleteThe space arm and the ARCTOS (just to mention 2). Go Canadian techies!
DeleteMore accurately, production is in Canada but headquarters is in Luxembourg and sales is in Switzerland.
DeleteMy response was much the same as others: Cool. I would like to see it in action.
ReplyDelete~k
My previous post has a link to one of their YouTube videos of a demonstration in northern Canada.
DeleteRichard:
ReplyDelete3 pages down, is that an Arktos ?
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=816300
doesn't look so huge on the truck
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
My Flickr // My YouTube
I couldn't find anything on page 3 but did see a yellow one on page 12 when they were heading south on the Dalton Hwy. It looks like the smaller version of the one I saw in Barrow. They mentioned that BP had a couple in Prudhoe Bay. Much smaller passenger capacity and about half the GVWR.
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