Skid Steer ATV

Skid Steer ATV ATV'S ATV'S 15-5-21 New Zealand farmer-inventor Richard Treloar wanted a vehicle that would be strong and tough yet have the versatility of an ATV. He got that with his home-built "skid steer" farm buggy. Built from the ground up, the rig is powered by a 4-cyl. car engine yet it's no bigger than a standard 4-wheeler. It's fitted with four flotation ATV wheels, each of which is chain-driven by a driveshaft that runs across the center of the machine, positioned exactly between the wheels. Treloar simply used an auto rear end, with brake drums mounted on either end of the drive-shaft. Drive sprockets on either end of the driveshaft mount next to the drums. There's a chain on each side, running from the drive sprocket on the driveshaft to both of the wheels on each side. To steer, Treloar simply brakes either side, alternately stop-ping each drive chain so the rig skid-steers. He controls the steering with two levers in front of the operator's seat. Each lever controls a separate master cylinder. To stop, he activates both levers at the same time. The rig is fitted with an automatic transmission. "It's compact, powerful and easy to drive," says Treloar, who built the machine for his own use. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Richard Treloar, Front Miranda Rd., TD 6, Thames, New Zealand (ph 0843 73 314).

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