Wouldnt it be cool to have a system that could make your quad float in water? I mean that would be really useful for me, b/c I use mine around water. I know it would NEVER work, but it sounds possible, doesnt it. It would be very unstable, but if you actually got it to work, the possibilities are endless....
Hehe i think i just hit an all time low in idiotic ideas, but i had to share this one. I mean think of how useful it would be if your quad could cross lakes and stuff.

Oh well i guess ill stick to land, and yes, i know about argos and stuff. What im talkin about is a temporary thing.

 

Water weighs 62.4 lb/ft^3
Steel is 490lb/ft cubed.
I forgot what aluminum and poly ethylene is
I forgot what air density is, but it is negligible for this.


Anyway, forget everything but the water density.
All you gotta do float is displace 900lb (quad rider weight and some stuff) worth of water before you get halfway up the tires, about 14.4 cubic feet of air.

According to my rough calcs, 8 28x12 tires might float you to halfway up the tires.

 

Maybe someone could think of some kind of inflateable pods to mount front and rear (or in the wheels) so you wouldn't have to mount such huge tires.

Closed cell foam cylinders in the the center of the wheels? That might be easy to remove. You would need more volume than that. Strap foam chunks under the skid plates and running boards.

Hmmm. Sounds more fun than snorkling.

As far as stable goes, I used to design boats (and forgot most of what I knew), but the center of boyancy had something to do with the distance of the bouyant volume from the centerline. I probably would have to look it up to be clearer.

Bottom line is the further out your bouyant volume is from the center (both sideways and lenghtwise) the more stable it is. Flat barges are stable, log in river is not stable. It probably would be a good idea to be puncture resistant.

Steering would not be very responsive.

 

I am sure someone could rig some removable pontoons( make'em extend out so the do not interfere with the tires and have them horizontally centered at the hubs) at the floorboards or pegs.Mount the trolling motor to the back rack and get that pole and head to the fishin'hole.If you hooked a big catfish you'd have a time holding your ground w/out an anchor.It is ghetto,but I think it would be cool.

 

I saw a picture on a Canadian ATV site of someone crossing a lake with pontoons attatched to his quad and he had the canoe portage rack on the quad to carry the pontoon rig un-assembled. The picture wasn't real clear but it looks like he had a rudder assy on the back. Question, what tires give the best traction in deep water ? Try this link Quadnet

 

I know for a fact that a Sportsman 700 floats well with Bear Claws all 'round. Problem is: It only floats well UPSIDE DOWN! Saw it this spring in WNF! 4 tires just breaking the surface, the owner had a REAL long face.

 

The problem would definetely be stability. Pontoons definetly would work, but they would be really cumbersome. I'm thinking like an inflatable pontoon, Ive seen them before. I dont know what could inflate them, maybe a high voulme low pressure pump, like for air beds and floats. It would still hang off a little, but it would be pretty stable in the water. i wonder where the center of gravity on most shaft drive quads is. The inflatable pontoons would have to be detachable, so maybe like 5 or 6 straps along the length of the pontoon could attach to designated spots on the quad, like to the frame and stuff. The prospect of field testing is kinda grim, though. Enough flotation would have to be built into the quad in case of rapid deflation of the pontoons. Imagine your quad at the bottom of a lake. This would be a safety net, damage would probably occur, but at least it would still be salvageable.
Its still an idiotic idea, dont get me wrong.

JEO

 

<< I know for a fact that a Sportsman 700 floats well with Bear Claws all 'round. Problem is: It only floats well UPSIDE DOWN! Saw it this spring in WNF! 4 tires just breaking the surface, the owner had a REAL long face. >>


ha ha i saw one too was it down at the concrete dam/bridge?

 

I saw a Explorer 400 that had dual back tire(6 28's) and he could float anywhere.