Neat PowerTrac-6x6

[BobRip]

Gravy,

As far a racism goes, unfortunately, it is alive and kicking up here in Northern Indiana as well, although not nearly as prevalent as when I was a kid. I see it more in people my age and older and less in people my age and younger (mid 40s).

Well at least it's heading in the right direction. Maybe someday soon we will even have a minority president.

 

[Gravy]

Gravy,

We notice a lot of the same things when we travel south east OH, VA, WV, KY. I have many relatives in those areas. Really behind the times in a lot of ways, until they whip their smart phones out of their overalls.

As far a racism goes, unfortunately, it is alive and kicking up here in Northern Indiana as well, although not nearly as prevalent as when I was a kid. I see it more in people my age and older and less in people my age and younger (mid 40s).

MR,

One of my clients is just what you describe - pure backwoods hillbilly hick, talks like a third grade dropout, owns a coal trucking company, completely out of touch with the modern world... well, except for that new Escalade and his hottie wife's Mercedes convertible and his son's $60,000 Ford "Work Truck"...

It's a nice little reminder that "backwoods" doesn't mean "stupid".

 

[Gravy]

Well at least it's heading in the right direction. Maybe someday soon we will even have a minority president.

Sometimes I forget how far we've come. Even 20 years ago, I wouldn't have bet my lunch money that we'd have a non-white President in my lifetime.

(I don't much care for President Obama, but that has nothing to do with his DNA or his birth certificate. It just means he's a Chicago Democrat who fits in with all of the other disappointments we've elected over the last few decades.)

When I was a kid, it was still perfectly legal to exclude people from jobs, diners, movie theaters, water fountains, etc., purely because of the color of their skin. Preachers still railed publicly against "miscegenation". Known KKK members still got elected to high national office.

For all the ways our society has gone wrong, at least we've improved in some ways. That gives me some hope. Maybe this economic meltdown will refocus us on doing what actually works instead of following the latest fashionable socio-political fad.

I don't expect it, but I didn't expect President Obama, either.

 

[MossRoad]

It's a nice little reminder that "backwoods" doesn't mean "stupid".

I agree. Too often we sometimes judge a book by its cover.

Last spring we were down in the Smokey Mountains. My sister in law's SUV broke some wheel studs and we had to have it repaired. The only repair shop was up in a holler at the end of a dirt road. It was a junkyard. The office had a dirt floor. Their shop had burned down and they were operating out of a partially completed concrete block building. By all looks and appearances they were going to tie us up and stick us in the zombie hole out back and part out our vehicles! Maybe sell our smoked meats to the tourists down in town.

Geez, they got on the computer, located parts in Knoxville, sent the broken assembly to another town to press parts out since their press had burned in the fire, offered to buy us lunch, told us to send the wives and kids out to shop and ride go carts as it would take about 5 hours to complete the job, etc... downright smart, intelligent nice hospitable folks, unlike my sister in law, who was rude, impatient and downright embarrassing.

 

[ldabe]

Sounds more like a "out-law".

 

[wasabi]

this thread has drifted a bit... At the risk of commenting on topic, I have a few questions about this type of vehicle...

how is a six wheel hydraulic vehicle like this plumbed? Are the three pairs plumbed in parallell?

also, (probably a dumb question), assuming adequate hyd flow, equally sized wheel motors and same size tires, does a six wheeler have fifty percent more climbing power?

 

[Rivco]

There was a lot talk about a 6x6 PT in this thread


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/94178-pt-al-629-can-done.html

 

[ponytug]

In short, not under most conditions, but it depends. i.e. what limits your 4x4 in climbing power?

1) Traction?
2) Flotation?
3) Irregular surface & wheel spin?
4) Power? (& related motor efficiency & oil viscosity)
5) Load balance?

Assuming the same size tires and motors, 6x6 will be better only for #1, 2 & 3, worse for 4 and who knows for 5. The math for the flotation case would be 50% lower ground pressure, but whether that increases #1 is going to be surface dependent. e.g. it might make a world of difference on ice, but not much on asphalt. Bear in mind that the extra motors will generate extra hydraulic losses, thereby robbing you of effective HP, since the motors will add 50% more oil leakage to the system.

I thought that the purpose of the PT design was to lower the ground pressure for load transport, but I admit that I am impuning and opining here.

As others have pointed out in this and other threads, it will matter how the motors are plumbed as to what the limiting features are.

For me it is #1 & #3 until the oil gets really warm, and then it is #4. (I have to turn off the draft to get back up the hill, or go up it at an angle.

This time of year, for me it would be #2, and #1 if I would dare take the PT out. These days, the ground is so soft that one can't really walk on it without sinking, so the PT is confined to the barracks for the duration of the wet season. Even the horses are in.

All the best,

Peter

this thread has drifted a bit... At the risk of commenting on topic, I have a few questions about this type of vehicle...

how is a six wheel hydraulic vehicle like this plumbed? Are the three pairs plumbed in parallell?

also, (probably a dumb question), assuming adequate hyd flow, equally sized wheel motors and same size tires, does a six wheeler have fifty percent more climbing power?