UTV - Trying to Decide

[deserteagle71]

I had no idea such off road UTV type vehicles like that existed in 1973!

They are an excellent off-road vehicle. Many years ago I met an exploration geologist on one in one of Nevada's remote mountain ranges. That thing would go places, up and down slopes, my dirt bike could not begin to negotiate. But not very fast!

 

[Joel/ak]

I'd love am Argo, money just isn't there. Our 2022 mule pro mx works fine except for the damn swamp that separates our property.

On a good dry day we might be able to drive and get through the mud to the back 40. Bad day we have 5-7 ft of water

 

[ArlyA]

Argo's are slow as molasses and low on HP. They have they place in the world but not for our uses.

 

[Hay Dude]

Argo's are slow as molasses and low on HP. They have they place in the world but not for our uses.

Yeah but low horsepower wastes less fuel and doesn’t pollute as much, right ArlyA?

 

[plastikosmd]

I love my 8x8 Argo. I don’t use it as a workhorse, rather transportation in and around my swamp. Nothing I own goes where it can go, (even my legs.)

 

[John_Mc]

Among all my options for working in the woods: tractor modified for forestry use, Can Am Outlander Max ATV (recently sold), Honda Pioneer SxS, 1951 Dodge M37 military pickup, my favorite is an antique ATV known as a Coot. It's 4WD, 4W steering, amphibious, articulated. Originally powered by a 12 HP, single cylinder Tecumseh, but since upgraded to a 16 HP Briggs Vanguard engine. will handle 45˚ slopes. Max speed is 20 MPH, but it will go places my other vehicles can only dream of going and tow 1500# easily. (I've pulled 3000# with it, but probably won't do that again.)

 

[two_bit_score]

my favorite is an antique ATV known as a Coot.

Looks great! If that is the fuel tank sitting on the fender there it must be a stingy fuel sipper.

 

[Hay Dude]

Among all my options for working in the woods: tractor modified for forestry use, Can Am Outlander Max ATV (recently sold), Honda Pioneer SxS, 1951 Dodge M37 military pickup, my favorite is an antique ATV known as a Coot. It's 4WD, 4W steering, amphibious, articulated. Originally powered by a 12 HP, single cylinder Tecumseh, but since upgraded to a 16 HP Briggs Vanguard engine. will handle 45˚ slopes. Max speed is 20 MPH, but it will go places my other vehicles can only dream of going and tow 1500# easily. (I've pulled 3000# with it, but probably won't do that again.)

View attachment 852687

I just saw one of those for sale on FBM. Looked very tempting.

 

[John_Mc]

Looks great! If that is the fuel tank sitting on the fender there it must be a stingy fuel sipper.

That fuel tank location was a dumb idea on their part: right over the muffler. I've never had an issue with it, but it seems like a problem just waiting to happen.

The tank is on the small side, but the original 12 HP, and the current 16 HP engine do well on fuel economy: better than any of my other vehicles. Coot had a factory option to put another tank on the other fender.

I went a different way on my other Coot. I found a similar vintage tank that was about twice as long sitting up on a high shelf in a local small engine repair shop. He sold it to me for $10, and I mounted it on a bar across the front of the rear tub. I offset it to one side, so I could mount a "Fat 50" ammo can on the other side for some weather-proof storage. Here is a picture of that set up, but before the ammo can was mounted:

 

[John_Mc]

I just saw one of those for sale on FBM. Looked very tempting.

If you still have the link to that Coot on FBM, please post it or message it to me. I know people who are looking for them. They generally tend to get snapped up more or less locally or by someone within a decent driving distance. (Shipping can be a hassle that some don't want to deal with.) IT may already have shown up on a Coot-related FB site I help administer, but you never know.)

They are quirky little machines, but a lot of fun, and easy to work on and modify. The articulation keeps all four wheels on the ground even on very rough terrain. The drive system consists of a worm gear drive on each axle. (I replaced the cover for the unit on my front axle with one made of Lexan, so people could see the worm gear drive.) Since there are no differentials, all four wheels turn at the same speed all the time. That combined with the fact that there is a completely smooth belly with about 12" of ground clearance makes it hard to get them stuck: they just keep going until you bottom them out in a swamp or high-center them. (When high-centered, you can often get free just by shifting your weight or giving them a little push.)

The downside is that with no differentials, the turning radius on the original 2 wheel steer units was not good. The eventually came out with a 4 wheel steer option which helped the maneuverability a lot. Both of my Coots have been converted to 4W Steer.

There is a good support forum: CootWorld which is a rather low-traffic site currently, but has a LOT of good information archived. And a very active FaceBook group: Coot/Croco 4x4 ATV Enthusiasts which is fairly active.

Many parts are still available of the shelf. A few are difficult to find, but can usually be turned up through the network of Coot users.