By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Lately I have been using the big trailer that is supposed to be for the ARGO for moving a ton of brush and logs and other tree stuff with the ARGO. The trailor itself is not really heavy and I can move it a bit with the little wheel on the crank in the front where you raise it or lower it to put it onto the hitch. However, I have been using it on the ARGO and at the cottage, backing it down onto the sand pit where we were loading it with stuff. The loads were oversize loads that took a lot of strategically placed ropes to hold down. When getting ready to take the load to the dump, I would use the ARGO to pull the load off the sand and around to the driveway where I hooked up the van and took it to the dump. My question is , what is the maximum weight that the ARGO will pull. The trailor was holding all the weight, but the ARGO pulled it all. THE hitch on my argo is one of the older ones that goes right onto the body and not the receiver style one. It seems a little loose now and the front of the ARGO was sitting up a lot higher than usual when the load was on. The ARGO is an 8x8 Magnum and usually the front is down lower even when empty. THE back wheeles were a little squished while moving but no real problems. However, I just don't want to do any damage to the machine or rip the hitch off. The trailor can be seen on my site at www.argomag.50megs.com under the main photo page. The ARGO goes on fine and thats what the trailor was meant for but its also being towed then behind the van.

Thanks

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Argomag
I park my utility trailer at the bottom of a hill on my property and do the same things you describe. It always blows my neighbors away when they see how hard the Argo works.
The rated capacity is 1000 lbs., I think they can go alot more. One time when I had a heavy load on, I got out and the front tires looked like they were barely touching the ground.
Russ

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

does overloading ever create warping on the body? That back section isn't very strong. SHould I brace it somehow like the thing they would use if their was a back winch?

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Argomag
I had thought about a similar bracket so that I could support the transom for carrying a spare tire. I think that with all the bouncing around the 25" Bigfoot tire would wear the hull quickly.
It would be relatively easy to make a loop, weld two tabs to the bottom, drill two holes and mount with bolts to the frame. The only part I have'nt worked out in my head is how to mount to the hull itself where the motor mount is but, that is only because I have'nt taken the time to do so.

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Bigkodiak, I know that a guy i know at the cottage who has a rear winch has the piece to support the back wall of the ARGO. I have had a friend lightly push his quad into that area and the whole thing bent and doesn't seem very strong. However, the hitch mounts onto the body and you can see the area because it is right at the same level as the floor pan. I don't think it mounts onto the frame though, just close to it. I think this would be an advantage if I was going to continue using the trailer and argo while fully loaded. When you say your front wheeles were almost off the ground and assuming its an 8x8, than that must have been one hell of a load on that hitch.

Is yours an 8x8 and what model.

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Argomag
I have a Bigfoot.
Right now I redecorated my daughters room and we are throwing all of her old furniture out. I would say that the weight of the trailer and the furniture that are on the trailer weighs between 800 and 1000 pounds. I moved it down to it's normal parking area which is down a very steep incline. The Argo never questioned the task and performed beautifully.
I have also had an old Max II on the trailer and as usual backed the trailer down the same steep hill without even a hicup.
One of these days I will have to put my Excursion in neutral and see if the Argo will pull it...Hmm seems like a fun thing to try on a Saturday
Russ

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Damb, thats one huge truck- what do you pay for a fill up on that thing when its empty? Im almost positive the ARGO would pull the excursion! I'll put $$ on it (not really but you know what I mean)If my dad was able to pull my aunts old car out of a 4 foot snow bank about 15 years ago with his old old argo, than a new and good condition bigfoot will do it easily.

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Bigkodiak, one last question, when you are hooking up your trailer to the ARGO, do you find that its a little too low to get the crank wheel back down again. ( the little guide wheel where you raise and lower the tongue.) my trailer has a really long tong on it and the wheel swivels up so its off the ground but it is a b*#%h to get the wheel to lock back down again. I have to get it down as far as I can and put a big rock or something in front and then drive the argo until the wheel lock in.

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

david,
i used my 2000 bigfoot to pull a 1972 16'tri-hull around my back yard.didn't even know it was there.boat,and trailer total weight.....1800lbs!also pulled a 94'chevy truck up my drive way last winter.25degree incline with 6"of snow.(truck is only 2 wheel drive)the argo tried to do a little side steppin,but got it up.i think the truck weighs in about 2600lbs +or-.

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

In otherwords, I have absolutely nothing to worry about right?

Thats good to hear because at one point, I could smell my brakes burning from the constant strain of pulling a trailer on sand while trying to do a 90 degree turn.

Thanks for all the response (s) ((hehehe) and happy ARGOing!
my site has also been updated and I am looking for any and all pictures to put up on it. (ARGO OR OTHER AATV ONLY THOUGH) and they can be e-mailed to djhkeeso@rogers.com and the site is www.argomag.50megs.com

By Timothy Schotanus (Mudbuster) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Last winter I had the engine out of my truck and tried to pull it out of my garage with a kubota 4X4. with turf tires on packed snow I just couldn't get any traction. Then I saw the MAX with the tracks(with ice cleats). Never slipped a tire.......or I guess that would be a track. Pulled it about 3-4 truck lengths up a slight incline. By the way, the truck weighs almost 6000 lbs with the engine in.

By Damen T.Hill (Argoss) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

hey david In my experiances with the argo if you can keep the wheels from bouncing from the weight it will pull it I use mine all the time to move the drag car and truck and also have moved a fully loaded 8x10 dump trailer loaded with steel in the sand (it just took four people to keep the 6x6 from bouncing and losing traction) my grandfather which sells argos says it pull twice its own weight as long as it gets its power to the ground (i.e. traction)

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks again all. I am attaching a link to a picture of my argo pulling the trailer that I was using. It is off my site and the link is here.

http://argomag.50megs.com/images/argo_pulling_trailer.jpg


Thanks again and to be able to pull twice its weight, that means that I can load the trailer even more next time.

By Douglas MacCullagh (Dougmac) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I've used my Argo as a trailer tug, too. My problem with the trailer nose wheel us bustin' my knuckles on the outboard motor mount! The only time I've had trouble dragging anything with an Argo was after Hurricane Georges. We had some fallen oak trees on th eproperty, and I tried to drag the with an Argo Vanguard2. No dice - the trees anchored the Vanguard in place. My neighbor tried with his 48 horse Massey-Ferguson tractor - the trees lifted his front end off the ground.

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

My Excursion weighs just around 8000 lbs. Ihave to pull out the Argo this weekend so I will take some photos of the Argo towing the truck.
Oh BTW Argomag, the truck is a diesel, gets about 19 mpg and holds 44 gallons of diesel. Since I have a company car I don't drive this truck that often and only usually fill up once a month unless I am on a trip.
Russ

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Well I just completed my tow test.
I had my wife drop the Excursion in neutral, made sure the tow strap was tight and then....started towing the beast up the street with my Argo.
I had it in low the first time but I made my wife take it back to where we started. I hooked it up again and this time tried it in high gear.
I felt a difference in starting this time but she started moving and up the street I went.
Although I do have to say the truck had only 1/2 a tank of fuel so it might not be a completely full hearted brag...LOL
Maybe we need to start having towing competitions.
Russ

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Russ, yes, towing competitions would prove something that needs to be proven. That is, ARGO rules (maybe max too but not to start a max vs.argo debate) How fast did you have the ARGO running?

By Midwest atv's #1 since 2000 (Hustler) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

They have atv pulls just like the truck and tractor pulls. I tried it out here locally and after winning everything, they told me that a Max is no longer welcome for the atv pull.

By mike martindale (Wetsu) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

shiiiiiaaaaaat russ! talk about using a rowboat to move a barge!!! if you can move that excursion,at all you get to have all the bragging rights.

By bigkodiak on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Argomag
I wasn't going very fast and didn't go far. I would imagine though that if I had the room and a totally willing wife, I could have been running pretty fast if not full speed, right on up the road. Maybe next time I'll tell my wife to check the speed.
Russ

By Marc Stobinski (Jerseybigfoot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Towing the 8000# truck sounds impressive but if the conditions are right you can tow the same truck with an 8 hp garden tractor. The subject of your towing experiments is Drawbar Pull. There is a lot of info on the web. The 2 critical factors in towing is the ground type and gradient. Sand and mud adding the highest load and the gradient drawbar factor being a result of multiplying the vehicle weight by the % grade. if anyone wants the calculations for drawbar pull I can post them.

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Marc, What?????

Please break that down a little more as to what the drawbar thing is and how it mixes with load etc. Thanks

By Marc Stobinski (Jerseybigfoot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Drawbar pull is the sum of (1) road resistance, (2) force to climb a grade,(3) force needed to accelerate to a final velocity and (4) the force to overcome air resistance.
The acceleration and wind resistance can be considered 0 for our considerations.
(1) Drawbar pull to keep a vehicle in motion on level ground per 1000 lbs of vehicle weight:
Concrete 10-20 lbs
Asphalt 12-22 lbs
Snow 25-37 lbs
Dirt 25-37 lbs
Mud 37-150 lbs
Sand 60-300 lbs
(2)Grade resistance force is equal to the vehicle weight in lbs multiplied by the % grade.
10 % grade is 10 feet of rise in 100 feet of distance. 8000 lb vehicle requires 800 lbs to travel up a 10% grade. Or 3200 lbs to travel up the same grade in the worst case sand.