My "new" Prospecting Vehicle

[Jim in Idaho]

9 hours ago, jasong said:

Nice work, would be interesting to see the articulated part in action over some rough terrain. Never seen on of those vehicles before.

Jason, here's a few pics of it slightly articulated. Note all 4 wheels are in contact with the ground. It will articulate 40* max.

 

[geof_junk]

Look after it, and don't overload it with the nuggets that you will find.

[GotAU?]

 Very nice!

[jasong]

That's pretty cool, I'm surprised they don't make a side x side that articulates like that, at least a little bit. 2 winters ago I got my side x side stuck on the side of an incline where only 2 caddy corner wheels were touching and it was just rocking back and forth a few feet from a precipice and I didn't think I was getting out of there. Would be nice to get more wheels on the ground in cases like that. 

[Dorado]

Great dedication and skill.

Cheers

[Jim in Idaho]

3 hours ago, geof_junk said:

Look after it, and don't overload it with the nuggets that you will find.

Geof, I never find any nuggets. Thankfully I enjoy the hunt nonetheless.😄

Jim

[Jim in Idaho]

2 hours ago, Dorado said:

Great dedication and skill.

Cheers

Thanks...I'm going to take a few weeks away from Coots, and then start in on the other one I have...it's in REALLY bad shape. I also know of 4 others I'm going to look at this summer. Might end up buying them, too. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess.

Jim

[Jim in Idaho]

2 hours ago, jasong said:

That's pretty cool, I'm surprised they don't make a side x side that articulates like that, at least a little bit. 2 winters ago I got my side x side stuck on the side of an incline where only 2 caddy corner wheels were touching and it was just rocking back and forth a few feet from a precipice and I didn't think I was getting out of there. Would be nice to get more wheels on the ground in cases like that. 

Yeah...that would be bad, for sure. The downside of these is they're slow. Top end of about 25 depending on gearing. Mine's geared extra low, so top is about 20. But enormous torque in low range. These also have no suspension, or differentials, so shouldn't be used on pavement. But we outdoor-experienced guys understand that out in the desert or mountains 20 miles is a LONG way, so speed is not a big deal. I think the reason they don't make them is no market to speak of. Everybody wants to "baja" on them, and these Coots don't work for that. They made and sold about 10,000 of these between '65 and '85, and then the 4 wheelers came out, and that was the end. Somebody resurrected the brand, a few years later, with a model that had hydraulic drive instead of mechanical, but they only lasted a couple of years. Experts estimate there's only about 1,000 of the original Coots left. I've got one more, and know of 4 others a guy has that I'm going to look at this summer. There's no money to be made with them...I'll never get even my labor hours out of them at $10/hour...just enjoy making things that don't work operate again.

Jim

[Valens Legacy]

Great job on the rebuild I have been trying to get mine out of the garage for about a month to take to some of the creeks. The tires were rotted and fell apart about 3 months ago and I haven't had time to get the new ones.

I hope to have it running again before going to the coast in a couple of weeks and will send you some pictures if I can.

 

[Rivers rat]

No seats or are you just sitting on a thin bread like layer of foam??

 

RR