Timeline for Are there advantages to using a quad-treaded/split tracked system for a vehicle?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
6 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 13, 2020 at 14:18 | comment | added | jamesqf | In fact, Caterpillar does have diesel-electric tracked vehicles, e.g. caranddriver.com/features/a15126247/caterpillar-d7e-feature | |
| Aug 13, 2020 at 4:41 | comment | added | Shalvenay | High-power hybrid-drives can be made quite reliable indeed (reliable enough for military and civil vessels, as well as locomotives); they also have the benefit that if something bad does happen to a traction motor, it's possible to cut out the faulty traction motor and keep going. (It might even be cut out automatically by the drive inverters!) | |
| Aug 12, 2020 at 14:50 | comment | added | Graham | "because introducing high-power-hybrid-drive-systems to a military vehicle is unlikely to increase reliability" That's a big "if". Prop shafts are always a vulnerability, especially around CV joints. In-hub electric motors are inherently tough (the hub basically provides armour-plating for them), so the main vulnerability is just the cable, and they fail "free". If I have to jerry-rig a solution to get me moving in a hurry, I'd rather have it be twisting together a couple of cable ends or just run on 3 tracks, instead of working out what to do with a seized propshaft. | |
| Aug 12, 2020 at 14:23 | comment | added | jamesqf | There are also modification kits to turn existing pickup trucks and cars into quad-tracked vehicles: americantracktruck.com Quite handy if you live several miles from the nearest plowed road. | |
| Aug 12, 2020 at 14:16 | comment | added | Cadence | The Mars rover proposal in your example would presumably have used independent electrical drives and skipped the differential completely; there's no reason not to, since you can't use combustion engines on Mars anyway. | |
| Aug 12, 2020 at 8:01 | history | answered | sdfgeoff | CC BY-SA 4.0 |