A: The Land Tamer’s hydraulic gear drive system utilizes the proven benefits of a closed loop hydraulic drive system that is found in mobile and construction equipment applications worldwide such as skid steer loaders, etc.
A: Closed loop system means that hydraulic oil flows from a pump to drive a motor and back to the pump completing the loop. Most closed loop drive systems utilize a variable flow displacement pump that flows to the drive motor. Nearly all the hydraulic oil flow from the pump drives the hydraulic motor in a closed loop system, but a small percentage of the hydraulic oil redirected through a cooler and back to the tank. The Land Tamer utilizes commercial grade, “Made in America” Eaton Hydraulics tandem pumps and motors, in which one pump drives the left motor and the other pump drives the right motor. The left drive motor delivers torque to the left side wheels and the right motor drives the right wheels. Benefits: Proven reliability and availability!
A: A pair of powerful Eaton 6000 Series hydraulic motors is connected to parallel reduction gearboxes which are coupled to a set of right angle gearboxes at each axle on each side of the vehicle. This parallel gearbox is coupled to a common drive shaft that supplies equal torque to all axles on each side of the vehicle. Benefits: This system allows maximum torque to all wheels no matter which tires have the most traction with the ground. Maximum torque from the engine and pumps can be delivered no matter how many wheels are off the ground as when crossing ditches or large obstacles! Virtually no maintenance or adjustments are required either!
A: All driving functions, forward, reverse, right or left turns, are achieved with our unique proprietary single T-Handle Controller. Pushing the T-handle forward moves the vehicle forward. The farther you move the T-Handle forward the faster the vehicle goes. To travel in reverse, one pulls the T-Handle back and to turn left or right one simply twists the T-Handle right or left to whatever degree of turn you desire. This system allows for zero turns in which one set of wheels rotates forward at the same time the other set of wheels rotate backward allowing for 360 degree on the spot turns. Benefits: The Land Tamer is very simple to drive. One hand is all that is needed to operate the vehicle and it frees up the other hand for work applications, like holding a weed spraying nozzle, or a fire spray nozzle, etc.!
A: The main disadvantage of chain drive vehicles is that they require much adjustment and maintenance. They may be ok for a weekend recreational vehicle, but they simply do not hold up for the working outdoorsman who needs a seriously reliable vehicle with low maintenance.
The main disadvantages of other amphibious vehicles that utilize a hydraulic wheel motor at each axle are as follows:
1. This may seem like a good idea at first, but upon further inspection, several problems exit with this design. First, the use of multiple hydraulic motors driven in a series circuit is very inefficient and requires more horsepower to get the same work. Conventional wisdom knows that it is possible to lose 10% efficiency for each motor in the circuit. That means hydraulic motors connected in a series circuit would require and waste 20% to 30% more power than a single hydraulic pump and motor circuit.
2. No hydraulic motor can convert all the oil flow and pressure through them to work. A small percentage of the oil is leaked within the motor case and returned back to the tank from the case drain. This is lost work which equals heat. For example, a set of hydraulic motors connected in a series circuit and each motor loses a small amount of oil through the case compounding the problem. This system compounds the heat build up that needs to be cooled. In addition as the hydraulic motors wear out over time, their case leaks even more and they build more heat as well.
3. The other problem with hydraulic motors connected in series is related to #2 above. Anytime you have oil that leaks through the case drain from the first motor in the circuit, the second motor in the circuit receives less oil, and the third motor receives less then the second motor and so on. So if each motor receives less oil than the motor before it, than it will run slightly slower. Consequently, on a vehicle, since the first wheel in the circuit is running faster, it will be dragging the other wheels down the circuit. This will wear tires, cause more heat and add hydraulic wining noise.
4. All of the above are annoying problems, but the main real problem is failure of the components. Manufacturers of amphibious vehicles who use hydraulic motors in series obviously didn’t consider the varying terrain that the vehicle is to travel on. With their design criteria they must have assumed that all wheels will be planted on flat ground. But the reality of off road travel is that seldom any wheels traveling on flat ground where all wheels are pulling evenly. In a rigid frame vehicle with 6 or 8 wheels, as the vehicle is driven over a log or rock or crosses a ditch, all the weight of the vehicle may be on 2 axles only. When this happens, the wheels that are in the air are doing no work so the pressure in the hydraulic lines are spiked toward the wheel that is carrying the load and which is forced to do all the work. Consequently, each wheel motor must be able to handle the maximum torque required to turn the wheel when ½ of weight of the entire vehicle with max cargo is sitting on that one tire. (1/2 the weight is assuming the other half of the weight is carried by the opposite side of the vehicle at the same time as when teetering over a log.) If each of the hydraulic wheel motors cannot handle the maximum torque delivered by the pump, then the machine will either blow a hose, blow a wheel motor seal or break an wheel motor shaft or the vehicle will simply not move forward because the pressure in the lines exceed the maximum pump relief and will blow over the reliefs within the pump. This will shorten the life of the motors very quickly. Unless wheel motors can each handle the maximum pressure and torque from the pumps the wheel motors won’t last long.
5. One last problem with this design is the fact that to save weight in an amphibious vehicle, several manufacturers use smaller wheel motors than required to save weight. These smaller wheel motors have small axles shafts and cannot handle to continuous stress, especially when dual tires or tracks are installed over the tires. Dual tires add a large moment on the end of the axle, like a long lever, and increases the flexing of the axle shaft as the vehicle travels over rough terrain and the axle will eventually break from fatigue of the metal. That is a proven fact! So don’t be fooled by manufacturers who say that wheel motors on each axle are the way to go, unless you want the problems that go along with it.
The Land Tamer’s proven hydraulic/gear drive system is the only way to go since it solves all the problems stated above. It is very efficient, easy to drive, built for heavy duty commercial work, very low maintenance and built to last! The Land Tamer is hands down the best in amphibious vehicle design and in a league of its own. But don’t take our word for it, ask our customers!
A: You have your choice of the 60hp Kubota Turbo Diesel, 80hp Deutz, and 91hp Zenith fuel injected Gas/LP engine for our full size models. The RS (reduced size) model comes with a Kohler 40 hp V-twin gas engine standard or optional diesel engine. In most cases the 60 hp Kubota will provide enough power for most slower moving applications. However, if the primary application is traveling faster or swampy or snow covered ground with tracks installed, then we would recommend the 80 hp Deutz or the 91 hp Zenith engine. These bigger displacement engines will provide the raw power needed to power through the toughest conditions.
A: Our optional 3 Point Hitch turns the Land Tamer into a full fledged tractor and adds a whole new dimension of work applications never available before for an amphibious vehicle. To our knowledge, the Land Tamer is the only amphibious tractor manufactured in the world. The 3 Point Hitch allows the owner to attach to the front or rear of the Land Tamer any Category 1, 3 point hitch farm attachment. These may include, a snow blade or snow blower for winter use, or a rotary mower, post hole auger, lifting device, generator or just about any after market farm equipment available by any farm equipment manufacture rated as Category 1. This adds to the Land Tamer’s, 4 vehicles in 1 concept with it serving as boat, atv, snowmobile and a tractor. No other vehicle has this much versatility.
