While doing my usual weekend surfing I ran across a slight change in the BAE list of offerings.
Its seems that they're now promoting Band Tracks and have them listed separately under the Combat Vehicle section. According to BAE, Band Tracks offer...
With the wheeled combat vehicles having shown their limitations in moderate combat (I know the silliness of that designation but currently high intensity combat would mean operations against a technological capable enemy...the Taliban and Insurgents just don't qualify) the after market for this type of track might be large.Band track is a high-performance, low-maintenance alternative for the segmented metal track traditionally used for tracked combat vehicles. Lightweight rubber composite, band track travels smoothly around suspension components with minimal vibration and noise.
The only question I would have is...how do you fix it if you throw one when you're out in the boonies???
That's the main gripe current tankers have. You can't just replace a block, or insert snow-blocks for that matter. When it's off, it's off and you need to call your local triple-A wrecker.
ReplyDeleteThey are more maintenance friendly, and bandtracks don't need to be tentioned every few miles, so it's a trade-off. I'd favor bandtracks.
The band tracks for the Viking and others are from Soucy in Canada and Sweden
ReplyDeletehttp://www.soucy-group.com
They are used a lot in small engineering plant but seem to be overcoming the barriers that have previously prevented them being used on larger and heavier vehicles.
As the piece says, there are lots of advantages but wear has been an issue but with improving materials this will only get better
As for repair
http://www.wikipatents.com/US-Patent-6530626/field-repair-device-for-a-rubber-band-track