Roller Drive in 6 x 6 for Soft Ground
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A NOVEL type of drive is employed LTh for a new American vehicle designed to operate over soft surfaces. It has been successfully tested on snow, sand, river bottoms and swamps, and is capable of climbing steep gradients.
Known as the Albee Rolligon 7-ton sixwheel-drive transporter, it has three pairs of cylindrical rubber bags to serve as "wheels" These are inflated to low pressure, and because the weight Of the vehicle is spread over a large contact area, the outfit can operate over any surface that will support a loading of -up to 5 p.s.i.
The drive is transmitted to the bags by transverse rollers under the chaisis frame. These make frictional contact with the rubber treads. Speeds of up to 50 m.p.h. can be attained.
Where it is necessary to traverse a steeply banked dip in the land, a rudimentary bridge can be formed by two logs sufficient to take the weight of the outfit, and it has been found that the Albee can be -driven along a railway track.
This form of traction occurred suddenly to Mr. William H. Albee, the inventor, after watching Eskimos beach a boat by pushing it over a number of inflated sealskin bags which acted as rollers.