Posted by David Sherman on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 16:07:38 :
In Reply to: ? on rear steer posted by Pieter on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 13:22:58 :
It looks like he retained the Tucker steering. Tucker used 2 Dodge corporate rear axles in a "wagon steer" arrangement in which the axles pivot around the vertical axis where they attach to the frame. The body also pivots around a lengthways horizontal axis atop each axle pivot. This means the body tends to rock side to side, but it also helps keep all 4 tracks on the ground (snow) at all times. The front and rear axles pivot in opposite directions when steering, making for a tighter turning radius and less turning friction than if the rear end stayed pointing straight ahead. A hydraulic mechanism and linkages actuates the steering. If the hydraulic goes out, you can't steer at all. As you can imagine, it takes a fair amount of force to push the pontoons around in deep snow. It's not clear to me whether the differentials on a Tucker are open or have been "lincoln locked". I do know that I've never had a pontoon spin, so either they differentials are permanently locked up, or the ladder tracks have so much traction that they simply never slip.
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