Russian truck

A bit more info on the Sherp . as above

When we initially saw the Sherp ATV rolling its way around the Internet, our first thought was that it must be the work of a designer, not a real vehicle. The compact body tucked between ginormous off-road tires just looked too odd to be real. But the Russian vehicle is indeed real and it's one hell of a way to drive over anything short of a sheer cliff face.

Led by technologist Aleksei Garagashian, the minds behind the Sherp ATV – minds that are almost certainly a little twisted – got together in 2012 to develop a vehicle with supreme terrain navigation capabilities. They finished up the design last year and are now showing the vehicle at expos like the upcoming Hunting and Fishing in Russia show.

The Sherp ATV isn't just an off-roader; it's an off-track vehicle designed to navigate over terrain that hasn't benefited from even the most basic human clearing – through the heart of brush fields, into swamps, over deadfall-strewn forest floors, and up and over talus fields. Its positively massive tires stand 63 in (160 cm) tall and provide the size and traction needed to roll over and through virtually anything in the way.

With nearly two feet (60 cm) of ground clearance, the Sherp underbody glides over obstacles that would eat up lesser vehicles. A tire-inflation system helps the vehicle adjust to the varying demands of the ground below.

And the Sherp ATV even swims, with the terrain-grappling ridges on the tires doubling as paddles. Drainage valves shed water after the Sherp ATV gets back on land.

If you think the ultra-rugged, 134 x 99 x 91-in (340 x 252 x 230-cm, L x W x H) Sherp ATV requires some kind of massive engine to shove it forward, you'll be rather shocked to learn that the whole thing is powered by a 1.5-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel with just 44 hp (33 kW) on tap. Though massive to the eye, the Sherp ATV weighs as little as 2,866 lb (1,300 kg), and that small engine and the five-speed manual transmission can get it going up to 28 mph (45 km/h) on land and 3.7 mph (6 km/h) in the water.

Sherp drivers also rely on skid steering, whereby the two wheels on each side are locked in synchronization, and can be driven independently of the pair on the opposite side.

The Sherp ATV seats four people inside its steel body and even has two seat belts. It can carry up to 2,200 lb (1,000 kg).

The St. Petersburg-built Sherp ATV soft-top base model starts at US$65,000. Options include an onboard generator and 50-liter (13.2 US gal) in-wheel fuel tanks to augment the 58-liter (15.3-US gal) fuel capacity. The Sherp AV is also available for lease, though what we're really hoping for is day rentals.

Watching the Sherp ATV in action is absolute magic – it speeds through the swamp, pulls itself out of the water onto ice after a swim, and slices through tall brush. After watching the video below, we're already reserving it a spot on our off-road vehicles of the year list for 2016.

Bill - Ha Ha! The Russkies are 65-plus years behind the times!

Here is the original skid-steer! It's called a LeTourneau LW16 Tournadozer - and it operates on precisely the same principle as the Russkie version!

LeTourneau Tournadozer

R.G LeTourneau built thousands of these things - and even the Australian Army was equipped with them. I've even got an official Army licence to drive one!

The LW16 is the biggest mongrel of a thing to drive, with ride bounciness that would put a Landrover Series 1 to shame!
However, they were very nimble and had incredible 4-wheel, air-operated, multi-plate disc brakes, that would lock all 4 wheels from top speed!

The second worst part of the LeTourneau's was their 2-stroke GM diesel power plant! They would drive you insane with that GM (Detroit Diesel) 2-stroke scream!

R.G. LeTourneau was one of the most inventive blokes that ever lived, and many of his earthmoving and mechanical inventions are still in use today, or based on designs he patented in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's.

Cheers, Ron.

Man oh man, a bit like baby landrovers (old models) that have been on steroids for at least 2 years... lol
Be interesting to drive one.
regards

Here's the link to the Russian Sherp ATV website, in English. It would be interesting to see how they'd go in desert conditions.

Sherp ATV

They utilise quality components, in the form of a 4 cyl, 1.5L Kubota diesel (V1505), and a Sachs transmission.
However, a top speed of 45kmh is pretty limiting for any serious distance.
I could see good potential for them, for Search and Rescue in tough conditions, and they certainly appear to be ideal for the marshy, swampy terrain that exists a lot in the Northern Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

The U.S. Army has experimented for decades - as far back as the 1930's - for ATV designs suitable for marshy or swamp conditions.
Many an Army has fallen foul in their plans when confronted by huge marshes or swamps.

The U.S. Army came up with the Marsh Screw - essentially a motorised hull fitted with huge augers each side.
They are great in real slop conditions, but pretty useless when the ground becomes hard.
This U.S. Army prototype was built by Chrysler in 1964 - but the Army deemed it less than successful overall, and the idea was dropped.

Marsh Screw

There have been other "Marsh Screws" built by the Russians and by mining companies working on salt lakes, and by companies doing construction or exploring in marshy areas. Overall, though, they are limited to the marsh country.

When I was contracting in the W.A. Goldfields in the late 1960's/early 1970's, the French exploration company, Union Minière, had a couple of the Cuthbertson tracked Landrovers, that were used on the salt lakes around Kambalda and Norseman, when drilling was being undertaken on the salt lakes.

These were very effective off-road rigs, but they were seriously speed-limited, and they very rarely left the lake beds.

Cuthbertson tracked Landrover

Cheers, Ron.