A herd of Cats The day we purred after meeting the Argocat and Supacat

from 4x4 Magazine - November 2022

by Assignment Media Ltd

Himalayas Daring to drive the world’s highest roads… in a standard SJ410

SINCE 1982

Argocat + Supacat = Cheshire Cat!

by Brian Hartley

One of the main assets of any ATVs, its tyres. The Goodyear “Terra” type fi tted to the Supacat The Argocat (on the right) with its bigger team-mate the Supacat

‘All Terrain Vehicle’ is a much abused phrase in my humble opinion. It’s nearly as misunderstood as ‘diff-lock’ when applied to a Range Rover!

To my simple mind, there are four categories of ‘off-road’ vehicles: 4wd cars; cross-country vehicles such as Land Rovers and Jeeps; ATVs, usually with several axles, large tyres or track systems, which are normally very specialised vehicles unsuitable for road work; and ATVs with amphibious capability.

The two vehicles tested here, which were demonstrated by MH Truck Services Ltd, fell into the latter two categories. This gave me the chance to fulfi l yet another childhood dream, driving on water!

Supacat

MH Truck Distributors are agents for several off-road vehicles including the Mitsubishi 8-wheeled ‘Hill Farmer’, the Crayford Argocat (imported) and the Supacat which is designed and built at Hemyock in Devon. The Supacat, which costs £14,200 as tested, is powered by a Citroen 1300cc fl at four, air-cooled engine, driving through a torque converter and 3-speed gearbox. All six wheels are driven and steering is by slewing brakes. There is something intensely satisfying about turning a vehicle in its own length which produces a slightly eccentric desire to go round and round in circles for the sheer hell of it!

The tyres are the vehicle’s greatest asset. Broad Goodyear Terra tyres of 31x15.50-15LT section are fi tted and run at a pressure of approximately 6psi, giving exceedingly low ground pressure fi gures – just right for soft ground or doing minimum damage to grass/crops when passing over.

There is an all welded steel chassis and cab frame with bodywork provided by aluminium panelling, the whole lot weighing in at less than a ton. With its mid-mounted engine, the balance is just about neutral in the unladen condition.

This vehicle has been evaluated by the Parachute Regiment, the Governor of the Falklands and the Civil Aviation Authority. It is also

Maurice Heather ‘crabbing’ the Argocat along a steep side slope

used for a variety of other purposes. I’m just glad someone told me it wasn’t amphibious before I set off in it, otherwise there could have been a lot of explaining to do!

Argocat

Though both ATVs are primarily intended to work for a living, and sold as such, my impression of the Argocat was of a pure ‘fun’ vehicle. Ever since seeing the Banana Splits careering around in the six-wheel versions I’ve had a soft spot for something that essentially looked such fun to drive.

I wasn’t disappointed! Priced at £4395 as tested here, the eight-wheeled Argocat has a steel chassis, moulded polyethylene body, twin-cylinder Kohler 4-stroke aircooled engine, Goodyear Terra tyres and chain drive. And best of all, it can swim! That is something I have yet to fully master!

Both ‘cats’ can be fitted with rubber tracks over their wheels for extra traction on snow or soft mud. And the Argocat can be fitted with an outboard motor for better amphibious performance than is provided by the paddle action of the tyres.

The list of accessories for both machines is huge in order to equip them for the widest possible range of uses. Crop spraying, pollution control, fire fighting, forestry work, military applications… in fact the real limit to the roles these vehicles can play is provided only by your imagination (or lack of it).

Unstoppable? Not Quite

Maurice Heather, the owner of MH Truck Services, met me at a beautiful spot near Ripon, North Yorkshire called Lightwater Valley in order to demonstrate the two vehicles’ capabilities. Lightwater Valley is a delightful mixture of park, farm and adventure playground, one of the more popular adventure-type attractions being joyrides up and down the hills in a Mitsubishi “Hill Farmer”. This is just as popular with the adults as it is with the kids!

At the risk of sounding ancient, I must say that there was never anything like that when I was a lad. (Noah would have enjoyed it too! Ed). Maurice, quite naturally, made everything look easy, so in a bid to find something tougher we beetled off to the stone quarry.

There was a surprising turn of speed from both models on the road, in the order of 30mph, care having to be exercised with the slewing levers on such a high friction surface. ‘Lightly does it’ was the order of the day!

It would be fair to assume that with eight wheels, all driving, and a very low weight, the Argocat would be unstoppable. This, however, was not the case. Though it will tackle quite impossible-looking hazards such as a large log without turning a hair, a steep bank of loose soil defeated it as all the wheels just paddled the soil backwards like a mole on overtime. A hard surface should cause no problems whatsoever, with a 45-degree slope being decidedly possible.

A real eye opener was the method Maurice used to negotiate the slope sideways by ‘tracking’ the Argocat diagonally across it. Using the slewing levers, he was able to traverse the full width of steep, loose soil banking with an ungainly but effective crab-like movement.

LOG? What log? A good sense of balance helps

Scared Witless

Like any tracked or multi-axled vehicle, care has to be used when cresting a steep rise. Until the vehicle’s centre of gravity reaches the crest, the front carries on skywards, eventually returning to terra firma with a velocity in direct relation to the speed maintained up the hill. In the case of a flat landing, the amount of ‘jolt’ is the only factor – but in the case of a razor-back hill or sharp crest, care would have to be taken to ensure that the momentum did not flip the whole lot forward.

The 8-wheeled Argocat did not suffer too badly from this phenomenon but the 6-wheeled Supacat, with its more powerful engine, greater weight and higher centre of gravity, scared me witless on one such hill! I should add that there wasn’t any real danger of going over forward (you would have to be REALLY ham-handed to get that far), but it FELT terrible as you see-sawed up in the air then arched down through perhaps 90 degrees.

Other than their propensity to scare heavy-handed blokes on that particular manoeuvre, both machines gave an impressive feeling of ‘joie de vivre’. Look it up in your old French book, I had to!

From going giddy in 360-degree twirls to breaking the rules of off-

The simple controls and engine. Motor cycle twist grip throttle, tillers for steering and braking, key start and lever for reverse gear and low, neutral and forward gear. The air cleaner of the horizontally opposed twin-cylinder Kohler engine can be seen in the bonnet aperture

Like a duck to wter. In reflective mood as we take to the water. Note the forward facing air vents which could cause problems on steeper drops into water. Aldo trhe very hefty “rubbing strip” round the waist

road driving by turning sideways along a slope with impressive ease, the Argocat in particular convinced you that it was totally safe and forgiving. However, I would have greatly appreciated somewhere to rest my size nines to brace myself while carrying out these dizzy manoeuvres, other than the square plastic footwell provided.

Deep mud or soft peat were the only conditions I couldn’t try and, to be honest, it is exactly those conditions, plus soft sand, where both these vehicles really come into their own from a working point of view. Particularly in this country where virtually any land, especially in the winter, spends a great deal of its time waterlogged.

The mention of water, of course, brings me to the finale. The duck impersonations. Or should it be DUKW? The Argocat is designed to float with up to six people on board and can propel itself at up to 3mph with the tyres acting as paddles, steering being effected as on land. I have seen pictures of it in quite rough water, but ideally it is suited to calm stretches.

One of the prime considerations is a fairly level launching point, as too steep an angle of entry could result in water engulfing the engine through the forward facing air intake. However if a suitable launch point cannot be found, there is no real problem – two blokes could simply lift the whole thing and drop it in the water.

Nothing so drastic was needed at Lightwater as there was a gentle shelving bank. The Argocat bobbed away, all eight wheels thrashing away at the water. A majestic turn, then a call of ‘come in number nine, your time is up’ and it was back out on to dry land again as easy as you please.

The moment of truth came when I asked to look into the chain compartments (I had noted a bilge pump as part of the optional accessories) and there was not a drop of water to be seen. Particularly pleasing to a poor swimmer.

Both vehicles are very versatile and the huge lists of assorted equipment that can be supplied and fitted proves how adaptable they are. I’m not qualified to comment on their suitability for any particular role other than to say that both do what the makers’ claim for them – and that, in itself, is quite a feat these days.

Our intrepid reporter getting it up, down and sideways all in one go

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