Steering and Traction Characteristics of Rubber-Tired and Crawler Vehicles

THIS paper describes evaluations made of several drive and steering combinations of 4-wheel, 2-wheel, and crawler vehicles on macadam, loose ground, and mud.

Tests revealed that geometrically steered 4-wheel drive and steer vehicles closely approach the drawbar characteristics of crawler vehicles. High-speed tests on macadam showed the geometrically steered vehicles to be superior to skid-steered wheeled vehicles.

The variable ratio type skid-steer drive came closest of all configurations tested to approaching the pulling and steering characteristics of the geometrically steered vehicles.