Fat Truck Utility Vehicle

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
P

peakbagger

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Jul 11, 2008
8,978
Northern NH
There has been a lot of electric utility upgrades over the last two years on the main transmission system in my area. I think the big stuff got down last fall but tow of these popped up in town towed by some 4 seat Dodge pickups. Not sure what they are doing but they have a bunch of Hubble crates in the lot. Its Canadian copy of a Russian vehicle . They are around $150K each (there is demo for sale in CA for $135K. They float, the funny thing is there really are no places along the powerline that they really need them. There are two of them .
[Hearth.com] Fat Truck Utility Vehicle
 
We have a company here that rents them as well. They don't seem to get used as much as one might think, they are really only good at being personnel carriers. In which case we can often get cheaper and easier access using an ATV or SxS. Usually when we need remote access to service sites we need a picker or other equipment, so use a tracked Nodwell to get in. Lots of local companies have pickers on their Nodwells, and the open deck lends a lot of versatility for different jobs.

The FatTrucks are kinda like the argo we had as kids, jack of all trades, master of none. Slow and rough.

Machines like these used to be a lot more common around here, when seismic exploration was still happening for the oil and gas industry. The area has been long since mapped, and I haven't seen a seismic crew in close to 15 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Don2222
I wondered about the target audience myself when I saw the Russian videos a while back.
 
In theory its got a low soil pressure so its probably good in boggy areas and wetlands. I dont know how well they will work in my area as there are fair share of boulders mixed in with the wetlands. Even if its good for wetlands, environmental regulations usually make it very difficult to work in them unless soil mats are used. There is local dealer of the Russian units and on occasion he pops up on the news trying to justify then for rescue vehicles but my guess is the big buyers are buying toys. One of the big rap stars was in the news who owns a large block of land in Colorado that has a fleet of them to play with. I guess the good thing is with them is that they are probably safer than an ATV as there are no arms legs and heads sticking out although the new style of ATVs seem to have dealt with that aspect.

Then again this is coming from a Unimog owner;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: SpaceBus
peakbagger said:
In theory its got a low soil pressure so its probably good in boggy areas and wetlands. I dont know how well they will work in my area as there are fair share of boulders mixed in with the wetlands. Even if its good for wetlands, environmental regulations usually make it very difficult to work in them unless soil mats are used. There is local dealer of the Russian units and on occasion he pops up on the news trying to justify then for rescue vehicles but my guess is the big buyers are buying toys. One of the big rap stars was in the news who owns a large block of land in Colorado that has a fleet of them to play with. I guess the good thing is with them is that they are probably safer than an ATV as there are no arms legs and heads sticking out although the new style of ATVs seem to have dealt with that aspect.

Then again this is coming from a Unimog owner;)
Click to expand...
The side-by-sides are better but only if people are smart enough to strap them selves in. An old friend of mine is now paralyzed because he didn't.
 
  • Sad
Reactions: SpaceBus
bholler said:
The side-by-sides are better but only if people are smart enough to strap them selves in. An old friend of mine is now paralyzed because he didn't.
Click to expand...
I've wrecked a few quads, so I know how easy it is. Most people simply refuse to wear safety gear. I'll never understand why people think it is "cool" to be unsafe.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bholler
My area of NH is the ATV capital of the Northeast (look up Ride the Wilds) . Every weekend folks are getting hauled out with serious injuries and on occasion in a body bag from ATV accidents. The worst part is folks with zero experience can rent ATVs and with minimal instruction head out for the day. There are lots of accidents attributed to those rental units but the owners of the businesses make a bundle off of it and somehow manage to avoid being sued.
 
The Russian videos of people racing around bogs with Sherps are impressive, though not too friendly to the wildlife.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Badfish740
  • Locked
Need to re-work my vehicle situation-suggestions?
Replies
28
Views
3K
DIY and General non-hearth advice
backpack09
backpack09
Danno77
  • Locked
Intermediate Truck?
Replies
57
Views
6K
The Gear
Danno77
Danno77
Top Bottom