Re: question about wheels

As the owner of both a six wheel ATV and a zero turn riding mower,
I have found the following;

The zero turn mower, which has individual power to each of the
rear wheels and two free rotating caster wheels in the front, does
not have any control trying to go across a slope. You can go up
or down a hill, but not very well accross it because the front is hanging
way out there, even though the frame is probably a square dimension.
The uphill rear wheel losses traction because all the weight is on the
downhill tires, only one of which has any control on steering.

The six wheel ATV with power to all six wheels is, of course, skid steer.

The person recommending it be short coupled front wheels to rear wheels
to ease the steering is correct. The other factor is the weight to tire
surface area ratio. A 1500 lb machine turns as easily, relative to
the power needed to move the machines, as a 100 lb machine
if the weight to tire contact surface area stays the same.
(ie. the coefficient of static friction between surfaces)

The ATV designer's plan was a good one, to use as much tire surface
area as possible. As long as power is going to every surface that is
in contact with the ground, you can really oversize the tires and reduce
the tire scrubbing when turning.

The ATV has six very wide heavily patterned tires, but barely leaves any
traces of traversing over a soft surface. I am building removeable 18 inch
wide tracks that fit over the tires for snow. These are offered by the
"Mac ATV" manufacturer as well, but not as wide as I want them.

You have to balance the final weight
to tire surface area ratio with the type of surface you wish to traverse.
The extremes are "floating over" the surface versus "digging into"
the ground surface. Everything is a compromise.

Good Luck!