Could this be the new Humvee for OIF


maybe, this is an idea that is coming to reallity now for the USMC Its the new mine Plows for the humvees, and from the looks of it, it might work for them. whatever saves lives right. At least their trying.

That looks crazy! But kinda cool, would make an interesting conversion! Anyone have an more info on these odd looking machine? Is that just the front axle of a Humvee (I guess an IED'ed one)

I have another picture of this somewhere. You are right, it is just the front axle of a destroyed humvee used to set off any mines before they hit the vehicle. I honestly have no idea how they turn the front wheels though.

Jeff

If you look closely at the picture, there are also two more tires in the center which are close together and wouldnt likely be capable of steering. Also, you can just barely see the HUmvee's original front tires are still on the humvee. As a mechanic and shop owner, I cant think of any way of making this thing actually steer with the hummers steering. MY guess is this thing doesnt steer at all and just gets kind of pushed into whatever direction the humvee is going. This thing would be terrible on city streets, but probably is very useful for convoy duty. Interesting idea. Gotta love GI's ingenuity!

Here is the image I was talking about. I wish the image was bigger, but this is all I've got.

Jeff

I you look at where it connects to the hummer, there is a pivot point that allows it to turn in the direction the hummer is turning
Ch

Yeah but wouldnt that just pivot when the humvee is in forward motion, much like a truck w/ a trailer when it backs up?

The armed services are spending billions and billions to figure out fancy new ways to stop improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. But the latest trick is an oldie -- dating back to World War I -- and couldn't be less high tech.

The contraptions are called mine rollers -- sets of wheels mounted in front of a vehicle, basically. When they roll over a mine or a pressure-activated IED, the wheels trigger the bomb. Because the vehicle is some distance behind the rollers, much of the bomb blast wave does not reach the vehicle, dramatically reducing the damage. And the vehicle lives to see another day. The Marine Corps just bought 150 sets from General Dynamics, according to Defense Industry Daily.

This idea sounds glaringly obvious. So you might wonder why it took the military more than 3 years to put the rollers up. In fact, the idea of a mine roller originated in 1918, to help nascent tanks deal with the anti-tank mines of that era. Many of the earliest IEDs in Iraq were built with anti-tank mines. Why didn't anybody in the Army Engineer School, for instance, make the connection?

Chalk some of it up to military bureaucracy. When it comes to mine-clearance, combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal techs sometimes have overlapping lines of responsibility. (Which helps fuel an often-bitter rivalry.) At times, who exactly is supposed to develop bomb- and mine-fighting gear has been a blurry question, as well. The Counter-IED Task Force is now supposed to be in charge. But we'll see.

There are several legitimate concerns with the mine rollers that I am not going to mention here. However, my answer to these concerns are: If the insurgents do that, it would make their IEDs more detectable. Moreover, the standoff will interfere with aiming.

A friend and I were working on a similar concept, a Humvee roller attachment. However, we could not find a machinist to build our prototype. Now that I am deployed, we could not continue our commercial venture. One feature of our design was that it was telescoping, meaning that we can vary the distance of the rollers to the vehicle. We can change the distance to respond to changes in IED tactics. Maybe General Dynamics will incorporate the feature into their next run of mine rollers, too.

Hi cam, when you get back, look me up. I have a friend who is a mcahinist (among other things) who could likely build you a prototype. He is a military enthusiast to boot. He has done some work for me in the past, and his work and ingenuity never cease to amaze me. I swear, the guy can build anything he puts his mind to. Perhaps the two of you can make something out of your idea.

That Idea is great for mines but not for IED's however. Most if not all of the IED's that are being employed are command detonated much like claymores. The idea that the roller would roll over it and detonate the device isn't feasable. Additionally the fact of the matter is that also most of the IED's are placed on the side of the road not in the road also negates any effect of the roller. I have seen concrete poured into molds to look like the curb around a 152mm round so at night the insurgents place it alongside the road and wait for the vehicle to go by. Just my observation from being there and 2 cents to boot.
-Dan

This was not my Idea, it was from an artical that I found that talkes about the Idea sorry for the miss info on that.