Route 6x6 -- A Gem for ATV Enthusiasts

ATV fanatics--those of you who eat, drink and sleep ATVs--should know about a website I found when surfing the internet. It's called Route 6x6 (http://www.route6x6.com). The site provides all types of information, and I mean ALL types of information, on the 6-and 8-wheel amphibious ATVs, also known as AATVs. You might say that this site offers everything you want to know about amphibious ATVs, but were afraid or didn't know what to ask.

The site was developed by Richard Clark more than 15 years ago, when the internet was not known by a lot of people. He was motivated to start a site on the subject because there was very little, if any, information on AATVs. "I thought there should be a place where people could come together to exchange ideas, place ads, and find out information about the 6 and 8-wheel amphibious ATVs," said Clark.

AATVs have been a hobby for him for more than those 15 years Clark has been administering the site. He has bought out the products of many AATV manufacturers who went out of business and today offers hard-to-find parts for older and new AATVs through ROUTE 6x6 and another website called Richard's Relics (http://members.aye.net/%7Erclark/). You can request parts you need by just describing what you want in a simple phone conversation with Clark, or by contacting him via e-mail.

"The site is truly a gem! It provides the history of the AATV. For example, did you know that these 6 and 8 wheel machines were first offered in the 1960s and '70s? Also, more than 70 companies manufactured these machines including AMF (a company associated with Harley Davidson) and even Sears & Roebuck. Today, only two of the original manufacturers survive--Recreatives Industries, manufacturer of the Max, and Ontario Drive & Gears, producer of the Argo. Most of the companies, however, went out of business in the 1970s due to a recession and the gas embargo, and later due to the influx of the three-wheel ATVs from Japanese manufacturers that were cheaper and more reliable. Six and eight wheel AATVs staged somewhat of a comeback in the late 1980s," said Clark.

"Sales of AATVs in the late 1980s were many times the sales of the early '80s," Clark said.

Today there are again a number of manufacturers making AATVs other than Recreatives Industries and Ontario Drive & Gears. Route 6x6 provides links to these manufacturers' websites. The site also provides links to dealers and distributors of AATVs as well as personal sites created by people who have a fascination with AATVs.

Also, there were associations that sponsored AATV races in the old days of the 1960s and '70s. You can find out all about this at Route 6x6 in a section called "Blast From the Past."

A section called "Memory Lane" offers a large collection of magazine articles, circa 1970s, that goes into the AATVs available at the time. A category called "Information Bank" offers additional information about older machines, as does a section called "Museum." Dates of events, AATV-related shows and rides organized by AATV owners and clubs are listed in a section marked "Events." There also are articles which describe how to modify an AATV (Section called "How To") as well as how to maintain them (Section called "Tips"). A Photo Gallery shows images of restored AATVs, and there are also photos of AATVs in action as well as general photographs. In fact, the site carries 26,000 images of AATVs and things related to AATVs. Do you have an AATV you want to sell? You can list it in the website's classified sections. Do you have something to say about AATVs and you want others to hear you? You can post it on the Discussion Board. You can buy AATV videos, manufacturers' manuals, T-shirts and other items from the website's "Shoppe" and see the latest brochures describing the new ATVs in a section called "New Toys."

Finally, the site includes a state-by-state listing of owners of AATVs in a section called "Owners' Registry." All AATV owners are encouraged to sign up.

"Today," said Clark, "AATVs are used as utility vehicles. People ride them in the woods, but most people use them to go hunting, fishing, camping, and rock exploring. People like the fact that these machines can ride through water and the design allows you to sit in the machine, not on it. So riders stay dry, warm and clean, even if they ride in mud swamps all day. Another thing people like is that these machines can carry four people as well as up to 1,000 pounds of cargo."

Perhaps you never knew that these things ever existed.

Check out the site. Go to: http://www.route6x6.com.