When we were looking at replacing our quad bike we needed a vehicle that met specific criteria.

1. It had to survive continual exposure in a salty environment.
2. There was a need to travel over soft sand whilst towing a boat.
3. We needed to move a large volume of equipment onto the beach.
4. As we didn't have a tower, a stable base to stand on would be good.

Our Original Argo Vanguard 6x6 has over the 5 years at Ocean Beach, been slightly modified as we learnt what needed improving for our specific operation. We put tracks on it which gave us better performance on the soft sand at the entrance to the beach. We have had the chassis totally galvanised along with the wheel rims and other exposed metal. The key start has been changed to a simple sealed push button to stop the ingress of sand and finally but not least, we cut bigger drainage holes in the bottom. This wasn't just to let out the water after the wash down; vibration whilst driving moved loose sand to the rear of the hull and out of the larger holes creating less wear on the chain drive.

There was one other bonus that came with the Argo, we won the support of the Ocean Beach local residents. Ocean Beach is a conservation sensitive area and anyone can see that with the low ground pressure, minimal impact on the environment occurs. The tracks made a huge difference in its towing capacity and with the Argos increased carrying ability over the quad, less trips to the beach also saves petrol.

To the descriptive word versatility we must also add functionality, it is when the Argo is missing that we realise how important it is to our role of saving lives, it makes our job that little bit easier.