All Terrain Vehicle

The ATV is used, in varying forms, on frontier and airless worlds, or in situations where weather, atmosphere, or a traveller's intent preclude the use of air/rafts or aircraft.

• The term ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) includes AFV (Armored Fighting Vehicle) within its meaning.

Description (Specifications)

All Terrain Vehicle (ATV): Also known as the ATV, the All Terrain Vehicle is a wheeled or tracked vehicle designed to provide high-quality transportation on the terrestrial surfaces of any number of worlds.

• It can traverse all but the most forbidding (difficult) terrain and is fully amphibious (capable of water operations).

Image Repository

1. 

Common ATV Features

ATV's commonly have the following features:

• A typical ATV used on many worlds masses 10 tons, and can carry a payload of six tons, including the driver and seven passengers.
• Cruising speed depends on the terrain being traveled: roads can allow up to 100 kph, while cross-country will rarely exceed 60 kph, and broken ground will keep speeds to 20 kph and under. Tracked ATVs are somewhat slower that wheeled versions, but are more reliable in difficult terrain.
• An ATV may be powered by a battery charged from a ship's power plant, or it may contain a small fusion pack requiring water or hydrogen for fuel.
• The vehicle's pressurized interior allows up to eight passengers living quarters with reasonable comfort for long periods of time.
• The major drawbacks of ATVs are refuelling requirements (depending on the specific model), slowness in some types of terrain, and the bulk of the vehicle itself.
• While amphibious, most ATV's have very poor water performance. Unless intended for short trips, a dedicated watercraft is recommended. And in rough seas or under inclement weather conditions, on large bodies of water, an ATV can be a very dangerous vehicle to be in. Some more advanced ATV's have better water performance, but most have extremely poor water performance.

History & Background (Dossier)

ATVs are quite reliable, rarely experiencing mechanical breakdowns, but are susceptible to off-road difficulties such as becoming bogged down in mud or sand, or trapped by jungle growth. Generally, driver expertise can reduce the odds of such problems and help avoid such difficulty.

References & contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. Characters and Combat (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 18.
• Loren Wiseman. "The Ships Locker (ATV)." Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society 03 (1980): 28.
• Marc Miller. Across the Bright Face/Mission on Mithril (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), .
• Bryan Steele. Mercenary (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), .Frank Chadwick. Mercenary (Game Designers Workshop, 1978), .
• John Harshman, Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman. Library Data (A-M) (Game Designers Workshop, 1981), .
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), .
• Frank Chadwick, Dave Nilsen. Traveller: The New Era (Game Designers Workshop, 1993), 361.
• Ian Stead. Panga (Moon Toad Publishing, 2014), .
• Matthew Sprange. "All terrain Vehicle." Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society volume 1 (2019): 23-32.