The Albee Rolligon is one of the 20th century’s coolest looking inventions and they are functional as well. Still used on specialty vehicles that need to traverse horrid terrain and need very low surface pressures, the Rolligon is a simple idea put into practice. Like tank treads that allow heavy things to pass over stuff like mud and sand with much more confidence than wheeled vehicles, Rolligons are essentially huge bags that support the weight of the vehicle while providing traction and keeping the weight of the vehicle’s footprint very low. In this video you’ll see this totally awesome looking five ton truck drive through some impossibly deep ditches, driver over WH Albee himself, and literally drive up the side of a building.

We think that Albee got the patent on this system in the 1950s but we’re not 100% sure. In 1952 a patent was granted to him that allowed for fluid filled bags to be used in the capacity that these are being used but we always thought that the Rolligons on this truck were filled with air. Maybe we were wrong. It is awesome to watch the bags deflect when the truck runs over different stuff like the hunks of a chopped up tree and other obstacles.

While the military never put these into widespread use, there are lots of pieces of equipment used in areas where things need to be amphibious or areas where wheeled vehicles would sink like stones. We have seen tractors, utility trucks, and even small excavators with Rolligons on them for use in places where they’d never get to otherwise. While this truck is cool there are more and better Rolligon vehicle videos out there. If this one trips your trigger let us know and we’ll keep the giant Rolligon goodness coming!

WATCH THIS AWESOME ROLLIGON EQUIPPED ARMY TRUCK GET PUT THROUGH ITS PACES –