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tracked vehicle build up

1M views 1K replies 181 participants last post by  87manche 
#1 ·
well i started about a year ago getting information about building tracks for a truck and always like the mattracks design but the price was umph... out of my well... you know... so i decided on building a set of my own so after looking everwhere on the net and other formus this was what i came up with......
 

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#205 ·
well - I haven't seen rigs trying to go from steering crab, to circle, to front-only all from the steering wheel. Rear steer is usually a valve. You should pm Station and see what he says. I've watched heavy rear-steer action on some videos here, and it looks cool but from little snow-track wheeling I've done on tight trails, a separate rear-steer, that self-centers, would work well and be cheaper - but how much cheaper I'm starting to wonder? You are looking at two complete steering systems - maybe I'm over-reacting to your price there. My front ram-assist is going to be cheap but I'm a cheap-ass :homer: Less than $300 including lines and ram, but a good full hydro system for the front from a vendor is easily a grand - so your 2800 isn't THAT far off.
 
#206 · (Edited)
Self center is only a concern if you are steering the rear with with a seperate valve. If I am going straight in 4 wheel (round) steering I will be going straight if/when I switch to front. No?. And when I think about it... the only thing that "self centers" is momentum in a straight line with an open center valve. I cant find anything definitive on line . It seem like no one wants to talk about their 4 wheel steering secrets. 4 wheel steering is and has been done for years on different equipment ie snowblowers, telehandlers and various ag equipment. This shit cant be that hard. I cant design it but I can find it and adapt it.

"I haven't seen rigs trying to go from steering crab, to circle, to front-only all from the steering wheel. Rear steer is usually a valve. You should pm Station and see what he says. I've watched "

I have. The Rolba and a Telehandler
 
#207 ·
search for used skytrack parts, i personally know from experience they have a switch on them to change the steering just as you describe, normal front steering, both turn same direction, or front and rear turns opposite. those things are quite maneuverable once you get the hang of driving them, very tight u turns and being able to side step. not having to mess with a rear steer valve is :smokin:
 
#217 · (Edited)
why is this in the Zuk section now, anyway? Makes no sense to me.

Might as well try it figure out the base build of every buggy and move it to that forum...."lessee here, looks like this was a Suburban once, mostly, well the frame was, before it got rebuilt....but it DOES have a grill from Liberty...so it must be a Jeep Liberty....forget that the thread is about Rockwells, move it to the Jeep section".

Heck, the only vehicle pictured so far is a Subaru and a Jeep...

edit:..doh! wrong one.
same complaint tho' - just the wrong thread lol
 
#212 ·
Wouldnt you need to match the track length all around to match the gear ratio? Also what lug depth are you guys using for your tracks?

I finally started on mine and went with a spindle welded to the rim setup. I have two 136" tracks with 1/2" lugs that I picked up for cheap that I'm using to figure this out.

After getting the spindle setup, I think I should have tucked it into the rim a little more to help center the load. I think I will do this for the other three.

The spindle center is out about 4" from the center line of the track but its still in from the outside edge. I could pull it in 2 inches pretty easy.



 
#214 · (Edited)
Yeah that makes sense. I was looking at it in the sense of like setting the speed for a drill press. But since its just turning the track, the track speed remains the same no matter the length of it.

So to figure what the gear reduction is, I need to compare what tire size I run to the size of the rim I use for the tracks. So, shooting from the hip, I divide 15" rim into a 35" tire for a 2.33 gear reduction at the end.

Does that sound right?
 
#218 ·
this thread actually started in the dodge thread the tracks were for a durango and people are trying to jack it and move it where ever. one kid put his edit and moved it to ???? but all his was was a bunch of drawings of what he wished he could build, where as this is a set i actually built! lots of these guys start to buld these and then relize 1 they arent easy to do 2 it costs money to do it.
 
#219 · (Edited)
Not to mention, you've actually USED yours a bunch too :D I've had sets for years and not done anything to speak of.

EDIT: speaking of tracks actually being used - did you ever see the set of American Track Truck units running the Denali Hiway in Winter?
part one
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition
part two
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition Part 2
part three
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition Part 3
part four
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition Part 4
part five
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition Part 5
part six
YouTube - American Track Truck Alaska Jeep Trackspedition Part 6

DISCLAIMER: This is not me. I've finally been on the Denali Highway, just a month ago after living here most of my 42 years - and it's pretty remote even during the summer, when the road is open. In winter, it's closed, only snowmachines run it. A few years back a older couple and their grandson froze to death trying to drive out after the road had been shut down. It's 120 miles of just you and some of the most remote, beautiful country on this earth.

Like the trailer? He made it for the tracks or the tires, depending on which he was driving on. The fenders for the tires ARE the skis :D good trick.
 
#223 ·
Makes sense. I was also going to kick it up a little bit in the rear to help with backing up. Hoping that this will make it steer a little bit better. I'm only planning on running this setup in snow and maybe sand as we have some pretty good dunes around here.

I was going to build two supports from the end of the spindle down to the track frame but it seems that one might be just fine.
 
#227 ·
Here's a few!





I'm thinking of adding another set of wheels as it ended up longer then I thought. The wheels are just 8" heavy duty castor wheels with greasable bearings. The bearings have an ID of 3/4" so they are riding on a 3/4" OD and 1/2" ID tube with a 12" bolt holding them on.

From lift is about 45 degrees and the rear lift is about 12 degrees.

I had some firewood delivered today and the guy came into the garage and just stopped and stared. It was pretty funny. :D
 
#230 ·
So what happens if you left a tire off of the ground? What prevents them from just rotating into the body/bumper? Is the weight of the indiviual track enough to overcome the rolling resistance of the belt, dirver, & driven wheels? I have absolutely no need for these in the south, but they look like a fun project.
 
#232 ·
Oh yeah, these things are heavy but they roll real easy. I had no trouble pushing it around the garage.

Well now I'm thinking that even that spindle might not be enough. I found some that are 2.25" in diamter with an inner bearing size of 1.75". I might get those for the other three. They are for 7000 pound axles so I would hope that would do it.
 
#231 · (Edited)
Your bearing seems smaller than some - not that I know everything, but I bent a too-small spindle already, just want you to make sure you have the beef where you need it.
I was going to use shafts like my_nanc but I looked at these spindles and saw that they were 1 3/4" in diameter so I hope its OK. The axle shafts I got were 1.4" in diameter. I just used ones for a 3500 pound axle. I did find larger ones but they were only 2" in diameter. I figure if it fails, thats where it will do it. The shaft is sleeved right up to the seal area and its inset into the rim.

Time will tell......

The bearings for the bogey wheels are roller bearings. They ride right on the axle tube. Not the best setup but about the best I could find.
 
#240 · (Edited)
The bearings for the bogey wheels are roller bearings. They ride right on the axle tube. Not the best setup but about the best I could find.
I sell caster wheels for a living and those bogey wheels wont last you 3 miles at any speed above 10MPH. You need either a sealed precision bearing or a tapered roller bearing. I've witnessed the cages in the wheels your using cut threw the side of a caster leg....

RWM Caster makes wheel just like what your using but they have them with tapered roller bearings downside is the smallest size is 10X2-1/2.

There is a place in California called Aubin Industries, he can custom pour any sized wheel in urethane in any durometer with sealed precision ball bearings. His stuff is high end!!! He makes wheels for everything from roller coasters to dumpster from some pretty cool one off dual durometer urethane to urethane on aluminum

R&K Industrial Wheels has some 8X2-1/2 stuff with tapered roller bearings and they are a lot cheaper than anything from Aubin.
 
#233 ·
The bigger, the better. They have to deal with a lot of leverage. I am thinking of trying Toyota IFS wheel spindles/bearings, since they tend to get discarded as part of solid axle upgrades, yet are very large diameter spindles.

My "paint-cad" of a design for a rig with a unit bearing (like the zj) with notation showing it would need more offset for a hub (like a Toyota solid axle or a 44) ..... (Yes, I forgot key components like the disc brake :D and my knuckle doesn't look like a knuckle :homer:- that's paint-cad for ya')




As for the tracks rotating into/against the body - it can happen, but they weigh enough to hang down if you lift a "tire". On flat surfaces, they stay flat to the ground. In snow, you generally don't get to flex much.

However, just dropping into a soft patch of snow will do it to ya'.
Clicky the pic - at 3:50 you see him stick it....

 
#234 · (Edited)
I did end up getting the bigger stuff. Turns out it was cheaper anyway.

I got this spindle:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/5200...5fRVQ5fTrailerQ5fCamperQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

And this hub:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1-NE...5fRVQ5fTrailerQ5fCamperQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

If I bend that stuff then I got other problems!

I just plan on cutting off the flange and welding to that. I thought about building a plate to just bolt to it but that would make it a pain to get to the lug nuts for the rim.
 
#238 ·
Frozen ZJ - Have you checked to see if those hubs are cast? I was planning the same thing when I order my hub and spindles but it turns out the hubs are cast iron. It's a good quality casting, but it's not the easiest to weld to and get a good bond from what I'm finding out. I removed as much excess as I could and will have to go the route of a plate welded to the lower frame then bolted to the hub.

Where did you get those boogies from and how much were they each? So far those will cost the most of everything else and I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible.
 
#239 ·
I'm planning to build a set of my own, and I was thinking about using wheels from the bogey on snowmobiles. I like your design very much Frozen ZJ but I see one thing.

Your wheels are riding where there are windows for the drive wheels on the snowmobile. Is there any point with that? Isn't it gonna sound much and be bumping when the wheels are rolling over the windows? Why not make the wheels ride on the in- and/or outside of them?

I want to see more pics! :)

/Simon
 
#244 ·
welllll.....for instance, I have 16 wheels I'd like to replace, just to lift the front and rear of the track off the ground and leave just the in the middle of the track in contact - that's $800, for tracks that already are built. Plus one missing on the back of one of the tracks.



Likely I'll have to keep the bigger wheels on the ends, and move the shafts up a couple inches, or cut the frame box and weld it back together, because replacing the wheels will just cost too much.

I'll give you the "forever" - these tracks are older than most the Pirate off-road members :grinpimp: and still rolling.
 
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