Pirate 4x4 banner

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......
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#246 ·
sorry guys but i get a kick out of this, the "I want to build a set of tracks for cheep as posible" you have to spend money to make them work, i figure i have about at least 800 per track not including the tracks, it just takes time and money to build something right,also all the weight is on the wheels and if theyre is only a few on contact with the ground think of the shock load they will take when you drive over something that isn't level. on a side note i have started my drag for behind the truck here are some picts.
 

Attachments

#247 ·
The drag looks great :D

For sure, with you using your rig as a groomer, the tracks need to be 100% Duty Cycle - and you've put the miles on it to prove your idea out too.

For some, just trying to make something they'll use a few hours a year, at low speeds, they can afford to learn what fails :D However, you aren't likely to find "Good" goes with "Cheap" much....

I think it's great so many people are exploring what it takes to make these tracks work. Maybe something innovative will come along.
 
#251 ·
Do you mean they're machining off the flange on the hub? If so have, you had any issues welding to them?
Here's a picture of the spindle to wheel adapter I made. I shaved off as much steel as I could and not sacrifice to much strength. I plan on having gussets tying the adapter to the wheel for that little bit extra strength. The spindles are 3500lbs. capacity and should be over kill for the baja.
 
#254 ·
Yeah, pretty much just like that. Mine wont be tapered and the spindle diameter I'm using is 2.25". I think that 1.75" one would be fine for a baja bug lik you said.

The hubs are cast steel so I dont think I'll have any problems welding to them. Its cast iron you need to look out for.

i understand the spindle but what about the hub what are you going to use? and how do you guys plan to mount it?
Pretty much like how you did it. Cut the hub down so its round and then mount the supports to it.



Rethinking the whole wheel approach. Maybe using sled parts is the way to go....
 
#256 ·
Cast steel you say? My feeble brain never considered that possibility. I might have to try welding on part of it and see what happens. Here's a shot of what I have right now. I milled off everything but a large enough area to bolt the lower frame to. But there's still considerable amount of weight to the thing. If I can weld directly to it and not warp it I could knock off a lot more weight.
 
#260 ·
Thats what I was going to do but decided to cut the whole thing off. I figured it would be easier to get to the lug nuts. I to am looking at saving what weight I can.

I talked to the people that sold me the hubs and they said you wont find many hubs that are cast iron. The ones I got were cast steel and they weld just fine.
 
#258 · (Edited)
The hub adapter thing spaces the spindle out enough to clear the hub. The adapter (on my application) is 3/16" thick on the part that goes inside the rim. With an OD of 3.25" it just fits inside the rim and clears the part that sticks out of the hub. I also plan on adding gussets from the adapter to the rim.

Let me know if this makes sense, I could get some pics up.
 
#263 ·
yeah - just build it :D Maybe it will help get material out of the track even? Or if you find it is a problem, you can adapt/adjust the track width of your wheels to run on the smooth areas of the rubber. But get 'er dun! Too much over-analysis can keep you from ever getting anything built, which is worse than a failure of design.
 
#264 ·
Yeah no kidding! Seems if you look at it long enough you can always find a reason why it wont work.

Got my hub adapter things back.

They are cut to fit inside the rim and are also cut inside to clear the hub that sticks out. The outside is cut up 2" so putting the lug nuts on will be easier.



Here's the idea. I'll also add in gussets between each lug for support.

 
#265 ·
That's exactly as I am planning. Only I had to bore mine from solid steel due to the large diameter of the wheel opening vs. the smaller diameter of the axle. Talk about time consuming. And despite all the down talk on cheap wheels, I'm going to through on the cheapest wheels with bearings I can find. They'll do well enough to prove out the system. Besides, the baja is lighter then trucks.
 
#266 ·
guys watch with your design on driving on the windows of the track, they arn't strong enough and they break out, the steel actually rips out the track windows and cuts the track. That is why i went with the slider design althow the snowmobile tracks are cheep and easy to get a hold of they arnt the strongest for our opplications.
 
#272 ·
Well that might suck. I added another set of axles to help distribute the load. Guess we'll have to see how it goes.

The snow is piling up here also. Its about three feet deep up in the mountains so I'm pushing to get done.

I'm planning on adding some more support for the frames but they are coming together.

 
#267 ·
just ordered some 20" wide by 151" long tracks should be here next week then i will start on my new build which is a 1995 chev track truck should be abele to go anywhere the wide tracks on the rear and 136 on the front picts to follow later as i get it done, first i need to finish the drag set up.
 
#274 ·
I welded the drivers on first and then used them as a guide to cut out the slots. It helped drop the weight of the rim back down and gave a place for the snow to go. It also took forever to do.





I thought if I ever did it all over, I would get some rim centers and just build my own just using the centers, drivers and some rings on the outside to tie it all together and help hold on the track.

Like this:

 
#275 ·
yah i am in the process of trying to find someont with a table plasma cutter to make me the center sections of the rim exatly as the last picture you have. then you can just place the round rod on and weld, easier than what you did, but just as effictive, you have any more picts of the amer tracks, closse up of all the design and angles>
 
#276 ·
I just linked that pic off of their website. I don't really have a any more that they dont have online. I did find a post of them for sale on a board somewhere and they mentioned that the track lugs were 1" deep.

I was thinking of getting centers from here:

http://www.mudprometalworks.com/wheelcenters1.html

Looks like they do custom sizes and stuff. I think going that way would be better in the end and maybe even be less work. Does look like they are all drilled and the drivers are sleeved in. That might make it easier to assemble and get all aligned.

If I ever build another set, I'll do the rims like that and use snowmobile parts for the bottoms.
 
#277 ·
Got a dry run on mine last night. Seemed to work pretty good. Floated across some snow about 2 feet deep or so. I purposely rammed into stuff to see what would go and I managed to bend the front axles on the leading tracks. I figured I would so they will get torn back down and built beefier.



 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top