Attex Welding Questions???

[terra tiger crazy]

I was thinking about plastic welding the cracks then maybe using the GOO to help smooth the bad spots. I think will copy the skid plate, but with maybe a little thinner material. My frame is very straight and heavy so I won't be reinforcing it much. As for the re-body option, I am not thinking of doing that to the trainer. I was thinking about future 6x6s that I might find. I have past up a few that had a complete drivetrain, but destroyed bodies.

[marshgunner]

I like you tried to plastic weld the cracks in my tank trainer. Some cracks held some did not so I to will be trying the abs goo cloth method and hope I have better luck than the welding. I have took some time away from my trainer to work on a hustler but after that is done I will start back on it.

[hydromike]

I just visited HydroMike's gallery. His trainer is ah-some. <snip> Mine of course will not have a diesel. I haven't decided what engine to use yet. The original is locked up bad.

Thanks TTC. Actually, the engine in my Trainer is a Kubota gas engine. It's a WG750, about 25hp or so. It's a very neat little engine.

I coppied a lot of Hydromike's ideas in the rebuild of my tank trainer, and as Larry mentioned I also tried the ABS goo/ fiberglass cloth hybrid repair. It seems to be holding up really well.

Brian's ABS/cloth repair is holding up a lot better than some of the cracks in the body on mine. I went a different route when trying to reinforce the body itself, but in hindsight I would have put an internal plate in the upper body to reinforce trouble areas I'm experiencing. After ABS welding both sides of the cracks and putting the skid plate on, most everything on the lower body has held together. On the upper, I have a recurring crack on the left side upper that's been welded, rewelded, and it still comes through after a ride. I know exactly why it does, and I've given up fixing it. When 'Race says that the frames could use some beefing up, it doesn't have anything to do with the heavyness or straightness of it. The frames in the Trainers twist like crazy. They're basically a ladder frame, so they're kind of designed to be somewhat flexible to take the stress off other components. The problem with this, is that ABS doesn't really like to flex with the body.

At all.

I can go for a ride and actually see the crack open up if I try to keep (for instance) the front left tire up on an obstacle. This is with a 1/4" HDPE skid plate, the original 3/16" steel angle belly band, and an additional 3/16" plate sandwhiched between the upper and lower bodies. I realize that these will flex too, and my efforts have eliminated quite a bit of flex that's transmitted to the ABS, but these key stress points are still taking a bit of a blow. It's a battle-scarred beast of a machine, and I'm not too worried about it (any longer).

My opinion (with most any machine, but this is particularly applicable to the Trainers) is that investing in the time and money to fabricate a skid plate on a machine is worth every penny, and every minute. It's not a lot of fun, and takes a lot of finesse with the applications of weight, pressure, heat and the development of new combinations of vulgarities. Unless you have more than one machine, you only have to do it once.

Good luck.... let us see the progress....

[terra tiger crazy]

IMAG0622.jpg
I got alot of the welding done.Then I ran out of rod, I will have to order more.

[racerone3]

Attachment 8743
I got alot of the welding done.Then I ran out of rod, I will have to order more.

It is amazing to look at pics of the known trainers before repair. almost all have cracks in the same places!!

[hydromike]

Looking good! Do you plan on splitting the upper and lower bodies to gain access to the inside of the cracks for welding the tough spots on the upper?

Compared to some (mine, for example), it looks like you're dealing with a fairly straight body that seems to be in one big piece. Keep it up....

[LarryW]

Looking good!

[terra tiger crazy]

it looks like one big piece, but it is a lot of smaller broken pieces welded together. I plan to split it in half after I finish welding the outside cracks, to help keep the cracks and body straight. I also completely striped the frame for paint and repair. I did a flex test with a tree stump cement blocks and 240 lbs of me. It flexes it more than thought it would. Does anyone think that a sheet of steel welded down the center of the frame, for the full length of the frame would make it rigid enough to cut down on the flex?

[LarryW]

I doubt it would help much unless its really thick but then its heavy. Is it possible to put some cross braces that go diagonally across the frame or parts of the frame? I would think that would help. Thanks for the updates!

[terra tiger crazy]

It was a sad sight toady I cut the top off the trainer. It is now in pieces. I found even more damage, and bad repairs. I was wondering if anyone has made a mold of a 6x6. To make a fiberglass replacement body. My terra tiger is fiberglass, and is super strong. It seems like a fiberglass body would hold up better for aggressive off road driving.