Homebuilt

[KajunKrawler]

Im building this for my kids (and me), I am open for the "I would do it like this" opinions. I have tested the single long track with some success on keeping it on. I think with alittle more tinkering I can get it to stay on. I am going to test the two tread design after i complete it.
I have a spare t-20 that i will put in the next one after the prototype is complete. I designed it with a torque converter and double grooved pulleys with cogged belts for off the shelf parts design.
It almost thew me off the back of it when test driving just the one side of tracks so i think the 16hp has plenty pep for the job. I want to sheet metal the sides, styrofoam the bottom with sheetmetal skin. Anyone know the floatation calculation of the foam so i can see if it will float. Just brain storming.
Fire away!

[mudbug3]

KajunKrawler

Thats an exellent project that you,ve started. Thanks for posting the pictures. I,m really looking forward to seeing more of them. I,ve always wondered how tension was kept on the individual belts. Now I know.

[Mike]

Looks like a fun project. Do you straddle the motor and if so, how hot does it get?

[KajunKrawler]

there will be a firewall to keep the heat away and to protect against moving parts. Changing the rear drive to match the front. It is better to have the drive wheel leading the track i have found. Changed the track tensioning setup and made it easier to put the track on and off. Lots of cutting, welding, and testing. Repeat, repeat, repeat! Was able to test drive again this weekend I am very impressed so far. Very fun to drive. I would like to put some light weight tracks on it of some sort (snowmobile?) in the future. We dont have many snowmobiles here in south louisiana though.
I just saw the mini 6x6 video and my kids would love it. Thats my next project.

[jeffery9076]

great work

that is a great project and something the other kids will not have but we want more pics. nice sweet keep us posted

[mudbug3]

KajunKrawler


Thats a very interesting project you,ve started. I really enjoyed the pictures that you posted on the forum, but a video of your machine in action would be awesome!

[kd7alt]

Keep up the good work. Looks like fun. Lookig foward to see more of this later.

[golpher76]

hmm to keep the track on better maybe you should take a snowmobile track and cut it longways(so it isn't so wide) and instead of tires for drive wheels pull the jackshaft on a snowmobile and use the drive cogs off of that(they will help keep the track on also). I was thinking about building something like that a few years ago but then I had to get rid of my parts machine's(my town supervisor back then was a real jerk).

[jwiereng]

intersting that you found that it is best to have the drive wheel leading. Most tracked things like bulldozer and crawllers have the drive wheel at the rear.

The photos and your project are super cool. Keep us updated

[6X6]

intersting that you found that it is best to have the drive wheel leading. Most tracked things like bulldozer and crawllers have the drive wheel at the rear.

All the tanks I'm familiar enough with to know have the drive wheel leading, And most other tracked vehicles I know that have suspension have the drive wheel leading. OK, putting the drive wheel on the back would pull on the road surface of the track, and on an incline or heavy tow especially, load the suspension at least somewhat. On a dozer it would't because there is no suspension. I bet that's the bid difference.

[jwiereng]

It appears that you and I are familiar with different types of tracked vehical. I was unaware that many tanks and vehicles with suspension use the front drive. I was thinking of agricultural and heavy machinery. The machines I was thinking off do not have suspension. Things I thought of were John Deere crawler tractors, Cat Challenger which have rear drive. Case IH and Caterpiller bulldozers use a triangle shape with the drive up at the apex.
Bombardier machines have it in the back too as seen in this post on another 6x6 world thread
Yanmar makes a compact crawer it has front drive and according to my local tractor mechanic they get many in with stretched tracks. He says the front drive has to pull on the entire length, while the rear drive would only pull on the part on the ground, allowing the rest to relax.

Thanks for enlightening me about front drive and suspension.