Winter Trial Truck Help

[Alex Ilea]

Hi everyone ! 

I need some help . I am building a trial truck for winter. In middle January 2017 there will be a competition and of course I want to win but i have never build a creation that can have performante on snow. What do you suggest I do ? I think tracks are a must so what patern should I add for max traction ? It needs suspention ? Are L motors powerfull enought , because i need to use a big baterry box ? 

Please comment below your answers :)

[AkiyamaWataru]

First of all: Study the rules! and then think like whats not prohibited is allowed. So: Are tracks allowed? what options are left thenaybe 3Rd party tires work better in snow.

Some questions to think about:

1. Are you really driving in snow?
2. How much ground clearance do you want?
3. How low can u put this megablocking heavy batteries?

edit: extra questions

Edited November 28, 2016 by AkiyamaWataru

[Alex Ilea]

The rules are : build a truck , max nr motors:4 and no custom parts .

[Imanol BB]

I think that the best option is to use the larger, wider and softer tires you can afford, try to avoid using narrow and hard tires like motorcycle ones, another thing to consider is the torque and the weight, if you are able to make a very robust transmission and axles and using strong motors (XL's, NXT's) with a light chassis-body, you should use large tires and a descent torque, not too fast, so it wont stall with the lack of torque, and not too slow so it wont be a snail, but in the case that the truck is too heavy or there is a problem with the robustness and strength of the functional elements like axles, transmission and motors, your best option is to go for the highest torque possible and making the vehicle at a small scale, you could also see some arctic vehicles which have these same characteristics: large and wide tires, relatively low weight and descent torque, i hope this information results helpful. 

[Alex Ilea]

I want to use tracks since i can't afford anything now . I am thinking of adding 4L motors and 2 train bbs .I will keep you guys updated 

[Leonardo da Bricki]

Preferably, use the 9398 tires, or RC Ansmannn 1.9 tires for this crawler because of the snow. For tracks, try to build them similar to the Arctic Crawler set. To drive the tracks, I think 2 XL-motors would work better because it gives more torque while using less space. If possible, have the motors centered, with the BB above them. Gook luck!

[Imanol BB]

In the case you are going to use tracks, there are some things to consider, for snow vehicles, the tracks need to be wider so they wont sink in the snow, and because they are going to be wider, they will need higher torque than wheels, so don't expect the vehicle to be very fast, another thing is that tracked vehicles shouldn't need a a very long transmission system, like axles or gearboxes, which could be at your favor, you would only need to put the motors with a gear reduction and make them drive the tracks directly, so you will save a lot of space in there, and depending of the size of the model and tracks configuration there are many possible options, in my opinion, if you only have 4 L motors, you should make a tracked vehicle with one track on each side (like a tank) and with one motor driving each side of each track, batteries would be placed depending of the terrain and inclinations (which is very easy to do), i am interested to see some updates, i hope that you can complete your goal.

[zux]

2 hours ago, Imanol BB said:

I think that the best option is to use the larger, wider and softer tires you can afford, try to avoid using narrow and hard tires like motorcycle ones

These motorcycle tires are probably the best for winter TT (if you have enough for 2 pcs. per wheel). They have grippy surface and are narrow (which is good). Wide LEGO tires doesn't seem to have deep protector so they are going to just slip.

15 minutes ago, IA creations said:

I want to use tracks since i can't afford anything now . I am thinking of adding 4L motors and 2 train bbs .I will keep you guys updated 

Tracks are the worst unless you add liftarms on them to increase grip. But then again if track will have some inclined track this might not help at all.

[BusterHaus]

For driving on snow I highly recommend skipping differentials.  The speed difference between the inside and outside wheels will be absorbed by the slippery surface. Also, the 9398 tires are terrible for traction in snow:

 

[Alex Ilea]

Thanks everyone for suggestions :-D I actualy build 2 trucks , one with tracks and one with tires to see which performs better. The one with tires i have no prob building but i almost never built tracked vehicles so that is why i ask for help

[NXT45]

40 minutes ago, IA creations said:

Thanks everyone for suggestions :-D I actualy build 2 trucks , one with tracks and one with tires to see which performs better. The one with tires i have no prob building but i almost never built tracked vehicles so that is why i ask for help

 

It really depends what the terrain is for the competition. If it is outdoors it might work better for tracks but if it's indoors with logs or a wooden it might be a better idea to use wheels. If you want a good truck to start with I'd try making one of Thirdwiggs trial trucks. http://rebrickable.com/designer/thirdwigg

[MRP_]

I don't know how good the traction would be, but tires like these would sure keep you above the snow!

Also, depending on how cold it is, I would try to put some insulation around your batteries, or bring spare charged ones and keep them warm, as the cold really drains them. I've used some of those little pocket warmers that you shake to warm up wrapped around the batteries to keep them warm, but with lipos I'm not sure how safe that would be. just keep it in mind.

Edited November 29, 2016 by MRP_