Offroad Vehicle Design bible

[Zerobricks]

Thank to everyone for the feedback.

When I have some spare time, I will update the bible with articulated steering, correct the Tatra camber angle mistake and add suggestions by Sariel.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Zerobricks

[Mechbuilds]

Typo on:
5. 9V-RC motor

"1. Most oowerful Lego moto" Should be Powerful

Edit:
Also in the last sentence, "Remeember to use diagonal support, since triangles are the strongest shapes." 

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by Mechbuilds

[AVCampos]

I was googling for ideas to draw inspiration on for a hybrid sand runner/crawler (especially on ideas for a symmetrical 6-wheel chassis with pendular axles), and I'm surprised that only now I discovered this treasure trove. Great work, the thread really should be pinned!

It's unfortunate that, as of this writing, all the images are broken, but the text is still very useful and informative.

[Krxlion]

7 hours ago, AVCampos said:

I was googling for ideas to draw inspiration on for a hybrid sand runner/crawler (especially on ideas for a symmetrical 6-wheel chassis with pendular axles), and I'm surprised that only now I discovered this treasure trove. Great work, the thread really should be pinned!

It's unfortunate that, as of this writing, all the images are broken, but the text is still very useful and informative.

I am as surprised as you, thank you for finding this topic. I will bookmark this thread for sure, the text itself provide a lot of knowledge. You should be proud of yourself Zerobricks and with little bit of spare time you could update this topic.  Various things changed since 2019.

[Ryokeen]

If you discovered this topic just now, there is another good one:

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/92099-axle-collection-thread/

[Krxlion]

20 minutes ago, Ryokeen said:

If you discovered this topic just now, there is another good one:

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/92099-axle-collection-thread/

Thank you Ryokeen, with this one I am familiar with, because it gets updated pretty frequently :)

[Zerobricks]

16 hours ago, AVCampos said:

It's unfortunate that, as of this writing, all the images are broken, but the text is still very useful and informative.

Photos restored!

Who knows, maybe I will update the topic one day, since a lot of things have indeed changed and improved since 2019. Currently it's easier than ever to make off-road models.

[AVCampos]

Thanks! I now see how beneficial the H-drive is, and with the programmability of PU hubs it should be possible to implement torque vectoring and thus eliminate the need for differentials while still preventing skidding during curves..

[Zerobricks]

On 1/23/2024 at 8:38 PM, AVCampos said:

Thanks! I now see how beneficial the H-drive is, and with the programmability of PU hubs it should be possible to implement torque vectoring and thus eliminate the need for differentials while still preventing skidding during curves..

You can go a step further and have each wheel powered by an independent motor too! But uneven terrain might end up messing up the calculations since the wheels have to drive a longer distance than when driving on a flat surface.

[AVCampos]

That would provide even more power and eliminate long drivetrains, but in my case can't be done because I want to use a single 4-port Technic hub, and the motor ports will already be taken by 2 for propulsion, 1 for steering and 1 for gear shifting.

[msk6003]

This is great article for offroad starter!
Will you add new one-piece planetary hub on here later?

[Krxlion]

I will dig out this gem once again, because I come back to it from time to time. I have a question regarding building off-road vehicles that wasn't mentioned in this article, which is weight distribution. I am testing my model and I found one obstacle hard to overcome, which is a 30-35 degree ramp that has a steep tip before it. I can see that my model has plenty of power, because front wheels overcome that tip without problem, but once rear wheels approach it, they spin and cannot climb onto it. For furthermore tests, I placed my model after that tip and elevated ramp to around 40 degree, and it goes up without problem. So my thinking is that my model has poor weight distribution and I think the rear is too heavy, but I would welcome to hear from you guys, what do you think.

PS Photos are dead yet again :(

[Zerobricks]

1 hour ago, Krxlion said:

I will dig out this gem once again, because I come back to it from time to time. I have a question regarding building off-road vehicles that wasn't mentioned in this article, which is weight distribution. I am testing my model and I found one obstacle hard to overcome, which is a 30-35 degree ramp that has a steep tip before it. I can see that my model has plenty of power, because front wheels overcome that tip without problem, but once rear wheels approach it, they spin and cannot climb onto it. For furthermore tests, I placed my model after that tip and elevated ramp to around 40 degree, and it goes up without problem. So my thinking is that my model has poor weight distribution and I think the rear is too heavy, but I would welcome to hear from you guys, what do you think.

PS Photos are dead yet again :(

I would recommend having more weight in front in order to easier climb over steps like you emntioned and to keep the model more stable when going uphill.

I will look into photos, I probably deleted them while cleaning up Bricksafe - I'm running out of room.