Mud Truck Thread!

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hmmm, around here a pack of butts is darn near $8. a six pack is about $10. pretty easy to get caught up in vices.
 
Carl I am thinking the fuel cell in the front may be a saftey rule no no.

Being a circle track guy I want to have that way behind me and alot of speed to keep it behind me.:D
 
On most four wheeler's it's between your legs.

There'd be a firewall (pun intended) between the fuel tank and the occupants. The tank itself would be well protected, aside from running into pipes/logs/other longish poles sticking out at the correct height.

My thought was for more nose weight, however your point is dually noted (gosh more punnyness) and water in the front tire would give farm more weight but not in the same way.

Another difference I'd like to make is a thinner distance between the roof line and the belly with the height being reduced.


Blacky, know anything about the portals? That'd be pimp as hell although they are a bit tall for most uses. The rear axle looks a bit funny with the 3rd member removed as well as the back of the bowl. And it's clear that's a well thought out suspension design. Looks like well over 200% AS.
 
A couple nights ago I started removing the "bowl" on the bottom of the axle in preparation to mohawk it. I was nearly done with my old Milwaukee grinder bit the dust. Yesterday I got another grinder (Dewalt) and it burned up today in about 90 seconds. The second Dewalt did fine.

Anywho, here is what I did this evening. Most of the time was spent trying to figure out how I wanted to do it. I think I have it figured out and will finish it tomorrow. I gained about 1.5" of clearance and made the bottom of the differential rock/stump/snag/leak/FUBAR proof, hopefully.

There's about a 3/8" clearance around the bull gear (internal). The arch is made from 4"x.5" flat bar. The cheek plates are .25".

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5" to the bottom of the housing
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Center Section:
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About 3.5" to the bottom of the housing. The square is at the "back" of the axle, the front angle is shallower and the bottom piece is also angled slightly to promote sliding over an obstacle.
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Cool! A modern aluminum rafter square with brace table and hundredths scale!


Sorry, that's the timber framer in me.;) That looks good LJ. My TJ skidder had a dent in the front diff housing, and the gear ate a hole in it.:O Your fix looks pretty bomb proof.:D
 
My truck after the ice storm last night...
 

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What do we think of a new Millermatic 185 w/ Spoolmate185, tank (filled), and 20lbs of wire (.023 and .035) for $850? Not quite enough balls to spray mild steel.

Carl,
Get ya a tank of Stargon. It's a tri-mix (90% ar 8% co2 2% o2) gas that burns hotter and damn near no spatter. Should spray just fine.
 
You think 185 amps is enough to spray .035?

I'll give it a shot when I get a new tank. :)
 
Looks like you got lucky. Don't see any dents in it. You probably need more practice driving in that stuff!!

Well...lemme see...Yeah I guess 30 years of driving on West Virginia roads in the winter isn't quite enough practice.:knucklehead:
 
yeouch! Nice looking truck though, hope the driver's side isn't banged up too bad. :cry:


Not one scratch:beerchug:

It took two trucks to winch it out without tearing it up. It was a pretty bad storm..multiple traumas in the local ERs, dozens of wrecks.
 
You think 185 amps is enough to spray .035?

I'll give it a shot when I get a new tank. :)

no.

I have a gas mixer and have tried the "stargon" with my miller 210. Never could get a very good spray out of it.

takes alot of power to do spray transfer.
 
Glad your truck was OK TZ. I think the biggest problem with winter driving is slowing down enough to be in controll. Ice is definitly worse than snow. Knock on some wood it has probably been 20 years since I have visited a ditch. That is not to say it couldn't happen tonight though. I came through some 100% whiteouts the other night. That is scary-where the hell did the road go?
 
Jasyus Carl you never cease to amaze me .
How did you learn so much at 22 years of age.
Where did the mohawk idea come from ? Why do it ?
 
Mohawk kits are sold, but you're looking at $180-200 for the cover and you still have to cut and weld it on (not a big deal). You can gain clearance, decrease the likelyhood of leaks, and greatly increase the strength.

I paid $37 for (nearly) 5' of 4"x.5" flat bar, and the 1/4" stuff is essentially "free." The length of .5" flat bar I have is enough to do 3 cases, or about $12 bucks per case and the experience of coping compound angles without 3D modeling templates.
 
First go round for the chassis design. The red section is the passenger compartment, yellow is for the engine, green is the "nose." The yellow and green "walls" are the bulkheads between sections.

Chassis10.jpg


9' from nose to tail, 3'5" inside the B pillar, 5' at the widest point. The B pillar will probably grow 3-4" to after I get the seats figured out. With 1.5"x.120" tubing, SW predicts 375lbs, w/o welds or bends. Under 415 shouldn't be terribly hard. That's approx. 210' of tubing.

The tail will be built around the engine, but their shoud be plenty of room for it. The fuel cell might go in the nose, to help with the weight distribution.

Some improvements I see right off is adding tube from the A pillar's bottom node, to the bottom tube. Another is to add a V tube in the center of the windshield.

Open to suggestions. :D

If you want a different perspective of the chassis, lemme know :)
 
Haha that's kinda the idea, it's kinda cumbersome to get in, which means it's just as hard to get out. The hole to get in is 23" long and 20" tall, in the current state, which is about as big as I'd want it to be.

What I see happening is I get it built, and you come to visit. You ask to drive, I oblige, you hit the funny button. As our lb/hp ratio exceeds the Z06, light starts to blur like we're in Fast and the Furious. Something hits the fan and we're barrel rolling through the woods at rpm's that should be reserved for tires at the Salt Flats, or the quantum physics department.

Instead of us loosing an arm or a leg because it got out and trapped between the cage and a hard spot, we hop out and have a beer.

Then again, maybe it was me driving.
 
LJ, not really to what you asked but..
Plastic windshield?
where will the spare tire sit, and can you get it on and off easily?
have you figured out space for spare parts such as drivelines?
where will the main winch be located? The nose section may be tight with the fuel cell in there. Also will you have a smaller winch for lowering the rear end?
How will you configure the wheel wells?
Lights mounted externally?
Will it be street legal? or strictly off road?
 
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