Snowmobile
 

I'd like to build an R/C snowmobile, but have some questions:

1: I've never really looked at how a real snowmobile is built. Do they have a rear suspension? Ideally, a diagram showing cutaway views would be great.

2: Are there any tracks/treads out there that will handle fairly high rpms and be durable? I've seen some tank treads, but they don't look all that good and look like they would fly apart.

I'm thinking 8th-10th scale in size. I have several BNIB MM and MMPro ESCs laying around, so I'd probably use one of those coupled with a decent 60-70mm motor running on 4s or 5s. Top speed around 25-30mph would be plenty.

There are probably kits already out there, but I want something very durable with easy/plentiful parts replacement access.

I have lots of spare parts floating around (chassis, diffs, bulks, arms, tons of different shocks, etc) but I'd almost rather stick to Traxxas parts since my LHS has a good inventory of those parts. Sucks having to order stuff online when experimenting and then waiting again when that idea doesn't work and have to order something else.

One idea I had was to use an 8th scale diff with VERY thick oil in it (>200k) and then use only one side of the outputs to drive the track. The other side would be unloaded, but since the oil is so thick, it would act like a slipper. Or, just fill it with putty or JBWeld.

Another idea is to tear my Slash apart and use the FLM tranny and whatever else from that vehicle. This would allow me to keep the motor in front and put the battery in the "seat".

I've seen several skis I can use, and the front can use Revo shocks for the suspension. I'm thinking a fairly narrow setup like a Slayer/Slash or an 8th scale buggy (minus the driveshaft/diff). The body could probably be easily made from a chopped Proline truck body or something similar.

I have a spare pair of tracks...


http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...k/CRT5/024.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u...CRT5/027-1.jpg

I'd probably have to mod them to appear more like a snowmobile. How do they hold up under power?A set of two would be great because then I'd have a spare.

Parts are availible for this, http://www.brentfordrc.co.uk/Scripts...?idproduct=833

Not a whole lot on Ebay but did mange to find a track
http://cgi.ebay.com/BL10B-Kyosho-Nit...item518e9f3736

Just for an idea, 2010 Yamaha Apex MTX mountain sled.

Bondo: Yeah, I saw those, as well as the selection here, but don't know if they can take the power and speed of BL.

redshift: Those pics do help. What I want to make won't look that fast, bit it gives me an idea of the rear suspension. To make things simpler, I might not even use a rear suspension, but a lot of that will depend on the track and chassis design.

Suspension is really not needed for an RC. Even if you're jumping, you're still gonna have a soft landing...

But a mock suspension would look cool and maybe give some adjustability.

I've wanted to do one for a long time, the only issue is the track. Not something that's easily custom made. I looked at that ArtAttack sled on FD's site a few years back, and was not impressed. Thing just looks old, has a low hull and is probably useless in anything more than about an inch of snow.

Wallyworld sells (or used to) some really cheesy ones, other than that I'd have no idea where to start on the track. Arc's tracks look maybe a bit narrow. I'm surprised there aren't more mfrs doing them. The market would be fairly substantial I think?

i've got a wally world sled. it's a new bright. it easily accepts hobby grade electronics, i just haven't done it yet:neutral:

the kyosho blizzard tracks handle power and speed well. can't wait to see what you come up with.

Well I didn't ignore the Blizzard track(s) suggestion. But I think there are a few problems with that. Only using one I don't know if there's enough 'flotation' because they are so open. Also they are made to use over the wheels and might not flex tight enough for a small radius, so the scale appearance would be lost. Not sure how you'd use those with sliders, AKA Hifax. The drive I would do direct, I don't see a need for a slipper or any kind of clutch.

Keep in mind 25-30 mph will take about the same amount of power that it would take with a similarly sized boat. Or more.. sleds are huge HP wasters. Even 20 mph would be very impressive.

Yeah NewBright. They aren't bad, and will like you said accept good elecs. A buddy and myself had one to look over real well, and we decided it looked like it just wouldn't take much power. On the good side they are BIG, you open the cowl and it's like "where's the beef?" lol there's this tiny 540 in a massive hole.

I did find a nitro modded one on YT, not gonna bother posting... but did find this also- http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_6554521/tm.htm

A newbright sled would make a decent starting point, but they are out of production. Besides, getting certain replacement parts (mostly cosmetic) would be difficult at best. Hence my desire to use parts from current products, modded as necessary.

Before I start this, I really want to find a tread solution that has the "float" (thanks redshift for that point) and durability I'd need. Chris's tracks, while small, seem like a good solution once modified as needed. I would disassemble them and restructure the wheels/drive unit to be more flat. If I can do that, it looks like it would give me around 5-6" of tread length. May be a bit small for 8th scale, but certainly fine for 10th scale.

Yeah, sleds are power hogs, but I do have a Medusa 36-80-2000 motor currently not in use. That should be enough power on 5s for a 10th scale vehicle I would think.

Suspension is not really important to be honest. If the snow is hard enough to make it required, I would be using a wheeled vehicle anyway. This would be for the fluffy/deep stuff that would cause a normal vehicle to simply dig itself into a hole. If I put suspension, it would be most likely in front only and mainly for looks.

Chris, where can I get a set of those treads you have in your pics?

I'm sure you have seen some of the ones on youtube but, check this one out. It is pretty cool even though it is gas powered. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nas51B21cI&NR=1

Yeah I guess the concern I had for Arc's was the relatively shallow paddles. That could be improved with some small aluminum angle pieces possibly. And are those straight friction drive, or do they have some cogs/positive drives?

There really is a lot to consider with an RC snow vehicle of any sort.

discontinued radio shack fare. they really weren't that great, i had a set of 4 and the tracks dried out and just crumbled apart.

Well that sucks!

Hey Brian, I know you said you didn't want a toy sled, but this one doesnt look too horrible and is 1/8 scale maybe you can rob some parts off of it or use it as a starting point? Just a thought anyway...

I can't get to their website from work to see anymore detail on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Interactive-To.../dp/B0026R7B0C

You know about the sleds and mechanisms from Full Force, right? I link to but I've gotta go and am on a crappy computer ATM.

http://www.artattacksnowmobile.net/ Those handle brushless and the tracks/treads whatever they call them are like steel belted radials, they have to have alot of holes in them or the snow bunches up and gets 50lbs.... lots of options and upgrades. Parts to use or ideas if building your own

OKAY HERE IT IS

:lol:

The ski kits are nice to know, thanks. Now, to find a decent/durable track setup short of buying an entire kit...

you don't need a solid track for flotation- think snowshoes. a solid track will actually trap snow and cause drag/add weight blah blah blah

http://www.artattacksnowmobile.net/h...ck_drives.html
http://www.artattacksnowmobile.net/h...spensions.html

BrianG did you look at this on the ArtAttack site?

maybe check out the art attack site http://www.artattacksnowmobile.net/:rofl:

What site was that? Link please.

Cool project man! Cant wait to see what you come up with.

Those Artattack sleds look pretty cool actually. I would think the track would be at least usefull for you. Mount it to your own chassis and use the skis from fullforce. The trick is the sled body tough. The full force one is the only one Ive seen.

Hmm the AA's don't look bad I guess, maybe it was just looking at it on FD that made it unappealing....

Thought I'd throw in some inspiration...

<object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8d_C2JRniXw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8d_C2JRniXw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zaGXKKsxw-Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zaGXKKsxw-Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TBeQA1trE2U&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TBeQA1trE2U&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TWyGgtkBIsI&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TWyGgtkBIsI&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Nice vids Redshift... :yes:

the radio shack tracks Chris has are actually licensed reproductions of Mattracks, an outfit that makes tracks for 1:1 4x4 vehicles.

Here they are on Ken Block's subaru- (make something like this Brian!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDNL...layer_embedded

I know this is not what you are looking for but could work very well as a RC snow vehicle. This a very old video as you will see.
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...topicseen.html

Very, Very Cool !

That was really cool. I want an RC version of that!:yes: Any ideas for what thos drums could be made from? Other than the drums everything else seems like it would be pretty easy. ESC control software from a tank would work perfectly.

Has to be one of the most unique things Ive seen in a while.

There are a few guys curretly doing it in Sweden.
Perhaps you can pick something up from the pics, let me know if you need any translations.

Here are links translated via google

http://translate.google.com/translat...er&sl=sv&tl=en

http://translate.google.com/translat...hp%3Ft%3D44146

/Emil

And a few videos.
(He is working on the turning radius - if that is the correct word)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzVC5AH7xgQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxl0j...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQyJg...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nas5...eature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enwpE...eature=channel

Here are some pic from a Art Attack that I had and sold.

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...NOWMOBILE2.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...NOWMOBILE3.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...NOWMOBILE4.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE17.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE15.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE16.jpg

More:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE11.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE12.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...OWMOBILE13.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...NOWMOBILE7.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...NOWMOBILE9.jpg

Here is one that someone did with rear suspn:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...ARTATTACK4.jpg

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...ARTATTACK5.jpg

And the coolest RC snowmobile, this was a prototype that was never made:

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...u4333/Sled.jpg

Thanks for the pics snowman! If you don't mind me asking, why did you sell it? And, in your opinion, what are the weak points you see, if any?

The Art Attack seems to be the best option really. After I get the track setup and skids, the price is getting close to a full kit.

I did not have the money I needed to finish it so I sold it to a person here, maybe he will chime in.


It is made for nitro, so making it electric was a little hard. I think I made the motor mount and was going to use a Tekno elektri-clutch. The plastic is kind of weird, more toy like then hobby grade. I don’t relay remember much more about it.