Unique Project - Need Help and Advice

[pura vida]

New to the forum and need some help with a fairly unique project. I need to collect some GPS data and the area that needs to be collected is covered in mud. Currently, the data is collected by walking through the knee high mud. Trying to come up with an alternative the best idea I've come up with is an RC with the receiver mounted to the top. Sooooo, is it possible to mount a 3 lbs object on top of a crawler, put big enough tires on it, and still have it float on top of mud that you sink up to your knees in if you walk across it?? Any specific car recommendations? Suggestions? Ideas? Thanks.

PV

[KillerBlackbird]

Would a drone that could hover above the mud work better?

[ctrwannabe]

Is the mud thick or watery? As long as the tires are large enough to spread the weight it shouldent sink. Maybe something like this ?

homemade swamp buggies

The tires could be small bicycle wheel (like 10" diameter) intertube that's inflated and strapped to a wheel?
Whatever your looking for I don't think it will end up looking like any of the crawlers you see here. You could also do like an rc fan boat?

https://www.google.com/search?q=rc+f...iw=480&bih=232

Any pictures of the area?

[jmz6]

Why not look into a Kyosho Blizzard, the tracks are wide so there is a lot of surface area? I don't have a Blizzard but someone that has one can chime in, they seem to float pretty good on snow, I am not sure about with the extra weight of the globe. Wouldn't be fun dunking the globe in a swamp.





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[pura vida]

Thanks for the responses. A drone/quad copter won't work b/c vertical is critical and any hovering won't cut it. I think something like the swamp buggy would be pretty slick, but would have no idea how to build/find something like that. An air boat/hover craft won't work b/c the size I need would be cost prohibitive.

PV

[pura vida]

The Blizzard looks promising, and something on tracks was my first thought, but I'd be concerned at 1/12 scale it might be too small? Was also a little concerned with clearance. But then saw this on the local craigslist, 1/10 scale rc rock crawler which looked promising. But then figured bigger would be better and could get bigger/wider tires on the 1/8th scale. But...., as I have seen, pretty much anything is possible in the RC world, what about doing a dually setup both front and back to double the tire foot print??

[pura vida]

Oh, and the mud is pretty thick, not a real high water content.

[ctrwannabe]

You could try tamiya clodbuster wheels and tires on a truck like that Craigslist add and prob get away with it maybe the dually set up front and rear could help.

[jebster]

This would be an interesting project. In my head I see 3 axles, not a lot of separation between them to keep the space between tires small. Front and rear axles steering. To keep it simple I would make them moa axles all driven by a single esc (dig wouldn't be needed). If you picked up 2 mad torques you will only spend like $300 and have all the axles and electronics you would need.

[Postclanker]

It would make a cool build thread when you do figure it out....

[warren]

I don't know how you would go about driving them but I know "jumbo kong" tires are freaking huge. they should float pretty good. if you are looking for big tires I would look into those.

[1tonscout]

I agree with warren. Get a cheap 1/8 Mad Torque with Dlux? gears and throw some jumbo kongs on it. I would also have some fishing line tied to it for recovery so you dont have to walk in the mud to retrieve it

[kuatto]

What about extending a set of axles to give a rig a real wide stance and rig up flat skies that are cut in the centres to allow tires to fit through to give you the motion needed but the skies keep it afloat on the mud?

---------O------------

[sickcivic95]

The ski idea would be good, they already make landing skis for planes and I've seen some for the large planes which would work great with a bit of cutting for the tire size you go with. Thinking you could even just make your own out of styrene for cheap....

--Dan

[jado6006]

Waay cool thread. Refreshing. Something besides our usual "i drilled holes in my diff gears, i'm at 4lbs 5oz's instead of 4lbs 6oz's!!". I gotta laugh cuz i'm one of those cats too. Anyway, it's tricky cuz there's no room for R&D. Ya kinda gotta get it right 1st time out. Which members of this joint knows, is always the goal, but NEVER happens. My 1st thought was, go to the folks that know. Rc'ers in florida. There's gotta be a whole segment of dudes that have rigs that deal with swamps. I've seen traxxas summits deal with stuff that no rc's have business dealing with. And, they're BIG. But i still think i'd research swamp rigs 1st. Then, there's undoubtedly a cat in your area that can build what you want. Just hit a local hobby shop with the rig your after, in mind. Someone there would be happy to build, or hand you off to, a builder that can duplicate what you want.

[crazy nick]

Redcat or whoever its makes that huge crawler that goes through anything. It s moa with 100 turn motors. Ive seen one in action. Crawl over way more than anything else ive ever seen.

[pura vida]

Thanks for the great ideas so far! Really appreciate it. So I really like the idea of the Jumbo Kongs just because it would be the easiest route to go. I also really like the idea of a three axle setup but that would quickly go WAY beyond my ability and know how. Keep in mind I'm a complete newb when it comes to the word of RC, especially crawlers and what I'm talking about trying to do. But I'm a quick teach... Budget is also a concern. Especially since I'm not positive it will work I really don't want to sink a bunch of cash into it. But the potential for saving time and effort could be huge if it came together. I would really like to keep the complete build to $500 or less to start with. If it looks like it will work then we can go from there. Of course this will be a work expense and will be written off! (How many can say that about there RC's ) The mad torques definitely fit the budget and I really like the 1/8 scale. Hitting up the FL guys is a great idea and will definitely be done. FWIW here is a link to what I'll be mounting to the top of the rig, Trimble - Transforming the Way the World Works.

[pura vida]

Oh, and I'll definitely be doing a build thread if/when I pull the trigger. Could be a lot of fun.

Not sure on the ski thing. I would be afraid of them getting too loaded up with mud reducing mobility and increasing resistance. The fishing line tied to the rig is a great idea but unfortunately will not eliminate the requirement of getting muddy for this job! So does everyone think a wheeled rig would be better than something on tracks like the one listed above? I would be a little concerned with clearance with the track rig but really have no idea which would work better. Thanks again.

PV

[redneck thug]

jumbo kongs on a emaxx chassis would work good....

[jebster]

seems like the best balance point would be get a cheap rig (1/8 mad torque) and add some really large tires/wheels (jumbo kongs) and take it for a test run. you wouldn't have to invest much (the mad torque is rtr i believe). if it works, great. if not you could either walk away (with a fun toy) or invest some more to address any shortcomings you see.

either way keep us posted. i would really like to see what kind of mud you are working with.