4wd fwd articulated tractor???

[Brad_Blazer]

4 wheel steering is a good idea. I rented an all terrain forklift that steered like that. The steering had three modes: front wheel, 4 wheel, and crab. You had to make sure the rear wheels were aligned before switching back to front mode.

Solid Frame - make sure you allow a twist pivot to keep all 4 wheels on the ground. (Hope I'm not belaboring the obvious.)

Brad

 

[Taylortractornut]

Hey Cleatus I have an older friend that has made a few articulating rigs before. He had a 53 GMC3/4 tone and took a matching axle and made a mount for it in the front of the truck where the normal axle went. He then made a hinge behind the cab and mounted his transfer case under the cab. The transfer case had counter rotating shafts to reverse the rear axle that was mounted up front to make the truck haveagood steering radius he used a Caddilac Eldorado's CVjoint to make the sharp turns. He had 4foot tall tractor tires on it to make it more offroadable. I remeber it when i was a little kid hangin around there with my brothers and his friends. I ve known the builder since I was 16 and he is trying to get me a few pics of it . It had full 90 degree steering like a big loader meaning that it steeredd the front half 45 degrees each side off center. He left the springs on the truck so that eliminated the need to have an ocsillating rear axle. One reason for a cv joint is that a loader or skidder or a wheel dozer has 2 universal joints to prevent binding to get the full 90 degree turn. its usually on a short drive shaft no more than a foot or two apart on a slder shaft. Jimmy was a pulpwood logger and a general heathen. They used to have mud rallies over at the junkyard and also cross Little Bear Creek and its sandbars. The old 53 could actually float across on the tractor and combine tires. It also didnt mar up the terrain as the other buggies did. He used it a few years in the log woods to skid out pulpwood and other rides. When thelog yards quit taking stick wood he soldthe artic.

 

[cleatus]

Taylor, I like the idea. I threw this out as I had been wondering what to do with the Feiro other than a trike.

The other reason is I would perfer it earn its FUEL!!!!

 

[Taylortractornut]

Cleatus weld the differential up and flipp the front/ rear axle upside down to get the right rotation, Use the cv joint on that axle to make the drive and still use the Fiero.

 

[1962]

i have been kicking a articulating tractor around my brain for awile... i want to build the frame from scratch, hyd. cylinder steering, 3 cylinder kubota diesel,4x4 with hydraulic motors, chain drive... only part that is not in focus is pivoting of the drive axles for all wheel contact on rugged terrain.... or maybe something rubber tracked would be great if i could find a good used under carriage... any thoughts??? /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

Omost articulating rigs that have the pivotint xles they have a cradle welded onto the axle houseing and the pivot eatier goes ontop of this craddle orusues 2 half pins on either side of the chunk .The next time Im running a loader or servicing one ill try to post a few pics of the articulation and the ocillations of the axles.

 

[Catmando]

Brad, that could be a good idea. Cletus is really going to need the further gear reduction. Consider that he uses same diameter tires instead of doing 100 in top gear it would now do between 25 and 30 depending on what rearends he uses.

Only problem I see is that the engine would have to be more mid mount with that setup. Which means that it can't be so small. I never read what size that he was intending on making it might not matter. The engine has to be 140 or 150 hp. So power won't be a problem. It would be neat if the engine has a cruise contro. Set the rpm and the cruise control would act like a governor on a tractor.

 

[Catmando]

I've looked at this one. It has individual wheel hydraulic motors, and is 4wd.

 

[cleatus]

Cat, my thought was to mount engine to rear and run timming chain or gears to connect diff, each diff would have pinion faceing rear. At pivot joint, the thought was to have a CV mounted dead center like a carrier bearing with an extension of driveshaft running foward to a pillow block bearing with same chain or gear to connect front diff.

 

[davesisk]

How about taking two front-wheel drive axles (one in the front half and one in the rear half) and running each axle off of it's own hydraulic motor? Then you don't have to worry about how to make a driveshaft work with an articulating/oscillating joint between the front and rear, you've just got hoses running between the joints. Just a thought...

Dave