Howdy David. I wish I had ran across this thread much earlier. First, I have to say I am impressed! I used to work on tracked vehicles in the Army. Everything from M-109 series of self propelled artillery, to the M-113 family of armored personal vehicles, to the large M-88A1 tank retrievers. After I got out of the Army, I went to school for mechanical engineering.
Before I say anything else, I'd like to preface what I'm about to say (post?) with, I'm not trying to take over your project or tell you what to do. No "however" next. It's your project, you do it your way.
I was wondering if there was any reason you decided to make your own track instead buying a pair off the shelf. If you did, you could use the same roadwheels as the vehicle that uses the track you settled for.
http://www.scohn.com/siteart/rubber-tracks.jpg
Product: Wheels tank or apc
A problem I see may arise is your tires/wheels. There is quite a bit of lateral force that's applied on the roadwheels during a turn. Every tracked vehicle I worked on had hardened wear plates for the centerguides to rub against on the roadwheels. As you can see in the picture, the aluminum roadwheels have rust. As you know, aluminum don't rust. That's a hardened steel wear ring that's attached to the roadwheel. Those rubber tires are going to get shredded in no time flat (No pun intended). Using off the shelf parts will take care of all these problems.
If I offended anyone with the way I presented what I know, I sincerely apologize. I never was very politically correct. I don't mean to step on anyone's toes. All I am doing is trying to help with problems I see will arise due to the experience I have.
