For those interested, most of the plans I have implement a square tube base, with rount tube above that. There are exceptions. The Edge buggies use more square tubing for other areas, although the roll cage is round tubing. The Rorty R6 is all round tubing, but the R82 (two seater) has the square bottom with round everywhere else.
I received plans for the Badland Buggy ST2 LT since my first email. The documentation is slightly better than the Edge, with more 3d views and more information on each page. For an absolute beginner, or somebody less mechanically inclined, these may be an alternative to the Rorty for complete plans. You might, however, find the numerous detailed plates to be cumbersome.
While I think there are some neat design aspects, the implementation seems to be less refined. For instance, the rear a-arms are only 14" pivot to pivot. That puts a lot of stress on a drive axle with "long travel." (For reference, the Piranha single a-arm is 21" long!) A more direct comparison is with the Rorty R6, which is about 16" pivot to pivot.
Another weak area is that they install the engine above the rear axle, rather than in front of it. The front end, between the a-arms, is empty. The foot controls are totally behind the front end. Many of the other designs put the foot controls between the a-arms at least partially, if not fully. This allows the driver to be moved forward, giving a better weight distribution, which is compounded by allowing the engine to move forward and down--all without increasing the size.
Cliff
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