Mini Truggy

[LEE1969GB]

I am thinking of building A mini Truggy, First of all I am trying to work out whats what.
A truck has engine up front, independent front suspention and rear axle (one piece diff and hubs)
A buggy has fully independent suspention, engine in the rear.
A truggy as far as I can see has engine up front, independent front suspention and rear axle?????
Or does a truggy have the engine in the rear driving forward to a gearbox around the suspention pivot points then driving via a prop shaft to the rear diff.
I can not find any pictures of a truggy with out bodywork, has anyone built a mini truggy? Got any pictures?

I have a dana axle (I am told it is similar to the ones fitted to the willeys jeep?) With limited slip diff which I am thinking of using for this project. I also have another (One is fitted to my pilot) Rotax 793 800cc *138 hp engine, will this axle take that power with cvt drive?
Thanks Lee.

[Gene]

There is another post around here with a picture Yoshi put up that has some dwarf cars modified for sand. These have a toyota rear spool and MC engine up front that must run a drive shaft. That could be the basis for your front-engine, rear live axle truggy. Search for dwarf cars to see how they are put together then morph that into a truggy.

[Bullnerd]

I got four words for ya.

TUT TUT TUT!

Search for TUT, he built what you want.

[bikerdog]

TRY THIS

http://www.minibuggy.net/modules.php?na ... hlight=tut

[nutz4sand]

That axle should live behind the sled motor easy. Especially with the CVT. But that axle is likely pretty heavy and by the time you get the whole thing built its gonna weigh a lot. If you happen to keep the rest of it light the heavy rear axles gonna toss it around some when the rear hits whoops and abrupt bumps.

If you follow the links you will see some others with straight axles and the ones that Yoshi posted that were in sand sports. These had the motors up front with a rear axle but in the articles the owners admit they are a bit heavy and underpowered compared to most mini buggies as they have a lot of weight in them. Still move out but not like a lightweight. Notice that the yellow coupe one has a very offset Toyota (I think) rear axle and that the driveshaft is at the side of the car. (You can see its bottom as its close to flipping) *

If you are just after the truck look you can shape it with tubes for the image. I have seen rock crawlers that had no bodies but the builder bent tubes to resemble a jeep and it looked just like that. A tubular jeep. Or you could buy one of those mini truck bodies out there and make a mini buggy under it.

Using the axle cause its there might seem like a good idea now. But talk to some who have done it to see what they would do different. If you are simply going for the look then no prob. Just remember its likely to weigh twice what the sled did and much more. Will you be happy with half the sleds performance (or much less)?

Putting the motor in the rear limits a straight axles upward travel. You could go mid mount but then you have to sit around it or make a long chassis. Even if its in the mid section or rear you could literally run a shaft off it to the front of the vehicle (or close to it) and connect to a driveshaft that runs clear to the rear for big travel. If you wanted a one seater and set the motor beside you like a second passenger you could have good weight bias front to rear and still have big travel numbers with a driveshaft that could actually enter the bottom middle of the frame between you and the motor. *

One other idea I was thinking about but am not sure of due to a part I have not found. Put the motor in the rear. Run a shaft to up near the front and branch out with a chain to each side of the buggy (or truggy) Then run a driveshaft back on each side to each tire. Problem is you then need a diff ( or a 90 degree power transfer) for each side. Might be able to be done for less weight that a solid axle. I was looking for shaft drive motorcycle rear gearsets but hard to find ones that match that face one to the left and one to the right. *Bill

[jonzer12]

Becareful with the axle, many *willys jeeps used a rear dana 44 but it had 2 piece 10 spline shafts, you will never destroy the R&P with your rotax but it is concievable that you could snap a shaft. *A VERY poor incarnation of a dana 44. *If you want a jeep 44, here is some useful info:

Model/Version *Spring Pads *Wheel to Wheel *Years
Dana 44/CJ Narrow Track 28" *50.5" *'50-'75 *
Dana 44/M38 28" *50.5" *'50-'55 *
Dana 44/M38A1 28" *50.5" *'50-'55 *
Dana 44/Willys Wagon NA *NA *'50-'65 *
Dana 44/Willys Pickup NA *NA *'50-'65 *
Dana 44/M170 28" *50.5" *'5?-'6? *
Dana 44/FC Truck NA *NA *'57-'65 *
Dana 44/SJ Narrow Track NA *59" *'62-'81 *
Dana 44/Jeepster Commando 36" *50.5" *'62-'73 *
Dana 44/J Pickup Narrow Track NA *NA *'63-'81 *
Dana 44/J Pickup Wide Track NA *NA *'82-'87 *
Dana 44/SJ Wide Track NA *NA *'82-'91 *
Dana 44/CJ Wide Track 36" *54.5" *'86 *
Dana 44/XJ *NA *60 3/4" *'84-
Dana 44/MJ *NA *NA *'85-'92
Dana 44/ZJ *NA *NA *'95-
Dana 44/TJ *NA *60" *'97-

[LEE1969GB]

My axle has these numbers on it,
1135
089073
Hfi
The diff ratio is about 4.8 to 1 It is 42 inches from flange to flange.
Jonzer12 whats the R&P and do you know what my axle is.
Nutz4sand I am thinking of having the engine in the back with the jack shaft with a sprocket on the end driving via chain to another sprocket on a prop shaft to the axle, I will try to draw it.
Thanks Lee.

[LEE1969GB]

Engine/ transmission layout Idea.

[nutnbolt2002]

Do you think that you might have to much weight at the rear. You could have a better weight distribution if you had the engine up front.

[DrakAttack]

Originally Posted by LEE1969GB\";p=\&quot

My axle has these numbers on it,
1135
089073
Hfi
The diff ratio is about 4.8 to 1 It is 42 inches from flange to flange.
Jonzer12 whats the R&P and do you know what my axle is.
Nutz4sand I am thinking of having the engine in the back with the jack shaft with a sprocket on the end driving via chain to another sprocket on a prop shaft to the axle, I will try to draw it.
Thanks Lee.

The R&P is the ring & pinion
Your ratio is probably 4.88
I'll try to find some info on the numbers