The creation and development of self-propelled tracked vehicles is a favorite and useful activity for those who like to translate drawings and diagrams developed on paper into metal. In addition to vehicles with tracks, there are other vehicles, but, as a rule, the use of tracks allows you to make the equipment more passable.
In practice, he uses a large number of different options for each part of the device, but, nevertheless, they all have common features. One of them, causing big problems during design, is the tracked part - necessary element technology. When making it you can use ready-made samples created at the factory, or you can go further and use one of the methods for making a caterpillar with your own hands without special costs. Once we master it, we won’t have to worry about this problem in the future and improve our skills in creating tracked vehicles by creating tracks for a tractor, or, say, tracks for a tank with our own hands.
Making a caterpillar for an all-terrain vehicle: a simple option
The basis by which the production will be carried out can be a simple bushing-roller chain and a conveyor belt. You won't need any special tools in addition to those available to any person interested in the practical side of manufacturing self-propelled vehicles.
In order to increase the strength of such a caterpillar, and thereby extend its service life, its edges can be stitched with fishing line, making stitches about a centimeter long. Thus, the tape will be protected from fraying caused by contact of its edges with hard objects. The last step the tape will be shaped into a ring, which can be achieved in several ways - for example, by using hinges, or simply stitching together the ends of the track blank.
Depending on the power used in the engine operation, it is necessary to select the thickness and material for the caterpillar obtained in this way. Typically, material with a thickness of 8 - 10 millimeters is used - if you assemble an all-terrain vehicle on tracks with your own hands, then you should take care in advance of the safety margin for each of its elements, including the tracks.
The advantage of the above method, in addition to the ease of creation, is the ease and speed of repair.
How to make caterpillars with your own hands from tires
Another method used by lovers of designing equipment is the creation of tracks from car tires. So how to make more simple materials does not pose a problem, the question arises of the fundamental difference between creating them from tires and the above method. The fundamental difference lies in the strength and power of the engine, in which tires can be used as tracks. If you plan to work with a strong engine, and the designer expects long-term use of the vehicle without repair, it is better to use tires as the base material. It is advisable to choose tires from a truck with a suitable tread pattern.
First of all, the beads are cut out of the tire, leaving only the treadmill. To do this, it is better to use a well-sharpened tool. If you wet the blade of the tool in soapy water, it will cut better, but it is still a labor-intensive process. In cases where the design of the tire projectors does not suit the designer’s conditions, you will have to cut them yourself.
To summarize the described method, we can say that a caterpillar made with your own hands from tires has advantages in strength over all others. In addition, it is initially presented in the form of a closed contour, and, therefore, the resulting workpiece subsequently does not have to be fastened in any way, closing the ends of the tape. The downside is the laboriousness of the process and limitations on the width of the resulting tracks.
How to make tracks from belts with your own hands
Belt tracks can be called an alternative between the option of tires and a conveyor belt. Like everything else, they have their advantages and disadvantages. The latter include less reliability than tire ones and the need to give the tracks a closed shape. The advantages include the relative ease of manufacture, low requirements for necessary materials and attractive appearance. Making tracks for an all-terrain vehicle will not be a quick task, but as a result it will have the finished appearance of professionally designed equipment.
For this purpose, belts with a wedge-shaped profile are used, which are connected into a single unit using lugs attached to the belts using rivets, screws or other familiar methods. The resulting canvas will already have holes for the drive sprocket, reducing the time for subsequent work on installing the caterpillar on the all-terrain vehicle.
Well, caterpillars are caterpillars, but assembling them is a more difficult task.
The three methods outlined are the most commonly used and simple, but the options for making caterpillars with your own hands are not limited to them.
Real SUVs have high cross-country ability (I mean, not city SUVs). However, their cross-country ability is often limited, and it’s understandable that this is not a tank “in the flesh.” For example, on snowy slopes or swampy meadows, such a car is no longer effective. We have to resort to tractors and all-terrain vehicles on tracks, but tuning does not stand still, but develops by leaps and bounds, so literally in an hour you can put your jeep, even if it’s a UAZ or NIVA, on tracks by removing the wheels, thus we greatly increase the cross-country ability...
The effectiveness of tracks has long been proven, but converting a car to such a chassis would mean a deep modernization of the suspension, which is very expensive and not always possible. Therefore, we needed tracks that would sit in the standard places of the wheels, practically on standard hubs, without deep technical changes. And you know, such options have existed for a long time! Moreover, you can remake almost any car, but of course it is more effective to remake frame jeeps or off-road vehicles with high cross-country ability, such as our NIVA.
Design principle
Nowadays they sell blocks for all four wheels of a car, we just remove them standard wheels, we screw special adapters onto the hubs - we put on the tracks.
No, they are not big, but correspond exactly to the size of your car, they simply fit into standard wheel arches, there are options even for cars, although this is a little absurd.
The design is also simple, there is a triangular metal powerful frame, with five (sometimes more) pairs of rollers at the bottom and one large one at the top. On which a caterpillar made using a special technology is put on (many will say it looks like rubber), but this is not entirely true, wear resistance and elasticity are on high level, they remain soft even when sub-zero temperature. Of course, no one will tell you the composition of the material.
A standard wheel hub is installed in the upper “large” roller and placed on a rigid coupling, so the rotating hub will transmit the rotation of the entire structure, and here you have the all-terrain vehicle ready. The big advantage is that you can turn the steering wheel like on a regular car with wheels, and when you need to, you just remove the tracks and put on regular wheels.
Track sizes
Of course, many are now interested in the sizes. So I want to quickly go over them. I personally will take the option for our cars, for example, for the NIVA, since it is in greater demand.
Width – ranges from 320 mm to 450 mm
Height – about 700 mm
Length – approximately 1000 mm.
Weight – 80 – 100 kg.
From the side it resembles a triangle, and therefore will fit into any wheel arch.
Manufacturers
To be fair, it is worth noting that they were developed in the USA, and only after that they were distributed throughout the world. Now several dozen, and maybe hundreds of companies around the world, including Russia, are doing this.
If we take imported options, then the most famous of all is the company – Mattracks, this is one of the founders of the production of such “skating rinks”. True, their prices are steep; for the price of a set you can buy a Russian car.
If you take domestic producers, then here we can highlight Chelyabinsk, it is there that rollers are produced for NIVU, UAZ, etc. The cost is several times lower than that of foreign analogues.
Main advantages
The advantages are obvious - improved cross-country ability. And also an increase. Deep snow in the fields, swamps of small swamps, and simply “well” washed out roads become easy obstacles. If we take into account what these tracks were originally developed for, it was to overcome deep snow, they were made for rescuers on mountain roads where ordinary SUVs simply cannot pass. What can I say, the caterpillars have proven themselves only from the best side.
For example, watch a video where a NIVA easily passes through deep snow and turns around “calmly”.
Changing shoes from regular wheels does not require any changes in the suspension design; you can remove the wheels with your own hands and hang the tracks in literally 1 hour. Moreover, if you need to return the wheels back, an hour and they are there. This adds a very big plus.
Minuses
Of course, there are also disadvantages, where would we be without them. The first, but obviously one of the most important, is the use on asphalt roads - here you need to maintain a special speed limit, almost all manufacturers recommend moving at a speed of no more than 40 km/h, otherwise the caterpillar itself will wear out very quickly, you will simply throw it away.
The second is that it is difficult, and I would even say impossible, for such “skating rinks” to overcome a fallen tree, not even significant at 10–15 cm in height; ordinary SUV wheels would simply run over it, but the tracks would not.
Third, this is a fairly high price, although I will dwell on this in more detail.
Price
Needless to say, this is a very expensive pleasure. Taking it for fun and “rides” across snow-covered fields is not entirely rational.
Foreign analogues cost from $3,500 to $10,500. What is now at the exchange rate is approximately from 230 to 700,000 rubles!
Domestic producers keep amounts from 100 to 250,000 rubles.
Prices depend on your car (the larger, the more expensive), load, track width, etc.
Can I do it myself?
YES of course you can, why not! After all, they are also produced by people. However, you will need to do technical research, calculate the load, and weld the triangle. Look for rollers and the canvas itself (many people also make old rubber). As you can see, not everything is so simple - although it should be noted that it is feasible.
With the development of technology, more and more various designs mechanisms that are operated in winter. But with the arrival of spring, such cars remain unclaimed until the next season, and their owners have to change their means of transportation. It is unprofitable and impractical to have two vehicles, which differ only in the chassis. And the excellent solution was to create a snowmobile motorcycle that would be universal and could be used equally successfully in winter and summer. To do this, you can make a homemade caterpillar.
I’ve been thinking about getting one for a long time, but I decided to refrain from buying an industrial Buran. And not only because this car is not cheap and, intended only for winter use, only takes up space in the garage in the summer. It happens, you'll get it together in early spring to go fishing, but the road to a nearby body of water is already clear of snow, and “Buran” will no longer pass. But, unfortunately, an old friend - a motorcycle - will not help here: beyond the side of the road the snow is still deep and loose.
A popular model is the snowmobile mechanism, the basis for which was an IZH motorcycle with a sidecar.
The essence of the modification is that the rear wheel will be replaced with a caterpillar, and the remaining wheels with wide skis made of metal. After such simple manipulations, your motorcycle will turn into a snowmobile that will easily pass snow drifts and climbs, and on the road reach speeds of up to 40 km/h. Refurbishment process summer option and back will not take much time (about 15 minutes). And the compact size of the track and ski set will allow you to always keep it at hand.
The design of the skis, which we will install in place of the front wheel and the stroller wheel, is quite simple. They can be made from a duralumin sheet riveted with longitudinal corners, due to which the skis will acquire longitudinal rigidity. Next, you need to attach two metal strips to the corners, and between the strips, use two bolts to fix the wheel. The sliding surface for skis can be made of stainless steel, brass or polyethylene. This will significantly reduce friction on the snow. And to improve controllability, you need to make a special undercut on the front ski - a steel vertical rib on the lower flat part.
DIY caterpillars drawings
The caterpillar mover, installed in place of the removed rear wheel of the motorcycle, is more difficult to manufacture.
How to make a DIY caterpillar for a motorcycle
Its frame is welded from steel pipes diameter 30 and diameter 20 mm and four steel plates 8 mm thick. Longitudinal grooves in the plates are designed to connect the front and rear shafts of the track support drums and adjust its tension. A steel sleeve is welded to the vertical tubular arc. When installed on a motorcycle, the axle of the removed rear wheel passes through its hole. The eyelet in the front part* of this arch serves to attach a special unit with which the entire frame is fixed to the rear fork of the motorcycle. And two similar ears, welded under the longitudinal pipes, are necessary to connect the balancer axis. In addition, these pipes have stops at the ends for the threaded track tensioner.The shafts of the front and rear support drums of the caterpillar are machined from steel rod 0 25 mm. At the ends of each, journals are machined for bearing No. 204, and in the middle part sprockets (Z=17) of the transmission chains and support drum flanges are welded. Since only the front shaft is driving, the rear sprocket is not used, but the shafts are completely interchangeable, which can be useful if the sprocket fails.
The bearing housings of these shafts are machined from steel blanks. In addition to the bearing housing, they have axial holes for fastening the frame plates and a radial hole (in place) for a long pin used as a caterpillar tensioning rod.
The housing covers have a groove for installation sealing collar and are attached to the body with IVI5 bolts.
The caterpillar support drums are machined from duralumin blanks and assembled from two halves with six MB bolts. During assembly, drive sprockets cut from a thick rubber sheet are clamped between them - on the front shaft and cylindrical rollers - on the rear. The teeth of the drive sprockets transmit force to the track, engaging the lugs through the gap between the track strips. And the drums themselves roll along inside caterpillars. Semicircular grooves on their outer surface are made so that the heads of the screws that attach the lugs to the tape do not interfere with operation.
The caterpillar consists of four strips 56 mm wide, cut from a conveyor belt and connected together by common lugs - steel U-shaped profiles bent from strips 2 mm thick.
The front track shaft is rotated chain drive from the drive sprocket (Z=42), installed in place of the wheel. The sprocket itself is borrowed from the IZH-10 motorcycle. It is attached with six Mb bolts to a pre-processed forest hub, as shown in the drawing. This part is mounted on the rear fork in the same way as the rear wheel with the addition of a simple spacer.
The intermediate supports of the caterpillar propulsion system are balancers - four double-armed levers mounted on a common axis with roller axles fixed at the ends.
Not finding wheels suitable in size and strength for the balancer, I made them myself. Using a simple stamp, I squeezed out halves of wheel disks from round steel plates, turned out bronze hubs - plain bearings and a mold for roller tires. By connecting the half-discs with six bolts, I got a durable wheel that can be easily repaired in case of wear.
Dear site visitors " Homemade friend“Today we will figure out how to make tracks for a tracked all-terrain vehicle yourself and what will be needed for this? Let's go... Tracked all-terrain vehicle is the most passable among its fellows, and all because the specific pressure on the ground is evenly distributed over the entire lower plane of the caterpillar, that is, it is a uniform support point. But on wheeled all-terrain vehicles, the pressure is distributed over 4 points, so they often get stuck and slip. A simple example for you, why are tracked tanks? Yes, all for the same reason, to evenly distribute the huge weight of the machine onto the plane of the caterpillar in contact with the ground, otherwise they will simply get stuck in the ground and not budge.
Tracks for homemade all-terrain vehicles made mainly from conveyor belt and corrugated pipe rectangular section, and the tracks are pre-pressed on homemade machine where they are given the necessary form. The tracks are attached to the belt with bolts and nuts. And so, let's take a closer look at the process of creating an all-terrain vehicle track.
Materials
- conveyer belt
- rectangular corrugated pipe
- bolts, nuts, washers, screws
- fittings
Tools
Step-by-step process for creating an all-terrain vehicle track with your own hands.
The first step is to get a conveyor belt, it looks like this.
You will also need a corrugated pipe of rectangular cross-section.
And of course fasteners in the form of: bolts, nuts, washers, engravers.
First, we make blanks for the tracks according to the width of the track being made, cut them with a grinder and put them in a pile)
After that, these blanks need to be given the desired shape and pressed on a special homemade machine. For clarity, let's see how a professional does it; 40 seconds to crimp one track is no joke guys)
It is advisable to lubricate the ends a little with used oil.
After the truck is betrayed correct form, you still need to weld fangs-limiters onto it.
In the upper part, additional reinforcement is welded in the form of the letter “ V»
In general, such a track should turn out.
First you need to check and adjust directly at the installation site of the caterpillar itself.
Then you can start assembling the caterpillar, but first you need to make holes in the conveyor belt, mainly this one is used homemade instrument. The tube is sharpened at the end, and there is a hole on the side for removing chopped rubber.
The tracks are also drilled with a drill, 2 holes on each edge.
This is how they do it homemade caterpillars for all-terrain vehicles, as you can see, it is quite possible to do this yourself, which will significantly reduce the cost of the all-terrain vehicle you are assembling.
Thank you all for your attention!
A homemade caterpillar for an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile that is light in weight can be made on the basis of a simple bushing-roller chain and a conveyor belt. And it’s very easy to do; there’s no need to purchase a special tool. In order for such a homemade caterpillar to serve longer, it is necessary to stitch the edge of the conveyor belt with fishing line. The step is about a centimeter. This procedure will help protect the tape from fraying. But you can connect it into a ring in any way acceptable and accessible to you. Less reliable is to simply sew the ends of the tape. Most often it is recommended to use a hinge like a piano hinge. But the thickness of the tape depends on the power of the engine installed on the all-terrain vehicle. An indicator from 8 to 10 mm will be appropriate if you are using a motor from a domestic motorcycle. A device made in a similar way is well suited for use on a snowmobile. Plus, such a homemade caterpillar can be easily repaired and replaced in case of damage. This greatly simplifies the process of operating your invention.
To increase the throughput capacity of a walk-behind tractor and use it as an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile, you can equip it with tracks. They can be purchased ready-made, but they are expensive, and it is not always possible to choose the right option for your walk-behind tractor. There are several ways to make a caterpillar for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands.
How to make a caterpillar on a walk-behind tractor with your own hands
If you wish, you can independently modify your walk-behind tractor, turning it into a tracked all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile. The main rule is that you should consider what work the tracks are intended for in order to choose the right material, because they must be not only durable, but also extremely light.
Having available materials and correctly calculating the length of the caterpillar, you can make it yourself using simple improvised means.
First of all, you need to equip your walk-behind tractor with an additional pair of wheels. A caterpillar track will be put on each side pair.
The length of each of the two goosenecks will be equal to the circumference of one wheel and the distance between the axles of each pair of wheels, multiplied by two.
Important: the wheels on the walk-behind tractor must be the same diameter.
Materials for homemade products can include:
- conventional conveyor belt and bush-roller chain;
- car tires;
- belts and chains.
So, let's look at a few options self-made goose, depending on the material used.
From a conveyor belt
This method is the simplest because it does not require large quantity special tools and auxiliary materials.
- When choosing a tape for a caterpillar, give preference to a strip whose thickness will be at least 7 mm - after all, it bears a fairly large load. The coupling with moving parts will be provided by a bushing-roller chain.
- To give the tape strength and increase its service life, it is recommended to stitch it along the edges with fishing line using frequent stitches in increments of about 10 mm.
- It is also necessary to sew the tape along the ends in order to connect it into a ring of the required diameter, or use hinges reminiscent of a piano canopy for greater reliability.
- Make sure that the additional wheelset that you install on the walk-behind tractor frame is the same diameter as the main wheels on the walk-behind tractor.
From a tire
It’s enough to simply make a durable, reliable gooseneck for a walk-behind tractor from a tire. Manufacturing process from car tire will not take too much time, since it does not need to be stitched and increased lugs - the tire itself is a closed structure with a tread for traction.
Tires from wheels for trucks or tractors with a pronounced tread pattern.
The manufacturing process is divided into several stages:
- Very sharp knife, soaked in soapy solution To enhance the cutting ability on rubber, cut the gooseneck tape to the required width.
- The sidewalls of the tire are cut off with a jigsaw using a fine-tooth file.
- The hard parts on the inside of the tire are also cut off using a knife or jigsaw.
However, here there are several points that you should pay attention to:
- The tread pattern must be clearly defined, since its reliefs are a kind of lugs that increase the adhesion of the moving mechanism to the surface.
- The length of such a caterpillar is limited by the diameter of the tire, so before attaching an additional pair of wheels, you should take this into account.
From belts and chains
In order to make a tracked all-terrain vehicle from a walk-behind tractor, you can use ordinary belts with a V-shaped profile. The belts are connected to each other by lugs attached to them with rivets or screws. Thus we get a belt track.
To make a track from chains (chain tracks), you need to take two pieces of the same chain required length.
- The end links of both segments are unclenched in order to connect them into two closed rings.
- The loosened links are clamped again and then welded to secure the fastening.
- Sections are cut from steel of the required thickness that will serve as lugs.
- The lugs are bolted at both ends to the links of both closed chains, thus forming a raised track on the walk-behind tractor.
Homemade tracks for caterpillars
Tracks for a homemade goose can also be made independently from any suitable material. The main thing to consider is what load you are going to give to your walk-behind tractor.
From plastic pipes
You can use segments as tracks for a snowmobile gooseneck plastic pipe. For this purpose, plastic water pipe Cut No. 40 into pieces equal to the width of the caterpillar. By using circular saw saw each section lengthwise into two equal halves, or use a wood circular saw for this.
The resulting tracks must be attached at regular intervals to the conveyor belt with No. 6 furniture bolts with large hemispherical heads.
From wooden blocks
Sometimes, if the load on the goose is not very large, you can use birch blocks as tracks. They are not particularly strong for heavy loads, but they are lightweight, affordable, and a track with such tracks can be repaired in any convenient location.
Iron tracks
The most reliable are metal tracks made of high-quality iron. Metal pipes or profiles cut into pieces of the required length are suitable for this purpose. Profile metal pipe cut according to the same principle as plastic, and attached to the conveyor belt with bolts.
However, metal tracks, despite their noticeable strength, also have their drawbacks: they are heavy compared to plastic and wood, and can bend during use. To straighten the track, you will need to remove it from the gooseneck, and this is a labor-intensive operation.
When choosing the material from which the track tracks for your mini-all-terrain vehicle will be made, you should evaluate the degree of load and operating conditions. Light polyethylene or wooden tracks are perfect for overcoming snowy expanses, but to use a walk-behind tractor as a mini-tractor, it is still better to make a caterpillar with metal lugs.
Buy a hitch and a trailed one for a walk-behind tractor in online stores
Do-it-yourself caterpillar for a motorized towing vehicle
A motorized towing vehicle, popularly called a “motor dog,” is ideally suited for use in northern latitudes with good snow cover. Using a walk-behind tractor, you can independently make an alternative to a dog sled, a high-speed tracked vehicle that can tow a sled with a person or a small load in the snow.
Making a caterpillar for a motorized dog with your own hands is not at all difficult.
You can use an old gooseneck from a Buran snowmobile. To increase chassis, you should cut it in half and build it up using inserts. The tracks can be carriages from the old Buran. Three carriages with rollers are enough. They also need to be sawn and extended with inserts.
In the absence of old spare parts, a caterpillar for a motorized towing vehicle can be made from improvised materials using one of the methods described above. For example, from a conveyor belt.
For production you will need:
- conveyor belt with a width of 22 cm;
- metal bars for reinforcement;
- hardwood timber blocks for track tracks.
We bring to your attention a video showing the caterpillar manufacturing process.
Making a caterpillar for a walk-behind tractor is a simple process, although it requires a sufficient amount of time. It is also necessary to make every effort and skill to ensure that all links of the goose are located at an equal distance from each other. This will help to avoid distortions and sliding of the caterpillar track from the load-bearing surfaces.