New to 4 wheelin home made UTV theories...
#1
New to 4 wheelin home made UTV theories...
I am a professional fabricator/welder with more time than money. lol. I have recently started the search for my first quad and cant afford or get financed on just about anything that I would even consider riding. I have also seen that these cvt belts are way too anemic after going to mudtoberfest in jacksonville, tx with my buddies and their UTVs.
So, with my wholesale price on steel access to metal working and welding knowledge of stresses on materials and automotive know how ...I thought I could just build one. \ I need to know a few thing and / or get some ideas on how to make it work
1. Rims--I need to figure out what if any car has the same lug pattern as a 4 wheeler(maybe a honda civic) and that would allow me to scrounge up a complete spindle hub and possibly A-arms that I could modify. .
2. I could use a second set of a-arms hubs and spindles for the rear , machine a billet sprocket mount that the cv shafts from said car would slip into. That gets me 2 wheel drive, then a jackshaft to the front with another machined sprocket would get me 4 wheel drive.
Dunno what would be the prob with fulltime 4wd but i suppose I could have something along the lines of a chain tensioner to disengage the front.
3. REVERSE?? I really want to go chain drive on this because I am a motorcycle guy and can source giant cc motorcycle engines and trannys cheaply. I can live without it but the cool factor goes up with reverse lol.
4. tires/rims. I will have to research but dont they make a mud tire for 13 or 14 or whatever car rims? 31/10.50's. might that be too large?
This is all just a pregnant thought in my head right now but I want to be cheap as possible to show everyone how realistic it is or not to do this. I dont really care how much it costs in the end but who doesnt want to save some money, I just want to do it and I dont care to hear any of your negatives(jealousy). yes it it soooooo much easier to just buy one made and probably/maybe cheaper but where is the fun in that?
So, lets put the brain trust together and see if we cant theoretically build a cheap homemade utv. thanks guys and I do look forward to your thoughts.
So, with my wholesale price on steel access to metal working and welding knowledge of stresses on materials and automotive know how ...I thought I could just build one. \ I need to know a few thing and / or get some ideas on how to make it work
1. Rims--I need to figure out what if any car has the same lug pattern as a 4 wheeler(maybe a honda civic) and that would allow me to scrounge up a complete spindle hub and possibly A-arms that I could modify. .
2. I could use a second set of a-arms hubs and spindles for the rear , machine a billet sprocket mount that the cv shafts from said car would slip into. That gets me 2 wheel drive, then a jackshaft to the front with another machined sprocket would get me 4 wheel drive.
Dunno what would be the prob with fulltime 4wd but i suppose I could have something along the lines of a chain tensioner to disengage the front.
3. REVERSE?? I really want to go chain drive on this because I am a motorcycle guy and can source giant cc motorcycle engines and trannys cheaply. I can live without it but the cool factor goes up with reverse lol.
4. tires/rims. I will have to research but dont they make a mud tire for 13 or 14 or whatever car rims? 31/10.50's. might that be too large?
This is all just a pregnant thought in my head right now but I want to be cheap as possible to show everyone how realistic it is or not to do this. I dont really care how much it costs in the end but who doesnt want to save some money, I just want to do it and I dont care to hear any of your negatives(jealousy). yes it it soooooo much easier to just buy one made and probably/maybe cheaper but where is the fun in that?
So, lets put the brain trust together and see if we cant theoretically build a cheap homemade utv. thanks guys and I do look forward to your thoughts.
#2
Well, I just saw this and thought I could find something like this and beef it up and add independent suspension etc etc.
Hammerhead 150cc gocart/ gokart
or could get a yerf dog or something like that all of which are selling for less than 750 on craigslist..
Hammerhead 150cc gocart/ gokart
or could get a yerf dog or something like that all of which are selling for less than 750 on craigslist..
#3
Good luck with that...I am not jealous, but I am going to tell you that you will be better off starting with something that is already a machine used to trailride! That gocart is good for what a gocart does, but I don't see it mudding and I dont see it on a rough trail! Seems like piecing a bunch of random stuff together is going to totally destroy the reliability of your machine. Now, from original post it seems that you like adventure and you want to do something off the wall...getting towed the 40-50 miles back to the truck b/c of machine reliablility sounds more like misery than adventure to me!
#4
reliability is the key in the whole process. That is why I thought about using components from a compact car. I have noticed the diameter of these utv cv shafts are around 5/8 or 3/4 whereas from a car you are substantially larger producing more reliability.
Chain driven increases reliability in the fact that with only simple tools a change can occur astronomically faster than a cv belt swap.
The go cart would in all practicality only serve as a roll cage with a steering assembly and the foundation for the a frames. It absolutely would need beefing up all around for safety and sanity.
thanks for the reply though.
I saw somewhere there was a way to put a reverse on chain driven but I am at a loss to find it now lol
Chain driven increases reliability in the fact that with only simple tools a change can occur astronomically faster than a cv belt swap.
The go cart would in all practicality only serve as a roll cage with a steering assembly and the foundation for the a frames. It absolutely would need beefing up all around for safety and sanity.
thanks for the reply though.
I saw somewhere there was a way to put a reverse on chain driven but I am at a loss to find it now lol
#5
#6
reliability is the key in the whole process. That is why I thought about using components from a compact car. I have noticed the diameter of these utv cv shafts are around 5/8 or 3/4 whereas from a car you are substantially larger producing more reliability.
Chain driven increases reliability in the fact that with only simple tools a change can occur astronomically faster than a cv belt swap.
The go cart would in all practicality only serve as a roll cage with a steering assembly and the foundation for the a frames. It absolutely would need beefing up all around for safety and sanity.
thanks for the reply though.
I saw somewhere there was a way to put a reverse on chain driven but I am at a loss to find it now lol
Chain driven increases reliability in the fact that with only simple tools a change can occur astronomically faster than a cv belt swap.
The go cart would in all practicality only serve as a roll cage with a steering assembly and the foundation for the a frames. It absolutely would need beefing up all around for safety and sanity.
thanks for the reply though.
I saw somewhere there was a way to put a reverse on chain driven but I am at a loss to find it now lol
#7
well then that may change things. the reverse with a chain thing is killin me right now and I havent had time to just sit down and research it. I just do not know how I could mount a cvt trans to a 100+ hp motorcycle engine. The rims weight wont really matter that much with that much hp but I was asking more to the point of lug pattern so I could use atv rims but stronger automotive parts. My boss is now in on it and has our machinist on standby for anything we may need to fab : )
I appreciate the replies and welcome some out of the box thinking here. I have sourced some junker atvs but most of the cheaper ones have solid rear axles and in this day and age that just wont do.
I appreciate the replies and welcome some out of the box thinking here. I have sourced some junker atvs but most of the cheaper ones have solid rear axles and in this day and age that just wont do.
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#8
this guy is on it. but looks like he is giving up.
03-04 Polaris Sportsman 500 Transmission Axles & Hubs
So, this looks like a shaft drive tranny. Cant tell if this is where the cvt belt is or if this is a geared unit but.... A side mounted motorcycle engine with a coupler that has an antivibe rubber insert can run the shaft and give me so many gear options its crazy. just throwing out ideas
this gives me hi lo reverse
03-04 Polaris Sportsman 500 Transmission Axles & Hubs
So, this looks like a shaft drive tranny. Cant tell if this is where the cvt belt is or if this is a geared unit but.... A side mounted motorcycle engine with a coupler that has an antivibe rubber insert can run the shaft and give me so many gear options its crazy. just throwing out ideas
this gives me hi lo reverse
#9