RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Are you planning to add sprung weight so that the suspension will work better and have the tank not flip-flop but rather "hover" in place while the suspension soaks up most if not all of the bumps? If so, I suggest adding lead weights inside that belly armour, plus fill her up with resin, to give the hull some sprung weight. Once again, I'll be keenly following your belly armor build and will try to replicate it, with the intention of adding/transferring the lead weights I have now to that area.

atcttge wrote:Are you planning to add sprung weight so that the suspension will work better and have the tank not flip-flop but rather "hover" in place while the suspension soaks up most if not all of the bumps? If so, I suggest adding lead weights inside that belly armour, plus fill her up with resin, to give the hull some sprung weight. Once again, I'll be keenly following your belly armor build and will try to replicate it, with the intention of adding/transferring the lead weights I have now to that area.

I have been trying to determine if I can safely add weight in the belly armor or if the stress might be to much for my design. I want to add as much weight to the tank as possible to achieve a realistic "ride". I also do not think there will be all that much room once I get it structurally sound enough to absorb impacts with the terrain. Back in my Model Railroading days there was a company that sold lead sheet cut into 1.5"x12" strips for weighting down rail cars. If I can find lead sheet then I might be able to bond it into the structure.

Cheers for now,
Barry

Lead in any form is getting hard to find in the US unless its for an industrial, or medical purpose as its considered a health hazard.
Used to build a lot of doctors x ray machine rooms and could get sheets of it easily. They were always very large though. The smallest were a roll the size of a 36x74 inch door.
If you find a source please post it as sheets are the easiest way to add weight. I've been using spent bullets and air gun pellets as they seem to be the only lead available around here unless you can talk a tire replacing place into saving used wheel weights for you.

Though I don't think it's a good Idea to weight the tank ..as it's a sure thing that the walls will eventually buckle...You don't really need to use lead...Just use steel plate...a 1/4 inch plate cut to size will give it plenty of weight...or a bunch of thick washers

ALPHA

Plumbing supplier, lead sheet used for flashing around pipes. Roofers use it to join difficult profiles and any penetrations.
My chain hardware shop has truck loads of it.
How ironic that you can but a gun easy but lead is way to much of a health risk !!

I know from my model railroading days that there was a "standard" weight of 1oz per scale 10" of car length. However you did not want to add too much to long cars as the axle journals would wear prematurely.

Has there been a "ideal" weight formula established for RC tanks? I like Atcttge's verbiage "hover" with the tank rest on the springs meaning the wheel torque arms are not sitting in the "bottom" of the retainer slots but hovering in the slots, as Atcttge says "sprung weight".

I believe with proper bracing I can prevent the sides from bowing what concerns me is the weight's affect on the torque arm mounts.

As to where to get lead sheet I just did a search on ebay and found several sellers of scrap lead sheet.

Cheers,
Barry

LOL...Sounds like the weight problem is solved...on to the next
Just think though Barry ...if you used steel for that under belly armor...having magnets inside the hull would make it removable with no problems

ALPHA

WOW, using steel would solve flexing as well but shaping steel would one serious endeavor!

It would also pick up any thing from the terrain with iron in it, might prove interesting like coming to a halt over a load stone.

Barry

BarryC wrote:WOW, using steel would solve flexing as well but shaping steel would one serious endeavor!

It would also pick up any thing from the terrain with iron in it, might prove interesting like coming to a halt over a load stone.

Barry

:haha:You got a point lol............but heck...what kind of magnets you going to use???? electro???


ALPHA

Barry,

Wow, you are talking some serious heavy metal with this build!

Cheers, Tom