DieHarder

Ok, one day I thought, why not build an RC snow plow truck? (Obviously from the name of this thread) So I used a few pieces of 22 gauge sheet metal. I bolted 4"x6" sheets of steel together, into a straight, flat blade. I didn't feel like trying to get my 4WD truck running, so I used my Duratrax Evader ST. It has VXL3S brushless system in it, running a full metal transmission, Pro-Line Dirt Hawgs II tires on Evader Brushless rims, along with the Evader Brushless Body. I mounted it from the front bumper and had a thin sheet metal support piece going from the bottom of the plow to the bottom of the A-arms. I decided to try and plow our deck that hasn't been stained in 10yrs as I figured if it scratched it up, it wouldn't matter too much. (Now It's stained, so I can't do that anymore.) Here's how it turned out: Hmm.... I guess not. I don't have a YouTube account, Facebook, etc. If anyone knows how to upload a video from a computer to RCU, please inform me. Moving on... I advanced to make a 2nd plow the next winter. (Last winter) I figured from previous failure with the first one, I needed more traction and a not-so-wide plow. So I made a V-plow out of 22G sheet metal and gave it a rough curve over my knee. I decided to use my TL-01MT 4WD truck instead of the Evader, so I got that running on the VXL3S system. I used the same 22G sheet metal for lower supports, and came up with a hinge system so the plow wouldn't stop on the deck's nail heads and bend metal. Thing is, I needed a lift system, but didn't have a servo or 3ch. Here it is:




That was not a terrible plow, but I couldn't lift it, it was heavy steel, it was rusting, etc. So I built a better, stronger, aluminum plow frame. Dad works as an engineer, and brings home scrap pieces from work. That's how most of this project was done, but there was still an outrageous amount of fabricating to be done. Here's how the frame turned out:



Sadly, this setup never made it to the snow. I finished it late and the snow was REALLY heavy and it was almost spring. So over the summer, I studied how other people were doing them on YouTube. (I know, I watch YouTube videos, but I don't have an account....) Dad and I decided not to do an angled plow, for fear that it would push the front end of the truck over away from the snow. After researching over the summer, I realized this fall that lots of people were having success with a simple, straight, curved plow. So that's what I built.



The main blade is rolled by an industrial machine, and made of 20 gauge stainless steel that shines up well. I added upper supports to the frame made from aluminum angle. The frame is attached to the blade using stainless steel, custom formed "L" shaped mounts. I also added the cross beam which is actually an aluminum handle off of a large industrial testing chamber, was added for stability and rigidity. Also for a place to mount upper supports/braces. All holes in the plow were machined stamped. There are rubbed strips on both top and bottom of the blade for wear and looks. There are metal bands inside the rubber that pinch the rubber to the blade. The center screw towards the top of the blade is for an auxiliary lift spot/different design if I make one someday.

R32GolfTA06

Interesting project but unfortunately none of your attachments have worked

DieHarder

This project is on delay, until motor issues are resolved. More info can be found here: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-c...choices-2.html Thank You!

DieHarder

Some pics of plowed snow under our deck. It was about 3 1/2" so, not bad...



I will finish more on the truck with pics and all tomorrow...

phmaximus

Well???? .... How does it preform with the GRU and motor????

im dying to know.. Lol

DieHarder

Continuing on from the first post,... I had to lock the front suspension to hold the weigh of the plow. And then the back later, after realizing that when I goose it, the back end would go down, and the plow up, resulting in missed snow. So it has a fully locked suspension system. I also realized that I wasn't going to do much without some serious traction. So I built my own tire chains:




They are made from fairly strong small chain, jewelry clasps that are crimped closed, and a good strong set of fingernails to work with those tiny parts. I then bought a FlySky GT3B radio system, and used the 3rd channel to lift the plow.




This I found is a GREAT radio. I have had no problems with it. I didn't get the GT3C because of the reported power button problems. Then, still using the VXL3S ESC, I got rid of the 3500kv VXL brushless motor, because it was sensorless, which made slow plowing REALLY hard and annoying. So I bought a sensored Speed Passion 21.5T Brushless motor. Boy, what a mistake. That thing got hot, and the sensored part failed, so it became a sensorless motor. I returned it, and got my money back. Then, I bought a Holmes Hobbies 55T brushed. I blew that up. I realized then, that it was going to take a lot of power. I talked with phmaximus for days about this, and he lead me to using an GRU (Gear reduction unit). So I bought a RC4wd Ultra compact gear reduction unit, and paired it with a Tekin Gen2 Redline 13.5 that I was able to get on Cyber Monday for $90 instead of $100. I threw my heat sink on it, and was about to put it on, when I found that the screw mounting configuration wasn't what I thought it was. So I ended up getting 3x50 mm screws that I then cut to a little less than 43mm for it to work. Really long screws for that size... I plugged all that in and ran it. It ran great! I did have some trouble with the hinge pins/screws for the plow hinges, coming loose, so I double lock nutted them and torqued them together. They should be good now. The thing flies at full throttle. I probably does 12-14mph. It's really quick for plowing, but has such low end torque and speed that I can plow a whole pack through it running about 1-2mph and the motor and all stays at room temp. Of course that's outside room temp which is about 22*F. Which is really cold for that stuff at such slow speeds. I'm very impressed with it, and hope to keep using it. Today I plowed in 4" of snow which was on a scale of 1-5 on heaviness rating (1=Light 5=Heavy), would've been about a 2. Pretty decent. I didn't take pictures, but I plowed in the same spot as the previous site pictures, so it was about the same as that for after plowing looks, only the piles were bigger now. Dad and I have become a lot better at soldering after having to solder all of these motor attempts. I finally have the motor power I need! Yes.

This pretty much concludes the project for what I can think of right now. I'm sure that I missed something though, so please, ask questions! I want to answer them! Thank-You.

DieHarder

Also, I fixed the attachment problem on the first post and added some more material. There's some new and interesting stuff on that post...

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

Whats missing is a video of all this snow plowing action! Glad you finally got it worked out.

DieHarder

As I said, I can't figure out how to get a video up. Any ideas?

EDIT: Mom does have a Facebook. If I post it there, and make a link that will work with the video insert button here, can I delete the video off her page and still have the video work on here? (I know she doesn't want something like this on her Facebook.)

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

you should be able to put it on youtube and share it here. although I have also struggled with that in the past

DieHarder

I don't have a YouTube account (1st post, sentence #10. (Sentence count NOT including what's in parenthesis)) I tried it as a upload image, but no luck. Urgh!

phmaximus

Its free to create a youtube account. Why not just do that.... It's essentially what YouTube is for.

here this might help
http://youtu.be/nvFWI2uNDWM once u have an account and have uploaded a video, copy the videos URL

Now its as simple as clicking on the movie button circled below


then past the videos YouTube URL into the box

DieHarder

I know how to do all that, I'm just lacking parent approval for doing so. I'm going to try and convince them tonight...

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Hey DH, nice job. Love the tire chains! They look awesome.

How did you manage to burn up that Holmes motor?? Foxy made 'em sound like the best thing since sliced bread. What happened?

DieHarder

Aha! I finally have a YouTube account WITH a video! Here it is guys! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3O1xlpmLgI Please Comment. I'd like to know everyone's opinions. Please, no profane language, serious put downs, or any other crap. Read the description below the video, the last sentence is most important to this last one. Not trying to be mean, but I WON'T tolerate bad comments, I will find a way to edit or delete them...

Thanks guys! One of my few edited videos, so I hope it's acceptable...

DieHarder

Holmes Hobbies Motor + Serious Drag, Resistance, Over Gearing, and 2S = Burnt to a crisp windings and end bell. The thing still stinks! I got stuck in some deep snow, and I had no REAL torque. I have to rock back and forth , and then when I finally busted through, it stopped working. I came out the side door of the house which was like 125ft away, and I was downwind. From the moment I opened the door, I smelled it. I'm sure a neighbor or two might have too. It's sad that I spent $45 of my budget on that thing, it was weak, and only lasted 1.5 days. I'm through with brushed motors for sure. That was like the 12th one I've blown up! I've never had one last a whole season of anything. From here on, it's brushless all the way! No brushed, I won't even give it a thought!

phmaximus

Looks good... Top job.... I'm happy I was able to help... Any more questions feel free to shoot us a message

Only thing I would suggest is remove the last sentance on ur video comments.
I think it's asking for trouble.... It's like those keep of the grass or please do not touch signs.... It just makes people do the opposite.... And YouTube can be a comment battleground

my advice would be to turn of video ratings and make it so u have to approve any comments left... That was u can some what censor it

phmaximus

Easy 3 words
FDR
Rollout
load

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

great job. It appears the weight of the plow keeps it pretty tight to the road?

next up could be a fpv vid cam so you can run it from the warmth of your living room

DieHarder

Yeah, I can't imagine what FPVs cost. Now I usually look out the slider window from inside and plow on the patio outside, but an FPV would be awesome. Are there any relatively cheap ones from Hobby King, or anything?

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

My kid & I messed around with fpv using some cameras we had that were used as baby monitors, they were actually just indoor/outdoor security cams. Maybe around $125 for a pair with a receiver that hooked up to the TV. But they were 2.4 and it was fuzzy due to interference from the radio gear. They way to go might be 1.2 or 5.8 but I never pulled the trigger to get a new setup.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

Yeah DH, you might wanna edit that comment. Why would you think anyone would ever give you any crap about such a nice project and nice video?

Looks like the plow works really well! Well done. The gear reduction unit was the silver bullet, no? Nice truck body, you paint that?

siberianhusky

Very cool, I want one! My winter job is plowing. Now I have a reason to buy/build a scale rig. Got me wondering how I would go about building a fully operational V blade. Building a sander wouldn't be too hard.
I like how you did the cutting edge just like a full scale rig.

DieHarder

No, I didn't paint that. It came with the truck. You see, the truck is a TL-01 copy under the name Bonzer Cross Tiger, and was sold with that truck body and the other truck-like added features. phmaximus has one too I believe. Not sure what you mean by "silver bullet"... I've read other videos that looked good and had good content, but people would post stuff as in jealousy for fun, like "**** you!" or "Your ******* lucky, I gotta ******* shovel my own ******* snow!" You know what I mean. I don't mind reading comments like that, as I just brush them off, but it looks bad when my friends from Church or Youth Group (Adults also) view it... I know lots of people on here probably aren't very religious (And I'm not the most), but I at least go to Church and hang out, and I'm not afraid to state so.

The truck body that's on it was smashed in and cracked a bit in the back. It had some missing plastic, but it was in a section of the body that was painted black, so I was able to cover it with black tape, on both inside and out. Also, I broke a tire chain last night that I'll have to repair today, along with the lift chain. I was spinning quite badly on some gravel when I broke the tire chain, so I think that highly contributed to it. As for the lift chain, this is like the 9th one I've had to put on. Every time I hit a big bump and the plow bounces, the chain breaks. URGH! I'm looking around for some small, but heavier duty chains for the lift. I think I'll leave the same chain that it has for the tires.

Kistner: I found a 5.8 on Hobby King, but I'm not sure of what all I need. I figure that I'll need a camera, a TX and RX, some wiring for connections, and a power supply for the TX. Is that all, or am I missing something? Thanks.

SH: I started with a V plow, but I found that it's mainly good for creating one path, not many passes. It tends to build up on the side you make passes on, and then you can't push it, and you have to take a smaller swath. Also, when making passes, you move half as much snow as you would with angled plow. But maybe up there is Ontario you'll need a V-plow for all that deep snow... Thanks, I didn't want the concrete/gravel to wear away my nice stainless steel blade. If your interested in building one, and want pics on how I did mine, pm me or post. I'll be glad to take pics of whatever you want to see on the truck.

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

The cams we have were bought as a complete setup. The tx is built into the cameras, the receiver has rca jacks output to connect to the tv. our cams run off a 9v battery (or plugged in wall when we used it as a baby monitor). It looks like hobbyking has a couple complete setups in 900mhz, I did not see any 5.8 but anything sold as a set should work. I saw a couple 2.4ghz sets but I'd avoid that.