DirtyComanche

IIRC, it's hydraulic motors mid mounted in the chassis, with chains in the 'control arms' to the final drives. Hence the 'Chainlink' name. Suspension is obviously active. Very cool. I can't believe people are talking crap about it. It doesn't work very well. Over complicated (both in control and mechanics), heavy, low top speed (or wheel speed), reliability isn't great from what I understand (I think it broke an arm clean OFF at the only comp it went to). From a standpoint of "Wow, he built something cool" it's a 10, but from the standpoint of "That thing will clean up at a comp" it's a 0. I like cool things, but I also like them to actually work. That's not saying that you can't make a hydrostatic rig work. Or active suspension. Or whatever. But there's a lot of R&D to get something 'outside the box' to actually function as well as something more mainstream. It's simple really, everyone builds solid axle rigs with gasoline engines, so all of the major R&D is already done... This? Not so much. The closest related application is a skid steer. Try wheeling one of those and let me know how things go.

:rotf: yeah, you had to have heard this clown talk though, he deserved all that plus more... one of those "i know everything about these cars, you know nothing, and how about a $500 discount cause the left front tires a little low and theres some rust on the control arm bolts" kind of jerks... and then when he bought the car i went to bank of america with him so he could pay me with a business check, and because i don't have an account there the teller asked me for 2 forms of id so i could cash it, then a 3rd one cause they couldnt accept my work id, and he lit into the teller, screaming and swearing at her.... I had one of those try to buy my old blue XJ. I say try, because I wasn't interested. I think I only asked $1200 for the thing (they don't go for under $2000 unless they're really crappy, 'round here), and he proceeded to attempt to nitpick and pulled out the card about how it 'wouldn't pass an inspection, and thus couldn't be worth anything'. I told him it was what it was, seeing as it was a 20 year old vehicle that I admitted I wheeled and had modified, and he could call me back when he wanted to pay me what I wanted.

Groovers aren't that expensive. I have a couple friends with them. You can cup lugs, cut extra lugs, sipe, etc. You can even take a bogger, and after lots of time and effort, make it into a tire that almost works in something other than mud. You can add tread, or deepen the voids with them... But if you see belts, you've gone way too far. Those tires are thick, you should be able to add some tread. It might not produce a tire that is round, balanced, or even safe, just as my little disclaimer.

IIRC, it's hydraulic motors mid mounted in the chassis, with chains in the 'control arms' to the final drives. Hence the 'Chainlink' name. Suspension is obviously active.

It won't sag like that. Or allow me to rephrase that, it shouldn't sag like that. The roof is a hell of a lot less structural than people think. Roll-over, accident protection, etc, yeah, it's very important. Additional rigidity, sure. But it's not primary structure.

If it's worth it is up to you. I already have 3 pickup trucks (1 Dodge, 1 GMC, 1 Jeep) and an XJ. I'm talking real vehicles, not R/Cs. I don't need any more fawking hobbies. So to me, no, I wouldn't get one.

So, who on here actually talks like that? The truck, well... Hmm. I thought he did a good job of cutting it. Then he started sticking aluminum on it, which I'm not into. If he welded up the cuts properly, and did a good job on the seals, it would be a lot better. Also, yes, it needs a cage. It could be done so it would take up a minimal amount of room, and look good. As a bonus he'd be able to weld all of the nodes properly since the roof is off... However, I see no evidence that he can weld anything, so I'm not counting on that happening.

The only competition it showed up for... It failed miserably. Everything broke. That would have been at least 6 years ago. Probably more like 8.

Very true.

Google it, I dare you. For maximum effect, prior to Googling it, turn off the moderate safe search. Then click on the image search section. Then search. Oh, I've seen a picture of a Florida plate (you know, where the orange in the middle looks like an 'O'), and the letters were A55 RGY. I don't think it was a vanity plate...

So, I'm in. The credit card didn't even melt (yet).

Thanks :cheers:

A lot of those military birds are showing up in the civilian market now. They get surplussed 'cheap', so operators buy them for drill/fire pigs. Actually, the school where I'll take the course has a UH-1H since it was much more affordable than a civil 205 (and the differences are minimal, at least for training purposes). They're a tough aircraft, considering they've been basically out of production for 30~ years and there is still as many of them left as there is. We just fix all the cracks in the airframes every winter, and they keep on humping along picking up drills or water buckets all summer. :D

There's a story behind that... The answer would be normally yes. I don't have to do this, but it's what I want. I actually enjoy working on them, and already have a reasonable amount of experience with them. And if things go well, I might have it payed for in a very short period of time. Since, well, flight pay on a 205 is about $50/hour. So, if we fly 8s I'll make $400 a day, plus my salary, plus other incentives ($50 a day field pay, $50 day meal allowance), and whatever overtime I actually wind up being payed on the day. It's only money in the end. Besides, they will probably be giving me some other training in the near future. And it all makes me more employable in a boom or bust industry, and will hopefully lead to some other options in the international scene.

A J20 should have a D44 front and a D60 rear. 3/4 ton stuff at best.

Nah, it's really vibrating so bad that gravity has rejected it. Proven fact.

I'm going to go get the course for these suckers: Image Not Found Bell 205. I hope... It starts in 2 weeks, I phoned last week and they had 6 seats left... But I waffled and didn't register right then. So hopefully I'll be registered Monday morning. $5000~ for 3 weeks :ack: But I get a 25% discount (to make it $5000~), and a LOT of the other courses are about $10000 and in less convenient places (like Texas, not that I have anything against Texas, just it costs more for flights and hotels...) Also, I'll get some money back in taxes. And hopefully the course will pay for itself quickly enough (a couple years at most). :banana:

Well, guess I was wrong. I had casually looked into it by talking with people that should know, and they had all told me they just shipped them to some place to be replated and that there was no other viable option, along with some mentions of failing coatings that were no longer approved. Everything I work on has bladders or plastic tanks.

I wouldn't. AFAIK, there is no product that is approved for aircraft usage that would be suitable... Steel tanks in aircraft are plated with a lead alloy (terne). It works well unless it gets damaged (scratched, dented). No, I have no idea what that costs. But, I'd imagine as long as you don't mention the word 'aircraft, it's probably not overly expensive if you found somebody that could do it. POR makes a product for coating the inside of tanks. Part of me wants to love it. Another part of me is afraid of it peeling and clogging the fuel system. I've not tried it, but I'm assuming it would be 'all in the prep'. If I was willing to blow some cash and wanted something that would last... I'd probably go see a marine welding shop, and have them build one out of a 5XXX series aluminum. I'd paint the exterior with something nasty, like super-kloropon primer, and a top coat of a good quality paint (Endura?). Obviously this route will complicate matters regarding adapting to the stock pickup and sending unit, and everything else. But, I guarantee you that it will last 50+ years providing you don't do anything too stupid with it. Otherwise, I'd be partly tempted to try something made of plastic. Or as they like to say, an 'Advanced Polymer Compound'. F-150s have plastic tanks that look like they'd perhaps, maybe, fit.

All of that non-jeep junk that is stored in there, put it in the bedroom, when your wife takes offense to it make it clear that you'd rather sleep in the garage without it. Or build a garden shed.

If you have 220V service, buy a 220V welder... Even if you don't, consider it. Maybe you will only ever use it on sheetmetal... But if you're like me, your ambitions will quickly grow from reasonable to near unfeasible, and you will need the extra power. While you can always resell a quality machine down the road and upgrade, I'm not big on wasting time by buying something that is barely adequate to begin with. I have a Millermatic 180. I'd recommend it. It's quite capable, has a very acceptable duty cycle even on the higher settings, and is not overly large. Also, the spool gun for it is not overly expensive, while would allow me to easily use it for aluminum. I think it cost me under $1000 :Canadaflag: out the door, which included a regulator, bottle, and extra consumables. I'd also have no issues buying a Lincoln (I have a lincoln stick), or ESAB unit, and I'd buy a Hobart or Clarke if the price was right (which they generally are).

Cool stuff. Just don't get caught in there when it rains...

There is hate for Rusty's products in many places. I do my best to spread it. TV is TV, not the truth or reality. Magazines are bad too. They get free stuff, they say good things in return. I can hardly stand to watch any of those shows, or read magazines... You could have the worst product and the worst customer support, but as long as you gave it to a TV show/magazine for free they'd highly endorse it.

Regardless, it isn't right. In fact, very little about them is 'right'. Granted, I didn't bother to read any of this thread other than your post, but these products break about half of the basic rules of frame modification/repair. And regardless of everything else, they offer minimal advantage on the MJ uniframe. It is much more rigid to begin with. The main issue is that you can crush it easily if you slam it on rocks. I'd rather see somebody build a cage over plating the shizz out of everything in sight.

Yup. Or the 'Jeep' cut out of a MJ or other such tailgate.