VOTE HERE - 6 wheeler?? good idea or not??

[Luke]

1st off i thought they would rely on the diff but if you think about it there's a lot of flex on the length of half shaft i've had the hubs off before but can't remember if there are 2 bearings in the hub or even what type they are

greasing the bearings might be favorite - again i cant remember the set up but so long as it cant throw off all the grease it should be ok

if this all fails then we can always use a mk6 fwd back axle - but then it'd need to be the same width

[rover]

They are single bearing, they just slide in, I can't see any reason not to lop off the half shafts and just grease the bearings, doing away with the diff as its just added weight....a lot of weight!

[peter1975]

JUST thinking about the legall side of this ie we build it sell it on a family goes on a trip loaded up with all the camping gear poss even a caravan in tow then the worst happens ie it brakes its back who will be to blame
the reson i ask many years ago we done a lwb mk2 pickup in to a 3 axel after a load of messing sbout to get the 3rd axel hight right so it did not drag going round corners etc
12mths later it snaped in 2 and the large hgv company i worked for that done the work were taken to the cleaners so to speak

[Luke]

it'll be fine we'll do lots of calculations and stuff

but seriously with the amount of us looking over it there shouldn't be a problem - it's only like building a kit car what if that snaps? or a streched limo or even a streched recovery transit - must have been done thousands of times

we'll reinforce the chassis where it's joined but it wont have any extra in the wheel base and the amount behind it will beable to support it's self with the extra axle - and even if that wasnt there it'd still be strong enough

[redcube]

fill the chassis with concrete

[sideshow_bill]

Beware of over strengthening in one area, as it will concentrate stress on the ajacent section.
Remember the chassis acts as a spring and we want even deflection along it's length (and width)

[RACK]

Newbie to forum ,hope you dont mind my input? (great project)
Built a 6 wheeler years ago..... Toyota Hiace with midmounted Rover.Spent a lot of time sorting all the probs...
Make sure the body widths and curves are the same at the proposed cut and join points.
Check the chassis/floor sections are the same at the butting point.
Stagger the cuts and joins to avoid stresses.
Make the rear ,rear axle adjustable (upward)to allow the front axle to take slightly more strain to avoid the rear axle dragging sideways when cornering.
Make sure the mounts for the rearest axle are braced across the van ,as there will be a lot of stress when cornering .
Chassis joins ideally should be sleeved inside (or out) to add strength.
Not trying to upset anyone ,but whats the legal standpoint regarding extensive body mods nowadays,thought they had to be tested or whatever by BIVA or whatever its called? Maybe a prob if the auction winner is not aware?
Thanks for allowing my input.
Rod

[Luke]

cheers for the input Rod if we need to get it tested we will but as far as we can see we wont need to we'll not actually be altering the origanal wheelbase or axle location

any pics of your hiace

[RACK]

[Luke]

looks great mate
why did you sell it in the end

[RACK]

Just got bored with it to be honest! Sold it for a fraction of the build cost. Never saw it again,cant trace it .Best van I ever built! Mid mounted rover from a p6.Front pair of wheels driven,h/brake and juice to all rear wheels.
Rod

[RACK]

I realise I'm a newb to the forum,so please tell me to p*** off if Im talking out of turn here.Personally,when going in to a project I always like to cover all the bases before commiting fully......This is bugging me ,so my thoughts........
The 6 wheel idea is cool and I love 6 wheel vans,but I think that it is an awful lot of work to fit into a w/end considering all the other jobs required!Just working out all the staggered join cuts will take a lot of time.I stand to be corrected ,but I think you will find that the structure of the monocoque must not be cut in to in any way in order for it to not have a test? Its easy to say that you will get it tested if required(BIVA I believe),but has anyone looked in to what is involved with this test,the cost of it ,how long it takes to get a test date,and what will happen if it fails the test etc?Has anyone spoken to Ace Advice about this? Would it not be better to concentrate more time and effort on getting the van looking good as a 4 wheeler? Maybe build a back half of a Transit into a trailer for it ,close coupled,for the wow effect?
Thanks for your time.....
Rod

[Luke]

The 6 wheel idea is cool and I love 6 wheel vans,but I think that it is an awful lot of work to fit into a w/end

it's been said before but its bit late now
we need to do something with the wow factor so just doing a normal van isnt the same

the main idea behind the weekend if for us all to have an opertunity to get involved with a project not many of us could or would ever do on our own if it was purely a money raising excersize we could have built nothing and asked for dontaions - we'd proberbly end up with more but thats not the idea its just a chance to have a good time and hopefully raise a bit of money for charity in the process

the worst that can happen is we get a half finished van it's not the end of the world - so long as the main structual work is done then it could be fininshed off later or even sell as an unfinished project - giving somone the opertunity to finish it

people extend transits all the time - recoverys mainly and as siad if it does need a test then we'll take it when its done - we have a lot of experianced people on the build (shame you couldnt come along) and it certanly wont be just chucked together dangerously

the main thing we want is to have a fun weekend where everyone can have the opertunity to take part