Scratch built car hauler...design study

[tbody321]

Very intersting project. Will be following this one. Did some searchs and
Looks like a gm 4t80 trans will work for the front wheel drive option. You can even bolt up
a late model ls1 to it. Seen some info on gmforum.com.
Good luck and looks like a fun project.
Tony c.

[Jim Stabe]

I have seen some really nice rigs made from the older cab over trucks.

[Kerry Pinkerton]

Originally Posted by oldtin

...If your serious about front wheel drive I would consider a 3/4 or 1ton 4x4 drivetrain, later models are independant suspension, most have O/D available as well as a variety of manual and auto trans frome 4 to 6 or more gears, can be lowered and are every bit as beefy as the eldo, toro driveline. Plus you could use the rear drive output as a PTO for a winch, generator, compressor or hydraulic system. A simple in/out coupler on the rear drive allows four wheel selection to be used as front wheel drive only and freeing up the 2wd selection of the case to be used as a PTO.
...

Good point about the weight transfer Les.

The FWD 1 ton was one of the things I was wondering about in the original post. Can you elaborate on the in/out box? Is that something that is part of the setup or an add on? I don't really understand automatic trannys but would it 'hurt' the tranny to not use the rear component?

[123pugsy]

The tranny should be fine.

How to close up the other hole though???

[oldtin]

Originally Posted by Kerry Pinkerton

Good point about the weight transfer Les.

The FWD 1 ton was one of the things I was wondering about in the original post. Can you elaborate on the in/out box? Is that something that is part of the setup or an add on? I don't really understand automatic trannys but would it 'hurt' the tranny to not use the rear component?

The in/out box that I mentioned would be an add on, basically a splined drive coupler on the rear output of the trucks transfer case. Some of the aftermarket transfer cases geared towards the rock crawling crowd already have this feature built in, that way they can switch from 4 wheel drive to rear wheel drive or front wheel drive. They use just the front drive to pull the front of the crawler around to one side or the other to help get around obstacles.

On most stock 4wheel drive x-fer cases you could just not connect a rear drive shaft and when shifted to 4 wheel drive you would have front wheel drive only, but by using a disconnect on the rear side of the x-fer case you could use the 2wd mode to drive an accessory, but it would have to be decoupled either manually or through a in/out box when traveling down the road, much like the cable or electrically operated PTO's that are used on trucks currently.

None of this applies to All wheel drive applications, because most all wheel drive transfer cases will fail if used continually to drive one axle, some will not drive at all unless connected to two axles.

[Gleeser]

Focus is your friend.

[Gleeser]

But, since you brought it up...

I saw this one at SEMA... thought it was pretty slick.

[Overkill]

Kerry,

Please check into using a 1T 4x4, or 4x4 independent, axle for front wheel drive only. Something sticks in my head about there being an issue with this setup, but I can't recall what it is.

The only independent I would consider is the Chevy. Have had it and the Ford and Ford is a nightmare of never ending repair bills.

As for turning the motor and tranny around backwards and driving an axle, you'll need to consider a number of things. Fluids in the tranny and engine were meant to run to the rear, with it turned around, you'd have to address fluid pick up and the pan sumps.

The rock crawler transfer cases use straight cut gears for strength, and are noisy. Stock transfer cases are quieter, but still it's another box of gears that does have gear noise. Same with using a V drive out of a boat (mind the torque spec's on these for this application).

Transfer cases to stay away from are those with a differential component between the front and back wheels inside.

Reverse cut gears for axles are available from Currie, so direction of the rotation at the pinion can be solved.

4L80E is a strong tranny, and if it could be adapted to the Olds front wheel drive unit, might be a thought - but I've never heard of the conversion being done.

Many sand buggies are now mid engined with independent axles. Not sure what tranny's they are using, but it might be something to investigate. You'd have to invent the front steering component. However, this would stick your motor a fair distance out front. Lack of weight on the rear axle might make for some interesting driving conditions. Unloaded, with a 20' long bed, our Int'l truck can't make it up a gravel road with a 10% grade.

Re-thinking what I said about motorhome/trailer combo. Perhaps simply making it a motorhome with drive in rear (toy hauler trailer style) would give you the most useable vehicle in the end. Without a car in the back, you've got a motorhome with big sitting area. Just a thought.

As for the GMC motorhome. There is a forum out there with lots of information. I've come across them for as little as $1500.

John

[Shobra]

How about a Caddy Motorhome This one is on the Hanb for a cheap $2100

[Shobra]

Here is a link to another that's more in line with what your thinking ( I think)

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...ght=car+hauler