Quote:
Originally Posted by JERRY2KONE
That channel is kind of weird looking. I think I would have tried to find some way to shape the chasis a little bit to reduce the flexing instead of adding more parts to the setup? That exta aluminum just looks a little bit ghetto to me. Maybe just a piec of althread would not look so over bearing. Just another view or idea. Don't get me wrong we have to find what work for us, but I think I would have found another way. R&D is always a series of trials and tribulations. It is good to see that you have not given up on this.
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While it may look ghetto at first glance, eventually I'm sure that you will realize that this u-channel (like the i-beam in construction) has both utility and a pleasing form.
I actually put a lot of thought into bracing this - as it is a long truck and I chose to use a flat chassis for this build - for the ease of layout. I don't have a mill, nor will I use any machine-shop services for this build, so changing the chassis was not an option.
I thought of different ways to bracing the length of the truck. Smaller braces front and back (like on truggies) would not work because it is too long. I thought of doing something down the center on the principle of the ue razorback - but the design was becoming too complex with the center diff and too much material would be used, in my opinion. In the end, the simplest solution seemed best - a top plate, which is all I have here. I couldn't use a flat top plate unless I attached it to the chassis at many points along its length - which I didn't really want to do. Finally, the u-channel is incredibly simple - just attach front and back - and has the extra usefulness of a place to route wiring. I'm still open to buying some different size u-channel (I looked at 1" x 1/8" with 1/2" legs - so lower profile) but this is what I had on hand and decided to try it out. I don't think it looks bad, and in the end, I am going to put a body on it, so we'll see - maybe I'll stick with this and maybe I'll try something else.