How to Build a Track?

[Sower]

Do any of you have any info on how a person goes about building a track? I know you can spray weed killer and move dirt around but I was hoping for a little more info than that. Anybody have a "how to" on 1/8 scale track builds? I've searched the forum here and found one link that showed a guy building one in Florida but that's about it. Any help would be great. Thanks guys!

[suicideneil]

Thats about all there is to it though, moving dirt and removing vegetation. I would say design the track layout with a birds eye view, and a few 3dimensional sketchs, noting jumps and table top locations etc. Once you have that done to some kind of scale, clear a large area of ground for your track, with the driver stand location in mind, and then mark the track layout with some rope or white marking spray paint (the stuff the use for drawing road marking locations with). Once thats down, start building the jumps with dirt, compacting it as you go so that it doesnt just blow away rather quickly. You will need some old railway sleepers or similar to mark the outside of the track with, and some old rope or plastic airducting (6" diameter should be fine) to mark the track layout with, and finally contruct your pit area and drivers stand. I would say just look at some pictures of existing tracks to get an idea of layout, and then look more closely at the materials they used for any special features and such.

[Sower]

I guess that's what I assumed, but you know what they say about assuming. And it always seems to be that something seeming simple is usually more complex when you really get into it. Glad to hear it's not necessarily the case here.

[Tempted]

I just plowed the land with a rotor tiller and added jumps. No weed killer necessary, the tiller will get rid of the grass.

[suicideneil]

RCM welcomes Tempted

I dunno though, a flame thrower is good at removing unwanted vegetation too, though mainly from patios it seems....

[pb4ugo]

Some black plastic spread over the area the track will be in for a few days or weeks will kill all vegetation and make the soil a bit more workable. You can look up specs in the ROAR rule book. Gives their required widths, etc. Not that you have to build to ROAR rules, but they are excellent recommendations. Do you have equipment since you're in construction? If nothing else, a vibra-plate after you lay out the track does wonders. Also, start collecting bulky junk. Use it as fillers in the big jumps so you don't have to move as much dirt.

[Arct1k]

Tempted - Some freaky truck teleportation you have there!

[Tempted]

Teleportation, eh? I bought the truck from the "Sims" and they threw in a teleporter.

And Neil thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it. The other forum has gotten on my last nerve and I've thrown in the towel. I see there is far more knowledge to be gained and shared here. It also doesn't look to be as up tight. I'm an adult(by age only) so I think I can handle your grungy humor and less than politically correct remarks without having a heart attack. Its COOLEO you got banned from there, it shows me what I was missing here!

sweet we got the gang over here now. I just got banned for "Whining"

AMYWAYS

Draw it out
mark with paint
tiller the edges, see if you like it
tiller the rest
move dirt and pack it in

then call me over

[lincpimp]

Originally Posted by suicideneil

Thats about all there is to it though, moving dirt and removing vegetation. I would say design the track layout with a birds eye view, and a few 3dimensional sketchs, noting jumps and table top locations etc. Once you have that done to some kind of scale, clear a large area of ground for your track, with the driver stand location in mind, and then mark the track layout with some rope or white marking spray paint (the stuff the use for drawing road marking locations with). Once thats down, start building the jumps with dirt, compacting it as you go so that it doesnt just blow away rather quickly. You will need some old railway sleepers or similar to mark the outside of the track with, and some old rope or plastic airducting (6" diameter should be fine) to mark the track layout with, and finally contruct your pit area and drivers stand. I would say just look at some pictures of existing tracks to get an idea of layout, and then look more closely at the materials they used for any special features and such.

Sounds like a simple afternoon job...

Glad to see that we have people here that appreciate Neil's humor. I appoligize in advance for all of the stupidity that I bring...

[Sower]

Originally Posted by pb4ugo

Some black plastic spread over the area the track will be in for a few days or weeks will kill all vegetation and make the soil a bit more workable. You can look up specs in the ROAR rule book. Gives their required widths, etc. Not that you have to build to ROAR rules, but they are excellent recommendations. Do you have equipment since you're in construction? If nothing else, a vibra-plate after you lay out the track does wonders. Also, start collecting bulky junk. Use it as fillers in the big jumps so you don't have to move as much dirt.

I'll check out those rules - great idea. Good idea on filler for the big jumps too.

[Sammus]

I think you should mainly look at jump design. Most tracks (even club tracks where I'm from) have very poor jump design. They all have symmetric launch/landings or have the ramps like flat so you just case out and wash off speed when you hit it. Another big problem is the landing is way too steep, so you have no hope of downsiding it. You need to get the curve right in the launch and have a longer flatter landing for any hope of downsiding it. You also need to be flexible moving the launch/landing because its likely after it's built the jumps will be too hard/easy to clear. This can also be compensated by adjusting the lip on the launch, or the overall size of it if you got it really wrong.

Also, you'll need good drainage, else the rain will just wash a lot of the smaller stuff away and youll be left with a hard track covered in ruts and stones. Not too bad for the true offroad feel, but depending on your design it could make it a lot harder :)

[Finnster]

I only have a bit of advice, in that making a track seems fairly easy, but making a good track is quite a skill. I'm not a huge racer, but after seeing the numerous tracks at Barnstormers, and then seeing some tracks in other places, I'm always impressed w/ their layouts. They seem to be able to place the downslopes of jump landings in just the right places, get the jump ramp angles right, and make several different lines you can drive thru. Lou calls them the Amain lines and B-main lines, ie Amain lines are more difficult, but are faster.

6" PVC corregated drain pipe w/ 12" spikes to hold down, (from the hardware store) is good for making outlines of the track, provide a bit of a crash barrier, but are easy to move. Depending on what type of soil you have, you may need to mix other materials in. such as if its really sticky clay, some sand from a landscape supply may be needed to lighten the soil up so its not too hard and diff to work with. This stuff is cheap if you buy in bulk (like $30 a ton.)

What I would say too is go to various track website and check out pics of their layouts. Barnstormers has pics up, and I think Wolcott does too, Carolina RC may too. I'm sure others can suggest other tracks they know to be good.


PS: Did Neil get banned from TRX then, or just you other guys? I haven't bee there in a while due to the nonsense.

[Sower]

Great info Finnster - thanks! I have been keeping an eye out on other tracks but I'll look into it a little further.