racenut123

iTrader: (32)

I searched through the forums and have found very little if any info on offroad track building.Techniques,tools,types of soil,additives to soil,etc.I was hoping to start a discussion to help with the offroad track build I will soon be undertaking.

I am looking to build a track that is friendly to all scales,so obviously Electric friendly is more my concern.I have seen 2 particular tracks I like,but can't find any info on them either.1 is SRS in Arizon and the other is ARCOR in new mexico.

http://www.rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=158141

This page has pics of ARCOR.

Hopefully we can get a discussion going with the intent to help those like myself build a quality offroad track.Thanks in advance guys!

racenut123

iTrader: (32)

bump.

BobWoodhouse

iTrader: (24)

Hi.

I built a track of my own. I have started making a documentation page for it at my personal site, megahorsepower.com, then click the link for raceTracks. I am trying to collect links that I find about it. I hope to discuss more, and good luck.

racenut123

iTrader: (32)

Thanks Bob for the link.Anyone else have any great ideas I could use?

d4man

iTrader: (5)

It's alot of work. Do you have access to machines? If so, use them because hand shoveling ain't gonna get it done. What kind of dirt are you using? Are you having it shipped in via tri axle? Has it been screened? Can you get some clay to mix with top soil? How are you going to water the track? The tubing for the barriers costs $40 for 100 feet. You'll probably need at least 500 feet. Are you building a drivers stand? You better buy the treated wood. Are your friends helping you? Do you plant to charge money to practice? Do you own the land?

I know these are alot of questions, but I am currently building my own private practice track and these are some of the problems I had to overcome. I have probably a dozen or so friends who run R/C's and only 2 volunteered to help me. The rest are too busy, wife wont let them, tending to newborn babies, too lazy, its too hot, etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc, I've heard it all.

Oh, and you better have a plan to keep little kids off your track, because they will ruin it. Ask me how I know

I'll post pictures of my track later if you want? It's 85% done.

racenut123

iTrader: (32)

All these things have been taken into consideration.It's actually a track that is run by a Hobbystore.We have a drivers stand.We have the tools.Its the track construction and maintenance that I need help with.I want to do this right.I have employees and volunteers that are willing to help so labor is also not a problem.Please post some pics!

dahomie

Hi, this is a thread long overdue, but I am really glad it is here.
I don't know how many hours I've spent across the net trying to find useful information on building an off-road track. My club have started to build a new track from nothing and I feel that we all the time are doing the wrong things the wrong way at the wrong time :-) If the track building pro's can share what they
know with the rest of us, I have a strong belief it will contribute to the growth of our hobby so...

I hope that people start sharing their knowledge, techniques, tips and do's and dont's.

//DaHomie

d4man

iTrader: (5)

First, you need to sketch out a layout. Our guys use a dry erasable board to come up with some ideas. Your width should be about 2 backhoe buckets wide IF you have the room. I have seen alot of photos of tracks where the people who built them didn't take into account the low spots. Thats where water lays. My track is actually waiting to be power raked, because I have some low spots. Here are some pictures of my track as promised. Keep in mind that it isnt done yet, and still needs to be power raked to even things out. The double, triple, quad can be done by all vehicles (stock electric, gas truck, 1/8th scale)

BobWoodhouse

iTrader: (24)

d4man, your track is looking good.

When it came to the layout, I did some sketching on paper, but then you can also go out to the track-to-be site with spray paint or string and see how it works out there. I tried to keep all my lanes no less than (but not much more than) 8 feet wide and used a 8-foot pole to check the layout on the ground.

I got a 30" tiller attached to my small garden tractor to clear the ground. Then when I rolled the dirt with a roller, the dirt ended up being kind of lumpy. The lumpiness, however, ended up being acceptable to me for being an off-road track.

Also, I got the 3" black pipe from Menard's which happens to be like $25 for 100'. I have 200' of pipe in my 52x36 track right now, and that took about 50 12-inch spike, also about $12 or so for a box of 25 from Menard's

You will have to figure out your weed control plan. I am still not decided on mine other than an occasional spray of RoundUp.

I think that the direction of the sun, as it will be in the drivers' faces is an iportant consideration at the beginning. My drivers face north. facing east would be good mostly. Just not west, unless there is something to the west blocking the afternoon sun.

d4man

iTrader: (5)

Excellent points! Thanks! I couldn't believe how much work goes into building a track. Weed killing was one of the things I forgot to mention. The best way to buy weed killer is to buy the 1 gallon jug that you mix with water. It goes a long way. Weeds dont grow as bad in clay so if you could make you track out of clay, go for it. My drivers stand faces the west but fortunately there are huge trees that block the sun (which would be in our eyes).

Lowe's was the only place that had the 3" tubing. There are no Menard's around here. I still need another 100'. I have 400 feet already, and another 300' feet buried in the ground for drainage (you cant see that because we did that last year).

Also, do you plan on watering? Watering does many things. First, it keeps the dust down. Secondly, it grooms the track. Ideally, I would like to broom my track, then water it right before the sun goes down. A couple evenings of doing that and the track will hold moisture for a long time. It's more work that it looks like. I have about 16 hours already and I am not done. Thank god for machines! Those big clay berms where built in about 1 hour each, thanks to the backhoe.

racenut123

iTrader: (32)

I always hear of different ways of getting the dirt to retain moisture.Calcium chloride is one way.There is also other ways to get traction and dust control.Sugar seems to be popular.So does soda.Anyone have experience with these in their construction and or maintenance?

d4man

iTrader: (5)

I have no experience with any of those because I am on a tight budget and don't want to waste money on something that may or may not work.

BobWoodhouse

iTrader: (24)

I have not pursued traction by changing the dirt -- I just try to get as much traction as I can through tire selection and suspension setup.

BTW, I went for 3" pipe because my track is small, it is for electric, and it is easier to drive over if I nose into it, plus it was cheaper.

Also, I think the bigger your track is, the amount of work will go up -- more water, more jumps, more weed control, grooming, etc.

To be honest, I basically could build my track again in a couple hours -- 15 minutes on the tiller, some time on the roller, some time to position the pipe, and a few hand-dug hills. Did I mention I don't have much in the way of jumps though?

BobWoodhouse

iTrader: (24)

Here is a link to the same topic I had somewhere

http://www.chitownrc.com/showthread.php?t=7354

d4man

iTrader: (5)

The bigger it is, the more work it is! Thats fo' sho'. Each one of those banked turns was around 10-12 Case Backhoe buckets of clay. If you want to build jumps that are big, you actually have to over build the jump. You have pack the jumps so they don't erode when it rains. Learn to move the dirt once. That's a mistake that I have made several times. I built jumps that where too far for stock motors. So I had to tear them down and re-build them. Not fun.

I just got off the phone with my buddy who owns the power rake. We will be power raking tomorrow. I will post pictures after it's done to show you the difference that it makes.