[joeweber]

Between the bumpers and mechanisms installed this should stiffen up the frame. If I get a chance (it won't be soon) I will post the CAD drawings of the plates. We actually used the Andymark CAD to find the distances. Far as efficiency loss, I am not concerned, its small and our mechanisms are geared correctly with low power use so if we have loss at the match it will be over before it is a problem. We will just recharge the battery a little more. Between the front wheels, center and rear wheels their is a difference of .375 inch. The side plates are 3/16 thick. We do plan on cutting the bolts shorter or go with aluminum with C clips but we have had problems with the C clips coming off. The chain wrap is a problem, but we do not plan on using the center 4 inch wheels on future designs. We wanted to put double sprockets on that wheel but we only have 2 inches between the side plates and the chains barely clear now. One unit weighs 20 pounds.