3771 Chassis

[Mark Sheridan]

That looks pretty good. I assume that is 1x1" box tubing for the frame. I think you can save some time and weight by removing some of the tubing. I think the pieces that hold the wheels could be removed and you could mount directly to the frame below. Your robot won't be lower but it will save some time when building it. We use 1x1" aluminium box tubing and its pretty tough stuff.

Also, are you using the andy-mark toughbox gearboxes? You can mount two motors to one gearbox. You can shed some weight and time by reducing to two gearboxes for the four motors.

If you want to do 4 wheel drive on a frame that is longer than its width, it will be difficult to turn. The wheels have to have enough force to break its traction in order to slide. You must gear your drivetrain to have enough torque to skid your tires. Many teams use 6 wheel drive with a lowered center wheel to avoid this. You can search the forums about threads on the many benefits of going to 6 wheel drive.