Robot Shipping -- Solutions/Ideas

[Nate Smith]

I'm not usually one to bump threads back up, but I've been thinking about this project a bit along with everything else going on right now, and was wondering how many were actually interested in using the RTAP system I've discussed before(see the link in my sig if you have no idea what i'm talking about.) Just post under this, and I'll use the response to decide whether or not to continue the work...

[Beth Sweet]

Hi Nate,

This sounds like a great idea, perhaps contacting Gail Alpert or Pam Williamson would be a way to get this off the ground. That way you could actually get ahold of the team leads! PM me if you need emails

[NEMentor470]

Originally Posted by Nate Smith

... I'll use the response to decide whether or not to continue the work...

Hi Nate,

I agree with Beth: this is a great idea. I visited your site when you first posted it and thought it was good then. I also agree that you should get in touch with Gail A. or someone at FiM to get your idea on their radar. This could be a good expression of Gracious Professionalism, and a much needed help for teams with fewer resources. It might be good to incorporate a map with team and competition locations on it into the site somehow.

[IKE]

So I am designing a combination hitch mounted BOT toter and cart. I am planning on a 40x30 foot-print since the 30 inches will fit through most any door (reason for bots being 28 inches wide). I havve devised a couple different attachment schemes and will be Cadding those up.

While this would be helpful in season for FiM teams, this may also be a good thing for FRC teams, so any other intput on desired features would be great.

[Beth Sweet]

Ike, would this type of a design work for a team without access to a truck/SUV?

[IKE]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

Ike, would this type of a design work for a team without access to a truck/SUV?

Hmmm. Maybe. I was planning on designing it for a 2 inch receiver (class III and IV). These are typically on trucks and suvs and are rate for 350-1200 pounds of tongue weight (a bit overkill for a bot).

Class I and II are the 1.25" recievers. These are commonly available for cars and small SUVs. Class I is rated for 200 lbs of tongue weight and class II is 300-350 pounds. I think Class I are typically for small cars and Class II are for Minivans and small SUVs.

I figure the cart will likely be at least 50-75 pounds. With a 130 pound bot that begins pushing the limits of the Class I hitch. I will look at the ratings for the trays out there for Class I and Class II hitches. Do you have a particular vehicle in mind?

[IKE]

Here is an example of a cargo carrier:

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-CC114~52017.htm

This one is for a Class I or Class II and claims to be able to handle 300 pounds.

[Beth Sweet]

Well, I personally have a 15 year old Buick Skylark. I know we also have an old Toyota Corolla as well as a newer car, but I don't know what type it is. Let me do a little bit further research and get back to you. (All of our team members got rid of the big vehicles when gas prices went up, so we've had to rent U-Haul's for all of our summer competitions!)

[IKE]

There may be aftermarket hitches available for those. One of the issues with older cars is that the threaded holes that the hitch attaches at are often coroded on older cars (especially in MI).