pic: Pic 2: "caster wheel" crab drive combo

[Greg Peshek]

Originally Posted by JHSmentor

did you try direct driving the wheels rather than using the chain? could save you some weight and be a little cleaner setup - not sure if you would have enough clearance for the caster setup though.
Other than that - I love it.

We're doing direct drive on our 6wd, which made me think about why they weren't doing it. I figure that with the direct drive, they'd have to support the end of the shaft to keep from getting any negative cantilever forces on the wheel. Since they aren't doing a standard crab module, they really don't have an easy way to support the end of a direct drive shaft.

With the two little side plates going down to support the chain driven wheel, they instantly have a well supported wheel with no cantilevering.

At least, that's how it seems to me.

-Greg