Low drivetrain bumpers

[dhe95]

Teams with low drivetrains, what do you do about bumpers where the ground clearance is less than two inches.

This year we decided to use smaller wheels to fit them onto our drivetrain and we have about an inch and a half of clearance above the ground. <R25> states that the bumpers must be within the BUMPER ZONE which is between 2 and 10 inches off the ground.

Do you just mount them above the frame? If not, how do you mount your bumpers?

[Billfred]

Yep, just mount them above the frame so they're in the zone.

In 2010, the bumper zone placement (and an infuriating combination of rules regarding frame perimeter) meant we couldn't mount the bumpers to the sides of the drivetrain. You can't see it in this photo, but we took lengths of AM C-Base and mounted them about 1/4" out from the drivetrain, then mounted bumpers to that.

This is also why you design your robot to be an inch or so below the limit all around.