can someone tell the size the robot should be this year
Well you can never really say what size a robot “should” be. It all depends on what you want it to do, fast and maneuverable? perhaps you want it smaller. Large and strong, a bit larger?
Personally on my team we’ve always used about 1/2 to 1 inch smaller than the maximum footprint.
the footprint size like last year it was 30X36X60
Correct our robot last year was about 29 1/2 x 35 1/2 x 59 last year.
This year it’ll be very close to the 28 x 38 x 60 again. 
It adds stability to make a big footprint.
The footprint of the robot at the start of the match has to be less than 28 x 38 x 60
after that it can be any size
Since the bot dimensions changed this year to 28 by 38 by 60, our bot will probably be 27 by 37 by 50 something depending on how we build a tetra contraption…
It is best to leave one or more inches for bolts and skins that you may add at the last minute.
were can i find this in the manual
<R04> At the beginning of the match, the maximum allowed size of the robot is 28 inches (71.12 cm) by 38 incesd (96.52cm) by 60 inches (152.40cm) tall.
It’s on the first page of “Robot Rules” (5.3)
Search before you post. Not only here, but in the manual as well.
sry but we can print the whole manual off
5.3.2 Robot Physical Rules
5.3.2.1 Robot Size
<R04> At the beginning of the match, the maximum allowed size of the robot is 28 inches (71.12cm) by 38 inches (96.52cm) by 60 inches (152.40cm) tall.
keep in mind you can get creative and start out by falling over therefore giving you 60 inches on your base in one direction…i think 67 did it last year…Spam did it in 2003…71 & 121 in 2002…267 did this in 2001 & 2000
good luck
I know that the robot must start at 28 x 38 x 60 max, but does it have to end that way as well?
No. <R04> applies only to the begining of the match.
Did I miss something here or are we into the third week of building? For the teams and individuals that are asking these types of questions, here is some advice. Go to the First Website (http://www.usfirst.org/robotics/2005/frcdocs.htm) and download ALL the competition documents. Then take one evening and read through ALL the rules. All the members of your team need to know and understand the rules, for building, driving, human players, coaches, mentors…etc.
I hope I don’t seem to blunt but, I think this information might be more helpful than answering your questions directly.
-yeah it’s fun to see how u can work with the dimensions to make your robot. our’s just stood upright in the beginning then fell down…
yes you can print out the manual and read everything and the update …very important
but you can do anything you want as long as it fits the rules and try to have a low center gravity 
good lucky
We got our frame rails cut the other day and wow, 28 inches sure looks small. I know it is only 2" less than last year, but the robot looks tiny on that dimension.
We were wondering if we kept the full length of the rails in the chasis for the length which were 38 inches exactly. Would we be considered over the limit if the heads of the bolts were over this length but the rail was still 38 inches?
You need to fit in a sizeing box, which will be the exact size stated by the rules. In the past, teams were made to fix whatever would not fit in the box. The size is the MAXIMUM size. Stay below, if you do not want problems.
If your frame was exactly 38 inches wide and you had a bolt head outside that, your robot would not pass inspection (provided the inspectors are carrying out their duties properly). We usually stay between 1/2" and 1" under on all dimensions (L,W,H) incase we need to add something to the outside later. Say you have to put on a 1/4" plate flag holder or something that is attached with some socket head cap allen screws to the outside of your frame. This would stick out like 1/2" and if you had one on the other side too… The team wanted to push it to the max, but I didn’t want a bolt head or exterior attachment putting us over so we are going 37x27x59.