M274 military mule half scale home build

[bighead]

Very nice work. You should make a 1/2 scale trailer to tow.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by T-man

this is cool . I have been trying to think of building something that I could use for filming and this is cool. I was wondering the way that the front end is set-up ... I know that the 4 point connection is set-up and how it handles the up and down movement but I cant see what handle the side to side stability.

T-man,

Here's a view of the front pan hard bar. Same design for the rear swingarm as well.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by toystory_4wd

What an absolutely unique and well executed build! Bravo!
Couple quick questions- Why is it the steering wheel appears to be centered between the seats while the control pedals are off to one side?
Also- unless I have misinterpreted something, it appears you have your brake disc on one side of the differential, effectively braking only one wheel. Did I miss something?

Very nicely done. Cheers! Chris

The steering wheel struts can be adjusted to angle the steering wheel more towards the driver. I just kept it centered because it's more comfortable for the rider. Most of this design is close to half scale. However, I had to tweak some proportions like the seats and steering wheel for ergonomics and drivability. The actual full scale mule is designed like this for ease of getting in and out of the vehicle.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by redsox985

This is beautiful! If only you had plans and a parts list... (wishful thinking )

No worries. I have full engineering on this half scale mule. Right now it's up to 35 engineering drawings. A detailed drawing for each component.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by dan

look at the real mule, the steering wheel is also in the center tho it is tilted in towards the drivers seat, i also dont see them front shocks being very affective??

The shocks work great. This suspension is as perfectly tuned as I could make it. I'm running 450 lbs coil overs on the rear and 750 lbs coil overs on the front. The angle is tuned at 55 degrees to be a 55% ratio of the shock compression load. The frame platform evenly squats when one or two riders sit on the platform. This was difficult to dial in being that the riders sit justified to the front of the vehicle.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by CriticalMass

The steering wheel made me turn my head sideways. Also was there no way to mount the front spindles on less of an angle? Seem like the tires would hop around being angled like that.

What a cool kart, you definatley need to make a 1/2 scale cannon now.

The caster on the front spindles is currently 15 degrees. I did some roll tests down my steep driveway to dial this in. being that you're sitting over the front wheels, the suspension and steering geometry is not as conventional as other vehicles. I had to design a dual steering shaft system that looks like this.

[dowies]

Here are a few more development pictures that show more chassis detail. I'll upload more pictures as I finish this half scale mule. I'll also take some video driving footage when it's finished.

[B.M.800]

Thats really cool! It would be great in a parade...

Whats that car in the backround?

[redsox985]

Would you mind throwing those drawings into an album on PhotoBucket or some similar site? I would like to look them over. (<-- I love this thing.)

What's your final gear ratio and top speed?

[T-man]

Oh I see it now, ok, I cant get over how cool this is. oh ya I was wondering about that floor ... is that siding for a building? also I noticed that the gass tank and exaust is pritty close to the floor ... do you get any collision if to much weight is on the back once the shocks compress to much?

[Ghanem]

That is cool i liked the tires and the seats

[dowies]

Originally Posted by redsox985

Would you mind throwing those drawings into an album on PhotoBucket or some similar site? I would like to look them over. (<-- I love this thing.)

What's your final gear ratio and top speed?

The final gear ratio I'll be using will be either 10.8:1 or 12:1. I will be testing the 20T sprocket 12:1 ratio very soon. I did a test drive with the 18T sprocket, and a wanted to try just a little more low end. This drawing shows my calculations for RPM and speed. At the 12:1 ratio the top speed will be around 14.8 mph. My goal is for good low end torque vs. high speed.

When this half scale mule is finished, I can provide drawings. There are 35-40 drawings total, so it will be a .pdf, .dxf, or 3D SolidWorks hand off. I have a detailed drawing for 95% of the parts.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by T-man

Oh I see it now, ok, I cant get over how cool this is. oh ya I was wondering about that floor ... is that siding for a building? also I noticed that the gass tank and exaust is pritty close to the floor ... do you get any collision if to much weight is on the back once the shocks compress to much?

The floor is all 18GA (.047") sheet metal. The spines are individual sheet metal bent profiles that were then welded to the top pan. It stiffens up the top pan and emulates the military look. The clearance from the top of the motor and exhaust to the bottom of the top pan is .250" to .375" at full bump. (full rear shock compression) So at full shock compression there is approx. .25" to .375" clearance. I checked all this before I finalized the fabrication of the rear swing arm.

[dowies]

Originally Posted by Ghanem

That is cool i liked the tires and the seats

Thanks. The tires are standard riding lawnmower turf tires. 15 X 6.00 - 6. The outside diameter is around 14.25" which is close to half of a full scale M274 mule tire O.D.

The seats I made from scratch. I made the seat supports out of 1.00" O.D. 16GA round tubing. The seat pans are plywood and high density closed cell foam. I wrapped the foam with actual military canvas. The back and bottom of the seat is an 18GA sheet metal pan to cover the wrapped canvas.

[honda-gx-power]

wicked build, lot of time gone it to that, well done, best build ive saw that

[redsox985]

Originally Posted by dowies

The final gear ratio I'll be using will be either 10.8:1 or 12:1. I will be testing the 20T sprocket 12:1 ratio very soon. I did a test drive with the 18T sprocket, and a wanted to try just a little more low end. This drawing shows my calculations for RPM and speed. At the 12:1 ratio the top speed will be around 14.8 mph. My goal is for good low end torque vs. high speed.

When this half scale mule is finished, I can provide drawings. There are 35-40 drawings total, so it will be a .pdf, .dxf, or 3D SolidWorks hand off. I have a detailed drawing for 95% of the parts.

That's great to hear! Thank you so much. I, too, would have geared for lots of torque because it's supposed to be a powerful utility vehicle. I really want one! Just wondering, what did this cost you?

[theo]

dowies, nice build and workmanship, what was the full size mule basically designed for?

[CriticalMass]

Nice dodge of my question! Half scale cannon! A .50 would work too if you had a nice belt fed canister.

I would build one of these If I had any patience at all. Pulling my hair out just making a rinky dink go kart. Waiting for parts and getting wrong parts is making me insane.

Well done on this, I am fascinated.

[dowies]

I've finished the fabrication of the home built, half scale, M274 military mule. I added a hydraulic disc brake to the rear axle. I've changed the gear ratio to 16.8: 1. This thing is geared really low for hauling and climbing. Top speed is now around 10.5 mph. Perfect for crusing around the yard and giving rides. Here's some recent pictures from the final test rides. I will now completly disassmble the mule and paint it. More pictures to come.

[gokart14]

Nice that is sweet