What Tank?

[sirandy 7]

Hey Guys,

I have been doing some investigation into a tank option, and it seems that it is a VERY deep pool to jump into! Maybe some advice from you guys might help me.

One consideration I need to make is that I live in Dubai, and there is a LOT of sand here! I don't have as much grass and mud as the UK and US..(or anywhere for that matter), but we have a LOT of soft sand. So, do these things run well in soft sand? I know a real tank will, but this is a kettle of different fish. Did I mention the sand?

While on that topic, how resistant are these things to getting the sand inside? I know that sand is NOT going to be friendly to the gears in the gearbox. Having looked at some manuals and builds, the newer tanks like the A26 Leopard, seem to have a newer box that is more 'enclosed' the problem is that with all that kit going into the turret, it looks to be a space nightmare!

I really like the look of the Super Sherman, but its small size seems to hinder performance and creates an organisational abortion trying to get everything inside. Something a little wider with wide tracks is probably going to do better in the sand.

I have not seen too many people do Lipo's in tanks, is this something that is inherent with the MFU's? I would prefer to be doing Lipo

Motor conversions, whats the low down? In the tanks that have 540 gearboxes, is it possible to put crawler motors in instead of the std silver cans?

Lotsa questions....fire away (pun) before I pull the trigger (on a pun roll now) on something from Banzai,....they seem to be liquidating and their kits include Tx's and all!

[MadInventor 3884]

I can only advise on the Tamiya tanks I've owned (Vintage King Tiger, Tiger I, and Jagdpanther). None of my tanks are what I would call sand proof. All of the drive sprocket drive shafts run through holes in the hull that are significantly larger than the drive shaft itself. Dust has no problem getting inside the hulls, so I'm guessing that sand will easily find its way in as well. Sand will definitely be harmful to the gearboxes if you get any in them (If you get a tank such as the leopard 2 which has a sealed gearbox this should be ok.

I would also look at the suspension arm mounts, as there can be the possibility of sand penetrating the hull through the suspension arm holes.

With regard to running on sand, and bear in mind I've never tried this for the above reasons, I would go for a tank with a deep track profile (like on the king tiger, panther, Tiger, etc). which are wide tracks which will help to spread the weight of the tank and also sink into the sand to give good traction. I would avoid tracks such as those on the Sherman / Leopard which have little to dig in with.

I don't think people use LiPos as they make the tank lighter, which in turn makes it look less realistic when driving.

I have a half track I built which utilises tank suspension and tracks, but uses a 1/14 lorry axle for the main drive to the sprockets. I built this specifically to run on the beach but have not yet had a chance to try it, but a half track might give you the best of both worlds.

[sirandy 7]

Thanks mad man :-)

Say, that's a nice looking half-track you have there!

Ok, so I was pretty sure that the answer would involve the sand being a problem, I assume that the Leopard and the new Type-10 are the only tanks with the semi-sealed gearboxes? If so, I think I might look into a cheap Heng Long as an alternative, just to test the waters so to speak. At least I haven't wasted a lot of money if the gears grind themselves to bits.

If it works ok, I will look into some Tamiya Options.

[mr crispy 2293]

Sand will get in and it'll accelerate any wear you encounter. It should be possible to use grommets to help prevent that but it'll only slow down the egress at best. My brother ran on sand and it chewed the track up like you wouldn't believe. That said it may well depend on how course your sand is?

7.4v lipo is fine for 1/16 Tamiya and Heng Long internals. Obviously you'll need to run with a low voltage buzzer or cut off but it'll give you long run times and a bit of a power boost over nimh/nicads. Most modern tanks I've encountered use smaller than 540 motors, more often around 380 but regardless it's the gearing that's the main factor for speed.