Radio Control Lawn Mower with TANK TRACKS - a build by VOGMAN

Home build RC Lawnmower with Tank Tracks : I hate cutting grass so I starting building a remote control lawnmower. It still needs work but the continuous tracks (caterpillar / tank / dozer tracks) work an absolute treat and the whole thing has a rugged quality about it. It cuts grass in places other mowers just can’t reach : )
Remote control of this mad mower is simply achieve using standard radio control equipment - it really isn't difficult.
This lawnmower is surprisingly easy to build and in honesty I've covered most of the topics before in other videos. So I've created a playlist of these here:
• Building an RC Tank Tr...
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[@TimHackettAustralia]

This is the best DIY RC mower I’ve seen to date, tracks seem to perform better than wheels. Such a great idea to save having to hang onto a vibrating handle, breathing in dust, lawn clippings and fumes and have boots full of lawn clippings. You could just mow the lawn while sitting in a comfy chair sipping liquid refreshment

[@vogman]

That's the idea 😁😁😁

[@lukearts2954]

the blade being low will actually take out those raised bits of ground. Keep it like that this summer, then sow in new grass and enjoy your pool table lawn next year!

[@vogman]

Funnily enough the idea has struck my mind...

[@zumbazumba1]

Ok hands down this is the best and coolest weedwacker i ever saw! Its like roomba on steroids !

[@vogman]

It makes cutting grass a worthwhile chore : )

[@zumbazumba1]

Put a flamethrower and a 3d printed sherman body on it.Then you will have coolest weed burner/lawn mower in history of mankind.

[@austinvickymoore3656]

This is a profect ive wanted to do for a while 😂 cant wait to get started

[@whiteperson806]

Well it looks like there's nothing to mowe now but you have the makings of a cool battlefield to play on and even a tank!

[@vogman]

And that means no more grass cutting 😁😁😁

[@markfryer9880]

Nice work Geoff. Everyone hates having to mow the lawn. I used to have to mow the grass every two weeks or I would loose my small dogs in it and it would take more than twice as much work to get it back under control. We had a very shallow water table so the grass would grow and grow.

[@swdweeb]

Clearly a man with too much time on his hands :-D I'm impressed.

[@vogman]

Perhaps... but not grass-cutting time, that's the important point ; )

[@dogrudiyosun]

self propelled lawnmower TOG with removed speed governor made by VOG

[@WaltSorensen]

Very nice, love the removable drive system... with a little work that track system could also be the drive system for a great kids toy too, maybe a kid sized excavator concept. Yet another project to add to my list...

[@vogman]

It could easily manage a child... those wheelchair motors have bags of guts.

[@paul-wade-hampton6766]

This is awesome"!... Thank you kindly Sir, for your videos, & sincerely, you have my appreciation for them & taking the time & energy out of your days to make them for us all . To all who see, I hope that all is well & that you all are taking very good care. Respectfully, / Sincerely. Signed : Paul~

[@craftysean945]

This is brilliant. Thanks for the video.

[@vogman]

Thanks Sean : )

[@Home_made_ch]

Coments during watching video. I would suggest to use rivets to attach metal to metal, when need to remove, then add some peace of steel, to cover holes or reshape structure of body

[@graemehodgson8580]

Funny thing is, that the grass is all ready cut and he is still mowing. But yes an awesome project!

[@gregblackburn4280]

Love this! I have a use for a tracked RC mower as I mow a steep slope and need something that can do it quickly.

[@wesKEVQJ]

Casting your own gears and wheels is pretty impressive.

[@GuillermoSanchez29]

That was awesome please let see your finished product after you make adjustments. I have been thinking about a rc on my electric lawnmower.

[@vogman]

Don't worry, I will be posting updates. Many thanks : )

[@IthBombgard]

Win. Nice work man, and thanks for all the great videos and inspiration! I look forward to more.

[@vogman]

No worries mate. Thanks : )

[@mryamaha100]

YEA GOOD JOB I think having a shut off point on the RC WOULD BE A GO IDEAL I Have just built A full size RC DALEK thou I would not let anyone have a go on it for safety reasons , going to get full cover but still would not let anyone have a go ! FAB JOB

[@vogman]

That is fantastic. Now I know where to go when I need RC advice. HEY EVERYONE - LOOK AT THIS --> kzbin.info/www/bejne/p56bnHmObraYoJI A DALEK!!

[@chriswf]

I think for my tracks... I'm gonna cheap out and get 2 roller chains with attachment brackets on every other link. (for conveyor belts). Your tracks are very respectable. But also very involved :D

[@TKs3DPrints]

loved the bit with the tracks and the motors. it made it look like the exhausts from the tiger tank. i would now wrap the lawnmower with a tiger tank shell. :)

[@vogman]

I did toy with the idea of a body shell... but I fancied something more sci fi : )

[@TKs3DPrints]

​@@vogman OMG Short Circuit stl files are on thingiverse. :)

[@SS-TX]

Awesome project! I've been wanting to build RC mower on tracks.

[@vogman]

Many thanks. The good news is it's easy to build - even the tracks if you look at that video : )

[@thecubinggamer2191]

Great project, been thinking of doing this myself.

[@vogman]

It's much easier than I thought it was going to be if I'm honest - but don't tell the wife : )

[@MsDakota7]

Great build! Love the design

[@vogman]

Many thanks

[@joshkiserkiser1020]

I don't know if you can on that mower but I had to put spacers under the engine for a definite mower to raise the blade for a better cut. Nice video man love to try

[@vogman]

Hi Josh. It's still very much a prototype. It's possible to raise and lower the mower, but it's a little fiddly. I'm already planning some adaptations : )

[@toygt8616]

Up scale this to cut down tall overgrown areas..

[@dakotak8437]

How about putting a altanter on the top of motor and charge the batters

[@vogman]

Hi Dakota. I had toyed with the idea. However, my two batteries have no trouble powering the mower long enough the cut my lawn two or three times over, so it's just not worth it for me. But I think the idea is a sound one for folks with more grass to cut : )

[@siriosstar4789]

Brilliant ! 💥

[@vogman]

Thanks 😁

[@mitchellquinn]

Definitely has a Warhammer 40k vibe to it!

[@vogman]

I wish I could deny that... but I can't ; )

[@mitchellquinn]

@@vogman Don't deny it, build it for the Temperor! I reckon if you went all Adeptus Mechanicus with it, you'd have a KZbin sensation. :-D Maybe even get a bit Peter Siripol with it and add a (small) flame thrower if you're feeling sui-... uh, "dedicated" to the Imperium. GRASS FOR THE GRASS GOD! CLIPPINGS FOR LAWN!

[@nevillecreativitymentor]

LMFAO "so I am not still cutting the lawn" ... good one

[@0bsidianPrime]

You might want to consider sacrificing a lawnmower with height adjustment, taking the mechanism and putting it on the tankmower, make it easier that way.

[@vogman]

I do need to think of an adjustment mechanism : )

[@maxreviews3418]

I love it

[@vogman]

Thanks Max : )

[@ronyerke9250]

I still think that would make an awesome battle robot. 😃 If you don't want to re-engineer your wheel bolts, maybe bolts from a stronger type of steel will do the job. Or did the bending occur at the sheet metal behind them that needs additional support, like a plate?

[@vogman]

Interesting the aluminium tracks (just standard U profile) and the sprockets (cast me me) are fine. It's a 12mm steel bolt that bent. It was simply too long. It needs better support. I've got a plan in mind : )

[@neillandscape1376]

Awesome!

[@vogman]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Mudmowerdiesel]

Awesome video

[@vogman]

many thanks : )

[@MrJoarek]

Great stuff, love it :)

[@vogman]

Many thanks : )

[@jameswhiteman413]

Fookin hell, you a bloody engineering marvel, cool vid, now wheres my mower.

[@gentiligiuliano7882]

Please open source it and make available the blueprints, I love it :D

[@vogman]

It's a good bit of fun : )

[@denisehine8719]

how about trying it on my lawn ??? thought it was great

[@vogman]

As long as someone else is cutting the lawn, I'm happy ; ) Thanks Denise.

[@baby_girl_jennifer8573]

it need cover in back so no figer tach the bland win it on

[@ronyerke9250]

Wow! Another impressive video. 🤓 I really enjoyed watching it. 👍 I'm wondering, is there a plan for a discharge deflector in the works, you know, to prevent anyone or anything from being struck by any hidden debris? I know, you're not finished yet. Again, smashing video! 😊

[@vogman]

Hi Ron. Thanks for the kind words as always : ) I have many plans. Cameras. Night-lights. Fibre glass body shell. Lots of ideas... but will they ever surface? That's another question. There is a surprisingly impressive cloud of grass cuttings though - I never expected that.

[@ronyerke9250]

Well! It seems like quite a playlist is in the making! 😊 I only strap down my safety bar at the end of the mowing season to empty the carburator of fuel before winter storage. But I guess that still counts, doesn't it?

[@jerrymadin1656]

Impressive video but hard to get that motor controller sabertooth 2 x 60 in my country.(Malaysia)

[@vogman]

Thanks Jerry. And that is a shame. I'm sure if you contact the manufacturer they'll know someone who will supply you.

[@xxlalbatross3287]

Nice set up. I guessing your controller are Sabertooth 2x60.

[@vogman]

Sure is!

[@nauticalstar8363]

Love the engineering on the tracks. Are you using the Sabertooth 2x60?

[@vogman]

I use two Invacare motors, but the make doesn't really matter. Most wheelchair motors are robust and up to the job : )

[@nauticalstar8363]

Thanks for the inspiration! I finally got mine done. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2aklaaumtdpi9E

[@vogman]

Very nice! Now I know what my lawnmower wants to be when it grows up : ) Excellent professional quality build.

[@nauticalstar8363]

VegOilGuy, thanks for sharing your video and knowledge. I kinda cheated by buying the tracks and built the chassis around it and didn’t make it from scratch like you did.

[@vogman]

No - thank "you" for being kind enough to say that. We all share and use the knowledge of others. No one is completely self taught : ) And you've done a cracking job there. It's very slick. I'm impressed. Well done.

[@frikkiesmit327]

Oooooh it beautiful!!!!!!!! 👅

[@vogman]

It's fun as well : )

[@sr_0000]

How much rpm have motors??

[@Jaze2022]

How do you make these things turn properly control wise? ie. make one wheel go fwd and the other wheel go backwards?

[@vogman]

Each track is controlled by a separate motor. Steering is done by varying the speed of each motor. For example, to spin on the spot, one motor goes forward and the other reverses 😁

[@ugetridofit]

If you ever re-visit this, next get yourself a self propelled mower. Use the belt that drives the wheels to instead drive a generator so you can loose the large batteries.

[@vogman]

I've toyed with the idea, believe me : )

[@ronyerke9250]

We recently had some workmen from a local cable company come by to replace some defective underground cable. The machine they used had tracks like your mower, but the machine must have been multiple times heavier. It tore our grass out by the roots where they turned it. Is your tracked mower tough on your lawn where it turns?

[@vogman]

That's a good question Ron. On a straight run - no problem, but as you say it's the turns where tearing of turf can occur. With caterpillar tracks, steering is done by changing the speed or direction of opposing tracks. I found if I turned one track, but not the other, to skid-steer (as the term suggests), this damaged the lawn. If I went at things full speed and turned, this could also create bald patches. But if I slowed down for the turns and tried to roughly match speed (but not always direction) of the tracks, there wasn't any noticeable damage. It's like all such things I think Ron, it's how you handle it that makes the real difference... but mine isn't as heavy as theirs : )

[@Slisktord]

Looks awesome. I'd love to build something like this but for plowing snow. The mechanical bit wouldn't be a problem, but I'm completely lost at the RC bit. Where does one get the parts needed? And how do you get it to actually work?

[@vogman]

It would easily cope with snow thanks to the tank tracks : ) When I built this I knew NOTHING about RC. So I was keen to share my journey. If you look at this playlist you should see everything you need to do the same sort of thing, including an easy RC guide - kzbin.info/aero/PLOzaysTbaKi6mnB9iyTCudDSkTOz0tPHv

[@Slisktord]

@@vogman thanks a lot!! 😃

[@zumbazumba1]

First yeeey! I never was first before OMG OMG OMG YEEEEEEY!!!!!

[@iron60bitch62]

Next a RC snow plow

[@vogman]

We don't get much snow in these parts, but a snow plough blade could easily be added to the front of this : )

[@lukearts2954]

can I rent this? this is exactly what my yard needs... Awesome stuff!

[@vogman]

I've been thinking of charging local kids to cut my lawn with it : )

[@lukearts2954]

that's a great way to create double profit :)))

[@lukearts2954]

to releave some of the strain on your gears in the turns, would it perhaps be a solution to make the track longer and trapezium shape? That way the wheel that gets the forces is not the front wheel but an intermediate wheel... It will also avoid the tracks being bent like you showed, which will increase track life.

[@lukearts2954]

and it will allow your mower to overcome larger steps in the yard surface, in case you let me rent it ;D I'll handsand your welds for you...

[@vogman]

In fairness I haven't been gentle on it. There's a good six inch step into my shed and I just let it take a run at it : ) It really climes well. Bags of torque. But the weakness is in the flimsy way I designed that T bolt. I'll cast something some solid and possibly replace many of my terrible welds at the same time. It will be fun experimenting.

[@lukearts2954]

bags of torque, I can imagine that using those 2 wheelchair motors that are designed to swiftly maneuvre a 150 pound chair with a 200 pound passenger but now only have what 50 pounds to push? Using wheelchair motors in and independant drive setup is a stroke of genious, if you ask me. Compact yet very powerful, pretty silent motors that are made to run with high precision. In fact, I'm going to take a note of it, so use similar motors when I make my lathe...

[@vogman]

A lathe? Impressive... They are excellent motors. If you've watched my electric foundry build, I use one to hoist the foundry in the air to access my crucible. I've also heard of guys using them for garage door openers. As you say, they're well engineered.

[@lukearts2954]

Yes, I saw that and I was impressed with that system to get the crucible out. Much safer too! The lathe is my most ambitious project, but I've got most of it planned out. Once I start the build, I should start filming and put it on my channel, I suppose :) It will be a 3-step process: I'll first build a simple one to make the precision components that I need for the final one. In a final step I will upgrade it with more precise components that I created on the final version itself, though I'm not sure if that will work. The biggest part of the planning work, is sifting through the tonnes and tonnes of information out there...

[@donaldasayers]

Use the pulley and belt you removed to drive a car alternator and do away with the batteries.

[@vogman]

I considered it. But my lawn isn't large enough to warrant the expense. The batteries hold up just fine, but on a larger lawn, this would definitely be useful : )

[@zikofirmansyah8350]

Motor dc torque ? 80 kg ?

[@theoprantzos5377]

Hi. I am thinking of building one out of 18V (possible overvolted to 24v) cordless drill motors. They are rated at 18v, 45Nm torque, 350rpms. I cannot find out if the power - torgue they deliver is enough. It would be extremely useful if you could share the voltage, power, max amps, and rpms of the motors you have used. Please also let me know if you were satisfied with the result in terms of power. Thanks in advence

[@vogman]

Hi Theo. I'm sorry to say I don't have any of that information for you. You can always try looking up the Invacare motors if you wish. I'm sure there's something out there. For me I never wanted speed and when I initially built the tracks I thought I was going to have to gear the motors down as it was a bit too nippy. However, once the extra weight of the petrol mower was added, everything was just right. And that's why I went with wheelchair motors... bags of weight carrying power. High speed meant nothing too me if I couldn't cut grass. So again I'm sorry to say I haven't a clue how your cordless drill motors would perform as it's not something I've tried. When we do these projects, there's so much we have to figure out on the go : ) Best of luck.

[@djzatka]

How to do connections?

[@knifeyonline]

I know... let's put on metal caterpillar tracks on a lawn mower... no way those will dig up the lawn and make a mess of it. 💡

[@vogman]

Actually they don't. If you twist and turn like a maniac, sure, you can dig in thanks to skid steering. But for the most part, the tracks lie on top of the ground and thanks to the increased surface area actually place less pressure and weight on each blade of grass : )

[@sew04ss]

Gr8 mower!!! How did you mount the spocket to the wheelchair motor

[@vogman]

Many thanks : ) Mounting the sprocket was easy. I just cast one that would fit. You can see the idea nice and clearly in this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/mn-zip6KqrWge9k - although my casting technique was fairly poor. I refined the technique in the video after that one.

[@VocallyLostGarage]

Bro someone asks me to now there lawn and they have this I'll do it 😂

[@vogman]

It's a cool way to get others to cut your lawn 😁

[@supernova6553]

won't this be very slippery on wet surfaces and hills because of flat tracks?

[@vogman]

Tank tracks have a massive surface area which gives them great traction 😁

[@supernova6553]

@@vogman maybe for flat surfaces but i don't see this performing well on grass/mud, especially wet

[@nathanielsams2715]

Could you use really grip mud tires? And what's the range of this?

[@vogman]

You could use wheels instead of tracks or add rubber to each track. The choice is yours. As for range, that's down to the batteries. I use a couple of car batteries and it's never been an issue for me.

[@davidhale3445]

Can I get some help with the track system sir?

[@markfryer9880]

Here is your next challenge Geoff. Make your mower self controlled with a computer then you can enjoy a cup of tea with your wife while the mower does the work.

[@vogman]

I've toyed with the idea... it's a little beyond me at the moment. But we live and we learn : )

[@markfryer9880]

@@vogman I suspect that it will take a GPS receiver and interface system somewhat like farmers are using to plow their fields. Aussie vegie growers are looking at a robot to tend their fields so it would be similar to that robot.

[@AWildNoodle]

I'm really interested in how you convinced your wife to cut the grass XD

[@vogman]

Lots of grovelling 😁

[@kaispindt5105]

Where did u get the tracks

[@ZAKU-GD]

plot twist - when a tank builder is bored. XD

[@vogman]

The lawn was just asking for it 😁😁😁

[@BennyDIY-eu6wj]

like😀😀😀

[@vogman]

Many thanks : )

[@0129405217]

Hi fren... Can u make 1 set mover track for me?

[@vogman]

If time and money were limitless, then gladly. But unfortunately I don't have enough of either : )

[@0129405217]

@@vogman How much is the overall cost

[@liningraccoon41]

People in Gta5 rn

[@Jaze2022]

lol I can tell you hate cutting the lawn. You literally destroyed it with your contraption. hahah. No sarcasm, I'm honestly amused.

[@vogman]

The mower was much too low, it's true. Unfortunately it grew back all too quickly 😁😁😁

[@Jaze2022]

@@vogman lol you're hillarious

[@SABARMOWER]

But your lawn mower can't cut high grass☺

[@vogman]

No need Sabar... that's what my wife's for : )

[@SABARMOWER]

Ooo right, thanks 👍