Eco off-road on a budget? Or destroying a Prius, you decide.

[freebeard]

I couldn't sleep in a car with someone looking in the windows like that.

[Galane]

Originally Posted by jakobnev

Maybe you could add a plate or something behind the rear wheels that scrapes the mud of the tire before it goes up the wheel arch?

Could make a bracket that bolts onto the rear axle and holds a scraper behind the tire with about 1/8" gap to the tread surface. Angle it up some so it diverts mud outward. That would also mean shaping the edge to conform to the tire.

Time for Cardboard Aided Design.

[jakobnev]

...anything rubbing against the tyre...

I didn't mean it should touch the tire, just be close to it.

[bobo333]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I couldn't sleep in a car with someone looking in the windows like that.

Haha it is a bit creepy lol, one side will be covered with some reflective insulation material and the other in a black fabric when they're finished.

Could make a bracket that bolts onto the rear axle and holds a scraper behind the tire with about 1/8" gap to the tread surface. Angle it up some so it diverts mud outward. That would also mean shaping the edge to conform to the tire.

Time for Cardboard Aided Design.

That was basically my thinking, as if the wheel was a lathe and the scraper was the tool you use to carve off the spinning material. I think an easier option would be to just pay more attention to where im driving in the future and try to avoid sticky clay...

After arriving at my partners house to repack for our camping trip I discovered that camping with 2 people requires a lot more gear than just one, I certainly need better rear suspension and a lift kit (my Rising Tuning kit still hasn't arrived). The rear carrier proved itself very handy for my highlift jack, spare tyre, jerry can and TRED recover boards (which helped a lot in the mud)


Another eventful journey took us from my partners house to the campsite, rough dirt roads, lots of rocks and the early sunset in the middle of winter made for some white knuckle moments, but Jim The Prius just kept on chugging and got us there safe and sound.


The solar panels worked well to keep the music running and devices charging all weekend, after the sun went down I used ready mode to warm my bed inside which was very luxurious. A quick plunge in the icy river followed by some gourmet food and great company was the icing on the cake.




Lots of new ideas and plans have arisen from the weekend, this was its first major adventure so it was great to see how all of my modifications have come together.

[SkauneJohan]

Very cool project, would love to make mine offroadable too, the roads here are only half bad so think stock suspension is enough besides cars based in the 80s models have very good ground clearance

Do you think better tires might help with the mud? But then again It is a lot cheaper to go with what you have instead of investing in new stuff

Cheers/Johan

[Galane]

I took a look at my 2nd gen and there's not a lot of room for a tire scraper, especially without a lift kit. Looks like it would have to be pretty narrow.
But as long as it peels the sticky muck off the tire so it doesn't get flung up into the wheel well, that's what matters.

I also noticed there's plenty of room between the rear brake drum and front rotor and the wheel. Could make the scraper wrap around the inside sidewall of the tire and into that gap so it won't fill up with muck. Just don't make it so close to the wheel it hits stick on balancing weights.

Any such attachment would need to be BEEFY so it can't get bent and dig into the tire.

[bobo333]

Originally Posted by SkauneJohan

Very cool project, would love to make mine offroadable too, the roads here are only half bad so think stock suspension is enough besides cars based in the 80s models have very good ground clearance

Do you think better tires might help with the mud? But then again It is a lot cheaper to go with what you have instead of investing in new stuff

Cheers/Johan

I think smaller/smoother tyres on the rear would have been a benefit to some degree, leaving more room in the wheel arches and picking up less of the sticky mud. But it's probably only a matter of time before they clogged regardless, it was difficult to even walk on the road let alone drive anything smaller than a tractor.

I'm not back home in quarantine so I've pulled the car apart to clear out the rest of the mud, there's still a lot despite driving around 1500km through rain and corrugated gravel and a river crossing or 3 since the incident...


I've also started planning on the front bumper build, more about that can be found in this thread
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/its-all-about-compromise-study-front-bumper-design-38387.html

Stay tuned 👌

[freebeard]

When I drove my Superbeetle to Bonneville, it was a year when there were still creeks of brine to be forded to get to the tracks.



I drove into Wendover each night to use a car wash on the undercarriage, didn't see a fordable stream all the way home and then used a pressure washer for two or three days. It was never really the same, the steering gearbox turned out to be frozen up for instance. It had forded high Willamette River water before with no problems.



Look how different the color looks under PNW light. Bonneville is like another planet.

[Galane]

Originally Posted by freebeard

When I drove my Superbeetle to Bonneville, it was a year when there were still creeks of brine to be forded to get to the tracks.

Is that a 1971 or 1972?

[freebeard]

1971. The last year of the low-light Type II, second year of the long-nose Type III. There were two Beetle models, the Standard and the Super. This is a 1302. It has Macpherson struts in front.