OshKosh Vehicles Racing Baja 1000

[jgolden]

http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php/88131-Oshkosh-Corporation-Puts-Concept-Vehicle-to-the-Test-in-the-43rd-Annual-Tecate-SCORE

Not sure if this has been posted

[haven]

See the race truck on Youtube. It's got a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain and independent suspension all around.

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edit: found another link to the video

[SOAZ]

I wouldn't want to dig that thing out of the silt beds. 16,000lbs. WOW!

It looks like the race trucks are very different from the one in the video above.
Lower and i would guess lighter. Hopefully. The one in the video has some mean body roll for some of the highspeed turns.

Very cool, looking forward to an end of race report from them.

[AFSOC]

Very exciting effort, kudos to Oshkosh for pursuing motorsports as a means of proving their product and enhancing further development. This is a tough economy to step outside their usual product development template. I wish them success. I hope they have their eye on an eventual assault on the Dakar Rallye.

Haven, thanks for posting up the video. It looks pretty nimble for such a large uparmored rig.

[cwsqbm]

That looks like an M-ATV. Having seen one up close, I'd love to have that suspension on a big Unicat-style rig.

Given the current situation south of the border, I'd leave on the armor.

[crazyjane]

that suspension is what all the MRAP's are getting changed over to. I've also had the pleasure to ride in the bed of a Marine 7 tonner, which has the same suspension and has also been upgraded , when they relieved us in Fallujah in early 2004. Very nice ride and not a bit of sarcasm on this end. The vehicle in the video looks like an M-ATV, we made some boxes to store more gear as the bed is a little small. Very nice vehicle overall but I hear is a little challenging to work on.

[Lynn]

this video has been removed by the user.

Bummer.

[Ron B]

my mechanic helped race prep it and is driving it. He says it is pretty awesome and HUGE. The suspension is computer controlled and changes/reacts to the terrain.

It is a test vehicle, I don't believe that Oshkosh is getting into racing. A special class was invented so it could participate.

[Warn Industries]

One or two of the trucks are running a WARN Olympus 25 electric winch up front (our new 25,000 lb. capacity electric winch), and a WARN winch on the back, too.

[SOAZ]

The OshKosh truck is behind the class 11's. Stock VW bugs.
Armor plating doesn't help going over bumps. :elkgrin:

Keep going guys. Finishing is what it's all about!!!

[SOAZ]

It made it through Checkpoint 1 in time so it can keep going. The guys on weatherman mentioned it was so quiet they almost missed it come through.

[Ron B]

yeah, they aren't gonna push a one of a kind test vehicle. They were never in it to compete, they just wanna finish. But they still might get best in their class!

[SOAZ]

Both M class trucks stopped at race mile 180 and the other at mile 145.

[westyss]

One or two of the trucks are running a WARN Olympus 25 electric winch up front (our new 25,000 lb. capacity electric winch), and a WARN winch on the back, too.


Where would one find information on these new winches? Cant find any thing on your site.

[cruiseroutfit]

Had the opportunity to see one of the OshKosh rigs running near the Bay of LA (BFG Pit#3 around race mile 380). Big and fast!

[Bill Beers]

Where would one find information on these new winches? Cant find any thing on your site.


Check out page 6.

http://www.warn.com/corporate/images/661/IndustrialApplicationGuide2010-2011.pdf

[4x4abc]

I shot the beast "flying by", jumped in my truck (G500) passed it and shot the M2 in a second location 3 miles down the track (I had enough time to get my video camera on a tripod)

Nice guys - they blew their horn each time when driving by
they came in dead last (behind a stock Suzuki) and the race was long over - but hey, they made it to La Paz

I followed them from the last photo location to the finish line (10 miles) to take some last shots

reminds me of my very first sailing regatta - I was still on the water when everybody else had already gone home
just don't give up and be better next time

[Bhos]

That one has been stripped down quite a bit. They are massive and pretty cool. One version had 4 independent diesel electrics...one for each wheel and full capable of pulling/pushing the vehicle with the other 3 out of commission.

[Chase2]

Thanks for the kind words regarding going the distance and never giving up. That's me in the co-dawg seat (with the orange stripe on my visor). And I was the guy on the horn jajajajaja! It was great to see you guys cheering us on after everyone else had gone home!

Although I was supposed to ride in M1 from Puertocetos to Santa Ignacio, but a mechanical issue cause us to drop at RM 130 (?). We had the parts it just would have taken almost 6 hours to fix. When the co-driver for M2 wasn't feeling up to finishing the event, I was asked to get in the vehicle in Insergentes and go to La Paz.

I have to say that the Oshkosh effort was something I'm very proud to have been part of. The LCV is a test and development vehicle with the diesel-electric drive train and suspension being the major components being developed. Yes, the vid did show a lot of body roll, but that vid was taken right as we started tuning the shocks and at least 90% of it was taken care of.

Each vehicle carried single wench on a receiver hitch that could be moved/attached front or back. We never had to use it as we never came close to getting stuck.

[haven]

Welcome to ExPo, Chase2, and congratulations on your race efforts.

Tell us more about what it's like to drive an electric powered vehicle off-road. The diesel motor only drives a generator, correct? Did the trucks carry a large enough battery to be driven a couple of miles without the help of the generator?

Can you point us to more photos or video of the racing LCV elsewhere online?

[Chase2]

Thanks!

I was only a co-driver/navigator and only a select few professional drivers were allowed to sit behind the wheel. I don't work for Oshkosh, I was with California Gold Racing who helped Oshkosh setup, test, provide race logistics, and get to the finish line. I can tell you that due to the weight, tire size, and suspension it was a very kush ride. The computer system attached to the electric motors told the diesel motor what they needed and it responded accordingly. No batteries except to start the diesel. It was a little different with the throttle not directly linked to the diesel engine. There were a lot of components that Oshkosh doesn't want discussed as they have spent a great deal of brain power and time developing them.

This project allowed me to spend quality time in the desert with some of the smartest guys I've ever met and some of the hardest working technicians and mechanics I've ever come across. The greatest thing about this is that hopefully what they found from all of our testing and race efforts will eventually work its way to our troops.

Official Oshkosh photos (https://psbpr.box.net/shared/5ju98uu4np)

.

[Master-Pull]

The OshKosh guys were cool, I was able to meet a few of them and talk about the vehicle with them at some of the road crossings during the race and during tech in Ensenada. Those trucks really are huge, we brought a H1 Alpha which by most standards is a huge vehicle in Baja. The support that OshKosh had out there was cool too, I think it was up to around 130 people for both rigs, plus two back up recovery rigs out there being carried around on semi's.

-Alex

[Ron B]

...I can tell you that due to the weight, tire size, and suspension it was a very kush ride...

I am good friends with Mike Sabaresse and he said the same thing -- he mentioned that riding in it was like sitting on his sofa at home playing a video game. Wish I could have seen it, looks great in the pics. Good job finishing!

rb

[Chase2]

I am good friends with Mike Sabaresse Meeting and getting to work with Mike was one of the cool things about being on the team. Many of us working with California Gold Racing are more used to driving/co-driving Class 1 cars and Trophy Trucks. Mike's insight on what it takes to get such a large vehicle to cross the finish line was awesome. I personally have never worked so hard to go so slow in my entire life!

[oxi]

I actually work for Oshkosh Defense. I run the T/case and Engine line and got to watch them build it up from scratch and see them off on the lowboy.

Great project to highlight the hydraulic suspension, no springs and Pro-Pulse type propulsion.

Our latest project is the TAK-4 on the HUMVEE as the military seeks to rebuild the older units and fit them with the same suspension as the M-ATV, MTVR and LVSR.

[haven]

Looks like the Oshkosh M-ATV is the Army's choice for a rugged, protective utility vehicle for use in Afghanistan.

http://jalopnik.com/#!5785345/this-is-the-us-armys-tough-new-high+tech-ambulance

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/oshkosh-matv-2.jpg

http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z241/expeditioncampers/Oshkosh-matv-1.jpg

[oxi]

The Jeep guys do not like the fact that the majority of new military vehicles are independent suspended...

The days of solid axles are going by the way side...

[haven]

I noted that the winner of the 2011 King of the Hammers race drove a buggy with independent front suspension. KOH is unusual in that the race includes gnarly rock crawling as well as high speed running in the open desert. The first place truck beat everybody by 30 minutes.

I suspect we'll see more independent front suspensions in future KOH competitions.

[Master-Pull]

I noted that the winner of the 2011 King of the Hammers race drove a buggy with independent front suspension. KOH is unusual in that the race includes gnarly rock crawling as well as high speed running in the open desert. The first place truck beat everybody by 30 minutes.

I suspect we'll see more independent front suspensions in future KOH competitions.

Yes and no. Shannon Campbell can be successful in almost anything he drives, the IFS allows him to mash through the rocks and drive faster then most in the desert, and sustain speeds through deep washes.

In the rocks his suspension compresses and moves backwards when he hits something, whereas a normal link suspension will have to move forwards while it compresses. This allows him to move faster and his stuff harder then he would with a solid axle suspension.

-Alex

[skysix]

Each vehicle carried single wench ... that could be moved/attached front or back. We never had to use it...

Freudian slip? Funny regardless. Sounds like a good option to have in any case (if you're not married!)