Off-road Truck Quick Start Learning Guide
Get started on your race car project today with this Quick Start Learning Guide to help you choose books that will provide the best initial value, information and guidance.
Tips On Choosing Off-Road Truck Books
Off-road trucks are a unique breed. To our knowledge there is no specific book covering the design and construction of these scratch-built off-road racing machines. Therefore, as a designer you will need to work from some parallel sources. Like almost every race car you can design, it is worth understanding vehicle dynamics. Therefore we suggest you begin with a book on vehicle dynamics, especially as it relates to dirt tracks or off-road.
Internet research can provide some insights as well (Photos are worth 1000 words). Beyond the visual and other information you find, there are books on design of the components used in off-road trucks that can be adapted to your project. We suggest books on tube/spaceframe chassis design, suspension design and 4WD/off-road vehicles for starters.
| Book Category | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chassis |  Chassis Engineering: Chassis Design, Building & Tuning for High Performance Handling  (4.5 / 5)Chassis Engineering is a great introduction to race car design. In a practical and down-to-earth way, it covers the fundamentals of how race cars handle and the requirements for designing and constructing a car. The book includes chapters on chassis design, suspension design, frame construction, aerodynamics and tuning. Overall it provides the reader with the foundation of how the key components of a race car work and interact together. Get "Chassis Engineering: Chassis Design, Building & Tuning for High Performance Handling":    | |||
| Chassis |  Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension: Advanced Setup and Design Technology for Dirt Track Racing (4.5 / 5)Technical guide to the design and setup of dirt track race cars. Includes chapters on dirt chassis theory and design, chassis tuning, setup tips and driving tips. Get "Dirt Track Chassis and Suspension: Advanced Setup and Design Technology for Dirt Track Racing": | |||
| Chassis |  The Race Car Chassis : Design, Structures and Materials for Road, Drag and Circle Track Open- and Closed-Wheel Chassis  (4 / 5)Aspiring designers will find Forbes Aird's book on chassis design to be a good introduction to the fundamental purposes, structures and materials of race car (or road car) chassis. What the book might lack in formulas and design calculations, it makes up for in sheer breadth of chassis design and construction ideas. It provides sufficient information to the reader to leave them with a solid understanding of the various chassis types, materials and construction so they can make informed choices about designing their own chassis. Get "The Race Car Chassis : Design, Structures and Materials for Road, Drag and Circle Track Open- and Closed-Wheel Chassis": | |||
| Driving |  4-Wheel Freedom: The Art Of Off-Road Driving (4.5 / 5)Teaches basics of 4 wheel drive vehicles and off-road driving techniques. Chapters on basics of 4 wheel drive, selecting a 4x4, customizing and upgrading, and off-roading techniques. Off-road techniques include crawling, hills, recovery/winching, snow, ice, mud, and crossing streams. Get "4-Wheel Freedom: The Art Of Off-Road Driving": | |||
| Fasteners/Joining |  Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook  (5 / 5)Teaches how to use the correct fasteners and fastener materials. This book includes extensive information on fatigue properties, joints, mounts, and vehicle plumbing. Get "Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts, Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook": | |||
| Materials/Fabrication |  Competition Car Composites: A Practical Guide (4.5 / 5)A comprehensive resource for those building race car chassis or components with fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP). Types of composite materials, moulding techniques, structural techniques, layup, and applications are all discussed in this book. Get "Competition Car Composites: A Practical Guide": | |||
| Materials/Fabrication |  Engineer To Win: The essential guide to racing car materials technology (5 / 5)A comprehensive, easy-to-read guide on metallurgy (metal properties), fastening and plumbing. The book applies this information to many aspects of race cars with the goal of building cars that do not break or leak. Get "Engineer To Win: The essential guide to racing car materials technology": | |||
| Materials/Fabrication |  Metal Fabricator's Handbook (4 / 5)Teaches welding techniques, metal forming, hammerforming and practical metal fabrication projects. Project include forming custom body panels, tanks, roll cages/safety cells and exhaust headers. Get "Metal Fabricator's Handbook": | |||
| Powertrain |  David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower (5 / 5)A guide to designing the engine as a system and constructing it to produce maximum horsepower. The design aspects use the airflow through each part of the engine as a basis for instruction. Provides detailed information on how to select, modify and tune each component to work at peak efficiency with others in the engine. Get "David Vizard's How to Build Horsepower": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  How to Make Your Car Handle (5 / 5)Teaches how to improve vehicle handling through suspension and chassis modifications and understanding vehicle dynamics. Includes basic suspension theory on roll centers, roll axis, camber change, bump steer, anti-dive, ride rate, ride balance as well practical chassis modifications. Get "How to Make Your Car Handle": | |||
| Vehicle Dynamics/Handling |  Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning (5 / 5)The fundamentals of race car vehicle dynamics in a clear, well-written text. Explains suspension, weight dynamics and vehicle handling behaviours in a way that permits the designer to understand cause and effect and improve their race car design, vehicle tuning and even driving. Get "Tune to Win: The art and science of race car development and tuning": | |||
| Whole Car (Design and Build) |  Four-Wheeler's Bible (4.5 / 5)A guide to 4x4 vehicles, modifications, off-road driving techniques, handling emergencies, recovery techniques. Provides insights into preparation, controls, traction, and navigation. Get "Four-Wheeler's Bible": | |||
| Whole Car (Overview/History) |  The Off-Road 4-Wheel Drive Book: Choosing, using and maintaining go-anywhere vehicles (4 / 5)Advice from a 30 year veteran of 4WD machines. Explains what to look for in off-road machines and which vehicles are best for various terrains and conditions. This book includes a catalog of vehicles as of its publishing date. It also includes information on driving in and recovering vehicles from hostile environments,and includes planning expeditions and survival techniques. This book could potentially be used to determine requirements for an offroad 4x4 machine build project. Get "The Off-Road 4-Wheel Drive Book: Choosing, using and maintaining go-anywhere vehicles": |
More Information
For complete information on the design and construction of the Off-road Truck race car type and a full listing of books and learning resources, see our Off-road Truck race car type article.