What is the largest that we could make a wheeled or tracked vehicle with modern technology?
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asked Oct 29, 2020 at 0:36
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3$\begingroup$ 5 second Google search. Also, real world questions are allowed but only with a world building context. (See this great answer.) $\endgroup$– JBHOct 29, 2020 at 0:49
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1$\begingroup$ What are the requirements of the vehicle? Bulldozer, crane, troop carrier, weapons platform? What terrain does it need to be able to cross? Or is it just a very expensive Guiness World Records contender? $\endgroup$– KerrAvon2055Oct 29, 2020 at 0:50
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1$\begingroup$ Fun: The Big Bus (1976) $\endgroup$– user535733Oct 29, 2020 at 1:35
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1$\begingroup$ @JBH The question asks for the largest that could be made, not the largest that currently exists. $\endgroup$– SurpriseDogOct 29, 2020 at 1:59
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$\begingroup$ Another interesting contender outside of the mining space is NASA's crawler transporter. $\endgroup$– AtogOct 29, 2020 at 2:05
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1 Answer
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Giant powered axle
Build two copies of the world's largest ferris wheel, each at 550ft high. Remove the cabins so they can roll on the rims. Attach them together with an axle long enough so they don't tip over (maybe 400ft). Then suspend a propeller aircraft engine from each end of the axle. You can steer like with a bulldozers treads: activate just the left engine to turn right, just the right to turn left, both to go forward. Prop engines can go in reverse too. Finally hang a cockpit from the middle of the axle.
It's big. It can probably be made to cruise over salt flats. Likely not good for much else.
Could you get something bigger in theory? Not sure.
