Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the 2018 All Terrain Lawn Tractor Forum Build-Off Competition!Participants will be given 9 months to cobble together the roughest, toughest, nastiest, sexiest, high-falutinest mean machine they can, for the title of “2018 Build-Off Champion”!!!
Read on to learn the rules and how to enter!
ATLTF 5th Annual Build-Off Competition Rules- Qualifying Builds -1) Must be a small, personal-transportation type vehicle, capable of carrying operator, and not more than one additional passenger.
2) Must be self-propelled.
3) Must be powered by an OPE (Outdoor Power Equipment) type engine. Generally: one or two cylinders, 2 or 4 stroke, gasoline or diesel, air cooled, horizontal or vertical crankshaft, and derived from: lawn mowers, leaf blowers, lawn/yard/garden tractors, pressure washers, portable generators, tillers, cement mixers, weedeaters, leaf mulchers/ vacuums, water/ trash pumps, etc. Additionally, more than one qualifying engine may be used.
_3.1) Liquid-cooled OPE engines, such as offerings from Honda and Kawasaki, are permitted but are limited to two cylinders per-engine maximum.
_3.2) Electric powered machines will be considered by-basis, so long it complies with all other rules.
4) No automobile, truck, SUV, etc. chassis allowed. No ATV chassis, or "Compact Tractor" chassis from larger homestead+ tractors allowed. Passable examples are: Lawn tractor, yard tractor, garden tractor and mini chassis’, stock or modified. Custom-built chassis are allowed provided the end result will be resemblant of a lawn or garden tractor chassis in appearance. Specifically, ladder, tunnel, or pan-style.
No space frames, or frames made primarily from tubing that are resemblant to go karts, rock crawlers/ bouncers, etc.5) Must run on any number of wheels, tracks, skis, or any combination of these, limited by the following constraint: A minimum of 3 points of contact must be made with the ground, a minimum of two if vehicle is "tracked". Points of contact are defined as wheels, tracks, or skis.
Wheels cannot be configured in an inline pattern similar to a "cycle".7) Sheetmetal and bodywork is open, however the end result
must be resemblant of a tractor in some aspect. Micro-cars, cycles, rock crawlers/ bouncers, space bodies, etc. are not permitted.
6) Must be "complete" by deadline date. For our purposes, "complete" means: Starts, runs and drives under its own power. Throttle must be installed and operable remotely (without operator touching engine). Kill switch must be installed and operable without operator touching engine. Engine must start with a switch of some type, or be pull-start. Braking system must be installed and functional. Steering system must be installed and functional. The purpose of this rule is not only to define completeness for the contest, but to help ensure safety. Paint and related aesthetic touches are not mandatory to qualify as "complete" but may affect scoring. For clarification, "Remote" specifically means "The ability to operate without touching engine".
8) Must NOT be more than 50% completed prior to the official start date. Previously completed builds or lightly modifying builds for the contest will not qualify. As part of qualification, contest entrants will post a picture of the major parts source(s), including a sign showing the commencement date and code word. Completeness will be defined by your writeup of what is to be done and by seeing your parts in photos.
Entries and finalized builds are screened by the administration and we reserve the right to decline entries/ finalized builds if we feel they are not observant or compliant to the rules as stated above.
- Entrants -1) Must hold a valid ATLTF membership in good standing.
2) May Join ATLTF in order to qualify for contest entry.
3) Must maintain their ATLTF membership status in good standing for the entire duration of the contest.
4) May enter more than one project for the competition.
- Competition Details -The Build-Off commences February 1st 2018. You may NOT start building until the official start announcement on that date, but you MAY plan and collect parts until that time. The official start announcement will contain a PASSWORD. Entrants
MUST start a build thread in the [
Build-Off Entries] forum, and: Post a photo of their main parts pile that contains a sign bearing "ATLTF 2018 Build-Off", your username, the date, and the password, all printed on a sign and in the same photo. The entry period runs from February 1 to October 31st.
Entrants MUST update their thread at least monthly detailing progress, with either writeups and/or photos.
The Build-Off ends November 30th 2018. Any project that is NOT completed or compliant to the rules stated above upon the official finish announcement on that date will not qualify for judging and subsequently winning (see official contest rule #6 for definition of "complete"). Builder should post as many details of build as possible, including parts sources/origin, costs, design elements and difficulties, specifications, gear ratios, etc.
Upon completion, builder MUST post a video of completed build, consisting of a walk-around and operation to demonstrate function and capabilities. The video must be hosted on a site that will allow the video to be embedded to your post, such as YouTube. Builder should also make a post saying that build is completed or risk build not qualifying.
If for some reason you are not able to shoot or post this video, you MUST contact a forum administrator to closely scrutinize your build to determine eligibility BEFORE the competition closes.
In the event of a tie, winner will be determined by a panel of judges. There was indeed a tie for 2nd in 2015, in which the admin staff voted.
- Competition Specifications - Start date: February 1st, 2018
End date: November 30, 2018
Entry start date: February 1st, 2018
Entry close date: October 31, 2018
Voting start date: December 4, 2018
Voting close date: December 18, 2018ATLTF 2018 Build-Off
"username"
00/00/2018
"password"
Terms:Space Frame: Consisting of mainly tubes or small diameter materials.
Space Body: Consisting of mainly tubes or small diameter materials, with no supporting sheetmetal.
Remote: Device that activates objects without direct contact.
- Voting -Any ATLTF member may vote for their favorite build in full confidentiality.
We will be repeating what we did in 2017, where new accounts will be temporarily suspended from being approved to prevent account bolstering. So, if you plan on participating in voting, pull up a chair and join us here. Converse with us, get to know the builders, discuss things, and maybe stick around afterwards. Who knows, maybe you will enter next year?
Subject: 
January 8th 2018, 8:55 pm
