Looking for Robot Chassis

[Hadamard]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to purchase a robot chassis kit to compete in a robotic competition. I have checked a lot of the major sites and haven't found anything that fits what I am looking for. I really don't want to have to build the body and mount axis/wheels and worry about all that. I am much more interested in the sensors and programing it.

Requirements:
1) It needs to be durable and able to drive at speeds between 5 and 10 mph, so it should have a DC motor built in or easily installed.

2) It needs to be large enough to mount a 15" laptop, batteries, camera, motors, sensors....etc

3) I would like it to cost under $200 but would be willing to go higher if it is exactly what I am looking for.

If anyone knows of any websites selling a chassis that meets my requirements I would greatly appreciate it.

[msprague]

The 5 - 10 mph requirement will probably be your hardest to meet at such a low cost.
check this out:
http://sector5labs.com/Product.aspx/chs-efc-4xx
http://sector5labs.com/Product.aspx/adk-efc-l1
I haven't used these, so can't particularly recommend it, but it is close to what you are looking for, but my calculations indicate top speed closer to 2 mph.

[msprague]

This would be another option:
http://www.parallax.com/Store/Accessories/MotorServos/tabid/163/CategoryID/57/List/0/Level/a/ProductID/507/Default.aspx?SortField=ProductName,ProductName
You'd have to bolt it to a base (maybe plywood?), but it already has decent brackets.  Again, lower speed though.

You may have already stumbled upon these options.  Something for that speed will probably be hard to come by, other than modifying an RC truck perhaps. 

[borg]

If you find something at that price, please let me know. That would be a steal.  Lynxmotion has a bunch of different chassis that might work for you but once they have all the motors and batteries, I think your cost would be > 200.

Good luck!

[robotcoder]

You might want to call around to fabrication shops in your area.  I am currently having an aluminum chassis built for me for around $250 from my own design.