Semi Trailer Mechanic

What's goin' on... Tim VERY COOL! Some like those large car trucks but I like a bare bones fleet truck! Well done.

What's goin' on... I haven't participate in model shows (this may change some day) or clubs but I like your idea. I've known other builders who will buy build ups and then turn around and enter them in a show. To me that just seems to defeat the whole purpose. I thought the idea was to display your talent and labor not to take the credit of someone elses.

What's goin' on... This weekend I had a little building time to work on the side kit for the Wabash flatbed. http://flickr. com/photos/ 9495602@N02/ sets/72157604111 035238/detail/ Origianl plans for this was to leave the coil off and put the side kit on! Now, I'm continuing to build the side kit only to leave if off. Under the trailer will be diamond plate boxes used to store the panles,the bows will be fixed to the inside of the headboard,and the posts and the tarp will be behind the headboard as well held down w/ straps (no bungee cords) and the coil will get mounted on the deck like I had it before. There was a trucking company I worked for several years ago the drivers would haul misc freight w/ the side kit broke down/stored like this. In one of the pictures you'll see the panels aren't all true and square. No big deal. This project is a trial/error arpproch to building a side kit for the first time. I "WILL" build another flatbed (spread axle) w/ an assembled side kit in the future. This one is a learning process. Thanks for looking!

What's goin' on... Recently I found a picture of one of those trailers. Looks like an intersting project. You could use the suspension from either the AMT lowboy or the dump trailer. For the body use .030 styrene. If it was me building this I'd get all the measurements of the holes in the sides and use a T- square to make center lines vertical and horizontal having them all intersecting the center of each hole. Use a cordless drill w/ a bit the diameter of the hole needed and drill a couple holes that is equal to the width of the (oval) holes and then use an exacto knife cutting across the top and bottom between the two hole you drilled to make ovals. Use fine strip styrene and cement that inside those ovals to look like the flanges from being punched. (If that makes sence to ya.) For the floor use the same thickness styrene and use diamond plate for floor detail. Plastruct 1:100 is perfect and Don Millis offers diamond plate as well. (I haven't used that yet) For the undercarriage I'm not sure if Wilson uses I-beams, square beams, u-beams, or if the floor is designed to carry the load. As far as the rest of the trailer goes use various sizes and shapes of styrene as needed. The best way to help (not just me but others in the forum) is to just jump in and get started. When you run into a task you have a question about just post. Good Luck!!!

What's goin' on... Albert Thanks a million for taking those pictures. I'm planning on purchasing three of those Revell 69's. That first photo is exactly how I "WILL" build one of them as. Switching gears here.... Last year I sold my 70 Chevelle I've had since 1989. If I ever get another 1:1 hot rod it'll be a 68-72 Nova completely identical (or I'll build it like that) to that in the first picture! w/ fuel prices being nearly $4.00 a gallon I got no interest in getting back into the hot rod hobby and in all honesty I don't regret selling the 70! IF ya don't mind I'm going to load that pic it to my FlickR album! Of course you'll have credit for the picture.

What's goin' on... Over the weekend I started building a side kit for the tri axle Wabash flatbed. The coil was removed, rub rails, and the bulkhead and pockets. The panels are 1/32 inch basswood,bows are aluminum wire, and the posts are hollow round stock and i-beams. A new bulkhead and mounting pockets have also been scratchbuilt. Thanks for looking!!! http://flickr. com/photos/ 9495602@N02/ 2466519216/ sizes/o/ and http://flickr. com/photos/ 9495602@N02/ 2466518806/ sizes/o/in/ set-721576040820 44166/

What's goin' on... A few years back I experimented w/ several Tamiya colors w/ good results for detailing (plastic) flatbed decks. When the Great Dane extendable flatbed trailer was reissued Evan Harmel (Scale Auto /Truck Stop colum) emailed me asking what my opinion was and ideas how to detail it. If you can find the issue of SA that had the w/up on that flat bed it has the color combination (various Tamiya paints) that I receommended to use to detail the deck. If ya ask me rebuild the deck. Use Plastruct/Evergreen styrene angle and i-beams and build it right. For the floor use balsa or basswood for the flooring. Good Luck

What's goin' on... Ray I believe the 88 Big Cam followed the Big Cam 4 then the L-10,N-14,M-11,444, and so on showed up. Before the low sulfur diesel showed up in the early 90's I could always tell weather or not a truck had a BIG CAM in it just by the smell of the exhaust at idle.

What's goin' on... Tim Here's some 359 refernce pics from my FlickR album. The modifications you've done to the front suspension are too cool. http://flickr.com/photos/9495602@N02/sets/72157604108093926/ http://flickr.com/photos/9495602@N02/sets/72157603851221608/

What's goin' on... Eddie I took that coil off for now. As for the 37 on the side I was just punting putting that on there for a production number. I've seen rigs w/ a coil up front and another at the rear in the past. Can ya tell me how big in diameter and width are those 25K coils? I'd like to put two coils on there facing suicide. If these rolls of paper are close to the specs of the 25K's I'll put both on. To me that just makes too much scence having the coil(s) loaded that way so it's sitting across both of the trailer's main frame rails.

What's goin' on... Ray To make a coil like that go to Staples,Office Depot get a package of calculator register paper rolls then paint it silver. I used Alumninum Metallizer but it started flaking off. I recently painted another roll w/ some silver paint to see if that works out better. Email me off the board about your trailer ScottWP72@yahoo.com

What's goin' on... Looks good! Is that a RD conversion hood?

What's goin' on... Ray You're close. It's the R/G W900 (tow truck) spare bunk roof. The remainder of the bunk is that found it the T600's kit cut down.

What's goin' on... Bob I'll see if I can find out for ya. I live in Columbus,Ohio. LHS's always post flyers for model shows/contests and toy fairs.

What's goin' on... Thanks for the compliments fellas. Eddy you've made a good point and I feel like a hipocrite for mounting that coil w/ the eye to the front. Reason being I've repaired 1:1 flatbed trailers where heavy loads crushed the flooring and crossmembers between the two piers (aka main frame rails). Seeing the way it sits now you're right it's on top of the curb side pier and resting on the flooring where it could cause some damage. Also I was wondering how many chains would be needed and what criteria dictated the number of chains needed. As is there are three chains per side. DOC thanks a million for the step by step process to make a tarp!!! Ray speaking of Utility Trailers. I just got a job at a Utility Dealer called Interstate Trailer Inc. here in Columbus,Ohio last week running a (mobile repair)service truck. I haven't had time all week to do any model building. Also I thought about making one of those decals that say "Place Coil Here" like you'd said some trailers are reenforced. Speaking of. At a former job (Trailmobile/Fontaine/Morgan Body dealere/shop) a guy had a quad axle aluminum flatbed where prolonged coil hauling destroyed the trailers intergrity and it craked nearly in have. The dealer ordered a new Fontaine trailer w/ NO AXLES! We took the two lift axles and the other two axles off that trailer installing them to the new deck. I think the driver saved nearly 20,000 having that done opposed to buying a completely new trailer. When he took delivery of it he had us load the carnage of what used to be a trailer on the new one. I bet he got a good price from the scrap yard for that.

What's goin' on... Get another 377 kit use the bunk for the 379 then use the remainder of the kit for a day cab project.

What's goin' on... That's a good color for that truck. So you had some paint technicallities. NO BIG DEAL!!! Go to the autp parts store pick up a gallon of Castrol Super Clean dump it in a bucket and put the cab in there. Wait for a day use an old tooth brush or (what I like to use) a finger nail brush. Run water and scrub the paint off. Once ya got it scrubbed wash it again w/ clean soapy water let it dry and your ready to give it another shot. Good Luck

What's goin' on... Thanks for following up!

What's goin' on... That looks like it'll work out!

What's goin' on... That looks like it'll work out!

What's goin' on... Here's that coil. Loaded and chained down. Now I need some binders and a tarp. Thanks for looking!

What's goin' on... This coil was made using a roll of paper for a register painted w/ Model Master Aluminum Metallizer. It's chained down using jewelry chains from Hobby Lobby that in my opinion look like perfectly scaled (24th/25th scale) 3/8 inch chain. The truck is a heavily modified Revell Peterbilt 359 (snap tite) 1:25 and a 95% scratchbuilt Wabash flatbed. Both have been built for a few years. Thanks for looking!

What's goin' on... HELL NO He did not just do that to us! HA HA HA HA. April fools.... now that was funny!

What's goin' on... Sure do. I actually posted this under the "On the workbench" section. As far as this goes. I used the 67 Chevelle chassis from the wheel tubs back and cut the Nova's chassis off at where the wheel tubs start and fitted it in there haveing a two picec undercarriage/chassis. Not the best way to do it. To rewind here from the get go I started this in 05 as a lunch break project at work. I've got a large drawer in my tool box that I reorginized so I could put some smaller car kits in and tinker w/ those at work on my lunch. That's how this project started. I did that until one day I was working on it and got so involved that a 30min break turned into an hour and one half!!!D'OH So I told the boss no more models at work LOL! It got taken home and then put into storeage and forgotten about until two weeks ago. That's when I started working on it again.

What's goin' on... I haven't read all the replies from the others just yet so if this is already covered pardon the redundancey. Any high concentrated degreaser such as Castrol Super Clean will work and that's found at major auto parts stores. Right now in the bucket I'm using a product called Manny Rose equivallant to CSC obtained thru industrial suppliers. That stuff is very potent and effective!!! Good Luck!