Semi Trailer Mechanic

Tim So when will construction start on the next addition to your house?

Déjà vu !!! Reason I say this when I got back into model building I bought an original Titan 90 partially built off ebay. When I finished it.... It was almost a mirror image of yours!!! Yours looked better than mine did. The olny thing that set it apart from yours was a tire rack on the back.

K/S sells steel round stock you can use for those axles. I know HobbytownUSA carriers K/S and I think Hobby lobby does as well.

UPDATE12-28The engine and trans are both done. Also are the wheels. On the inner rim I painted them w/ Model Master Titanium. This is to give the inner wheel that dull gray look. If you've ever seen an inner aluminum rim you know exactly what I'm talking about. Also on the brake drums I used an exacto knife and shaved off the inside lip of the drum. The thickness of the drum is nearly 2mm. That in 1:1 terms is close to 2 inches. 1:1 drums aren't near that thick. Another mod I did was used BMF to replicate the machined surface of the drums. Finally I painted the outter edge of the drums w/ dull coat cleear coat and used " Orange Rust" Tamiya weathering to look like the scale/and rust you find on older drums. Next is the chassis... Thanks for looking!!!

Here's my opinion on this.I say just use what looks best to you from the hobby shop. Don't waste your time going out of your way just to get a can of paint from a truck dealer or a commerical parts supplier just because the cover has the word CUMMINS on it. That's rediculous. Several years ago I did just that. I went to Williams Detroit Diesel / Carrier Refridgeration dealer here in Columbus,Ohio for a can of engine enamel. I ended up waiting in the parts showroom at least 45mins before one of the parts guys had time to even acknowledge me and the other customer. While waiting I BS'd w/ a friend of mine who was a mechanic there. He thought I was nuts going there just for a can of paint for a model. Finally when I got home and used it the pigment/solids were so thick it nearly covered all the details on the engine w/ the first coat. The paint is too much for a models. After that only use I ended up throwing it in the trash it was useless to me. Engine enamel is made to w/ stand hot and cold temeratures sealing the block and components from the elements all year around for the life of the engine. I don't remember what the Tamiya (spray) part number was I used on the last Cummins I assembled.. I'd say go w/ what Ben and Jim suggested. Both pics of their engines look like they nailed it.

Here's the beginning WIP for the Mack Cruiseliner. The engine after asking around I learned is the ENDT 676. Mack's color for that was gold. I personally don't care for that color so I painted it a color that to me looks uniform. Instead of assembling the entire engine then painting it I decided to paint each component and then installed. Each different piece I mixed the paint a little different so a single color dosen't drown out the details. As it sits I'd say it 70% complete. It's for the most part put togather per instruction except for the filters. Those I actually made them so the screw on and off using brass nuts and bolts. The filters are solid round stock Evergreen scale. I choose to use Humbrol enamels so the motor will be left alone for a week or two to gas out and dry Thanks for looking.

That's a good looking single stack Mack w/ a window in the back. Here's how I make air lines. Start out using some computer cable wire CAT5 or phone wire. Get a section about 2' long. This is to make sure you have extra if your first attempt doesn't work and stock for future projects. Cut one foot section of that wire.Slice open the jacket exposing internal twisted pair of wires. Also there are ultra fine aluminum wires in there you'll need.You'll be using red,blue,light green or black wiresGet a wire coat hanger remove the bottom setcionTake one of your wires (blue or red) and tape 2" to the hanger.Start wrapping coils arounnd that coat hanger between15-20 wraps.Make sure all the coils are "tight" and then tape the rest of the wire to that coat hanger so your wire doesn't unwind.Apply heat to the coils. Just enough to make the insulation soft don't scortch it or touch it. The insulation will distort and I have actually left finger prints. For heat I use a butane fueled micro torch I bought off a Snap-On tool truck. You can use one of those or a heat gun just anything that'll apply intense heat.Instantly cool it under cold water doing this will ensure you're air line won't loose shape and retain the coils. Using a strand of that untra fine wire wrap that around the straight lengths of your air line. Keep small uniform gaps between each wrap.Heat that the same way you did when you wraped the air around the coat hanger.Cool it under cold water. When the insulation heats up that fine wire will adhere to it. Trim the ends to the length you need to install it on your truck.For the your 7-way pigtail use one of those metal axles found in truck/trailer kits so it has a smaller O.D. than your air lines. Good Luck!

and finally one for a septic tank you could paint that brown for identification purposes.

HAAA the length of that truck as is the mud flaps are in NY and the bull bars are in LA

WOW You can put a complete condo in that bunk. Put a roll door on the back and ya got room for the ole red draggon (dually) as well.

To my knowledge (rumor) CFC shut down because casters were producing knock-offs of his work and selling them on ebay.

LMAO

Looking at the resin cab Jerry posted you could use that only you'll have to do heavily modify the cab. You'll want to cut off the back of the cab behind the door post and put the rear wall on. On some of the mules I drove there was a sliding door where ya got up and turned around to exit to connect/disconnect the air lines/7-way along w/ the door on the side. Add an expanded metal walk way starting at the front of the door wrap it around the back of the cab. and add a ladder. The engine enclosure on the side of the cab will have to be completely cut off. Use a sheet of styrene to make a deck. A piece of 2x2 (mm) sq. stock 90% the height of the cab at the right corner for a mirror post. Any curb side west coast mirror/bracket from a truck kit will do. For the engine enclosure you want to build a partial dog house inside the cab and the remainder outside w/ a lift up access door. Hinge the cab like a coe and have a hydraulic pump hand jack to tilt it as well. The mounts from a Astro/Titan kit would work fine (to cut corners) Use a square/rectangular steel fuel tank on the curb side and a fuel tank like the one found in the R/G 359 cut down 2/3 the size painted the same color as the chassis for the air reservoir. These are steel tanks. If I remember correctly there was an old mule that MS Carriers had when I worked there had a " HUGE " airbag that actually lifted the fifthwheel assembly. Most were air over hydraulic. For the rear fenders use some .010 or .020 black sheet styrene for the sheet fenders over the drive wheels. There is a modeler somewhere over seas that posts his work to Flickr.com where he built a mule and did that. where he ground out a couple groves where the tires rubbed thru the fenders. For an air cleaner use an oler oil bath style mount it to the deck at the rear of the cab next to the dog house on it's side w/ the inlet on top then run your duct out thru the cab to look like it's plumbed to the engine. The rest will be self explanitory by looking at good reference pictures. GOOD LUCK!!!

Here's mine.

I bet Jeff Foxworthy might answer this question. If you're truck looks like this YOOOOOOOOOOOOOU might be a . . . . . . .

If you don't find any soon the best advice for ya is not to worry about them Do the best you can w/ what you got unless you plan on competing in model shows. I've scrapped or donated a few projects to the parts box beacuse I tried too hard to make a project overly detailed and got burnt out. Good Luck.

These have the V8's that I know of. Paystar5000 352 Pete K100 Titan/Astro Little Window 359 DM800 Bison/General Ford LouEville

I'm certain Ben is correct!!! It wouldn't hurt to send an email to STS to see if they might have one or point you in the right direction. I can tell ya right now if you can scratch build a modified you'll have no problem building the cab of a Ottawa. The toughest task for ya would be getting accurate measurements and angles. I've been fixing semi trailers nearly 20 years now.and various jobs I've held I had to drive those " MULES " pulling trailers in/out of the garage. You're best bet if you can get a cab or build your own is to use the Ford LouEville short hauler for a donor kit. When I was a mechanic for TIP Trailer several years ago they had an old Ottawa that was equipped w/ a 3208 Cat. On some of the older mules I drove the drive axles were mounted ridged to the frame. Let me tell you what those trucks put the "BOB" in the term bobtailing. Three weeks ago I landed a new job w/ J.B. Hunt. I'll see if I can take some reference pics of the yard truck out there for ya if ya need them. I'm not sure if it's a Capacity or an Ottawa.

The length of the trailer all boils down to the owners (company) needs.

Hey fellas. I'm thinking about thinning out the collection / stash. Is there somewhere on the web a value guild that'll give a ballpark figure? Thanks.

I've built two of these. You can use either the Beall or the Fruehauf tanker kits for the donor. I used plain ole PVC pipe 2.5 inch and stripe styrene for the gussets. Measure the circumfrence of the barrel for the length of the strip needed for each gusset. Glue just the end of each strip to the barrel and allow to dry over night. The next day wrap the strip around the barrel and use a hose clamp to hold it in place while the glue dries. leave that clamp on for a day or so. This is the important part. When you take the clamp(s) off use some heat and warm up the gussets you made using the strips. This removes all stress from the strip styrene. If you don't they'll crack. You can use a heat gun,butane fueled torch,propane torch. A hair dryer won't get the job done. Here's a Brenner tanker. This one got damaged. http://www.flickr.co...57604811863701/ And a Fruehauf. http://www.flickr.co...57603845360987/

Very Cool. By the looks of it ... it might have 10 hours of operation on the meter.

If I were in your boots the thought of even building a model wouldn't exist prior to deployment. Stay focused,do your job and come on home.

Jim Fantastic. IMO here a flatbed trailer w/ aluminum style 10 hole rims would be perfect for this tractor.

Come the 28th of December will be the 12th year I've been w/ my girlfriend.