CA Hauler question

[modelercarl]

I am planning on building several of the recent California Hauler 359 to attach to Revell's Auto Transporter trailer.  I use these to display car models that I build in custom display cases.

I plan on building these as day cabs and am interested in shortening the wheelbase accordingly.  I do want to have the dual drive setup.  Can anyone tell me what the center distance should be when measured from the center of the front axle to the center between the dual drive rear axles?  I have looked everywhere for this info and been unable to find it, so I am hoping someone here can answer this.

[Petetrucker07]

That's a tough question. My best advice would be to eyeball it to where you think it looks right. For me, I think the kit length is short enough, but I've been accused of building long wheel trucks, from time to time.

[KJ790]

I am planning on building several of the recent California Hauler 359 to attach to Revell's Auto Transporter trailer.  I use these to display car models that I build in custom display cases.

I plan on building these as day cabs and am interested in shortening the wheelbase accordingly.  I do want to have the dual drive setup.  Can anyone tell me what the center distance should be when measured from the center of the front axle to the center between the dual drive rear axles?  I have looked everywhere for this info and been unable to find it, so I am hoping someone here can answer this.

That length would be the wheel base, and it is different  on each truck. When the truck is ordered, the person buying it can specify what wheelbase they want, so there is no right answer. I would suggest that you go to truckpaper.com and look at peterbilt 359's with a daycab. Look for one that has the look you are going for and see what the wheelbase is on it. I do this for a lot of my builds to get the look that I want.

[modelercarl]

That length would be the wheel base, and it is different  on each truck. When the truck is ordered, the person buying it can specify what wheelbase they want, so there is no right answer. I would suggest that you go to truckpaper.com and look at peterbilt 359's with a daycab. Look for one that has the look you are going for and see what the wheelbase is on it. I do this for a lot of my builds to get the look that I want.

Thank you....excellent resource.  I did a quick search on this site and found several trucks that fit my criteria.  will do more research and narrow down the choices.

[Muncie]

here's the math answer...

sorry, don't have the kits in hand for actual dimensions and assuming the Revell auto transporter is just a trailer with nothing on the chassis of the tractor...

Need enough space between the cab and the trailer to avoid an interference condition in a turn.

The fifthwheel on the chassis should normally be between 8 to 16 inches ahead of the centerline of the tandem suspension.  The California Hauler has a sliding fifthwheel so it can be located for good weight distribution on the steer axle.

start with the measurement on the trailer from the kingpin to the corner of the trailer It's usually 60" on a square corner, 96" wide van trailer, but the auto trailer may be different. Add four inches for "dip"

Add the fifthwheel position ahead of the tandem centerline to the trailer swing and that will be the location back of cab to  the drive axle centerline. Can be longer for the look, but that's the minimum where most fleets want to run. I'm thinking about 176 to 180 inches wheelbase.  Hopefully the research confirms the numbers

 

[Force]

I am planning on building several of the recent California Hauler 359 to attach to Revell's Auto Transporter trailer.  I use these to display car models that I build in custom display cases.

I plan on building these as day cabs and am interested in shortening the wheelbase accordingly.  I do want to have the dual drive setup.  Can anyone tell me what the center distance should be when measured from the center of the front axle to the center between the dual drive rear axles?  I have looked everywhere for this info and been unable to find it, so I am hoping someone here can answer this.

The recent issue California Hauler can only be built as a day cab with what's in the kit as no sleeper is included.
I believe you could get any wheel base you wanted but I pretty sure Peterbilt did offer some standard wheel base legths also, I have seen wheel bases from 146 inches to 185½ inches for 351's in a Peterbilt brochure somewhere.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Force