MPC End Dump

[Doug 1061]

First try at a build thread here.  Gonna do a MPC end dump trailer.  I am stitching two of these together and making a 35 ft. tandem.  That 24 ft tri axle always looked strange to me, betting it would be a handful to drive that.   Would be downright scary on wet or sloppy roads.   I am still debating if I want to change it to frameless.  Thinking it would be about the same amount of work as stretching the frame.  Might have to flip a coin.   Anyway I got a start on it, got the tubs cut and glued together.  This might take a while since I am not a very fast builder.

[kilrathy10]

This looks great... I'm thinking about doing another one of these, myself... I'm with you on the 24'er... Never liked that... I did mine with a stretched frame behind a reworked Freightliner FLD120... I can't wait to see what you decide... My vote is for the frameless, though.... Looking good, Bro!!!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I like what you are doing with this one! I had just the opposite idea of cutting one down and making a 20 footer.

Looking forward to seeing more! It will be great frameless or with a frame.

[Jim B]

That's going to be a big dump.  Nice progress so far.

[Oldmopars]

That looks great. I love the idea. I had one of these a while back and, long story, it got stolen. But I remember the flash on that kit was terrible. I took it with me to a hotel to work on. I spent hours sanding and cutting all the flash off of the parts. When I left the hotel room it looked like I had a cocaine party! White dust was everywhere.

Was yours the same way or have they gotten better?

[Doug 1061]

9 hours ago, Oldmopars said:

That looks great. I love the idea. I had one of these a while back and, long story, it got stolen. But I remember the flash on that kit was terrible. I took it with me to a hotel to work on. I spent hours sanding and cutting all the flash off of the parts. When I left the hotel room it looked like I had a cocaine party! White dust was everywhere.

Was yours the same way or have they gotten better?

Scott, yes the flash is unreal on this thing.  I spent nearly 2 hrs. yesterday deburring the tub and inner liner.  Had to be careful I didn't cut myself on it.  There is almost enough flash on it to make another kit.   I remember all these truck kits were a bit sloppy even back in the 70's.    Cleanup alone will add several hours to this build.   

[Doug 1061]

Made a bit more progress the last couple days.    Keyword little haha.  Got the seams from gluing the tub pieces together sanded down and a coat primer on inner tub.  Gotta hit the store and get a can of filler primer to get it smoothed out,  got it pretty close already.   Whittled and sanded a whole bunch of flash off of the suspension pieces and chopped off  the springs and mounting points for the forward axle.  Still not sure if I will make it frameless yet,  although I am leaning that way.

[kilrathy10]

You're looking really good, Man... Very nice work.... Weather you go frameless or otherwise, this is going to look good... Very clean work on the dump body...

[Doug 1061]

Made a bit more forward progress on this trailer.  Fabbed up the mounts for the subframe arms.  Just going off of pics I found on the net,  eyeball engineering here.  Also noticed I have to do something with the axle spacing.  Tires are touching, DOT would have a field day with that.......  Got the liner primed and sanded smooth and ready for paint.   Put the tractor in front of it just to get an idea what it will look like.  Now to make the plate for the king pin and make it all work.  Will likely take a few tries to get it.  Hope I can pull it off.

[gotnitro?]

Nice work!!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Looks great!! 

[kilrathy10]

Yes, Sir... That looks really good... I'm definitely liking what I'm seeing... This is already a quality build... Awesome...

And I'm an eyeball engineer, myself... 90% of all my fabs are done that way...

Edited November 12, 2020 by kilrathy10

[Doug 1061]

Hello gang, I finally made a bit more progress on my end dump.    Got the plate and pivot points for the king pin sorted,  don't know the technical term for it.   I know it's not entirely accurate but have been going off of some less than stellar photos I found off the net.  Guess you can call it artistic license.   Still have a long way to go on it but I am happy with how it's coming along so far.   Just glad I actually got it to work.    Still have to add a couple gussets on the king pin plate and make cross braces for the sub frame.   Also need to  do something about the cylinder, need one with an extra stage.   Hoping to come up with one that actually telescopes.  I was hoping to have it done by the end of the year but that is kinda doubtful.   It looks to have a good stance when mounted to the tractor, I hope this is 3/4 of the battle.   Hope to have more updates over the next couple weeks.  As always, comments or suggestions welcome.

[Rockford]

That last picture has got my juices flowing, looks fantastic!

[bigred63]

Wow, what an awesome looking trailer! Hooked up to the Pete, makes it a great combo!

 

[kilrathy10]

Now, that's what I'm talking about... I'm liking everything you've done... I use artistic lisence with just about everything, anyway, so I don't see a problem... If it looks right, it is... Who's to say this isn't a prototype... I LIKE IT A LOT!!!!

[Bills72sj]

I like your progress so far. Following.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Looks great! On the 1:1 tractor that pulls a frameless dump the fifth wheel on the truck is pinned to keep the hitch plate flat and to keep it from rocking back and forth. Excellent scratch building going on here!

[Mopar - D]

Doug you are doing some great scratch building on your dump trailer and your doing a good job with your first WIP   

[Doug 1061]

2 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Looks great! On the 1:1 tractor that pulls a frameless dump the fifth wheel on the truck is pinned to keep the hitch plate flat and to keep it from rocking back and forth. Excellent scratch building going on here!

Brian, thanks for that tip.  I haven't been up close and personal with one of these.  Still gotta do a bit more research here,  sort of making it up as I go.

[Doug 1061]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys.  I'm hoping to make some good progress on this over the next few days.  This has been a fun build/experiment so far.  But I always consider every model I do an experiment and a learning experience.  

[Doug 1061]

I finally made a bit of progress on this.  Got the cross members in the subframe and fabbed up the landing gear.    Of all the pics I found of these, no two were the same as far as the landing gear setup went, so I guess any way you make it is accurate.  I'm thinking a lot of these got busted up on the job and got rebuilt in the field however the fabricator saw fit. That's my story and I'm stickin' with it.......   So now  "all" I have to do is suspension/ brakes and tailgate assembly and should be able to send it over to paint.   Should be a bit more straightforward from here,  as always comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[Doug 1061]

Made more forward progress on this ongoing project.  Finally got it painted.   Done with that 98 cent spray bomb from Home Depot.  These weren't built to be show winners, just keep it from rusting.   Still have a way to go on it but I like how it's looking so far.  Still have to do something for a cylinder,  kit supplied unit is now too short.     This is the most ambitious model project I have ever attempted,   I am totally happy with how it's looking so far.    It has been a fun build but will be happy to get it behind me.....     Hope you like...

 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Looks great! Excellent work!

[kilrathy10]

I think you've done a masterful job on this one.... It looks marvelous!!! I'm totally impressed with this one, Bud... Great job!!