Revell's Auto Transport Trailer: WIP

[BK9300]

David, been following along - you and Dan are making very complicated trailers!  Have you noticed whether or not the trailer frame deflects when loaded with your model cars?

[David G.]

18 hours ago, BK9300 said:

David, been following along - you and Dan are making very complicated trailers!  Have you noticed whether or not the trailer frame deflects when loaded with your model cars?

Brian, thank you for following. 

I'm sure the trailer does deflect when loaded but I don't think it's by very much. So far I've only had it loaded with the one car as you see in the photo and there was no noticeable deflection that I could detect.

@Mopar - D has built more of these trailers than anyone else I know, maybe they would have a better answer than I do.

Thanks for your question Brian, I'll keep it in mind and do a load test when I get the upper decks installed.

David G. 

[Mopar - D]

Brian and David when you get all the frame members in place with the box stock kit there is no deflection with a full load of cars loaded on it. You do have to be careful about twisting it there’s not much to keep it stiff because only 1 of the top sections is glued together. 

[BK9300]

Thanks, Dan - was just curious.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Circumstances have kept me away from "The Boards" for a few weeks but now I'm back... at least for a while.

It took a couple of build sessions but the upper deck ramps are all in place.

 

I even got the safety pins, chains and steps installed. I had to use some repurposed jewelry chain because I misjudged cutting the ramp tiedown chains and came up short.

 

Sometime between build sessions the safety pin on this side went missing so I fashioned one from a paperclip. I'm thinking about trimming the length on both of the pins. They seem to intrude into the loading space a little too much for my liking.

 

I found a space on this old bookcase to display the rig when it's completed. That's always the thing with builds like this... where to put them when they're done!

I'll have to pretty it up a bit but it'll do.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[cifenet]

The trailer with matching color is a good idea, looks more professional paired with Pete!

 

[David G.]

16 hours ago, cifenet said:

The trailer with matching color is a good idea, looks more professional paired with Pete!

 

Thank you Steve. My intent is to build it as an independent transport service. I think the decals on the tractor will match well enough with the signboard on the trailer. Hopefully, along with the color, tying the whole rig together visually.

David G. 

[titino]

Hi David, how beautiful this is, hoping to see it finished soon.

[David G.]

20 hours ago, titino said:

Hi David, how beautiful this is, hoping to see it finished soon.

Thank you very much Germán. I'm hoping the same and I'm working toward that.

=D- 

[Rockford]

You're doing a great job on this. I like the wear on the diamond plate. The chains and pins look good too. It will look great with a load on it. 

[David G.]

40 minutes ago, Rockford said:

You're doing a great job on this. I like the wear on the diamond plate. The chains and pins look good too. It will look great with a load on it. 

Thank you Steve. I'm just now editing the photos for the next update. I should have it posted here in a short while.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It took me three or four build sessions but I've added the hydraulic lines to the trailer! Doing this was probably about as much work as foiling the chrome trim on a 1959 Chrysler. Of course I did put a little extra effort into it as you'll see in the photos.

Because of course I did.  

With the exception of the two units on the bottom of the trailer, the assembly instructions give no real indication of where to place the hydraulic junction boxes. After a little online research I was able to work out where they go. So here's a photo of the junction boxes in place on the side-frame of the trailer.  Hopefully saving other builders similar aggravation.

 

 

There is also one on each side of on the tail.

 

 

The directions called for routing the tubes across and under the frame rails. Instead, I decided to drill out several of the cast-in dimples to allow me to pass the tubes through the frame rather than under it. My guess is that on the prototype these indentations were probably actually holes in the frame anyway.

 

 

I think the results are worth the extra time and effort it took. "Sano" as we would say back in the day.

Now I need to get those wheels to track! 

  

That's all for this round. As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to share your comments.

David G.

Edited March 18 by David G.
typo

[Gary Chastain]

Usually don’t see this much detail on a trailer build, Outstanding trailer build

[ShakyCraftsman]

Hey David

 Your not going to get to far with the brake chambers caged.

Ron G 

[Force]

13 minutes ago, ShakyCraftsman said:

Hey David

 Your not going to get to far with the brake chambers caged.

Ron G 

Well you can get as far as you want with caged brakes as the wheels roll on just fine, but don't uncouple the trailer in a hill because you don't have any parking brakes.
The cage bolt just compress the parking brake spring but the regular service brakes will work just fine as they are independent.

So David, to get rid of the cage bolts just snip off the small peg at the front of the chambers, it shouldn't be there.

[David G.]

19 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

Usually don’t see this much detail on a trailer build, Outstanding trailer build

Thank you Gary, you're correct.

One doesn't usually this much detail on a trailer build... unless it's one of your builds. Knowing as I do, your skill with such things, your kind comment means much to me.

Thank you.

 

19 hours ago, ShakyCraftsman said:

Hey David

 Your not going to get to far with the brake chambers caged.

Ron G 

Thanks for your comment Ron. I build model cars mostly so I really know very little about air brakes. This post was more about the hydraulic lines and the appearance of their routing. I felt that the slight changes I made were an improvement and wanted to share that.

I don't think that the hydraulic lines would actually be functional the way they're routed or anything like that. I just wanted to come up with something that looked reasonable and tidy.

But I'll do a little research on the air brakes and see what I can learn. Thanks for the pointer.

 

18 hours ago, Force said:

Well you can get as far as you want with caged brakes as the wheels roll on just fine, but don't uncouple the trailer in a hill because you don't have any parking brakes.
The cage bolt just compress the parking brake spring but the regular service brakes will work just fine as they are independent.

So David, to get rid of the cage bolts just snip off the small peg at the front of the chambers, it shouldn't be there.

Thank you for the additional information Håkan. I'll look into that and see what changes I want to make. That's one of the things I love about a hobby like this, there's always something new to learn about.

Thanks to you all for your comments. I'm hoping to have this one completed pretty soon.

David G.

[titino]

Well done David!

[David G.]

4 minutes ago, titino said:

Well done David!

Thank you Germán!

=D-

[Mopar - D]

Nice progress Dave and your hydraulic lines look good. I know what it took plenty of time to get them all done. 

[David G.]

23 hours ago, Mopar - D said:

Nice progress Dave and your hydraulic lines look good. I know what it took plenty of time to get them all done. 

Thank you Dan. Given your experience with these kits I'd believe you have a very good idea of how fiddly and frustrating these little lines can be.

Thank you for your kind comment.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I have now completed more kits than I purchased this year.

Kits Completed: 1

Kits Purchased: 0

The kit is good and deceptively easy to build. It is showing its age though, I had to drill out a number of plugged locator holes. Other than that, it built up rather well.

 

 

This is the bookcase where the rig will be displayed once the Peterbilt 359 is wrapped up. I've started gathering some of my previously build models as a load. I'll get some official photos after I finish building the 359, which should be soon.

 

Thanks to all of you who contributed your support with your compliments, comments and suggestions.

David G.

[Gary Chastain]

Well done David, looks perfect on the shelf. 

[Rockford]

Great looking job. Will be an excellent combination. 

[David G.]

18 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

Well done David, looks perfect on the shelf. 

Thank you Gary, I got lucky with that! 

17 hours ago, Rockford said:

Great looking job. Will be an excellent combination. 

Thank you Steve, I agree.

David G.

[slusher]

David, excellent work on you trailer!   Your Peterbilt will make an excellent combo!!