Mack/Peirce Tanker

[hooknladderno1]

Hey Guys,

This is another project from my Lums Pond Station of the Bear Fire Dept. I posted a few others in the Pickups/SUV section. Now these guys like their trucks bright and flashy, so be forewarned... This project began as a Mack R cab on a dual axle tanker body. I wasn't happy with the "outdated" look of the Mack R, so I decided to try an RD resin hood from Plaskit. This is a mock-up of what it looked like.

I was happy with it, so I attached the hood to the cab and painted the unit.

This is what the beast looked like when it was together:

Now don't let the pictures deceive you. What the pictures don't show is that the tanker body was narrower than the width of the wheels... I muddled over this problem for some time. I was really happy with the back of the tanker body and couldn't bring myself to cut it up... I received several great suggestions on what I could do to solve the problem. I finally decided to dig out a virgin chassis from a sealed kit. It was extended and painted. This was the result:

[hooknladderno1]

Well, few projects ever go as planned. One thing that I learned was to do just like manufacturers do on the 1:1 trucks - build the frame first, THEN the body... Lesson learned... A friend was building a fantastic elliptical tanker. I followed his techniques and progess with great interest. We discussed them, and he said "Sometimes things turn out differently than we planned". The lightbulb in my head suddenly went off! I was going to turn this project into an elliptical tanker! So, I sourced the tank from a 1/32 scale New Ray fuel tanker body. The great thing is that these are pretty cheap, and they are already chromed.

Now, I just couldn't leave well enough alone - I had to narrow the tank just a little further to allow for equipment like a portable folding tank to be stored on the side. This process took a while. the ends were cut and narrowed as well as the cat walk removed from the top. I decided to say the heck with the chrome finish - Alclad will take care of that when the time comes...

I made up different templates for the tanker body sides. You can see above, one was low, one was higher.

I decided on the higher one.

The project sat idle for a while as work, family illness, and house chores took up most of my time. When I dug the tanker out, I began where I had left off...

After careful consideration, I decided that the space for the pump panel was too narrow. So, I removed the forward bulkhead, cut the tanker body sides evenly, and added a small angled beavertail to the sides.

This looks a little better.

In the final picture, the tank is not yet secured to the chassis plate. Thus, the tank does not mate with the bodywork at the rear. This is where the project is at this time. I hope to be able to resume work on it soon. I appreciate any and all feedback. Thanks!

[Danno]

Looking good. The great thing about 1:1 water tender/tanker rigs is that they are so custom and unique that just about anything goes when building a phantom ... no need to sweat too many details, just build it the way you want it. That's what actual departments do when they spec out their 1:1 rigs.

Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[cargostar]

Looks good over here too! Glad to see you back at this one!

[hooknladderno1]

Thanks Guys,

Dave, I have you to thank for the higher sides on the tanker body. I agree, it does look better.

[Truck parts]

That is looking great