Power Functions on 5571 Model Team Giant Truck

[eric87]

i am building another 5571 . i have 3 and one i built in white. so this will be number 5. i have decided that i am going to not put the sleeper on this one and try a dump truck. i bought the 8264 hauler and was going to use the Linear Actuator and motor. does anyone know of any links where i can see pictures of how to power the drivetrain. also will a xl power functions moter move something that heavy or do i need 2. i would also like to steer the truck with power functions. oh yeah and i want it all to be done by remote control. any ideas or links. thank you.

[Sergiu]

You should try to look at photos on Brickshelf, there you will find enough images with complete drivetrains.

A XL motor will be powerful enough to drive the truck, I have a 2 kg truck driven without difficulty by a XL motor, but it is difficult to build a transmission strong enough for this motor. Also it is recommended that you don't use any universal joints, they are likely to break if high torque is applied.

For steering you should use a safety clutch, so as not to damage the motor when the motor reaches the end of the gear rack. You can also use return-to-center steering. Here you can find a very useful article about this type of steering.

Making the truck remote controlled with Power Functions is very easy, you just connect the motors to the receiver and the receiver to the battery box and it is ready to go.

I hope this helped you.

[DLuders]

Ah, the #5571 Giant Truck ("Black Cat" Muscle Truck) from 1996 has 1,769 pieces . "Grazi" had motorized a Tow Truck based on the #5571: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=74562 . If you replace the pneumatics with Linear Actuators, it may be possible to motorize the #5571 using Power Functions.

It may be possible to adapt the "Basic Three-Axle Chassis Instruction" from the "Hard Truck Contest" website http://www.doublebrick.com/htc ; scroll down to the bottom-center of that page and look at the lines in red text for the link to the instructions. Maybe you could upscale the various components to make a Power Functions chassis, onto which you could build the #5571 Black Cat dump truck.

Edited March 13, 2010 by dluders

[Blakbird]

Ah, the #5571 Giant Truck ("Black Cat" Muscle Truck) from 1996 has 1,769 pieces . "Grazi" had motorized a Tow Truck based on the #5571: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=74562 .

Right. That version has 4 motors, but none of them are for moving the model. That model is so massive that the whole chassis flexes tremendously just under the weight, so I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to motorize the drive system, but it is a beautiful piece of work. Brickshelf has the instructions I posted, and you can still get the LDraw file here.

[Enilder]

Right. That version has 4 motors, but none of them are for moving the model. That model is so massive that the whole chassis flexes tremendously just under the weight, so I certainly wouldn't recommend trying to motorize the drive system, but it is a beautiful piece of work. Brickshelf has the instructions I posted, and you can still get the LDraw file here.

I am assuming that you built this model. Did you run into problems when you were looking for parts? I know it's mainly based on 5571, which I don't have. I will have to get parts off of BrickLink if I need to. Thanks.

[Blakbird]

I am assuming that you built this model. Did you run into problems when you were looking for parts? I know it's mainly based on 5571, which I don't have. I will have to get parts off of BrickLink if I need to. Thanks.

Yes! There are a number of parts in this model that exist ONLY in 5571 or in only a couple of Model Team sets. The most problematic are the wheels. These are NOT the regular Technic wheels, they are the slightly larger wheels from 5571 and there are 12 of them. If you don't have any of them, you could spend a couple of hundred dollars on just the wheels and tires. I started with two copies of 5571 (which had all the wheels I needed), and then supplemented with orders from Bricklink, especially for the motors and pneumatics. You'll also need a very large amount of pneumatic tubing. The result, however, is well worth it. This is a spectacular model.

If you are looking to build one without having a copy of 5571, I still have extra copies of several of the unique parts since I started with 2 copies. I'll sell them to you if you like. Some of them are pretty hard to find such as the windshield and one of the hatches.

[peter_m]

Sorry for reviving this oldie... but has anyone managed to build Grazi's Tow Truck with PF?

[Blakbird]

If it had PF, it wouldn't be Grazi's tow truck. ;). I'm not sure that this conversion would buy you anything. His truck is all studded so the old motors integrate much better. Most functions are pneumatic anyway. Converting them to LAs would defeat the whole design of the truck.

[peter_m]

If it had PF, it wouldn't be Grazi's tow truck. ;). I'm not sure that this conversion would buy you anything. His truck is all studded so the old motors integrate much better. Most functions are pneumatic anyway. Converting them to LAs would defeat the whole design of the truck.

I would love to use pneumatics - but I have a big amount of PF motors / b-boxes but not a single old one...

[Kumbbl]

If it had PF, it wouldn't be Grazi's tow truck. ;). I'm not sure that this conversion would buy you anything. His truck is all studded so the old motors integrate much better. Most functions are pneumatic anyway. Converting them to LAs would defeat the whole design of the truck.

totally agree... but may i ask you for the mpd-file you mention in the posting #4... now a dead link - and in the your brickshelf-folder of Grazis truck i can not find it...

Thanks you!

[Blakbird]

Brickshelf no longer allows hosting PDF files, so that 3 year old link is dead now. You can now get the instructions at MOCPlans.

[Kumbbl]

Brickshelf no longer allows hosting PDF files, so that 3 year old link is dead now. You can now get the instructions at MOCPlans.

i already have this pdf BI but i'm interested in the mpd-file too.... I asked for the latter one... ;-)