[MOC] 1:18 scale Kenworth T680 semi truck with red reefer box trailer

[motomatt]

Close to a year ago I built a rocky mountain double flat-bed trailer with an attached forklift. To tow it I built a model of a lego Kenworth T-680 in red, blue, and white, with a ginormous cab. Since the model mostly sits on a shelf, I always wanted to build a fully enclosed trailer to match the truck's high cabin design for a better side profile look. Well, finally after a long time accumulating 8x16 tiles, I finished it, so thought I would share it here.

This is a model of a 53 foot trailer with a built in reefer. It is about 114 studs long, 18 studs wide, and 28 studs high. The trailer contains three PF M-motors operated via remote control.

1. Raise and lower liftgate.

2. Extend and retract liftgate.

3. Raise and lower trailer legs.

An electrical tail light connection comes from the main tractor and is operated by remote control on/off.

This trailer is shown being pulled by my 1:18 model of a Kenworth T680 semi truck. Together the semi-truck and red reefer trailer are about 4 feet long.

Overall, the trailer enclosure is pretty stable and not as fragile as I thought it would end up being. There's minimal flex in the frame and it looks pretty realistic.

To make a boring trailer a bit unique I wanted to add a retractable liftgate similar to the one in Madoca's wing body truck. I took the same liftgate design from my earlier B-train flat-bed trailer and mounted it on a pair of steering racks to hide and extend it. But the up/down operation is not always as smooth as the original one because it sometimes tends to catch a bit against the edges of the rear fender. I think the way to fix this would end up detracting a bit from the aesthetics of the rear, so I left it as-is.

Originally I was thinking to put the battery underneath the frame, but that would make it hard to turn it on or off while lifting up the trailer. So the battery sits as cargo inside the enclosed compartment and is easily reachable without moving the trailer off the ground.

After making the video from a vantage point at ground level, I noticed that the wheels of both the trailer and truck were quite cambered due to all the weight. I later improved on this by changing the way the axles are attached to the frame in both the truck and the trailer. The instructions and parts list includes a better design than what was used in the video.

More pics and full instructions are up on rebrickable http://rebrickable.c...i-truck-trailer and mocpages http://www.moc-pages.com/moc.php/423789

[aol000xw]

It's beautiful!

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

As we know you do, again another great build!!! :thumbup: Only thing I would like to be changed are the cabs side view windows in the doors, a little small...

[motomatt]

As we know you do, again another great build!!! :thumbup: Only thing I would like to be changed are the cabs side view windows in the doors, a little small...

Thanks, Ingmar. It was building your truck about a year ago which helped infect me with the AFOL virus and made me want to build more trucks of my own

You're right, I didn't even realize I did the side windows a bit too small.

[Sylvian]

Impressive!

[Zerobricks]

So massive yet smooth. Its like a gentle giant How many motors did you use to drive?

[motomatt]

So massive yet smooth. Its like a gentle giant How many motors did you use to drive?

The truck is powered by just one XL motor with 1:1 drive going to a 20 tooth gear spinning a 28 tooth differential. When I did the video it was using an old rechargable battery putting out around 8.4V, which made the motor run pretty weak.

I've since made this thing, which makes the truck run significantly faster as it's putting out around 10V.... ofcourse standard 6 brand new AA batteries would do the trick too

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

Clever!

[technical]

A+ build! Great documentation. Thanks!

[motomatt]

Took it out in the snow with snow chains and I still got stock... maybe a build of a wrecker / tow truck might be in order

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

Nice to have them outside in the snow! A picture never tells us wether it moves or not...you should not have told us it got stuck... :laugh: :laugh:

[yoyo08190]

super truck