[MOC] RC American truck with flatbed trailer (Powered by Buwizz)

[Pentomind]

EDIT 08/22 - CURRENT STATE :

 

 

Here is a truck I just made (well, it actually took me several days) while being confined.

 

 

 

I don't like to take apart my sets on display to MOC so I had to do with just a bunch of spare part I had, hence the strange color scheme and some questionable building technics and aesthetic choices (for example, I didn't had anything to make the front radiator grill so i had to improvise...)

I wanted to make an American style Truck, inspired by the 5571, 5591, 8285 and more recently 42078, and remote controlled so I can have a little fun with it.

Please don't be to harsh, this is my first Technic MOC that didn't end at the prototype status.

 

The original goal was to test my new Buwizz but I finally used only original Lego PF element, because I rather use a physical remote than a smartphone.

It is powered by a L motor (with the drivetrain as follow : Motor---16T / 16T---20T / differential / 20T--20T / differential) ) and steered with a servo, with a decent speed and a good steering lock.

 

The IR receiver and standard AA battery box are housed in the back of the cab, and the latest can slide up for replacement by tilting the foldable spoiler forward.

 

The spoiler can also be folded all the way down to make the cabin roof flat.

The doors can be opened and the hood can be lifted, even though there is no fake engine underneath because that's where I furst intended to put the Buwizz. (Actually there is still enough room for it so I could convert the truck to a Buwizz model and remove all the biggest section of the cab for a more lightweight truck. :-)

I could also run an axle under the cabin to the engine compartment and run a fake engine from the exposed 16T gear...

 

A lot of work, thoughts, trial and errors went into the building of this truck, so I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

There is still A LOT room for improvement, but unfortunately I was limited by the parts I had. Almost all of my grey and black liftarms and technic connectors whereused in the process !

I am not entirely satisfied by the roof of the cabin in the IR receiver area, which is a bit messy, and I really wish I had DBG curved panel for the sides instead of LBG ones. And of course, I wish I could replace the ugly black plate at the front with a proper truck grill.

I also have to add a fifth wheel, as it is not able to pull anything in this configuration. It should be easy anyway, as I have a lot of mounting option at the rear (the black panel is only there for aesthetic purpose). I just have to figure out something with the parts i have left...

In the end I like very much how it turned out though, and I may consider a bricklink order to fix the aforementioned issues once the lock-down is over.

In the mean time, any comment and suggestion for improvement is welcome ! :-)

 

EDIT : now with a running fake engine !

 

 

Edited August 22, 2020 by Pentomind
Picture update

[apachaihapachai]

Definitely looks American. Maybe a bit too short but nice nevertheless.

[Jurss]

5 hours ago, Pentomind said:

and remove all the biggest section of the cab for a more lightweight truck

For American truck that big cab is a must, I think.

Now just really add that buwizz and some fake engine.

Everything else looks pretty OK. ... and then start to think about some suspension.

[Pentomind]

1 hour ago, Jurss said:

For American truck that big cab is a must, I think.

Now just really add that buwizz and some fake engine.

Everything else looks pretty OK. ... and then start to think about some suspension.

I thought of something like this :

I don't think suspension would be useful at that scale, and I'm afraid it would compromise the sturdiness of the model... 

[ukbajadave]

Good looking MOC. I like the idea that limiting your parts leads to creative solutions. For example every truck I make ends up with 42043 mirrors whereas you found a different way.

7 hours ago, Pentomind said:

A lot of thought went into the building of this truck...

...I really wish I had DBG curved panel for the sides instead of LBG ones...

How much did you plan before starting to build? It looks very organised and economical with part usage whereas I often end up using 4 parts where 1 might do because I don't plan ahead.

Regarding the panels I assumed they were an aesthetic choice representing a grey stripe echoed in the fuel tanks and across the roof 

The only suggestion I would make is if you have an opening hood make the most of it and add an engine!

[Pentomind]

 

2 hours ago, ukbajadave said:

Good looking MOC. I like the idea that limiting your parts leads to creative solutions. For example every truck I make ends up with 42043 mirrors whereas you found a different way.

How much did you plan before starting to build? It looks very organised and economical with part usage whereas I often end up using 4 parts where 1 might do because I don't plan ahead.

The mirrors credit go to the designer of the 42009 as it is the set from where i took inspiration. :-)

I didn't really plane anything, except for the shape of the exhaust pipes :p. I first build the rear drivetrain, with the two encased differential, then I connected a motor to it using as few part as possible.
I then build the steering axle, and connected the motor so it was as compact as possible.
Once the two parts were build, I looked at some Kenworth and Peterbilt  truck blueprints on google in order to estimate the distance betwwen front and rear wheels and connected the two halves of the frame.

The trickiest part was to build the front fender because I wanted it to be close to the wheels but I had to let enough space for them to steer.

Once I was satisfied with the driving performances I started building the cab, starting from the hood. There were a lot of trial and failed attempts before I ended up with something satisfying.

At the end I added some lights and details to make it more realistic (like the air filters, steering wheel or the tiles between the steps and the fuel tanks.).

The last thing I did was to add the Battery Box and IR receiver, this is why the area is not very clean. I was quite short on parts.

Now I try to improve the build. I stare at the truck for long minutes until I see something that I can build differently. For example in the areas where I used 4 parts when I could have used only 1. ;-)

 

 

2 hours ago, ukbajadave said:

Regarding the panels I assumed they were an aesthetic choice representing a grey stripe echoed in the fuel tanks and across the roof 

The only suggestion I would make is if you have an opening hood make the most of it and add an engine!

The gray strip is not intended, it is just a lucky coincidence that it matches the gray panels and IR receiver. But I think the exhaust pipes would pop out better if the panel behind was DBG.

I'm not sure about adding an engine. It is supposed to be remote controlled and it would not add anything to the playability. Plus, I wouldn't be able to install the Buwizz anymore...

Edited March 24, 2020 by Pentomind

[Parazels]

What's under the hood? 

[Pentomind]

1 hour ago, Parazels said:

What's under the hood? 

As stated above : nothing (yet) ?

[Pentomind]

On 3/24/2020 at 6:13 AM, Jurss said:

...

Now just really add that buwizz and some fake engine.

...

 

On 3/24/2020 at 8:13 AM, ukbajadave said:

...

The only suggestion I would make is if you have an opening hood make the most of it and add an engine!

OK I finally followed your advices and added en engine !

I went for a big a** straight 6 yellow engine, as often found on this type of trucks. The best part ? It is driven by an axle running under the cab and connected via a 16T gear to the motor so the pistons are really moving as the truck drives ! :D

The shape is not very realistic but I did my best with the parts I had.

 

 

It consumes some power when driving but if I remove the 16T shown above it disconnects the whole engine fro the motor, so it's no big deal. :-)

What do you think of this modification ?

[Jurss]

It is OK, I think. Doesn't really sbrick fit behind the cabin, where now battery and IR receiver lives? I don't have it, but from pictures it doesn't seems really large.

[amorti]

I think it's a simple, but good model! The kind of thing Lego could've sold a ton of, if they'd wanted to before PF ended. 

I'm thinking a small turntable could fit in the back as a trailer hitch.

[Pentomind]

I made some minor change to improve the look of my truck :

- Made a more simple / durable front bumper

- Replaced the front plate with a radiator grill (used all the 1 x 2 LBG grills I could find

- Modified the mirrors and headlight mounting so the cannot rotate out of their positions

- Replaced some blue pins in the front with black ones

- rebuild the roof to make it smoother

- Changed the cab doors a bit

 

What I still would like to do :

Lengthen the space between the cab and rear wheels by 2 studs (but I would have to redesign most of the frame)

Add more grills to the front panel, If I can find some

build a trailer (with what parts ?)

I will keep you updated with futur changes ! ;-)

 

[MajklSpajkl]

Hi there,

your truck looks good, but I think the wheelbase is a bit to short - I found that at my truck when I started to build the trailer. If fifth wheel is so close to the cabin, than the trailer's kingpin must be really close to the front of the trailer, which, I think, look a bit odd....

[Pentomind]

20 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

Hi there,

your truck looks good, but I think the wheelbase is a bit to short - I found that at my truck when I started to build the trailer. If fifth wheel is so close to the cabin, than the trailer's kingpin must be really close to the front of the trailer, which, I think, look a bit odd....

I see what you mean. I think the wheelbase would be better 2 studs longer but I would have to redesign it entirely so for no it's not worth the trouble.

Also, I just figured out that by lowering the cabin roof by just 1 stud the overall look is much better ! The proportions look very good and the wheelbase seems less too short :

I had to redesign all the roof but I think it was really worth it (notice the much nicer exhaust pipes ):

 

 

I also implemented the 5th wheel (Design by Pipasseyoyo). I don't have room for another motor nor IR receiver (unless I decide to get rid of the fake engine, which I don't want to), so i went for a manual solution, with two small lever, one on each side to lock it.

It's a little bit more messy than the previous black panel but now I can attach a trailer. I made some tests with the 42078 trailer and it works fine. It can accommodate a 15 studs large trailer, with the kingpin 3 studs from the front of the trailer with no interference with the cab panels.
I could move the 5th wheel 1 stud closer to the back but it would not be centered between the two rears axles anymore so I think I will leave it as is.

 

 

 

What do you guys think of the new design ?

 

 

Edited April 15, 2020 by Pentomind
Credit for 5th wheel mechanism

[MajklSpajkl]

Looks better now with the lower roof 

[Pentomind]

On 4/15/2020 at 12:01 AM, MajklSpajkl said:

Hi there,

your truck looks good, but I think the wheelbase is a bit to short - I found that at my truck when I started to build the trailer. If fifth wheel is so close to the cabin, than the trailer's kingpin must be really close to the front of the trailer, which, I think, look a bit odd....

Well, turns out... you were right ! :-)

I made the wheelbase 2 studs longer and it look even better now ! The proportions are closer to a real truck's and the 5th wheel sits farer from the cab. The only downside is that the frame bend a little more so the rear wheels touch the ground very slightly. I had to reinforce itfrom the underside with beams and it should be better with a trailer attached.

Another big change : I managed to make a full dark bluish gray bonnet with smoother sides, it really improves the overall look.

Minor changes also include :

• bigger roof spoiler
• door frames that go up to the cabin roof (make the truck look bigger
• 2 decorative black stripes instead of one
• filling of the gaps in front fenders
• interior details with gauge panels
• removal of unnecessary parts here and there....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MajklSpajkl]

I am always right, except when i am left   Looks way better  Looking forward to see it with the trailer.

[Pentomind]

Ok I made a trailer to see what it would look like with the truck.

It's very basic and looks crude because I used every single black and dark bluish gray beam I had left.

I tried to make it versatile, so it can hold up to two 42078 sized container (I just have one), or anything else you would like to put one it...

The only issue I have for now is that I used a technic ball joint on a 3L axle with stop to connect the trailer, and the ball keeps coming off the axle when I manipulate the truck with the trailer attached because the ball is just below the deck level.
I could add a spacer (bush) between the ball and the trailer's deck but it would make it 1 stud higher and I think it would not look as good (I want the trailer's deck to be as close to the truck's wheels as possible).

I think the solution would be to use a Technic, Liftarm 1 x 2 with Ball Joint Angled, but unfortunately I don't have one available at the moment.

I like the idea of having a assorted trailer to go with the truck. I think I'm going to build a proper flatbed or drop deck (but considering the size of the wheels a dropdeck would nob be ideal...) :

 

 

 

Unfortunately I will need more parts, and 5 x 11 technic panels are quite expensive part. I was about to make a bricklink order but I just realized I should just buy another copy of a second hand 42078 as well as it would provide me 5 times as much parts for almost the same price...

 

 

[ukbajadave]

Really enjoying the evolution of this MOC 

I think the twin stripes look more like a design choice now unlike the single which looked like you'd run out of beams. The increased wheelbase balances the model better and the grille and hood are much cleaner. Well done on getting rid of that single DBG element in the exhausts too.

Regarding the prospect of a long low trailer have you considered studded beams for the frame? I find they tend to be stiffer than studless for the same distance. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. (Of course, once you have a trailer you'll have to build something to put on it, it never ends )

[Pentomind]

10 hours ago, ukbajadave said:

Really enjoying the evolution of this MOC 

I think the twin stripes look more like a design choice now unlike the single which looked like you'd run out of beams. The increased wheelbase balances the model better and the grille and hood are much cleaner. Well done on getting rid of that single DBG element in the exhausts too.

Regarding the prospect of a long low trailer have you considered studded beams for the frame? I find they tend to be stiffer than studless for the same distance. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. (Of course, once you have a trailer you'll have to build something to put on it, it never ends )

Thank you for the appreciation.

I'm also glad I could make the exhaust pipes entirely gray and smooth.

I did considered studded beams but I don't have enough available to make a descent test. Plus, I worry it would make the trailer sit too high over the rear wheels of the truck. I may give it a try though.

Speaking of the trailer, I decided to go for a virtual model before buying the actual parts. This way I can try different options and setups. Soo... in order to be as accurate as possible I decided to recreate the rear part of the truck as a guide. In the end, I may have gone a little beyond ''just the rear...'' :

and the rendered version :

 

I just couldn't figure how to angle the sides of the windshield and the roof, and I added an extra row of 1 x 2 grill at the front that I don't actually have in real life...

Next step : start designing a nice trailer !

[Pentomind]

Hello !

I'm still working on improving my truck and today I made two little aesthetic improvements that necessitated quite an amount of work on the design...

First change:

Looking at pic of real trucks I noticed that the exhaust pipes should be a little closer to the cab doors, so I decided to rebuild all the back of the cab (especially the inside structure)  so I can move the exhaust pipes one stud forward. I took a lot of thinking but I think the solution I came with looks pretty good. The best part is that it allowed me to extend the size of the sleeper by one stud (by adding a beam between the panels) without changing the overall size of the cab. As a result the sleeper (and the truck)'s proportion looks even better.

 

 

Second change :

Since I added the fake engine under the bonnet I was unhappy with the movement  transmission from the actual motor. I didn't plane it when I designed the model so it was poorly integrated, with a 16T gear very visible at the rear of the cab, very close to the 5th wheel. and an axle running under the sleeper. One of the downside, beside not looking good, is that the trailer sometime touches the gear when steering...
 

I then decided to move the axle under the truck, in order to make it more realistic and to clear the rear of the cab. The modification was not easy as I couldn't run the axle all the way to the fake engine, because the servo is in the way. I had to use gears to transmit the rotation from under the truck to over the servo, to the bonnet. As I said I did'nt plane it initially so I had to modify the frame in order to make room for the gears. The hardest part was to find a path for the servo wires that didn't touch the very close gears...

I also kept the possibility to disconnect the function by sliding the axle underneath out of the connector so there is no clicking sound when I drive it around at home :-)

 

Here is the result :

 

 

 

And a bonus, Work In Progress :

 

As always, comments are welcome !

[Pentomind]

I was lucky today !

I manage to found a second hand mack anthem at a good price...who's seller happened to be in my city ! I was able to get it without even breaking any lock-down rules, so I will be able to start working on a proper trailer once all the parts are washed and quarantined (actually I will let them dry for several days before starting building with them).

As a result of this acquisition I was finally able to replace the light bluish gray panels with Dark Bluish gray ones. Now we're talking !!

 

 

[Henkl]

Sorry, hate to say but i liked the very first one the most. The spoiler made me think of the Mack from the Rubber Duck in the moevie Convoy. Miss that in the last models.

[Pentomind]

16 hours ago, Henkl said:

Sorry, hate to say but i liked the very first one the most. The spoiler made me think of the Mack from the Rubber Duck in the moevie Convoy. Miss that in the last models.

I never had heard of this movie before so I just discovered the design of the Mack RS700. I can see what you like in its rugged, old-school look but I like the sleeker, more polished look of my own truck better.

concerning the spoiler, I'm considering switching from Power Function IR to Buwizz in order to get rid of the range limitation and exposed IR receiver. If I do so I will probably go for a bigger, bulkier spoiler that cover all the sleeper roof.

[Pentomind]

 

So the Mack parts are now ready to be used so I spent some time building this afternoon.

 

First, as announced, I got rd of the battery box and IR receiver and replaced them with a Buwizz unit. I don't like the smartphone-control but It allows for better performance, and it's easier to integrate in the design. It also cleared a lot of space inside the sleeper so I'm currently thinking about how I could use one of the free power outlet of the Buwizz to remote control the fifth wheel lock.

I also made some minor modifications to the truck in order to improve aesthetic :

- Closed the back of the cab with panels
- Replaced the originals air filters with brick-build ones (so they look more like the real thing and match the exhausts)
- Added the printed Mack tile above the grill (it's not supposed to be a mack but it looks good)
- Added a row of 1 x 2 grills at the botom of the front radiator grill (borrowed from a stored set)
- Modified the mirrors (it doesn't look better but I was fed up having to constantly angle them the right way, so I just locked them in place).
- Added some rear-wheel protection / mudguards
- Redesigned the left side of the engine with rounded pipes to mimic exhaust pipes.

And, last but not least, i started building a dedicated trailer ! :D

 

I went for a lowboy trailer but oh, boys ! It is low ! So low that as soon as I put something on it it touches the ground when I drive...
I tried to make the bed as stiff as possible but with 1 mm and a half ground clearance it's definitely too low.

I think I will make a flatbed instead, very similar to this one.

I was also thinking maybe I could use the last output of the Buwizz to make a trailer with a motorized function (folding ramp, dumper, ...)

I hope you are still enjoying this thread, It's very encouraging for me to share all my work with you.

Stay tuned.