Trailer Tr2 MkII with instructions (Trailer T2 revised)

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

As mentioned with the release of US Truck MkII instructions for a trailer to go with this truck would be available. I am happy and proud to present them to you. Here is my latest creation: Trailer Tr2 MkII (with instructions).

What was true for the revised version of the truck might even be more true for this trailer. Believe me when I say this revised version and the original design are poles apart. In the looks it may not even be changed that much, but don't be fooled by its appearance!

This all together brings forth Trailer Tr2 MkII and I am happy with both achievements: The revised trailer itself and the instructions for anyone else to build this trailer.

Check mocplans for the instructions and rebrickable for the parts list!

Cheers, Ingmar Spijkhoven

LEGO® model Trailer Tr2 MkII with LEGO® Power Functions® which is a rebuild and revised version of Trailer 2 I finished back in 2009. Like with all my models this is build in scale 1:17,5, which makes them to be combined!!!

This specific model comes with building instructions available at mocplans.com plus the inventory list available at rebrickable.com.

This model features: full solid axle suspension, LEGO® Power Functions® remotely controlled landing gear and parking brake and three sets of Power Functions® lights.

As with the rebuild of US Truck T2 this writing starts with a little history on how this trailer came in to existence. Because of so many improvements and changes this trailer evolved into Trailer Tr2 MkII and suites absolutely excellent with US Truck T2 MkII.

After finishing US Truck T2 back in 2009 I started working on a trailer to go with it. I have always been intrigued by those big American trucks out in the open with all kind of loads on those very easy to use flatbed and drop deck trailers. One other very important concern to me is the playability of the truck and trailer combination so less weight would increase this.

From day one of building truck and trailer models I always go for implementing as many realistic features as possible. So this build features full solid axle suspension, LEGO® Power Functions® remotely controlled landing gear and parking brake and finally three sets of PF lights.

After finishing the build of the semi-truck or tractor the build of the semi-trailer that goes with it could be launched. Like I do with all builds, first a couple of design decisions had to be made:

A) Like with US Truck T2 (and MkII) I choose not to build this trailer after a specific brand or type. What I knew is that it had to be a typical US style trailer. Because of the way I was building back those days I had to give this trailer a drop in the deck.

B) Since the scale was set because of the build of US Truck T2 the scale was not an issue. What was an issue is what wheels to use. Even though most trailers used in the Netherlands (Europe) have so called super singles, I prefer to use the same tires as with the truck itself.

C) Setting these parameters was a nice start, but more quests had to be conquered. For example what color scheme would work best for this model especially because it had to fit US Truck T2's color scheme. The color of the frame would undoubtedly be Red. Bringing back the Blue would be obvious too.

D) One detail that really caught my eye is the alternating Red and White retroreflective strips. Its role is evident and it really breaks the color and the looks of the trailer in a very positive way.

E) The final call would be what to use as deck, the floor itself. Most straightforward would be the use of plates in any suitable size. I ended up using modified plates 8 x 8 with grille and hole in center.

Describing US Truck T2 MkII did unfold why it was rebuild, allow me to do the same for this trailer rebuild: Since the build of the original version of this trailer my building skills develop and so did many solutions used. Likewise the truck this trailer model could be so much better if I would have build it these days. So I did!

Rebuilding this MOC made me decide to name this updated version Trailer Tr2 MkII (it is based on Trailer T2, but revised in so many ways). The process of creating instructions for this trailer as well essentially forced me to rebuild it in total. Not just implementing some improvements. No, there is not much left of the original design. Besides all this the perspective has changed totally because I wanted to create instructions for this build too. So in the looks it may not even be changed that much, but believe me when I say this revised version and the original design are poles apart.

My first attempt back in 2009 was to build a flatbed, so a trailer with a one level deck without a drop in it. Because of a lot of decisions I made while building the truck itself with its frame, suspension and fifth wheel, the fifth wheel ended up quite high. To give the flatbed good looks too, it should not be to high on its wheels. It would have been if I would have build it with a leveled deck. So I had to change my mind from building a flatbed to this drop deck.

All of this mainly because of limitations I experienced back in 2008/2009 because of my lack of knowledge. I had to learn how to build with LEGO® all over again because of so many great new parts. Even though I am able to build a flatbed these days I sticked with the original drop deck.

Since there is quite a lot of it I wanted the floor of the deck to be nice to look at. Functionality is important to me simultaneously as you might know right now, so that counts too.

The overall width of the trailer is 18 studs, minus two tiles one on both sides leaves me 16 studs for the floor itself. Divid this by two makes eight studs on each side which gave me a range of opportunities. Quickly it was narrowed down to only two:

The most obvious would have been to use plates with a length of 8 and a width of any needed size. Not bad to start with, but not really appealing to me so I continued the search.

I ended up with the use of modified plates 8 x 8 "with grille and hole in center". These are available in very nice colors, it has great looks, light in weight and not that expensive.

These plates suites the job just perfect, the studs make them what I call "sticky" this to prevent the load from sliding and it could further more be used to attach loads. The trailer's total length and both main and upper deck had to be adjusted to the use of these 8 x 8 plates.

Still can't figure why, let me tell you: For the truck I came up with a very nice and realistic functional suspension system. Which I still use in all current projects and I will use in future ones. For some reason I had to use a rather simple suspension system for the trailer. Not that it wasn't sufficient, no it was, but not realistic for this type of trailer. The system itself is not as impressive as how it is referred to: longitudinal pendular axles!

In the real world, I mean in the situation it is not a model, this type of suspension would cause a lot of damage. Damage to both trailer and load this because not enough stress is absorbed going over bumps or other obstacles. This rebuild trailer utilizes the same suspension as US Truck T2 MkII it uses LEGO® rubber belts and LEGO® rubber axle connectors.

It occurred to me that it would be amazing to make this trailer what I call stand alone. With this I mean that it has a power source of its own. This results into the need of giving it a battery box. Please realize back in 2009 the much smaller battery box that holds 6 AAA batteries was not available.

Both beams of the trailer's frame consist of two rows of Technic Bricks stacked with two layers of plates. The main reason to build it this strong was to avoid the trailer to bend under its own weight or load. Because of this approach it was very easy to hide all mechanical stuff and LEGO® Power Functions® in between both beams. Hiding the Battery Box on the other hand seemed almost impossible. So here is what I did:

I knew that the part of the trailer from the kingpin to where the wheels are attached to needs to be sturdy, it transports stress caused by the weight of the trailer itself and its load to both king pin and rear axles. The tail part of the trailer could be weaker so I decided to lower the beams at this part. This allowed me to hide the Battery Box and by accident because of its location it could easily hold the rear impact guard.

The super singles I referred to are a little larger which would force me to use the wheels as in the Black Cat LEGO® set 5571. These I don't have before all else and I don't want to invest in as well because of the excessive price. Further more I really love the impressiveness of how a semi-truck and semi-trailer combination might be referred to in the United States: An eighteen-wheeler. So four super singles is not an option at all, four dualies had to be mounted!

Some following trailers I build after I finished the first version of this trailer in 2009 had smaller wheels mounted. The largest advantage of the use of these smaller wheels is that it reduces the trailer's total weight and frictions. All of this makes it easier to be towed by the tractor and therefore the playability is expanded.

As suggested before the alternating Red and White retroreflective strips had to be on my model as well, but without the use of stickers or decals. It just had to be replicated by adding Red and White 1 x 2 plates, but without compromising the trailer's strength. In between every set of Red and White plates a Blue plate 1 x 2 "with handle on side" is located.

Real live drop deck trailers are usually equipped with fixed or sliding winches to secure loads. These are used to tie down the load so that it won't move during transport. So there the Blue plate 1 x 2 "with handle on side" became very handy. These are used to tie down the load with the use of LEGO® Chains 5L or 21L or any kind of rubber band.

In my judgement a model comes to live by adding details. The more the better, but don't over do this, it will finally work against it. Finally I installed running lights which are on both sides of this trailer. The purpose of course is to increase the trailer's visibility and its looks.

The landing gear it self was not that hard to came up with and I started with a manual operated version. It didn't take that much to decide to make it remote controlled. The beams on the trailer do have this space in between of four studs, so hiding the M motor and the IR Receiver are not that hard. Even though the IR Receiver does have two connectors I forced my self to combine both parking break and landing gear.

The first version of this trailer had a landing gear that swings up and down. Nice concept, but not flexible when it comes to connecting to trucks with different fifth wheel heights. The trailers front end can be raised or lowered to make it connect to the fifth wheel.

Developing the truck's fifth wheel I used a 3L axle with stud as kingpin. The kingpin does not only keep the trailer attached to the truck horizontally, but vertically as well. This means going over a bump should not make the driver loosing the trailer.

From the very beginning of building truck and trailer models I planned on being able to combine any truck and trailer I build. With my first approach of the landing gear as described in this topic it was harder. It had to be achieved by making sure that all trailers king pin, landing gear and suspension are all on the same height. As well as making sure the fifth wheel is at the same height. Now the trailer can just be aligned with the truck easily.

To give you an idea of how the instructions for this model will look like here is a preview. Creating these instructions both quick progress on your build and being easy to understand were the main goals. Early in the building process you will see what it is that you are building. You will be very excited from the moment you start the build of Trailer Tr2 MkII till you finish it with a total number of parts of about 1100 pieces.

To achieve this a lot of floating items are used, with added arrows to show where these items are suppose to be. Together with a lot of so called call outs (the smaller windows within a step that shows the assembling of a smaller sub part of the build) together with multi part steps (not only one part at a time) the build will be in a flow.

Check mocplans for the instructions and rebrickable for the parts list!

Edited December 5, 2013 by 2LegoOrNot2Lego...

[afol1969]

Hi Ingmar,

The links don't work, but I've found your trailer at Rebrickable. Just to say: Great work, the design of the trailer looks very well. Especially the mix blue/grey/red makes it different from other common technic sets. It goes perfect with your Truck T2 MKII.

If I would build it, first I've to buy 50% of the necessary parts, I'm very poor on blue parts. But my lego collection always grows....

Greetings

Alex

[zux]

afol 1969, here are the correct links (it is easy to extract correct ones from above):

MOCPlans

Rebrickable

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

The links don't work, but I've found your trailer at Rebrickable.

Thanks for letting me know, I have fixed both links!

Also thanks for the kind words on this project… I designed this trailer initially to go with US Truck T2 MKII, you are right about that. Furthermore it will go with other trucks as well. Right now I am working on an adjustment for LEGO Technic set 8258, so that it will go with that model too. Maybe I'll make one for LEGO Technic set 8436 too.

Good to know that your LEGO collection is growing and I know all about needing parts. Just be patient...

afol 1969, here are the correct links

Thank you for providing the correct ones!

[Lundgren]

Wow i love your creations!

The US Truck and this trailer is next on my "to build" list after I'm finished with Grazi's Tow Truck!

Looked at rebrickable and I had about 35% of the parts to be able to build the truck.

Gotta BL alot of blue parts! :D

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

@Lundgren: Thanks to start with! Great that you are building Grazi's Tow Truck which is an amazing model!!! Obviously I am flattered by the knowledge that my US Truck and the trailer that goes with it are on your "to build" list, thanks for that too…

[ritztoys]

I have acquired all the needed parts and am ready to build this creation to match your truck. I know when my friends see the pair of your MOCs in person and I tell them they're IR controlled, I'm sure I'll see a bunch of 'jaws' hitting the floor.

Thanks for sharing your fantastic MOCs. :thumbup:

Edited December 13, 2013 by ritztoys

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

@ritztoys: Thanks again and know that you are so welcome! I would love to see some pictures of these friends… Have fun building and enjoy "playing" with these creations! And tell everybody about it…

[Meatman]

While this is amazingly fantastic, $25 seems a little high for instructions for a 1,000 piece model considering other people charge 1/2 of that for models with twice the part count.

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

You might be right about that, but it is still the designer's choice… I think the prices I have are justified…it is not only about part count. There is so much more to creating instructions...

[ritztoys]

While this is amazingly fantastic, $25 seems a little high for instructions for a 1,000 piece model considering other people charge 1/2 of that for models with twice the part count.

You've got to realize this is Lego Art at its' finest, kind of like getting instructions to paint the Mona Lisa. These MOCs that Ingmar creates will be collector items, as a piece of history was designed and displayed here for all to enjoy in the comfort of your home, this doesn't even include when you go to your LUG club and show these to your hometown members. I can already hear the 'Wows" now.

So any price that a designer decides to charge is "priceless", because you won't find anything like this with BI anywhere on the Internet with such great detail. :thumbup:

Edited December 16, 2013 by ritztoys

[nychase]

Part count doesn't matter. Design does.

For years I have tried to reverse engineer the Arvo brothers mini Technic Supercars

http://www.technicbricks.com/2007/12/arvo-brothers-mini-technic-supercars.html

I would easily pay 10 dollars for each of those and there can't be more than 150 parts per car.

[peter_m]

Part count doesn't matter. Design does.

For years I have tried to reverse engineer the Arvo brothers mini Technic Supercars

http://www.technicbr...-supercars.html

I would easily pay 10 dollars for each of those and there can't be more than 150 parts per car.

OMG they do some serious magic! (e.g. http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=246882, http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=219773)

Edited December 16, 2013 by peter_m

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

You've got to realize this is Lego Art at its' finest, kind of like getting instructions to paint the Mona Lisa. These MOCs that Ingmar creates will be collector items, as a piece of history was designed and displayed here for all to enjoy in the comfort of your home, this doesn't even include when you go to your LUG club and show these to your hometown members. I can already hear the 'Wows" now.

So any price that a designer decides to charge is "priceless", because you won't find anything like this with BI anywhere on the Internet with such great detail. :thumbup:

Thanks Stephen for sharing your point of view with us. Also do I personally like to thank you for these very very very kind words!

Part count doesn't matter. Design does.

For years I have tried to reverse engineer the Arvo brothers mini Technic Supercars

http://www.technicbr...-supercars.html

I would easily pay 10 dollars for each of those and there can't be more than 150 parts per car.

These models are nice indeed! I guess you are right about that the design matters, and not the part count. Since you are the host of my instructions you can agree on the effort I put in these instructions. Thanks for sharing your point of view on this…

Edited December 17, 2013 by 2LegoOrNot2Lego...

[Meatman]

I apologize. I was just thinking that you would no doubt sell many more for a little less money. You would probably have more people buy them who have no intentions to build the model, but rather just to see how things are built.

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

I apologize. I was just thinking that you would no doubt sell many more for a little less money. You would probably have more people buy them who have no intentions to build the model, but rather just to see how things are built.

You are absolutely right about what you wrote!

The thing is that I have decided to put a lot of effort into the instructions them selves. With the intention that even less experienced builders can build the model too. Because of this I have to spend much more time to get the instructions finished. In order to be able to produce and release many more instructions I had to raise the price. People who will not build the actual model will probably take a rain check, but I take that for granted.

On the other hand this is exactly why I released the Frame only instructions a couple of weeks ago. So people who are interested in just to see how things are built can buy these instead… I hope you respect my strategy…

Edited December 17, 2013 by 2LegoOrNot2Lego...

[Most-russ]

Hello Ingmar!

I am interested in getting the MOC for this and the truck but I have a few questions that I was hoping you could help with regarding changes. Most of them are color only, meaning instead of matching the truck build, I want to have a black undercarriage instead of red. Can you give me some guidance?

1. I prefer the classic wood deck that is smooth, are the 8x8 "grill and hole plates" on top easily interchangeable? I'm thinking about using a mix of brown and gray tile pieces on tope to give it a look of wood with steel in the middle.

2. In the build is there a room to add a crank (doesn't need to be functioning) on one of the legs for show?

3. Do you have any suggestions on pieces that I could add to the bottom of the trailer that curve up and could hold what appears to be wood for bracing cargo? The idea is most trailers have some sort of supports that they place 2x4 or 4x4 pieces of wood in for blocking and bracing cargo.

I'm new to the Lego build so I'm not sure what all pieces are available or what they look like. I need to find a catalog or something that shows all the pieces.......

AWESOME BUILD!!!!!

Thanks for offing the MOC Ingmar and I look forward to hearing from you.

Rusty M.

[Blakbird]

I am interested in getting the MOC for this and the truck but I have a few questions that I was hoping you could help with regarding changes. Most of them are color only, meaning instead of matching the truck build, I want to have a black undercarriage instead of red. Can you give me some guidance?

Black is the most common color in Technic and virtually every part is available in it. Just go to the parts list at Rebrickable and swap the red parts for black. I don't think you should have any trouble finding them.

As for the rest, I'd recommend that you start by building the trailer with the black chassis and then make modifications from there. It is much easier to decide what to do when you have the model sitting in front of you.

[technicfan]

Hi Ingmar, do you have instructions for the easy-fold logging trailer?.

[Most-russ]

.....As for the rest, I'd recommend that you start by building the trailer with the black chassis and then make modifications from there. It is much easier to decide what to do when you have the model sitting in front of you.

Thanks Blakbird, I got the MOC from 2LegoOrnot2Lego... and am going to approach it as a learning session on how to build with motors and gears since I'm a newbie. After I get it build and it's functioning, I'll go back and make changes like you suggested or maybe build a second. Thanks for the good advice and tips on the color changes. I don't suppose your have your screen name from the CBRXX1100?

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

Hi Ingmar, do you have instructions for the easy-fold logging trailer?.

Uhm, no not yet. I know very well how to create instructions, but it takes an awesome expert to create instructions for the trailer you ask for Maybe I will in the future, but I can not promise!

Can you give me some guidance?

1. I prefer the classic wood deck that is smooth, are the 8x8 "grill and hole plates" on top easily interchangeable? I'm thinking about using a mix of brown and gray tile pieces on tope to give it a look of wood with steel in the middle.

2. In the build is there a room to add a crank (doesn't need to be functioning) on one of the legs for show?

3. Do you have any suggestions on pieces that I could add to the bottom of the trailer that curve up and could hold what appears to be wood for bracing cargo? The idea is most trailers have some sort of supports that they place 2x4 or 4x4 pieces of wood in for blocking and bracing cargo.

I'm new to the Lego build so I'm not sure what all pieces are available or what they look like. I need to find a catalog or something that shows all the pieces...

To start with welcome to the community and thanks for the kind words! And I hope I can give you some guidance, you can judge whether I did or not.

About parts and catalog, please visit BrickLink, the best place to get your knowledge!

1. Yes they are! Basically the model is build out of 2 chassis beams running from the front to the back. From the left to the right there are supports to hold the deck. You have to keep in mind these supports are 8 studs apart each time. That is why the 8 x 8 plates fit so well! So any other part with a length of 8 studs can be used as deck.

May I suggest not to use tiles, but plates instead. First because tiles are much more expensive and easily scratched. Plus because of the studs on plates the load is hold in place. Just a thought, so do with it whatever you like…

2. Even tough my English is not that bad, I have no clue what it is that you mean with a crank in this case. I know of a crank when it comes to a engine, but in this case…you make me wonder! Please explain.

3. Do I understand you correct: you need "place" to store the wood pieces? The wood pieces that are used for blocking and bracing cargo.

How long are these pieces of wood generally?

Black is the most common color in Technic and virtually every part is available in it. Just go to the parts list at Rebrickable and swap the red parts for black. I don't think you should have any trouble finding them.

As for the rest, I'd recommend that you start by building the trailer with the black chassis and then make modifications from there. It is much easier to decide what to do when you have the model sitting in front of you.

Thanks Blakbird, that really makes sense. I did not realize it is that easy to swap colors using Rebrickable, so you helped me too

I think for the deck black will not be used. But again, any part with a length of 8 studs can be used so it should not be that hard.

Thanks Blakbird, I got the MOC from 2LegoOrnot2Lego... and am going to approach it as a learning session on how to build with motors and gears since I'm a newbie. After I get it build and it's functioning, I'll go back and make changes like you suggested or maybe build a second. Thanks for the good advice and tips on the color changes. I don't suppose your have your screen name from the CBRXX1100?

That'll do, great! Nice to see that you try to learn from building my models. Since my models are a combination of "regular" LEGO® and Technic you really are going to love this. I am sure about that!

Please feel free to ask any more question! Thanx! :thumbup:

[Most-russ]

Thanks for the tips and replies 2LegoOrnot@Lego... Let me see if I can get a picture of each, the leg "crank" and the brace for wood. It would make it easier for all of us to discuss.

Thanks again and I'll try and post them in a few hours if I can get them.

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

Yes please Most-russ, that would clarify things

[Azzepa]

Even tough my English is not that bad, I have no clue what it is that you mean with a crank in this case. I know of a crank when it comes to a engine, but in this case…you make me wonder! Please explain.

I think it is referring to the crank that's used to wind the trailer legs down, correct me if I'm wrong:

[Most-russ]

@Azzepa you are correct

The picture will show the crank and the small support beams that drivers will use to store wood to place under loads when using forklifts to unload them.

This picture shows the decking of a trailer, its a mix of wood and steel beams.

these pictures show the newer trend of adding container locking pins on the corners and at the 40' marks.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Most-russ