chino63
Oppan Gangnam Style
Paint it.
-
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6x6 Peterbilt Semi Truck
- Thread starter Tommy R
- Start date
calcagno45
RCC Addict
Paint it!
Mardi Gras in NOLA has a parade of over 120+ large floats pulled by semis. Best part of the parade is checking out the trucks as they pass by. Best looking ones always have the rails painted to match and are usually stretched a bit.
Mardi Gras in NOLA has a parade of over 120+ large floats pulled by semis. Best part of the parade is checking out the trucks as they pass by. Best looking ones always have the rails painted to match and are usually stretched a bit.
Mike Flea
I wanna be Dave
Paint the chassis and the hubs "thumbsup"
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Thanks, man!
Thanks, everyone for the reassurance that I was planning to do the right thing. Now I think I'll also paint the hubs! More work, but it'll be worth it!
Not sure if you mentioned Mardi Gras 'cause you know I'm a NOLA native, but you're absolutely right! Typically, it was only on Mardi Gras day we'd have the "truck floats" that were pulled by semis instead of regular tractors. That was my favorite!!
calcagno45
RCC Addict
I thought we had went back and forth before on being a Louisiana native. Yes sir, some damn nice trucks pull those floats every year.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
We may have, but I've slept since then, so..... LOL! :ror:
I'm actually back in Baton Rouge at the moment to visit Mom. Since I'll be down here for several days, I brought my RC stuff to work on...including the Peterbilt. Going to start prepping the chassis for paint today. :mrgreen:
Derek Larsen
Quarry Creeper
Did you ever paint the chassis? Did you make it to that dude's ranch? D$@# it, I need to know!
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Well, I did end up painting it. The issue is that it was too hot that day and the finish didn't come out very good at all. I plan to reshoot it and then follow it up with some clear, but I had to reassemble the truck to make it easier to transport back to Texas. It's pretty much sat on a shelf since then. I also have a brand new, assembled SCX10.2 sitting on the shelf unfinished. Hell, I even tried selling my D110. I guess you could say my motivation to work on crawlers has subsided. That being said, while I may still consider selling my D110 I'm NOT getting rid of the Pete. It will be completed for sure. I just need to find the time and motivation to work on it again.
Right now I'm in the planning stages for some MAJOR work on my 1:1 Jeep this winter and that's been occupying all my time and money.
Right now I'm in the planning stages for some MAJOR work on my 1:1 Jeep this winter and that's been occupying all my time and money.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
This project is back after a way-loo-long hiatus. Currently working on paint. Decided it's getting a Cat. 
Chassis is getting fresh paint, as well.
Chassis is getting fresh paint, as well.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
So for the most part the paint work is now.....finally.....complete. The chassis got some gloss clear, but not as much as the body did. That just seemed to make more sense to me that the frame isn't quite as pretty. Anyway, here's some pics...
An overhead shot of the Axial t-case.
I need to get the 5th wheel's orientation corrected. It's leaning the wrong way again!
Interior floors going back in. You can see where I hacked it to clear for the raised transmission.....which was required to make room for the front driveshaft.
I'll need to build a center console to cover this up when I finish out the interior. I don't plan on having side windows so the interior will need to be fully detailed to look realistic.
Looking like a truck again. The front needs to come down about 1/4", but I've got a few options on how to address that.
Here you can see how far the front tires stick out from the fenders. I'd prefer a narrower track, but I'm okay with this.
But to keep the front and rear track widths proportional I think I'm going to make some 1 or 2 mm spacers for the rear. It'll be subtle, but it'll also provide some space between the tires, which I think will be a good thing, appearance-wise.
Oh, one other thing I did tonight. The hub bore on the Lesu wheels is super tight and with just paint on the hubs, they would get scratched up when installing them. I couldn't have that so I bored the wheels' center bore ever so slightly. This angle makes it look worse than it is. It actually looks good and nicely centered in person. At least now the wheels can be installed/removed without scratching up the hubs.
An overhead shot of the Axial t-case.
I need to get the 5th wheel's orientation corrected. It's leaning the wrong way again!
Interior floors going back in. You can see where I hacked it to clear for the raised transmission.....which was required to make room for the front driveshaft.
I'll need to build a center console to cover this up when I finish out the interior. I don't plan on having side windows so the interior will need to be fully detailed to look realistic.
Looking like a truck again. The front needs to come down about 1/4", but I've got a few options on how to address that.
Here you can see how far the front tires stick out from the fenders. I'd prefer a narrower track, but I'm okay with this.
But to keep the front and rear track widths proportional I think I'm going to make some 1 or 2 mm spacers for the rear. It'll be subtle, but it'll also provide some space between the tires, which I think will be a good thing, appearance-wise.
Oh, one other thing I did tonight. The hub bore on the Lesu wheels is super tight and with just paint on the hubs, they would get scratched up when installing them. I couldn't have that so I bored the wheels' center bore ever so slightly. This angle makes it look worse than it is. It actually looks good and nicely centered in person. At least now the wheels can be installed/removed without scratching up the hubs.
OSRC
I wanna be Dave
That looks awesome! Nice work!
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Thanks!
350TacoZilla
Quarry Creeper
What about running a rubber fender flare like some of the 1:1 trucks have with the floats? It's pretty common on the cement trucks around my area that run the 425\65R22.5's and even your first few reference pics 2 of 3 have them lol.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
I may. I'd prefer not as I don't like the look of them, but time will tell....
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Good news. Turns out the dash fits over the transmission without modification. I'll still need to build a center console over it, but that's okay. I knew I'd have to do that.
Then as I was sifting through bins of parts I came across some stock HiLift springs. Wow, these are easy to bend! So I did a little eyeball de-arching and test fit them under the truck.
It's still got a smidge of negative rake, but it's hardly noticeable. I may leave it like this, but I'll have to paint those springs, of course.
Then as I was sifting through bins of parts I came across some stock HiLift springs. Wow, these are easy to bend! So I did a little eyeball de-arching and test fit them under the truck.
It's still got a smidge of negative rake, but it's hardly noticeable. I may leave it like this, but I'll have to paint those springs, of course.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
So the truck is now the closest it's ever been to finally being a runner! So OF COURSE I end up doing this:
Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishement. I decided to change two rather important things about the truck. First, I decided to change the drivetrain. A Lesu 3 speed trans will be here tomorrow and it's already set up for AWD. Second, I decided the stock frame rails made the truck look a little too stubby for my liking. So I picked up some Grand Hauler rails.
Here's the truck with the new (unpainted) rails installed. Ideally I may prefer it about one inch shorter overall, but I'm going to try it like this first. Maybe one day I'll shorten the wheelbase, but I think the longer setup fits the style of truck I'm wanting to emulate.
The Lesu gearbox has an even taller gearset than the stock Tamiya. That sucks! So to compensate I picked up a HH 80t motor and it's feeding a 3:1 gear reduction unit. I hope this new drivetrain holds up okay. I've heard bad things about some of the Lesu stuff.
Yeah, I'm a glutton for punishement. I decided to change two rather important things about the truck. First, I decided to change the drivetrain. A Lesu 3 speed trans will be here tomorrow and it's already set up for AWD. Second, I decided the stock frame rails made the truck look a little too stubby for my liking. So I picked up some Grand Hauler rails.
Here's the truck with the new (unpainted) rails installed. Ideally I may prefer it about one inch shorter overall, but I'm going to try it like this first. Maybe one day I'll shorten the wheelbase, but I think the longer setup fits the style of truck I'm wanting to emulate.
The Lesu gearbox has an even taller gearset than the stock Tamiya. That sucks! So to compensate I picked up a HH 80t motor and it's feeding a 3:1 gear reduction unit. I hope this new drivetrain holds up okay. I've heard bad things about some of the Lesu stuff.
350TacoZilla
Quarry Creeper
I like the new frame black like that, gives a good contrast to the painted pieces.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Thanks! I appreciate the input, but kinda have my heart set on a blue painted chassis.
The Lesu 3 speed AWD trans showed up. It's aluminum and pretty heavy! Comes with two sets of mounts (one higher and one lower), but the holes don't line up with the width of the Tamiya rails. *sigh*
And look at the size of this teensy tiny press-fit pinion gear! I'm going to be feeding it with an 80t motor and a GRU so it's going to be subjected to a lot of torque. I'm concerned about it's longevity.
Here's the "highly detailed instructions" that come with it. :lol:
The rod at the top is if you want to shift the trans from the front, instead of the rear. I may have to look into this further. I opened up the trans and tried to swap them, but it wasn't look like it was going to be worth the effort so I may just shift it from the rear. And judging by the short length of the shifter linkage, they must assume your servo is right next to the trans!
Mocking up the trans with the motor. Adding the GRU will require it to sit rearward just a bit more to clear the servo. The GRU will add about 3/4" overall.
Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
My 4:1 RC4WD gear reduction showed up so I got it hooked up with the Lesu trans and the HH 80t motor. I was pleased to see how short the overall length of the GRU is, but was surprised to see so few gears inside. My biggest concern right now is if the gearing in the GRU and the trans hold up.
The front mounting hole on the frame rail was re-used, but the rear hole has to be drilled/tapped. Note that I'll lose the upper step mount, but I don't really care. It's not like it's gotta support the weight of a scale 350 lb. truck driver!
I had mentioned earlier that I'd like a bit of a gap between the rear tires so I made up a little styrene spacer to sandwich between the rear wheels. It's about 1.5mm thick. It's ugly, but is only for prototype purposes.
Here you can see the gap created by the spacer on the far wheel set. The near wheel set is stock Lesu wheels.
Ages ago I modified a set of front wheels to get them to tuck in farther. That was on the Lesu wheels I originally tried. These fronts are made by Hercules Hobby and they have quite a bit more backspacing so they tuck in better. However, I still have to run a 6mm hex for them. If I run a 4mm hex you can see the hub bottoms out against the knuckles. Also note I put some aluminum TLT knuckles on.
The issue with a 4mm hex on these wheels.
So I drop a pair of thick washers inside...
Then out comes the Dremel! I rest the cutter flush to the washers and slowly cut through the hub. Be careful here. It's super easy to get hurt if you don't take the right precautions!
And the deed is done.
Now I have great clearance even with thin 4mm hexes!
Now the fronts tuck in really nicely. They're not fully tucked, of course, but this is the look I was after.
The other side still running 6mm hexes.
The front mounting hole on the frame rail was re-used, but the rear hole has to be drilled/tapped. Note that I'll lose the upper step mount, but I don't really care. It's not like it's gotta support the weight of a scale 350 lb. truck driver!
I had mentioned earlier that I'd like a bit of a gap between the rear tires so I made up a little styrene spacer to sandwich between the rear wheels. It's about 1.5mm thick. It's ugly, but is only for prototype purposes.
Here you can see the gap created by the spacer on the far wheel set. The near wheel set is stock Lesu wheels.
Ages ago I modified a set of front wheels to get them to tuck in farther. That was on the Lesu wheels I originally tried. These fronts are made by Hercules Hobby and they have quite a bit more backspacing so they tuck in better. However, I still have to run a 6mm hex for them. If I run a 4mm hex you can see the hub bottoms out against the knuckles. Also note I put some aluminum TLT knuckles on.
The issue with a 4mm hex on these wheels.
So I drop a pair of thick washers inside...
Then out comes the Dremel! I rest the cutter flush to the washers and slowly cut through the hub. Be careful here. It's super easy to get hurt if you don't take the right precautions!
And the deed is done.
Now I have great clearance even with thin 4mm hexes!
Now the fronts tuck in really nicely. They're not fully tucked, of course, but this is the look I was after.
The other side still running 6mm hexes.
