T4 Rally Raid Truck

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Dakar time, and I have been glued to Youtube watching the footage of the big T4 trucks. Can't get enough of them, so decided to build my own, one that will fit on the kitchen table.

This should be interesting as this is my first crack at this sort of thing ...

First off, I ordered a Bruder Cement Truck from Amazon. These things are awesome, robust, look good, and the whole thing is assembled with no hardware, just clipped together. Very clever.

Really wanted to do a scale drivetrain, live axles and leafs, but couldn't find axles narrow enough. That's when I ended up here, the track of the CC01 is a lot closer to what I need, and I can play with the wheelbase to get the proportions right. I think that having the proportions right is the key to making something 'scale', rather than a really nicely detailed body on enormous oversized wheels.

I ordered the Unimog kit, and have started some assembly, though i am hung up waiting for a bearing set and rear links right now.

So the plan is -

Assemble the kit
Stretch the wheelbase to look right
Mount the cab
Build the rear box out of styrene (never done any styrene work before, should be interesting)
Paint it
Drive it

Sounds easy, right ...?

First mock up, with the chin spoiler shortened up and a highly detailed cardboard rear body ...:lmao:

And the second, with a honking great bumper beam instead.

Leaning toward the second ... but all things are prone to change!

Cheers,
Whit.

 

[Takleberry]

That looks like a fun build! I have been considering something similiar. I drive Tow Trucks for work, and im considering building a 1/10 version of my work truck.

 

[derb]

This is awesome, looks like you know what you're doing. Looking forward to your progress.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Me? Know what I'm doing?! Never!!!

Got my styrene delivery today, but still no bearings ... waiting is the hardest part!

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

A little progress, but only a little ... bearings are STILL absent!

Mounted the cab by making a couple of aluminium brackets that bolt to the seat base and then to the stock body post mounting location (you can see them through the holes in the back of the seat.

And as you can see, my first foray into working with styrene. Fun stuff! Not the way I would design a real rollcage, but I had limited resources and it puts tubing in the right places visually. I am debating whether to get some more for the external windshield brush guard, or whether to try out tubing / brazing for the first time ...?

 

[derb]

Looks great mate. I'd say give the brazing a go, it doesn't look that hard.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Is there some good guide as to how to do the brazing on this site? I've been looking around, but haven't found anything very basic for a complete numpty like myself.

Got home last night ... still no damn bearings! So I busied myself making some window nets and seatbelts. At least all this time waiting is giving me some time to do the little details that maybe I wouldn't get to if the truck were running ...

Window nets ...

Seatbelts ... not sure whether to get a driver for this thing or not yet.

 

[SFC K]

This is going to be awesome! Keep us posted!

 

[derb]

Nice touches mate, this is really starting to look perfectly scale. No idea on brazing tutorials though, sorry.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Thanks for the comments!

STILL no bearings, last time I order from AsiaTees, I guess. Decided to throw the axle together and chuck some wheels under it, so I can start on the rear body. And what purty wheels they are! Couldn't resist RC4WD's Ural wheels, as much as I tried. Unfortunately they're only available in 1.9s, so I fear the tyres are a little bit too big. Not Monster Truck big, but they aren't as tucked and sized as maybe I would wish for. It does look bad ass, though!

Worked on the side profile some too ... may have to reposition the cab a little, and need to work out some detailing to break up the slab-sides, but the profile is close to what I had in my mind's eye.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

I sound like a broken record, but still no damn bearings! Does Asiatees usually take this long for shipping?!

Anyway ... I continue to progress at my glacial rate, a lot of staring and thinking trying to avoid making dumb mistakes. Made up the bed support and vertical wall behind the cab, doubled up the bottom few inches of the bodysides, for both strength and what I loosely call 'style'. I will also put in an air intake into the bodysides, either like the one in the Tatra above, or a big old scoop like the Kamaz trucks have.

Created my rear panel, with access to the spare 1 1/2 tyres. The rear bed has ended up being quite high, and the roof quite low, so I have limited room. Really wanted to put two spares upright, but don't even have enough room for two lay down. I split one of the stock 'Mog tyres to try to make it look like two, but not sure if it looks too cheesy.

And a couple of details on the rear, sand ladders and license plate cutout. Currently scratching my head on the subject of rear lights ... any inspiration out there?

Really enjoying this little project.

 

[derb]

Love your work man, try Avid for bearings next time. I think the one and a half tyres look pretty good. Can you perhaps sink them 1-2mm into the tray bed? Will make the half cut one look more like it's a full size tyre being hidden.

 

[monkeyracing]

Lights? How about anything that's not an LED? Really small flashlights can net you good reflectors and tiny incandescent bulbs. They'll use more power, but provide more usable light. LEDs are neat, but still look "fake" somehow.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. Going to take a look at recessing the spare, that'd definitely help fool the eye. I will swing by the dollar store and look a flashlights too, though almost everything seems to be LEDs now, even the cheap stuff.

And miracle of miracles, I had a little package waiting for me last night! Got to building up the transmission and front suspension properly. Tonight the rear end. I also bought some rear suspension links from Asiatees, but they don't have any provision for attaching the shocks. Hmmm ... off to Ebay.

 

[derb]

If you mean the GPM 4-link kit, you'll need the 'Aluminium rear damper mounts' too. This really pisses me off with GPM, I've had a mate and seen plenty of others get held up due to having to buy that extra part. Why in the hell they dont sell them together is retarded.

 

[monkeyracing]

You're right about everything being LED now, especially the cheap stuff. Maybe a place that does model trains would have an idea.

Too bad there's no good way of dirtying up an LED's range of colour output. They operate at very narrow frequencies, which results in the need for a relatively powerful bulb to throw light short distances. It's weird.

 

[METALHEAD]

You're right about everything being LED now, especially the cheap stuff. Maybe a place that does model trains would have an idea.

Too bad there's no good way of dirtying up an LED's range of colour output. They operate at very narrow frequencies, which results in the need for a relatively powerful bulb to throw light short distances. It's weird.

Take some 320 sandpaper and lightly scratch the bulb. Then lightly sand the very tip so it's flat. That'll affect the appearance. I did it top some white leds and it really changed the way they cut the darkness. It gave them more of a glow instead of being so piercing. Just a thought.

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

If you mean the GPM 4-link kit, you'll need the 'Aluminium rear damper mounts' too. This really pisses me off with GPM, I've had a mate and seen plenty of others get held up due to having to buy that extra part. Why in the hell they dont sell them together is retarded.

Yup, that's the one. Especially as their website claims it is a direct bolt on replacement for the stock parts. Also not too impressed by the brace over the top of the pig, that limits suspension travel by hitting the chassis rails ... oh well, damper mounts are on the way, we'll see what can be done then.

So the big news ... like Frankestein's Monster .... SHE LIVES!!! :evil:

Finally got some more time on it last night, finished up putting everything together, put an RC4wd 45t in with the stock speed controller, bought a nice new Spektrum radio (been meaning to get a new radio for ages), and after minimal head scratching everything sprang to life!

Couldn't resist taking it for a quick test drive of course. First impression - runs nice and smooth, but steering leaves a little to be desired. Okay, quite a lot. I've been uhming and erring about locking the front up, and it does indeed suck having it open. May try the diff oil LSD mod first.

I will tidy up the wiring tonight, and get back to playing with styrene. My silver solder should be here shortly too, so I can start miniature welding! "thumbsup"

 

[whit5ham_wannabe]

Okay, I lied ... I didn't get back to the styrene yet, because I got my hands on some silver solder and brake line.

If anyone is interested in trying this and has not yet, this is the most useful guide I found. It really is as easy to make the joins as this gentlemen makes it seem.

Guide

First off, I scouted around the garage for something that would give me nice controlled bends. I found these two parts, that are actually spacers from a Suzuki DRZ fuel tank tap. They have a good radius, a flat and a little groove for the brake line to sit in.

I intended to take more photos, but suddenly had this knocked up.

Need to wait for a few more parts until I figure out the mounting for spots on the front, and the mounting to the body, but I was very happy with the way it came out. A lot easier than I feared! If you haven't tried it before, give it a whirl!

I also got my rear shock mounts in yesterday, and see I have an easy way to lift the rear end. Is there a similarly easy way to lift the front a little to clear those big old boots I have on there?

 

[greggreg2011]

great work so far, ill be watching for more