Merc rebuild

[moogie]

I decided to give my old Merc tractor unit a new lease of life by building it into a 8x4 tipper.



I had a couple of frame rails left over from another build and a front axle, so joined it all together and came up with this.





One part of this build that had me doing a bit of head scratching was how to steer both front axles from one servo. This is what i came up with.



With playing about with the linkages i was able to get the second axle steering less than the front.



Made a start on the tipper,i would have had more done but Mk1 tipper body was pulled apart as i wasn't happy with the way it looked, so this is now Mk2.



All made from 3mm plasticard and is loosly based on a Boweld Muck lite.



I have decided to have my wheel arches mounted to the chassis rather than the body, just makes things a little easier for me.



The bar across the top of rear opening is just to keep everything square, it will be remove later and the corner posts shortened.



For the rear pivot i found a pair of hinges from a Tamiya F350 Hi Lift. Hope you can see them ok in the photo.



The back axle will be eventually changed for a driven one, if i ever find one at a decent price !

[moogie]

I wanted a Carson style lifting mechanism so started off with a pair of scissors, some old corn flakes boxs, a few photos and lots of patience and eventually after lots of trial and error, i came up with this.



All the brackets are made of 3mm aluminum plate, the threaded rod and tube section are from an automatic door ( whatever fits !! ) The motor/ reduction gearbox is from Maplins, 148:1 ratio.



At full height, ( still need cut the threaded rod to the correct length.)



And at close.

[moogie]

1st test of the new tipper mechanism. The pineapple and melon weigh 8 lb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rvTfpZ2DLk

[moogie]

Fitted the stone deflectors and reinforcing angles to the side of the tipper body.



Made the tailgate and hinges.





I made it so that it can be easily removed.



Attached a Wedico diesel tank,



and made a battery box and air tanks.



Lastly, attached a towing hitch for a future trailer build.

[moogie]

I have been trying to get some sort of a latch mechanism for the tailgate that could be operated remotely, so after many different designs this is what i have come up with.









And a couple of quick videos to show it in operation. Sorry about the quality, i was forced to use my phone.
I am using a servo tester to operate it at the moment so it is a bit slow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPRQ-ElOOek

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNYxQCnXRUY

[flatdeck]

Well done that works great..

Wayne

[TRUCKMAKER]

I like this build, the dump body looks great and you have some ingenious ideas on the latch and removable gate. Nice job.

[moogie]

Its Got Paint! Decided to go with some gray paint for the body. Its actually gray primer with a clear coat over the top, but it looks ok.



I have also removed the solid walkway and replaced it with an expanded metal one. I think it looks more realistic.



Also made a wheel holder out of an old parts sprue.



and some steps to get up to it.

[Exclusive RC]

How did you have your maplin motor hooked up electronically? To an esc? Great build, styrene is always great to work with

[moogie]

Originally Posted by Exclusive RC

How did you have your maplin motor hooked up electronically? To an esc? Great build, styrene is always great to work with

I used an ESC to start with but it wasn't supplying full voltage to the motor so i am in the process of making up a controll system using a RX controlled switch, relays and limit switches.

Noel.