Scaleart - assembling an Arocs 8x8 roll on roll off kipper

[Rakthi]

Yes, sometimes I wonder why I started on this ... but all in all it's great fun. Anyway, you should be talking with your China Cat and that nice fleet of yours! Wished I only had a fraction of your skills in building / customising scale models

Stephan

[Rakthi]

Part 1 of the next step: assembling the arm and part of the hydraulics.

Only a few pieces for now



First we prep the hydraulic cylinder



Then the hook





Then the above part gets bolted on the moving arm. The screws are recessed to allow for the hydraulic cylinder and not that easy to get into place.







Next we have to insert/mount the hydraulic cylinder in the stationary part of the mechanism. This, because you have to slide the cylinder in a an angle because the nipples will otherwise not pass through.



We also pass the hydraulic line of the top nipple through the provided guides



Secure the back end



Pull out the piston



Slide the moving part of the arm into the stationary one (which goes smoothly) with due diligence and secure the other side of the hydraulic cylinder. (Before all this check the fit of the pins!)





Some nice detailing



I also installed the provided lock on the hook ... Will remove it later. Nobody uses it because half the time it doesn't open because the counterweight is too light.

[Rakthi]

Part 2 - connecting the 2 parts of the hook mechanism.

The parts



Per the manual, apply some grease where the bushing will fit



Space and bushing in place and then bolt to the already finished frame. A very precise fit by te way.



Both connected and shown with the parts needed to work the sliding hook and connect it to the truck chassis



First the pull/push rod



Then grease applied where the bushing will go.



The part that will attach it to the frame installed. The holes indicated is where the bolts will go that hold it in place.



When used as a kipper, this whole assembly will move up and the hooks will slide out to secure the container.



You can see I put the hydraulic lines above the cross brace. Will have to move them below, they might get clamped when using in roll off roll on mode. (getting the hydraulic lines through the guides was made easier by applying some grease to the guides)



Both sides done



Quick look for fit on the rolling chassis



And the why of those 2 little bits installed in the beginning. And no, I did not forget to put a nut on the naked bolts



That's it for the moment.
Stephan

[Rakthi]

Correction on the locking part of the hook. Apparently I installed it wrong way around.

Here corrected:

Open



Gesloten



Cheers! Stephan

[Rakthi]

Found some time to add some small parts to the frame, namely the bits that hold / lock the driver's cabin in place.

Here the parts - all in stainless:
The 2 big hooks at the bottom are for the front.



First one to go in. This part



Goes here on the right side.



Loctite applied to the nut. This part needs to stay moveable.



The second part



Goest on here on the left side



Here too loctite on the nut so the handle stays moveable.



Next up the bar that connects these 2 parts. (spacer nuts already in place)



Loctite here too.



Finally the spring to keep it in locking position.



Now the front.

Hook goes here



Here too loctite on the nut/bolt that holds it attached to the frame. Tightened so the handle can still move forwards and back.



The spring is kept in place by the thread on the bolts.





That's it for now. Might be another couple of days before the next update.

Cheers - Stephan

[bigford]

Originally Posted by Rakthi

Yes, sometimes I wonder why I started on this ... but all in all it's great fun. Anyway, you should be talking with your China Cat and that nice fleet of yours! Wished I only had a fraction of your skills in building / customising scale models

Stephan

me and the china kat are not talking right now,its got its
back to me right now.
this truck looks like it will be unstopable when done

[Rakthi]

Originally Posted by bigford

me and the china kat are not talking right now,its got its
back to me right now.
this truck looks like it will be unstopable when done

Now that is funny! Hope you get on talking terms soon! Been keeping my eye on that thread.

Stephan

[Newcomer_2]

Hi Stephan,

this is a awesome model. You will have also many fun while driving it. - And your building report is very detailed. I love this kind of reports as you know well. - Go on, I´ll stay tuned. ;-)

P.S.: Please excuse my mistakes. My English is not very well. I´m working on it.

[Rakthi]

Originally Posted by Newcomer_2

Hi Stephan,

this is a awesome model. You will have also many fun while driving it. - And your building report is very detailed. I love this kind of reports as you know well. - Go on, I´ll stay tuned. ;-)

P.S.: Please excuse my mistakes. My English is not very well. I´m working on it.

Hi Christian, nice to meet you here ! Glad you like the build report. And your English if better than my "Google German" as you can see below!
Of course I know you like detailed build threads! It’s yours on Modelltruck.net that got me into this!

For the moment we have a pauze because I’m waiting for a package from ScaleART (shipped May 27th) with the updated parts of the cab, the raised exhaust and some nipples for the hydraulics.

I could start on the container, but I keep that for when the truck is almost finished (meaning I'm struggling with the wiring ) as something to keep me from getting to frustrated.

Cheers! Stephan

============================

Hallo Christian, schön dich hier zu treffen ! Gut, dass dass Baubericht dir gefällt. Und Ihr Englisch ist besser als meine "Google Deutsch", wie Sie hier sehen können!

Natürlich weiß ich, wie Sie detaillierte bauberichten liebst! Es ist wegen Ihrer auf Modelltruck.net die mich motiviert haben!

Am Moment haben wir pauze. Ich warte auf eine Paket von ScaleART (versendet 27/05) mit einige Teilen von die update das Fahrerhaus, der hochgezogen Auspuff und einige Nipple fur die hydraulische Leitungen.

Ich konnte natürlich mit die Mulde anfangen, aber ich warte bis das Model fast fertig ist. (Wenn ich mit der Verdrahtung kämpfe ) Denn dan habe ich noch etwas einfach um mich von Frustration zu halten

Gruss! Stephan

[Newcomer_2]

Originally Posted by Rakthi

(...) I could start on the container, but I keep that for when the truck is almost finished (meaning I'm struggling with the wiring ) as something to keep me from getting to frustrated.

Cheers! Stephan (...)

Hi Stephan,

as I can see, you´re using the new 2-wire-bus system for the light-functions. I think, there won't be any problems with it. You'll manage it easily. - So go on with the container! - Have fun!

[Rakthi]

Hi Christian, yes, I do have the Commander bus system, but you haven't seen the mess I made of the electrics in the 490LC :roll eyes: . I was thinking of sorting that out while I wait for the parts to make their way halfway around the world.

Cheers, Stephan

[Rakthi]

A small update. Prepped the front lights for fit of the LEDs. Not a big job but at least it is out of the way.

Checked the tracking I got and the package from ScaleART has cleared customs in Kuala Lumpur. So now waiting for it to make it here. With some luck might get here beginning next week so we can get on with this.

Here the housing with the LED board. You can see that some of the openings are not completely open.



Trial fitting showed that the circled opening was too narrow also.



Tools used for "fixing" the smallest drill bit in the Dremel collection (1/32" for the Americans) and a small round file.





2 twists with the file and perfect fit.





Both sides had same treatment.

Since I got them and for completeness sake, here a pic of front and back of the PistenKing LED boards

[Trucker Al]

Incredible!! Keep up the good work and progress pictures..

Alan

[Rakthi]

Hi Alen, I'm working on it Putting this thing together is addictive in a weird kind of way.

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Now we getting to the parts that are not amongst my favourites.

Installing the cluster of servos for the transfer box lock, steering and gearbox.



Starting with the biggest one, steering servo.



Installed and bits for the bowden cable attachment laid out.





At this point I figured I'd better centre these things. Rummaged around till I found my servo tester and started out centring them all. (I also did the ones already on the truck)



Next up the 2 smaller ones. Right the one for the transfer lock, left the one for the gearshifts.



First the gear shift servo goes in. Only gets fastened on one side at this point. The other side gets fixed together with the other servo.



And all three installed. Had to remove the holder for the bowden cable to get the last servo in place. Easy to do and re-install.



Then the whole assembly slides into the front of the frame and gets attached with 4 M2 screws. (All the holes in the frame holding the servos are threaded)



I had done a trial fitting before, and the power cables of the motor had to be bend out of the way. Very tight in there.



Bit tricky too as the assembly has to be shoved in between these 2 rows of screws in the frame.



Assembly in place (but not yet screwed on)



View from below after screwing it in place



View from the front



Next will be trimming the servo horns, doing gear box link, steering link and the bowden cables for the diff locks etc.

[Rakthi]

Spend time on the transferbox lock.

The steel cable goes into a teflon one that goes into the metal guide ... Here a picture of what I'm talking about. (just for show)



Cutting the servo horn and drilling the 3rd hole out to 2mm etc.



Decided to make the horn black with a Sharpie before I mounted it on the centered servo. (looks reddish in picture, but is black)



Then I spend some enervating time figuring out how to run the metal tube. First I started out at the transferbox and worked my way forward, but that was a non working proposition because trying to get that flippin thing in the clamp near the servo is a nerve wrecking proposition ... Well anyway now had a good idea of how to fit it. So started from the servo and worked my way backwards to the transfer case. Shortened it there and gently clamped it in place with the screw. Then shove in the teflon hose, followed by the steel pull cable.

After I finished this bit, I took pictures of how I ran the cable.

Starting at the transferbox the cable goes towards the rear of the truck.



There it goes inside the frame through one of the holes provided and swoops 180° back towards the front. I have attached to of those clamps, but I drilled the hole out to 2.5mm to make it easier to get the cable through. It does not clamp the cable, just prevents it from flopping about.



Installed a 2nd clamp (also drilled out to 2.5mm) just before the gearbox, and from there the cable swoops up to go over the gearbox



And then down again to the clamp near the servo.



There the metal and teflon hose are cut to size and the steel cable is then tensioned and attached to the servo. I haven yet cut the steel cable to size because I might need to make some adjustments once I get the radio control hooked up. The red arrow points toward where the next step - gearshift - will attach.



Gearshift - the parts



Easiest to first attach the pull bar (tried some other approaches first)



And then mount these bits. The clamp attaches to the servo horn pointing downwards. They show it mounted both ways in the manual.



Installed. There is a mark on the bit sticking out from the gearbox that indicates 2nd gear. (This is installed with the box in second gear) The springs are supposed to be only lightly compressed. (careful, I spend about 10 minutes looking for the one that sprung away)



And last the steering linkage





Now next would be the bowden cables of the diff locks of the axles. Hope they go in easier than the transferbox one.

[Rakthi]

After yesterday's trouble with the bowden cable I was prepared for another ordeal. However it all turned out to go rather easy.

First attach the bowden pull tube to the axle and guide it to the clamps that were installed way back and guide it through the frame to the clamps near the servo.









Then insert the steel cable, make sure it moves smoothly. Then cut bowden pull cable to size.



Attach steel cable to the puller on the axle - I used a loop there before I put in the screw - and push cable till it comes out at the servo. (If I do this again, I will insert a screw in there before I even mount the axles to the frame. Saves a lot of fumbling)



For those who wonder how the bowden is clamped in place on the axle:

The hole through which the tube goes is attached with a screw. You have to loosen this one a bit so you can push the hose through. Afterwards just tighten a bit and hose is clamped in place without being crushed.





The next axle is same procedure



I first tried to run the pull cable through the indicated hole in the frame, but that just complicated things. So went straight to the previously installed clamp.





Tensioned up and eft some extra for possible later adjustments. Cut all the cable ends shorter and added a dab of crazy glue to stop fraying.



Was going to stop here, but then noticed that the left over bits from the rear axles were more than enough to do the front ones too. (so still have a complete set of cables from the front axles that should sufficient to redo the lot) Again same procedure, but routing is way simpler. (did have to take of the steering linkage for the 2nd axle to be able to get the the screw that allows the cable to be attached to the axle. Since it was off I also adjusted the tracking that was a bit off)





On a side note ... when I installed the motor/gearbox I left the cables from the servos dangling where they were ... not a smart move. Took some fiddling to get them where they belonged.



Well, now is the time to get out the remote control and start fine tuning the servos and checking gearshift and steering before I start on the driver's cabin etc.

[Rakthi]

Spend time sorting out the settings. Lucky the RC is pre-programmed by ScaleART for their models. Saves a lot of time. Just pick the variation you want and you got the basic settings.



Of course they still need a bit of fine tuning.



Had a bit of a problem with the ESC ... took me a while to figure out how to do it. First spend time looking for the jumper before I realised it was already on the ESC although on the wrong pins. Then couldn't get the jumper off the pins so I could move them to the program pins to "marry" the ESC to the Sender. Had to cut the heat shrink off. Also having the instructions in technical German was a tad confusing ..



Well got it all sorted

Just one little problem ... mixed up the plug position from the trailer coupling servos with that of the gearbox servo and succeeded in burning out the one from the gearshift ... Lucky the one from the trailer coupling in the back is the same. So guess I will have a manual trailer coupling until the new servo I ordered arrives.

Meanwhile the truck has moved under its own power. Now just sort out some little niggles in the servo settings. Like why the front diff lock servo locks the diff when I turn on the power etc.

[thercfreak2012]

Love the progress and the project regards Jake

[Brel]

My oh my and I thought a Tamiya truck had too many nuts and bolts but these Scale art trucks win the nuts and bolt gold medal every time, Nice work on the build so far. can't wait to see it built and painted

[Rakthi]

Hi Jake, Thank you! Glad you like it.

Hi Brel, one of the reasons I ended up buying this kit was the amount of bits and pieces. For me the more the merrier. As for color ... I couldn't make up my mind when I placed the order, ScaleART emailed a bunch of photos of the cabin in different colours. I thought white suited best. The container will be in bleu though.

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Doors ... Part 1

ScaleArt give the option to go for the extended door or the short one. I decided for the short one.



What you get (the screws put in by ScaleART to prevent paint clogging up the threads are still in place)



Before I continued I made an indication of the window rubber with a black felt tip stift. This breaks up the "whiteness" a bit.



All the parts. (forgot one self tapping screw in the picture)



Here how it is supposed to fit together.

First the metal parts that will be the door hinges/support. In the package there are 4 thick rods and 2 thin ones. Of the 4 thick ones 2 are a bit shorter than the other. Those go toward the front of the door. They are shorter to clear the plastic of the window.



Metal plate to hold hinge/support to the door.



Optional carpet



Door panel (will be screwed down with 2 short and one longer screw)



Before we screw all this together, after peeling the film of the plastic of the window, we have to attach the mirror support with a self tapping screw. This holds the window in place at the same time.





Finished and screws blackened with a Sharpie (door handle outside is glued in place) - The Magnet at the bottom of the door is supposed to glue into place, but I had to firsts clear the paint out of the provided spot with a 4mm drill, tried a dry fit, it clipped place and couldn't get it out again. So not glued. The other door same story.