Hercules flatbed trailer with skids of drywall

[frizzen]

Oh yeah DDmckee, using Magnet Wire for leds is "FUN". Surface mount leds do let you put lights anywhere, if you can tolerate working with them. (Masking tape helps). Those tabletop trucking guys are next level.

I really like those drywall skids!
The grain doesn't really bother me, but a white primer would have more solids to help smooth that. If ya wanted to define sheet edges you could run a stack of Utility Knife blades along the 2 sides.

While you're set up for cargo pallets, it might be worth trying to find spraypaint logos to make some skids of Plywood, OSB, and Dimentional Lumber. (Georgia-Pacific, Hunt, Inland)

[ddmckee54]

Over on RC Groups a guy built a stand-off scale model of a JU-52, the German Tri-motor from the 30's with the corrugated skin. He used an inkjet printer and printed the corrugations on his covering - it actually looked pretty good. I bet you could do the same thing for your drywall stacks. You're already printing the ends, just print the sides too. Then you could just wrap that around your block in one or two pieces, hiding the wood grain. That might even be easier than putting a separate piece on each end.

Edit: Actually, you could do something like that to make most of wrapped loads that you see on the road these days. Just did a little back of the napkin figuring. You wouldn't be able to print a 48"x96"x36" load at 1/14 scale in one piece on a letter sized printer, that's 8.5"x11". If your printer could handle 11"x17" you could do it, you could even do scale 12' sheets on an 11"x17" printer.

[Fury Fan]

@frizzen -
That's a good idea for making a stack of utility knife blades for scoring. 5/8" drywall at 1/14 gives about .045", which is in the realm of thickness for machine-screw washers.

I went nuts building skids of cargo for the cancelled Lebanon show.
The small and large tubing were scraps from work (I wish I had grabbed more of it).
The green tubing was from some crafting PVC-pipe-frame thing of unknown origin. The color emulates sewer piping pretty well. White PVC could serve the same with the appropriate spray paint.
The others are square dowels, cut-down paint stir-sticks, and bamboo slats (all from amazon).
Then most of the skids underneath are homemade.

I am contemplating some type of tarped covers for wood blocks.
But otherwise, I think I'm done with cargo for now. (unless a really cool idea hits me)
I have too much truck building work waiting on me.

@ddmckee54 -
I had looked at some gray film wrapping to save painting time, but didn't find any colors light enough, and wrapping the blocks brings its own challenges.

I think a small-wattage laser might work well to make sheet lines, but would need some pretty accurate location of the block, so that the lines are parallel along the length of the block.

You are correct, creative use of a printer opens new doors.


And for anyone contemplating making skids of stuff, zipties make a nice emulation of cargo straps, and I highly recommend a ziptie tool like this to put a good cinch on them (although care must be exercised not to snap the zipties).

Zipties come in a variety of lengths, sometimes it's easy enough to daisy-chain them, but I have bought 2 bags of really long ones, and 1 set in yellow.

[frizzen]

I like that cargo!!!
I know you already mentioned hanging a forklift off the truck, but i was thinking working with that much long stuff may be a good excuse to consider a Side-Forklift for your operation

On your pipe skids, some big pipe loads get wood cribbing slats placed between layers so there's less outward pressure on the bottom rows. Also the small ones sometimes may get a couple wood flat top pieces milled for strapping to help it hold shape so they can be stacked.

Some tyvek from some mailing envelopes or a 'bunny-suit' could probably scale about right thickness, flexibility for some tarps.

Hopefully we can get a winter Lebanon meet this time. I've heard rumors there's supposedly a group around Danville that does rc construction stuff, but i still can't find them?

[jerry56]

IDK ....might need a crane for some of those longer loads of pipe

[Fury Fan]

Yeah, no side forklift for me.
I have 2 Bruder forklifts, 1 for hanging off the back of a flatbed, and a 2nd really-big Linde.
Good enough for static display work at a show.

And too many other projects in queue:
I have Nylint roller, 2 Doepke road graders, a King Hauler and ZIL130 to finish up, and more flatbeds to make for al this cargo. Want to make that car hauler we discussed awhile back - I now have 3 Corvettes waiting for it.

The biggest problem I have with the pipe loads is them falling out the end. When I got that ziptie tightener, that helped a lot.

Tyvek mailing envelopes are an idea worth exploring when I get one in the mail.
I have a yard of dark-olive cloth that I think will work well too.

[frizzen]

To be fair, I think we all have too many projects in line.

Some glue toward middle of pallet might help keep your pipe loads together, unless you're planning to unload and use them at destination.

That carhauler style you were thinking about should look great with a load of vettes. I can't wait to see what you have in mind for those Graders

[Fury Fan]

For the Doepke grader, I was simply planning some modern 1/10-size tires that look somewhat correct (I was very selective on the tread/sidewall pattern) and adding a cab to it, some exhaust-pipe detail + maybe a set of lights. No RC action, too much engineering required at this time. And new paint.

The Nylint roller will get a muffler and air intake setup, the cab is done, and a new paintjob. No RC here either.

So I got around to making a pair of straps, and they confirmed what I was planning to do anyway. To make them pulled slightly tight, it caused the skids to move. I was planning the next design of drywall skids to be glued together into a solid block of 4 skids, so the straps merely confirmed that. In the picture here, the skids were re-adjusted into a good position.

The straps are a PITA to make. De-burring the brass flats, bending into a hook, threading the elastic, folding it and putting 2 pieces of heatshrink on it. 1 strap is burned a little from the little micro-torch, the other one has an imprint from where I flattened the heatshrink while it was still hot. Better methods are needed. They seem semi-durable, at least. I need a better option for the brass hook, one with less CNC and debur time. I am thinking of making them from brass flat and making the whole hook the same width, and then just CNC-ing the slot for the elastic.