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Old 02-06-2020, 11:12 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default My first Tonka Conversion

Ok I know this isn't a new concept, Small Haul, RVJIMD, Frizzen and a host of others have been doing them for more than 10 years. I'm new to RC and really like the concept and I have used ideas from these builders, So here is my take.
First cost was a major concern, I wanted these to be budget friendly and build-able with basic tools. I don't have a lathe or milling machine or a great deal of skill....I have an old benchtop drillpress, a cheap benchtop bandsaw and a cheap benchtop disk/belt sander..and years in building models and 1/32 slot cars...
I used the parts from WPL some are decent (so far) and some ..not so much....
[IMG]239_0011 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr[/IMG]
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:24 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

This first shot is the basic frame of a WPL 4X4 I narrowed the tires to make the duals and modified the front tray to fit the motor.
This is a stock gear reduction motor from WPL....a little on the slow side and not a lot of torque. The frame is the stock WPL these ain't so great...sturdy enough for me to start with but the rails themselves are to narrow....after I figure out the basics I will probably go back and rebuild this one
The axles are the metal upgrade and seem pretty good but really I have no idea how they will hold up, only time will tell.
The linear actuator is a servo city 33rpm gear motor with a 1/4 Black and Decker masonry bit ($2.97) from Walmart I cut it down with a dremel. It will tip a 5lbs weight so it seems to work pretty good the bit moves the slide one inch per revolution so it moves pretty quick.

Last edited by jerry56; 02-06-2020 at 12:31 PM.
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:27 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

here is another view, I didn't want to cut the cab but because of the length of the actuator and motor I couldn't see any other way..there just isn't a lot of room
239_0012 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:28 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

here is a blurry picture from the side
239_0017 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:39 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

This is the WPL transfer case I replaced the stock gear motor with a 485rpm 20:1 servocity economy gear motor..but the out put shaft was a little long so I drill out a little head space in the transfer case, the walls of the case are pretty thick and I was able got get enough room to mount the new gear motor but it was still kind of underpowered.. So I used a 56rpm 171:1 gear motor and replaced the motor with a 25turn Traxass 7575 and it seems to have the torque and speed I wanted
239_0018 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:41 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

Then I dropped the transfer case down about 1/2 inch because the drive shaft angles were way to steep for me and these are the metal WPL driveshafts
239_0027 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:48 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

I should have said this sooner but with the WPL the first thing you need to do is throw out the steering servo, receiver, and transmitter these are worthless.....
this is one of my unsolved problems. the funky steering linkage from the WPL ...it's not long enough and curves up at a weird angle...plus the tie rod isn't adjustable so any suggestions on what parts I can get to fix it would be appreciated...I don't know enough about RC suspensions and steering to know of a workable replacement.
239_0025 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:50 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

and as you can see this wasn't a collector grade toy....it was beat and well played with...Once the weather warms back up I will probably sandblast it and repaint it....
239_0029 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:55 AM
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

The other thing I can't figure out is a different wheel size..I know smallhaul uses the Lego tires but I have no way of making the wheels themselves. To me the WPL tires and wheels seem to big the OD is about 68mm I believe...and stock they are to wide...I've cut all mine down (there are tons of YouTube videos on how to do that) not the best but the tires are only $5 for a set of 4.
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Old 02-06-2020, 11:58 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

I like the stance for the most part I would have liked the rear wheels a little farther back but I screwed up my first mounting holes for the bed and it didn't sit level so I had to move it up about a 1/4 inch...hence the reason I want to rebuild parts of it...well most of it.
239_0030 by Jerry Mersing, on Flickr
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  #11  
Old 02-06-2020, 12:28 PM
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

The WPL stuff is a mixed bag...the electronics are junk IMHO, the frame rails are so-so but might be good for some light duty just for fun builds.
The tires are a tad wide for the Tonka builds and a tad tall (about 68mm) to me anyway..but because they are so cheap (about $5 for a set of 4) they will work for now..
the metal axle upgrades and the metal transfer case seem pretty good....the Axles are about 5 1/4 inches wide so they work good for the Tonka and I think they will look ok for my crane and with a little work my Bruder Mack Granite. but the tires will be a little small for that one I think.
But for now this is my dumptruck... I see a rebuild in the future now that I have figured out what drive motors and gearboxes work and what mini-econo gear motor works for the dump bed.. I really want to make the linear actuators work, I wanted to use N-20 motors but they just didn't have enough torque..I think part of the problem is because on the Tonkas the lift point is so far back and the actuator sits so flat it takes a lot to get it moving...If there were more room or I could figure out a way to get a better angle on it and or move the lift point forward I think they may work....we'll see.

Last edited by jerry56; 02-06-2020 at 12:34 PM.
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Old 02-06-2020, 12:39 PM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

Lights are the next thing I need to figure out....head lights and tail lights I think I can get going...break lights and back-up lights I haven't figured out yet
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Old 02-07-2020, 04:47 PM
ddmckee54 ddmckee54 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

Jerry:

There's guys on this forum and others that are either working on the programming for Arduinos to run their lights, or have completed it. I'm working on a Bruder Manitou 2150 conversion on the MadModder forum where I'll be using an Arduino Nano to run my lights, didn't have any extra channels available.

I've got the lights bread-boarded to the Nano and I'm working on the code to monitor two RC channels, the speed/direction channel and the steering channel, to run these lights at the appropriate time: head-lights, tail-lights, back-up lights, brake lights, turn signals, work lights and safety flashers.

If you aren't stubborn like me, and don't need to write the code yourself just to prove you can do it, there are threads on this forum and other where the codes' already been written for you, all you need to do is copy it and use it. The Arduinos are cheap as chips, my Chinese clones cost me about $3-$4 apiece.

Don

Last edited by ddmckee54; 02-07-2020 at 04:49 PM.
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Old 02-07-2020, 08:29 PM
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

That's looking great. I probably wouldn't even touch the paint, it looks like an older tight jobsite / offroad work truck, they get dinged and scratched even being really careful. About all i'd probably do would be see if the grill would clean up.

That's a pretty slick way to do the bed actuator. I'm probably going to steal that idea...

There are some steering rod upgrade kits for wpl, or you can roll your own with turnbuckle parts and all-thread.

If it's able to tip a 5lb weight, i'd want to look into the leaf spring upgrades that use metal mounts, better springs, and have shackles.

I think the wheels look good, especially those duallies. It's not a street tread and has plenty of sidewall. The lego tires you mention are about the same height and width as wpl with a larger rim size. I think legos would only shave like 4-6 mm height from your setup. There are some 3d printable rims to go wpl hub to lego.

For your lighting, there are several plug&play options that go inline with ch 1&2 that can give headlight, tail light, turn, brake, rev. I think the light control system i'm running for the normal lights in my ambulance was about $15
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Old 02-08-2020, 11:43 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

ddmckee54
I'll look into those...LOL I'm more than happy to use code already written...I'm not big into coding....
Frizzen
The actuator works way better than I hoped... with the masonry bit moving the actuator 1 inch per revolution you can use gear motor in the 20-30 RPM range and they have a lot of torque....and I have to give credit to RVJIMD it's the same basic set up he posted a year or so ago I just kind of went the next step...not sure exactly but I think I have less the $20 in it....
I tried the WPL steering up grad but the tie rod isn't adjustable and the angle of the steering rod makes it unusable...I'd like to use thread all and turnbuckles but I'm not sure what size to get....
I cut some helper springs from some lawnmower recoil springs and they helped a lot I'd like to do the shackle thing and I know you can use chain but again being new I don't know what size to get.
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Old 02-08-2020, 11:49 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

As for the tires and wheels that 6mm would really help and I haven't decided if I'm going to invest in a 3D printer yet and I can't find the older style wheels for the WPL anymore...
Do you have a link for the plug and play options for the lights...
I have a flysky 6i and have downloaded the 10ch mod for it but haven't installed it yet going to look into the Arduino Nano too....

I think the grill will clean up I've worked on a couple small spots and I think with some work I can make it look pretty good.
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Old 02-08-2020, 11:52 AM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

I think my next motor mod is to try a 25 turn 380 on a 171:1 gearbox the speed I have now is pretty good I think, I just need a little more torque...
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Old 02-08-2020, 12:15 PM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

I found this one....does everything I was asking...for $50...nice but I'm looking for something a little more cost effective if I can find it...
https://www.killerrc.com/products/ki...-kontroller-v3

This one is a little cheaper and also does everything I wanted it to do...still $40 but seems pretty compact
https://www.mytrickrc.com/shop/uf-7c...ng-controller/

Last edited by jerry56; 02-08-2020 at 12:29 PM.
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Old 02-08-2020, 12:17 PM
jerry56 jerry56 is offline
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

ddmckee54
wow... I looked at the Arduino Nano I like the concept but that sure is intimidating to a newbie to RC....
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Old 02-08-2020, 07:31 PM
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Default Re: My first Tonka Conversion

One bad thing about these trucks is there isn't just 1 upgrade, there are many people selling upgrades and they ALL do it differently, often listed by someone who once knew a guy that spoke a little english. I bought 2 sets of 4-link rods for my van, and only about 10% of the hardware was the same

I'm not sure why most of the steering link upgrades use the short bent drag link instead of giving a longer connection between servo and far side knuckle, but there are a few that are adjustable on both. I'll try to grab some links

Springs
https://www.amazon.com/Upgrade-Lifti.../dp/B07MQ54NCP

Steering linkage rods
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/400032...bilesitedetail

Lights
Look for that shape housing, set up this way. https://youtu.be/yxAp-muLabg
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