BIG 3 axle half pipe trailer

[Doggy]

[Doggy]

Ok, I pressed enter and posted one photo. Then went to edit he post, put photos, wrote text, and then my time was up. So I grabed a nice Croatian beer, and I will write it up again in few minutes. So grab a beer, and wait for my next post

[Doggy]

So, this is something I started 7 months ago. As few months before i bought TIG welder, and didnt really use it much, few spots here and there. And as my friend bought a truck, I decided to buy one too and make few trailers for us to play with.
Idea was to make it from steel, to get a real scale look with I beams, scale suspension... I used a real trailers for reference. First I scaled thicknes of the metals used, and came up with 1mm to be a good average. I modeled it all in 3D, but as I wanted to send this out to be cut on laser, I had to make it "laser frendly" and think of a way to be able to assemble it and weld it.
First it it started just as a frame for flatbed or container trailer, but when I finished it, as I am sending it out for laser cut, I tought why dont I model a half pipe, so they use more sheet metal. So I did. Looked at some google photos for half pipes, and made something similar. First it was too long, as I used my flatbed frame. Then I cut it 2 times, and said its enough. I guess it still is too long compared with the ones I see on Europe roads. But maybe its just a right fit for American trucks Enough talking, here are few model photos:










It maybe looks to simple, and yes I didnt go in to the details as I was in a hurry to cut it all and start welding. Decided I can cut and make all the details later anyway.
This simple design has more than 200 tiny parts that I had to weld And I didnt have any experience with welding before, so could wait for the fun to begin

First I tried to work on suspension parts.



Then the frame



Testing the parameters for the TIG all the time





You can say this was a really nice testing project ,to learn what works, what doesnt, how much heat sheet metal can take, and what to change in the design to eliminate warp.

[Doggy]

Then I started on the half pipe. First problem, I dont have bending tool, and it was weekend and I could wait for Monday to go give it to someone to bend it for me. So I started building a simple bender, but didnt have enough material to make it, and again, it was weekend, so I came up with something out of scrap metal I had at home. You guessed it, it didnt came out good But as it was only a prototype for me to learn, I didnt pay to much attention. Hammer was my tool of choice, so somehow I managed to fit it, and started welding it.
Tried full weld, tried spotweld, tested all the combinations to see what works best. That is why it looks like swiss cheese

[Doggy]

Then when all the welding was done, it was left on the shelf until yesterday. So I wanted to paint it, as It rusted on my shelf. Went outside to grind the welds. And then I did a stupid thing, trying to us putty to smooth it out. I just made it worse as I didnt like the sanding part of that whole game. So after few minutes of sanding, I left it and went outside in the sun to spray paint it. Used 1 spray can of primer, and one gloss black. And that was not enough. First its hard to cover it with spray can, and second, one can get empty pretty fast. So for now its like this, I guess when I finish axles and few more details, I will sand the bad bits, and cover it with nice fresh coat of paint.

[Doggy]

And here is some painted photos.











This is connection for the halfpipe, it has ballbearing in.

[Doggy]

Here are the latest photos. I need to make the parts to activate rear door hooks. And then work on the axles and leaf springs. I think I will just 3D print them for now to have it on the road as soon as possible.









Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think.

[trewq]

I am so glad to see this project slowly coming to an end.

Just today me and my little one started cleaning our back yard and we found some nasty pot holes that our dog dug out. We decided that this was a good job for our 6x4 scania and it took us ~10 full trucks loaded with dirt to cover maybe 15% of the hole.

You are welcome to test your half pipe here

[Doggy]

Tnx. Yes I am working on it to come there as soon as possible. But we will have to make an excavator or/and a loader to complete the fleet.
My bruder excavator is still waiting for me to start building parts, but as I see it now, there is less work to build a wheel loader from scratch, than change all the bits on bruder to make it work good.

[Rakthi]

Darn nice trailer! And hat off for welding those little suspension things as a first try at welding.

As for the paint, doesn't look that bad in the pictures.

Thanks for posing the pictures!

[Doggy]

Tnx Rakthi. It would be much easier if I had something to bend suspension parts, but this was more fun

[buff69]

Looking good

[trewq]

Originally Posted by Doggy

Tnx. Yes I am working on it to come there as soon as possible. But we will have to make an excavator or/and a loader to complete the fleet.
My bruder excavator is still waiting for me to start building parts, but as I see it now, there is less work to build a wheel loader from scratch, than change all the bits on bruder to make it work good.

I can't disagree with you on that one.
What do you say if I get a CNC machine up and running, could that help in making a loader?

[Doggy]

Originally Posted by trewq

I can't disagree with you on that one.
What do you say if I get a CNC machine up and running, could that help in making a loader?

Well thats the only thing I am waiting for to start drawing a nice big Volvo loader hehe. But until then, I hope I will get my bruder excavator conversion done. i just ordered geared motors and 3S esc-s. I need to start working on hydraulic cilinders, and then I will need your mill to make a nice hydraulic valves for it. I just want it to be able to load dirt in the trailer, but knowing me, I think I will make all new and maybe use only bruder cab for it, so It might take some time. I will do my best, not to overkill it, and get it dirty as soon as possible, and make it better later when I get proof plastic is not good enough.

[TRUCKMAKER]

The trailer's looking good, keep the pictures coming. It's a great project to learn to weld on. The thin stuff is tough to do! At least you won't feel as bad roughing it up with loader.

[Doggy]

Tnx, it was, I really had fun doing it and learned much. For nex project I will have to make a nice welding table with fixtures, clamps, and cooling blocks, plus change the design to compensate for the steel shrinkage due to heat.
This was a very fast welding, I think it was a 3 days fun.