350TacoZilla

first off let me say hello this is my first post on here.....i hate you all lol i saw one pic of this cool looking chevy bodied leaf sprung rc truck.... search for 1 hr to find it starts out with a ford body.....spend 4hrs reading every post on this thread and decide i need one lol.... ....i blame you and everyone else who has built one of these things because they are too good to be true.... I am very new to the sport of rc's I had a Xmod...a Tmaxx with custom painted(by me) 50's chevy body...then bought an X-factor...all have been sold for some time now as i play with my fullsize trucks....but I want one of these bad..... swamp dog tires,beadlocked rims, small suspension lift and i'll be set....oh yeah and I have to find one first.......seriously though thanx guys I've been looking for a good winter hobby (read indoors)

350TacoZilla

oh yeah and I wanna make a car trailer for it LOL... i can do custom fab work I work on the real thing all the time (toyota tacoma on 44" gumbo mudders with 350 vette motor)

350TacoZilla

any of you guys that build all these trucks know where someone could find like project truck...ie missing pieces something broken...etc i have mechanical skill but $0 lol

speed006

Hey 350TacoZilla,
Where do you get material to build a trailer? I'm looking for 3/8" square stainless tube. I want to tig my trailer. I'm having a hell of a time finding the right materials.

350TacoZilla

hmm i use steel then paint or powder coat... i'd have to look into getting stainless

Falshami

i have some pics somewhere i will post them up later , as for the build up of this truck , it was my first build and i whent thru it somehwat easily , after the transmission its pretty much straight forward , it took me like 14 hours to build but i loved every minute of it , that of course excludes the custom metal work i did , that itself took me another like 6 hours lol heres my truck before any runs a and after , as you can see the light bar is gun , thats after a few rolls but its will be back on soon lol with lights !

speed006

I'd love to see the pics! I wanted to use stainless so the TIG welded joints would look nice.

speed006

I'd like to see your work. This is something I've wanted to do for years but I can't get the material here in Bass-Ackwards Arkansas!

Falshami

lol i can understand why you would want to tig weld it but the extra strength isnt neccesary , just use almuminum trust me you wont regret it ok . it if i cant sway you from using steel use some smaller steel if possible i guess it would work but honestly the aluminum is plenty strong and all i sued to attach the aluminum U bar to the steel plate is just some epoxy and like 3 ribids i thinks thats what they are called? hmm it cam out plenty strong and as for the tongue its also aluminum and reinforced w/brass attatched with more ribids, also i have the hinged ramps done , i just need to attach them , it is somewhat light for its size but it still slows down the HL just for comparisson , thats why i say go aluminum steel may slow it down quite a bit , its in accleration and runtimes i mean, i think it still hits its top speed in second gear of 6mph lol

350TacoZilla

yeah i was using 3/16 steel brake line for the frame.. then cover with leather or plastic I think I could stretch the leather out over the frame pretty tight I've done interior panels for years

Falshami

ok that seems like it may work , i tried building a frame from brass , but it just didnt work , the metal was to weak to sustain any weight or keep itself as a structure becasue of size issues , i say just K.I.S.S its the best way , thats why i whent w/my back up plan and it came out Quite well , the only weak link is the aluminum axle , but if i want stronger i can always change out the outer aluminum case and go with brass so im pretty much good now , and with 2 axles it will be even better , it even has a very primitively made leaf spring suspension , but its dosent get much flex as the metal i used is to strong lol , its a bit to thick for the weight it will carry , but we will see if it loosens up , im still to lazy to take some pics sorry

speed006

Then do you weld the brake line? If so how many amps and what kind of filler metal are you using?

Falshami

im not to keen on welding with steel , im pretty sure you weld with gasses right? or are there electric welders? , if your working with brass you must braize , i learned that the hard way , but once i learned how to i loved it! i braize everything where i can lol , its just better than soldering with electric imo

350TacoZilla

yeah you can weld the lines pretty easy I have a mig welder made for sheetmetal so its good for this... 2 little tacks...then grind down...then tack...then grind..lol just fill the holes..some people would weld the whole thing then grind but i like building it up in steps..axles and such are probably going to be like Xmod axles lol...or something like that.. thinking of making it like a scaled 32ft goose neck...also looking into using paint mixer sticks and making a wooden deck then staining it...use some small brass tacks down throught he frame then solder them under the deck to the frame

speed006

That sound like it'll be really sharp! I'm wanting to build a tandem-axle tagalong. Something similar to what I see here towing racecars to the local tracks on Friday and Saturday nights. I wanted to use square tube to build the frame and scale expanded metal grate and scale diamond plate for the runners and ramps. I've uploaded a few pics.

350TacoZilla

yeah i want to try and start this scale model collecting I love this highlift.. just saving up.. but i want ot be able to have one highlift turned into duallie-tow veh.. lowered alittle then dual 1.9's then have a highlift with lift and 2.2's and maybe a scale buggy on the trailer with it

350TacoZilla

man I just had a vision... i had seen these trucks before...but then thought of using the same idea with my highlift that will be used to tow the trailer www.usa6x6.com i could use like king hauler axles lengthen the bed (planned on lengthening the frame fro crew cab duallie...but maybe crew cab duallie tandem axle would be best lol

Battoo

Just hought i'd show my New Treds.
[img][/img]
Had to jack up the body using some old conservatory roof caps, in order for the tyres to not scrub and also allow the front wheels to turn. they make a whole lot of difference to the terrain it can go over. All the radio gear has been waterproofed which makes it fully capable of running through water. I will be posting videos as soon as they have gone through the utube upload process.
[img][/img]

speed006

Good lookin' truck Batoo!

speed006

AWESOME looking truck! Where did you get the materials for the bed rack?

Battoo

I used some poly roof clamp inserts to lift the body, not sure where to get them from i just had them lying around from an old job

Falshami

i bought the materials from ace hardware , they are brass , its a very good material , semi light and pretty tufff , i also braized it all so its quite strong i actually make these for people at a price you know i have to pay for materials some how lol .

ICSAM

hey guys, long time viewer on these posts here. haven't really responded much but after reading this article i just had to thank you for your input and info regaring this build. i just grabbed f350 and your pics have helped alot.

great work man, now post more pics lol...

350TacoZilla

any of you guys happen to want to get rid of tamiya f150 wheels and tires or f150 wheels and highlift tires??? I have a set of NIB TLT tires and wheels

Falshami

by the way i think i have some pics of my trailer in my thread just search for me , these HLs are so cool , beautiful!