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bigoggy

Flat bed trailer.

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Another standard build, but I know you enjoy pictures.

Each picture equals one step in the manual.

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Brining up an old thread but does anyone know a way to modify this trailer to make it a proper low loader?

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I suspect that you would be in for a lot of scratch building, with not much of the original trailer left apart from the axles, suspension, and a bit of the bed maybe.

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Balls. Looks like a bruder conversion is on the cards then. L

Carson and wedico far too expensive.

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Minimum you would need to goose neck it or drop bed the front, then chop some of the guts out of the rails to mount the suspension further up (there is a lot of space between the top of the tyre and the bed).

I would also consider some low volume wheels and tyres (approx 60-70mm diameter) to get a bit more drop out of it

Then make some ramps and mount the landing gear on the neck or higher platform rails so they are still usable.

I think it is feasible using the flat bed trailer as a whole. Its a short trailer anyway and could benefit from the added bed or neck.

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Many of the low loader trailers I've seen around here actually have a wheel arch over the the wheels that leaves a raised spot on the bed and uses smaller diameter wheels and tyres and 3 or 4 axles.

Another style I've seen using standard sized wheels and tyres/tires is what looks like a flatbed with the chassis rails cut around the axle mounts, lowered, and ramps made to both the sections in front and behind the axles. This option I can see needing a lot of fabrication, measuring, and test fitting to get looking and working right.

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Sounds like a pain to do - and expensive if I get it wrong. Best part of £150 for a Tamiya flat bed.

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btw, I should add, I was talking 1:1 low loaders.

If your handy in the work shop, I'd start with some lengths of aluminum C bars, like what Madinventor has gone with for his Mad Max Fury Road War Rig build, then you could use some plastic sheets for the bed, and pick up the needed lights, axles, wheels, tyres/tires, etc as you need them and can afford them.

That's the way I'd go, if my workshop skills where a lot better than they are....

The down side to cutting aluminum is the need to bolt it back together, or weld it some how.

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btw, I should add, I was talking 1:1 low loaders.

If your handy in the work shop, I'd start with some lengths of aluminum C bars, like what Madinventor has gone with for his Mad Max Fury Road War Rig build, then you could use some plastic sheets for the bed, and pick up the needed lights, axles, wheels, tyres/tires, etc as you need them and can afford them.

That's the way I'd go, if my workshop skills where a lot better than they are....

The down side to cutting aluminum is the need to bolt it back together, or weld it some how.

Ahem, I made the chassis rails for the trailers from 25mm square steel box section I got from B & Q, whic was slit up the middle with an angle grinder. The good thing about the steel is that It has a nice rolled edge which the aluminium C section doesn't. The downside to the slotting method is that it is difficult to get the cut perfectly straight an even. I used a milling machine to tidy up chassis rails after attacking with the grinder. The good thing about using steel is that it's not that expensive and very strong, and is a lot easier to weld than aluminium if you wanted to go down that route.

As most of the chassis is not visible for a low loader, I'd be tempted to use aluminium C section as suggested above and bolt together with support plates to strengthen the joints and keep the chassis rail pieces aligned. £150 is not that bad for a trailer when you take into account all the detail bits tamiya put into it.

I made a log trailer a few years ago using 12mm box section (16mm for the spine) which used walking beam suspension (Well, I cut out the metal, I got a expert to TIG weld it together for me :) ):

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(suspension and dummy brake drums:

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This still cost me somewhere in the region of around £50 to make by the time I'd bought the metal, the wheels and tires, and the paint.

If can find someone who can TIG weld, making a chassis from 12mm steel box section might be a viable alternative to aluminium, and although heavier, the 3spd trucks are easily capable fo pulling the weight, and it's a lot stronger too.

I'd think that it would make most economic sense to scratch build the trailer, and just buy the tamiya parts you need for making up the axles. Take a look at Prices Model Trucks on EBay, I've bought from them before and found them very helpful.

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Sorry Mad, that part at the start of your build thread had dropped from my mind :wacko:

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I see that it is an old tread from 2016 but found it very interesting because I just received my flat bed trailer from Tamiya for my Peterbuilt Grand Hauler tractor trailer truck. 

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14 hours ago, Capucine said:

I see that it is an old tread from 2016 but found it very interesting because I just received my flat bed trailer from Tamiya for my Peterbuilt Grand Hauler tractor trailer truck. 

its a great trailer plus cheap also. since i took that pic i have added the light kit and the motorized legs plus varnish the bed also. and i my eyes it suits the grand hauler better than the box trailer as that one looks out of scale to me. i'll try and get a couple of up to date pics. plus if you plan on painting it do it before you assemble it.

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What a beautiful outfit you have. I am just about to start building my flatbed trailer. My Grand Hauler is not done yet but I will skip most of the painting since I bought it with the matt black version. Also I bought the motorized legs for the trailer and the animal guard. More I had ordered the semi container 40 foot trailer that I just cancelled and bought the Freightliner Cascadia evolution instead. Lots of work ahead and my time is not there. I found the the Freightliner was a better buy than the container trailer. 

 

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thanks very much but i have ha d a complete shell kit and changed the colour since that pic was taken and also added the roof spoiler also.

i was gonna go for the 40ft container for my merc truck but deceided for the reefer trailer instead as i want a decal on the side panels and you cant do that with the 40ft one

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You can decal the 40, just use the sidings the on opposing sides so the ribs are inwards :)

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Good idea. What kind of spools have you installed in the flat bed. By the way this Peterbuilt grand hauler is very popular here in Canada. Most of them are used with double trailers and for carrying heavy loads. A lots of them are used before the winters to carry highway salts loads from the depots brought by ships along the waterways and transported in the large main cities. We see also a lots of Freightliner Cascadia transport trucks on the highways. European models like the Mann , Scania are unseen here. 

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Berman: who sells the Fed Ex decals for the trailer? Never seen this decal offered by Tamiya on their trailer line!

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56319. Yes. And lots of choices beside the Fed Ex decals. Thanks. 

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You can buy another flat bed and put a fifth wheel on it to make it a B double. A lot of the US guys extend the flat bed trailers to make it more accurate to a 53', they normally spread the axles too.

You dont have to stick with over the counter decals and trucks too, some of the more unique stuff is custom made. Convert a globeliner to a K100, there is Peterbilt light and grill sets for the king/grand. Fuel tanks and air cleaners... so many alloy wheels, even guys on shapeways making Mack and IH shells...

How far do you want to go?

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I am half way to finish my flatbed trailer and I found something that should be rectified. The rear lower shocks attachement is running to close and rubbing on the tire at full suspension movement. I had to shave a bit the brass shocks inserts  to have more clearance because it touch the screw head. Even on the picture shown above you can see that there is hardly no clearance  on the side tire and the side of the shock. I can imagine it is the same on the trucks because tamiya uses all the same suspension system on the trailers and the trucks. . 

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