Bruder Mack snowplow conversion

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Bluedually4x4

Member
It feels good to be making some progress on a project for a change. This weekend I built a plow mount that bolts to the chassis and is way overbuilt for a rc snowplow. Good thing the 1200kv motor and low gearing limit the top speed.

Snowplow plow mount by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

The stock plastic plow just needs so much modification to work, I am just going to build my own plow. It worked okay but it needs to be heavier and metal.
Snowplow plow mount by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

This mount looks good on the truck and saved the Bruder bumper from getting hacked up to make the Bruder plow work.
Snowplow plow mount by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr


And the video. Thanks for the kind words it means a lot. Also let me know what color the dump box should be: aluminum, black or color matched to the cab.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
After a little redesigning, I have gotten my own wheels to fit the tires correctly and mostly happy with how they look. They have a little flex, but it won't take much to add a little more material to them. I made them two piece to cut down on the amount of support needed to print them which cuts down on print time as well.

You might ask why not buy wheels, and the simple answer is that despite the hundreds of wheels in; fullsize, scale and video games, I hate 98% of them.

Waiting for the second part to finish printing, but pretty happy with how the first part turned out.
Rear wheels by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Rear wheels by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr
 
F

Frizzen

Active member
That plow mount is looking pretty sharp.

Still think the body rides too high, but its really coming along.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
Frizzen said:
That plow mount is looking pretty sharp.

Still think the body rides too high, but its really coming along.
Click to expand...
Compared to a normal 6x4 Highway department truck it is. If you look up photos of the Mack defense M917, it looks like I forgot an axle and painted it blue lol. I did a little trimming to see about getting the cab and hood a bit lower. I can't lower it too much from where it is, because the headlights wouldn't be above the bumper... Actually that is the way you get a powered front axle under a heavy duty truck, mount the cab higher and change out the rear suspension brackets. A good example would be the 4x4 and 6x6 Internationals or Freightliners the power utility companies use.

I am super happy with the way my new wheels came out, they fit the tire awesome and have the right back spacing. A little tweaking and I will put them up on my Thingiverse page.

Custom wheel by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Got the A frame for the plow welded up, not thrilled with it, but it is serviceable. Couldn't hide the lift servo under the truck no matter how funny of an angle I tried it at. I am a bit more interested in function at the moment. Linear servos for lift and blade angle would be cool but I think the water proof ones are way out of my budget. Plow is going to be 10 inches wide as the Bruder one is a bit narrow even for a highway department truck.

Snowplow frame by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Snowplow frame by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
No video today, had sound problems... Did get a little more work done. Got the blade cut out and welded to the square tubing. Also did a little test run with the lift servo. I was a little worried about the weight, but the Hexfly didn't complain. Also the RC4WD Armagedon dump truck leaf springs on the front end don't squat at all with the plow raised, I might take the second leaf out.

Snowplow by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Snowplow by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Snowplow test by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr
 
2Beers

2Beers

It's me again.
Coming along fantastic.
Your building 2 right ?

Tizzy's the season for giving...:laughing:::D:

Really though, Looking good and stout.
::2thumbs:biggthumpup:::2thumbs
You should go ahead and do the side sweep blade too.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
2Beers said:
Coming along fantastic.
Your building 2 right ?

Tizzy's the season for giving...:laughing:::D:

Really though, Looking good and stout.
::2thumbs:biggthumpup:::2thumbs
You should go ahead and do the side sweep blade too.
Click to expand...
It will have a wing plow for sure, and sorry only built one lol.

Did get more work done over the weekend and forgot to upload photos and a video here. Got the dump bed bolted to the dump frame and the 3D printed battery box is now bolted in place.
Test fitting everything by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

The battery box just clears the dump bed, still need to print the cover for it.
Test fitting everything by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Got the cab a bit lower on the chassis, still needs a little work, but happy with how it is mounted.
Test fitting everything by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

I am pretty sure it will work better with the tires glued to the rims. No hesitation from the 1200kv Hobbywing Fusion pushing even a wet snow.
First test drive by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

And build video with some driving and plowing footage.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
Well new year and some progress has been made. Not as much as I would have liked though. As the first order of business was to change how the linear servo was mounted. It worked great empty, now it works great with ten pounds of weight at the front of the box.
New servo mount by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Got primer on my 3D printed wheels and the battery box, then shot paint on them. Black for the battery box and aluminum for all the wheels, so they match.
Painting by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Here are the tires glued to the wheel and bolted on the chassis. Also had to raise the dump bed mount considerably so the bed clears the wheels when it is put together. As I forgot the bottom rails when first mocking everything up.
Tires glued to the wheels by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Also bent up a hood mount and hinge out of some brazing rod. So now all of the body stuff is actually mounted.
Bending a hood hing by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Video with the second test drive. Sorry its in the dark with weird LED light flicker.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
Haven't gotten much work done, but we got fresh snow. So I took the plow out for a test drive in the day light. Pretty sure I stripped out the servo for the blade angle last time I took it out. It works but not 100% travel.
 
M

motom

New member
Nice truck and thanks for listing which parts you used! Might be converting a Bruder truck in the future and finding the correct width axles has stopped me in the past, even though there are plenty of builds out there :)
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
motom said:
Nice truck and thanks for listing which parts you used! Might be converting a Bruder truck in the future and finding the correct width axles has stopped me in the past, even though there are plenty of builds out there :)
Click to expand...
Its mainly due to their weird scale, at the fender they are the same width as the Tamiya trucks. The cabs are a bit short compared on length.
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
Between working on the real truck I redid the servo mounts and got two of the three axle diff locks working. I am missing a very tiny screw to get the cable locked in place on the front axle.
New servo mounts by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Servos mounted up a lot sturdier than before. Cutting board cut and bolted to the transfer case to hold the cable sleeves.
Cables for diff locks hooked up by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

I moved the servos to the rear a bit so the air tanks and batter box will sit in front of the fuel tank and tool box.
Tanks by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

Then took it all apart to paint it.
Paint by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr
 
B

Bluedually4x4

Member
Didn't get all the cosmetics bolted back on the truck before I took it out to an event. With a brick in the bed to help it get traction, the snow plow makes for a pretty good pusher truck. The push bar they made almost fit the plow mount, I'll build one that fits the plow better for these kinds of events. I don't know what brand of excavator this is, but it is a 100 pounds and is sitting on the RC4WD Swingingwing trailer and dolly.
RC Heavy haul by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr

RC Heavy haul by Gordon Latimer, on Flickr
 
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