Areo Truck

Here is my largest model yet. It is designed to look like a truck that you may see at drag races.

The cabin portion is based off of brochures of several truck makes. But the most heavily used truck by far is a Freightliner FLD 120 Conventional with a 70-Inch raised roof SleeperCab. The major difference between the real Freightliner and the model is the hood design. (The Freightliner hood is  straighter.) I liked the looks of several other makes that had a more sloped hood design so I incorporated it into the design.

    The internal configuration is much like a Kenworth truck that I was able to look at. It has a refrigerator, clothes closet, television, couch and a fold away bed. Most trucks are pretty configurable, so the options I put into the back are probably available in most trucks.

    Most trucks (at least in the US) use an inline 6 cylinder diesel engine. Some use inline 4’s, and there are instances of V-6’s. Of course with more customization almost any engine layout could be put into one of these machines. I modeled the engine off  a Cat 3716b. As with most Cat engines, mine is yellow. I was able to fit an inline 6 into the hood area, but it was not easy to do.

    As with most of my designs the steering works, as well as the pistons. Unlike Lego designs, my pistons can not be seen without taking the top off of the engine. The drivetrain for the truck is connected to both rear axles. I wish I could have put a differential between them, but I just did not have enough room. The drivetrain powers the pistons and fan under the hood. As an added feature I put some of the transmission type gears from my supercar under the frame so I could also power the pistons via a Lego motor and battery pack stored in the frame.

Here is a listing of the features of the cabin.

The trailer portion is based (as best as I can tell) on a dragster trailer. It has two floors, the bottom contains shelving and work areas for the mechanics, as well as a small break room. The top floor is dedicated to dragster storage. To get the dragster to the top floor the back door folds down. When the door is horizontal, the top ends of the chains supporting the door is moved to a position on the door. This allows the door to move up and down while the door stays horizontal. This is the same method I have seen used at drag races. To operate the door, two lego motors have been coupled together and geared down till you almost don't even see the door move. I needed to gear it down that much if it was actually going to lift my dragster model. A third motor is hooked up the small wheels in the front that allow the truck to sit without the cab hooked up. It has room for four battery packs, although currently only two are needed. (I hope to add lighting in the future)

Inside the cabin there are six adjustable shelves, four opening cabinets, fourteen pull out drawers, and eight cabinet with fold away doors.

Here is a listing of the featues of the trailer.

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