Spots GMC Topkick Dually tow pig

[spot me 2]

It been quite a while since I have posted. Life has been busy and I haven't had much time for crawling. My kids are old enough now to get into crawling, so each of them got a SCX10 for Christmas. After building those over the past few weeks, I have the itch again.

I am starting with a Proline Topkick body. I picked up a used highlift that was 4 linked over a year ago that I have done nothing with. I plan to use this as the base for the build. I will need to extend the wheelbase to fit the longer body. I like the idea of the 3 speed trans for a tow pig although this will not allow for any type of interior since this setup takes up TONS of room. If I don't like how it turns out, I may swap it out for a CC01 Chassis that will also need a length adjustment.



I am going with 1.7 tractor truck rims, but I am putting 1.55 MTZ's on them to get the correct look. The wheels and tires should arrive tomorrow so look for pics then.

[spot me 2]

Let me start by saying the rim/tire combo is exactly what I was going for. I think they look great and fit this body well.






I lengthened the WB on the highlift last night and got it close. It would still need a little tweaking to get it just right.




But running the highlift isn't going to work. The wheels stick out a little farther than I would like them to. I had a few idea's on how to bring them in a little, but the back tires already rub on the hubs, so there is no room to move them in.






Looks like the highlift will head back to the shelf for a future project. Now its time to start lengthening the CR01. I mounted the back rims on just to test fit, and the width is almost perfect. Now, do I hack up the new one, or one of the old ones...

[spot me 2]

I have the WB worked out on the CC01 chassis. I really like how the wheels almost completely tuck under the body. That is a scale look I was going for. There is nowhere to connect the shocks yet so I set a tire under the frame to hold it up.







I need to work out lengthening the frame. I may use an SCX10 frame I have laying around and cut off what I need. I will work out the ride height from there. I will also need to add a center carrier for the rear drive shaft at it is waaaaaaay too long to function properly now.

[warriorsimi]

can you install rear straight axles in the rear so it won't rub?

[spot me 2]

Originally Posted by warriorsimi

can you install rear straight axles in the rear so it won't rub?

I thought about that. I still don't think I could bring the wheels in enough for my liking. I am really going for a scale look. On most of these trucks the wheels and tries completely tuck under the body. I realize the Topkick has a solid axle under the front, and using the CC01 will give it IFS, but its close enough for my taste....at least for now. Can always do a solid axle swap down the road.

[DrewHammer]

Man, that cc01 setup looks perfect. Can you run slightly narrower hexes in the back to bring it in line with the fender?

[Szczerba]

Rig looks great. Love the wheel and tire combo.

[spot me 2]

Originally Posted by DrewHammer

Man, that cc01 setup looks perfect. Can you run slightly narrower hexes in the back to bring it in line with the fender?

That is the plan. It will be part of today's order right after I figure what else I need.

[spot me 2]

Got the extended frame worked out, now I just need to change the location of the upper links. There is not enough triangulation and the rear end has a lot of side to side play. I thought about a panhard bar, but this rear axle just doesn't have anywhere to even mount one.

[spot me 2]

So here are a few shots of how I extended the frame along with how I mounted the shocks. I may change how the shocks are mounted. The frame is now just long enough for the back bumper to rest on the frame. This will work out perfect once I am able to find the correct bumpers for this thing. I would love some that look like the Road Armor bumpers of the full size, but can't find anything close. Any ideas on what bumpers would look good?








Here is how I worked out better triangulation with the back links. I will smooth this out and use the same hardware when finished. Just wanted to see if it would help. It got rid of 95% of the side to side motion. I can live with that.



And one of how close to the ride height it will be. I know the back is sitting up a little high, but when I hooked up the trailer, it sat down to the perfect height. Since it will always have a trailer behind it with either a truck or boat in tow, it worked out well.




don't forget to add your $.02 about what bumpers to use. I may take a stab at making some out of polystyrene of I can't find some.

[spot me 2]

I cut the bumpers off the body so I could have a blank slate to look at to help decide which way to go. I took some teaser pics of it hooked up to one of my boats, but Photobucket is down for maintenance...so you will have to weight.

[spot me 2]

Alright Photobucket is back up. I adjusted the ride height in the rear. It just sat to high before. I think its almost perfect now with and without a trailer hooked up.










and of coarse, one of the Cat. She isn't finished yet. I still need to wrap the hatch and mount the scoop, but you can see where the design is going.

[hotwheels000]

Love it !!!! I am building my own tow rig/hauler right now....

Do you have a link to those wheels ?

How deep is the offset in the rear ?

If the wheels are mounted on equal width front and rear axles, how much wider is the rear, if any wider ?

[spot me 2]

Originally Posted by hotwheels000

Love it !!!! I am building my own tow rig/hauler right now....

Do you have a link to those wheels ?

How deep is the offset in the rear ?

If the wheels are mounted on equal width front and rear axles, how much wider is the rear, if any wider ?

I got them in Ebay. I search Semi truck wheels and ended up picking these. Here is a link to the backs, they carry fronts also.

Tamiya 1 14 Tractor Truck Aluminum Rear Wheels Silver 2 x Spede TTR114R08 | eBay

Don't know the offset as they don't have specs listed. I believe with narrow hex's on the back it would be very close. I ordered a set so I can let you know when they arrive. You have to modify the fronts to work. I will do a post on this also, but I am waiting on parts for this too.

[BadWagon]

I love top kicks. My buddies shop uses one to tow their trailer to races. I've driven it, and it's one hell of a truck.

[spot me 2]

Originally Posted by BadWagon

I love top kicks. My buddies shop uses one to tow their trailer to races. I've driven it, and it's one hell of a truck.

I love them too. My buddy has one he uses to pull his SV 40 Outerlimits.
I have a scale version of his boat. I still need to build a trailer for it.