LEGO 1:13 6x6 Truck "Dikke DAF"

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Introduction . At the end of 2004 a number of forum discussions started on 4x4 wheel drives on the Dutch Lego technic forum of www.lowlug.nl. As a result a Lego Truck Trial was proposed in februari 2005. A prologue was organized in Geldringen. The next trial event was organized at the Lowlug-meeting on Januari 21, 2006 in Oss.

Participants have to comply to a number of rules: the scale is set to 1:13, all wheels should be driven, suspension for all wheels, a maximum width of 24 studs, a maximum of 2 motors for power, no rc-motors, a real cabine and a fake motor with cylinders, a platform for loads of minimum size 24 x 30 studs. Options for the wheels are: 24x43 from the 8860, 81.6x34 ZR from the 8880 or the 68.8 x 24 S from the 5571. I decided to particpate, although I don't have the required wheels.

I decided to participate in Oss and , although I don't have the required wheels. I learned from my experiences in Oss , and tried to come up with a number of improvements for the next trial that was organizied during the lowlug meeting in Amsterdam in juni 2006. For the trial in Amsterdam, I decided to make a fresh new start with a completely new chassis and transmission lines. I wanted to build a truck that could move its weight from right to left or left to right, to avoid a tilt over and to have more control on slipping wheels. Further , I wanted to have a hydraulic control on the distance of the chassis to the ground. This concept worked but this truck was not capable yet of doing a trial.

Lots of pictures have been published on www.brickshelf.com. (search with "Gendringen" "Truck Trial", "Oss" or "Amsterdam")

26 Januari 2007. For the upcoming LowLug event in Wijk Bij Duurstede, I want to test a working version of the concept tested in Amsterdam. The result has become a model of an dutch army truck, produced by DAF between1953 and 1958. This truck, the YA 328, was nicknamed "DIKKE DAF". Lots of images can be found on http://home.hccnet.nl/dafmilitair/html/daf_ya318.html . There are also fan-sites for this truck. One of my favourites is: "DAF YA318 The return of a legend!" . Of course , there are many models of this Truck. One model was constructed in Mechano

And this my LEGO version of this legend:

This truck features 1 motor for front wheel steering, two geared motors for driving the 6 wheels on the gound, 1 motor for controlling the tilt, 1 central differential, 2 speed gearing , shock absorbers for all wheels and a tranmission system that is similar to the real DAF YA 328.

The following pictures show the effect of the tilt control. Without this control the truck would tip over.

There is a long beam between all wheels that protects the mechanics against humps like these.

More information about the trial will be published soon!

More information about the inside of the Dikke DAF!