trekman

My quietness over Christmas was largely due to the challenge of making a compact auto switch/pump which would be durable enough and small enough to fit within the skeletal bonnet. I am pleased to say that by using the older brick type pneumatic switches I was able to adjust the height of the switch better so that it will work correctly with the two switching paddles. The design had to allow the transmission to be positioned in the centre area, with the pump on one side and the motor on the other.. Some of the rear panels can now be fitted.

That is going to be a serious skidsteer. I would point out that balance is everthing in this, you need to have weight to the back unloaded and weight to the front when loaded, so your battery box position will be important. Otherwise you will have limited fun in manouvering.

Oohh, a nice bit of yellowing there. That says to me that this was built once. Somewhere on this forum there is some guidance about dealing with the yellowing if you want to go down that route. However it is really good to see an "old school" build. My mind goes back to the motor bike 857, which I was able to rebuild just from the photo back then. The positive being that the flat tyre profile will allow the machine to stand without needing a prop stand, and you should have plenty of room, as it will be a build.

That is one seriously bonkers creation. I love it! It makes a change from Cars, Trucks, Loaders and the other offerings. Totally well finished with a novel use of the pistons for feet. Great use of the motor too!

Yes well spotted, but I normally use an extension wire which allows me to relocate that "stack" somewhere else. I know that is is not as efficient as some of the Official Lego builds, but I am trying to have minimum intrusion into the cab. the XL motor powers it well and its location worked out very well.

I am happy with battery box placement as any further back would have been too much weight behind the rear axle.

The front actuators are connected to Xl for main lift, and M motor for bucket. Showing possible location of Infra Red Sensor. Space remaining under bonnet will determine shape of auto switch/pump (for third service/quick hitch)

This is looking really good and the bonnet is so like the real one. Steering works as it should too. Great use of shaped pieces.

i have redesigned the drive train for the tipping actuator so that it does not intrude into the cab. Below, the cab shape has been defined It will now be a case of assigning spacing to the receivers, autopump switch and loader motors

The above photo shows the current drive train from the twin motors. It works well, but will receive some more bracing prior to completion. there is plenty of "push" in the loader without crunching. I am not happy about the tipping actuator drive line. This is to be reviewed, hopefully to create a more robust and efficient driveline and more foot room in the cabin.

Sweet ride and instantly recognizable. Well done.

I have found those chains to be quite delicate and not good for high loads, but an authentic solution.

The wheelbase of my model is 200mm. The real Kramer 5065 is at 1850mm, so it is just over 1:9. I was doing drive tests today with dual XL motors. The problem is that reducing the RPM down slow enough for the axles causes high torque on the gear train. Thankfully I have been able to brace sufficiently to prevent the gears skipping. more photos will follow.

I present to you my start on a Kramer four wheel steer loader. I will try to update this post with my progress over the next few weeks, which is something that i do not normally do. I only had portal hubs which gave a good reduction, but the pivot point was going to cause steering issues. I have created my own axles with reduction at the pivot point. If these present problems, then I have planetary hubs in the post. Everything is a work in progress and there may be tweeks along the way. The plan: 2 x XL motors for drive, servo for steering, XL for lift, M motor for bucket, onboard compressor for 3rd service/quick hitch. Possible auto valve for 3rd service. Xerion wheels will be used for the rubber. Comments welcome.

It just shows you how much out of scale the mini fig city vehicles are, as they rarely allow two people to even sit side by side.

Hopefully we will get a middle sized agri tyre which would suit the front of a 4wd tractor, as these are just too for a front tractor wheel.

I think you really need to use the original black pins, for the full 8865 experience - especially when dismantling....

Nice clean work.

I have added another short video clip, which will hopefully explain the function of the tracks. if I had suitable "track" wheels then it might have reduced some of the bumping experienced as the tracks rotated. The tensioner system worked well and had just the right amount of tension which did not inhibit the rotation.

Now that is a nice build. For you to have six of those wheels would have meant that you had two fairly significant sets. It has a strange sort of resemblance to the alternate model of 8859, albeit with four wheels and different colour.

I present to you my Quadtrac. I am very conscious that others have been doing similar work. The main focus was to develop a self tensioning track which would mimic the features of the quadtrac units. Unfortunately my wheel limitations only permitted me to have two sets of middle rollers per track, a feature which some on you will spot. There was space for an air tank under the bonnet, but this was removed due to it not being needed. It has two speed drive, albeit a little slower than I would wish. The video should be self explanatory. I welcome your comments. Also can anybody help me to embed the video, thanks https://youtu.be/LDW_b8jSrtY

That is just awesome. It is great to see the techniques which you have used to create your final result. It can be a bit of a challenge with some of the colour schemes of the krone. i wonder if this model will make it to CADA....

Really nice neat build there and super playability. I just wondered how many mini pumps are you using, and is there any pressure relief or auto switch off - especially if all the valves are in neutral.

Very impressive build, but I think the significance of it all is only realised when you see the story behind it all. We do appreciate your dedication to such a project.

A really nice clean build, with a great choice of implement.