42030 - Volvo L350F MODs and Improvements

[D4VEW557]

Hi all. I got this set a couple of month ago and it's the first set I've bought for myself in probably 25 year I've bought a few for my son but he has never really taken to Lego. (the xbox wins every time) Still i love it, so with my love of Lego and construction equipment this was an obvious set to buy.

I was first amazed by it's size, much bigger than any other set I've had and while overall i was impressed with it there were a few things that seemed like they could be better.

1. The steering, I have the parts needed for the actuator mod on order.

2. The speed of the lift arms and the speed of the bucket curl.

The problem with speeding them up by changing the gearing was they lacked any power. So i have replaced the lift motor with an XL motor and the curl motor with the large motor.

The result of using the XL motor and 36-12-20 teeth gears are a much faster lift (I would prefer it to be a little quicker but still a vast improvement) and loads of lift power. At the minute I only have one actuator connected (waiting for parts for the other)

and it is as powerful if not more than before.

The bucket i went for a 1:1 gear set up with the large motor and again bags of power a little slower than i would like but way better than before.

Edited December 24, 2015 by D4VEW557

[Karle]

Sounds interesting! Please post a few pictures of your work.

[D4VEW557]

It's still a work in progress but here are a few shots

I missing a couple of gears for the second actuator but they are on order. The front of the loader will have to be modified slightly to accommodate the L motor.

Edited April 27, 2016 by D4VEW557

[ctx1769]

Completed the lego instruction build of the 42030 and my remotes are dead, yes I have triple checked the setting so waiting for new parts from lego.

I bypassed the remotes using manual switches from the 8293 and all the functions work, but the drive is so jerky and bad (Forward and reverse) I might have to rebuild it again, don,t think much to steering either. So I,m glad I saw thread and modded plans.

Thank you guys and merry xmas

[michiel sanders]

got this set for christmas and completed it the same night.

at this moment i already aplied Mats_o his quick connect and the extra attachments.

really want to build someting like Brick_Sticker his clamp, and i'm making an LDD of it at the moment for the quick connect of Mats_o.

hope to get the parts for this tommorrow.

when i finish this ill upload it if its okay for Brick_Sticker and Mats_o

and i realy would love to see what Paul B build, but the images won't work and his site rederects to an other site.

[D4VEW557]

Well I have completed my lift arm and bucket mods and i'm happy with how they have turned out overall. They are not perfect but I think a massive improvement on the standard setup.

I also carried out the actuator mod for the steering which while a little slow and under powered is much better than the jerky servo idea.

Lastly I added a few extra beams to fill the front and cover the grey on the side.

Next I think i will mod the lift arm slightly so it goes closer to the ground and gives a higher reach.

here are a few pics of what i have so far.

[ScottyF4i]

Completed the lego instruction build of the 42030 and my remotes are dead, yes I have triple checked the setting so waiting for new parts from lego.

Good luck. I've emailed them several times to get new remotes and so far nothing.

The issue is the prongs for the batteries. They don't touch the positive post on all brands of batteries. I've scoured the internet and there are a few popular solutions. The first is using small balls of tin foil to bridge the gap. The second is using tools to bend the prongs inward slightly.

Hope this helps. My kids missed playing with ours on Christmas due to the faulty remotes. It's my first bad experience with a Lego product.

[emielroumen]

I modified the jerky servo steering as described in this forum topic with small actuators. I used a L-motor instead of a M version and it performs quite good! I had to rip the motor out to finish my modified Backhoe V2 just last week - it is worth it - and have received another one this week so I can have both models assembled at the same time. The Backhoe (with 42030 rims + balloon tires) looks pretty good nex to the 42030 and 42043 pretty good although most likely not to the exact scale: it is a nice combination altogether.

[technic_addict]

I liked the idea of using a train remote to remove the jerkiness of steering; however, I didn’t like the simplistic version shown earlier in this thread. I wanted to be able to drive, steer and use the bucket at the same time.

Here is what I came up with.

[dtoerien]

Thanks for this remote.

[paul_delahaye]

I like your remote, however it looks like the steering wheel would not work in full speed ahead or full speed reverse. The angle of that universal joint, appears to be locked at that angle?

Paul

[technic_addict]

I like your remote, however it looks like the steering wheel would not work in full speed ahead or full speed reverse. The angle of that universal joint, appears to be locked at that angle?

Paul

Hi Paul,

You are quite correct that you can't steer when the arm is fully forward or backwards at 90 degrees. I find that if I start with the arm slightly downwards, I will get full speed in the forward direction before hitting 90 degrees allowing me to steer at full speed. You do lose some backwards speed but I could live with that. Once I got good at controlling the truck, you can also use the red button reset and have your start position anywhere.

Cheers.

[Riley-NZL]

Hi Paul,

You are quite correct that you can't steer when the arm is fully forward or backwards at 90 degrees. I find that if I start with the arm slightly downwards, I will get full speed in the forward direction before hitting 90 degrees allowing me to steer at full speed. You do lose some backwards speed but I could live with that. Once I got good at controlling the truck, you can also use the red button reset and have your start position anywhere.

Cheers.

What does that do, obviously the right side is steering, but what is the idea behind the whole bit moving back and forth?

[technic_addict]

What does that do, obviously the right side is steering, but what is the idea behind the whole bit moving back and forth?

The operation of the loader had jerky steering so there were two solutions posted on this forum. 1) change servo motor to M motor and add actuator and other bits to make it work. 2) Use a train remote.

Using a train remote also required to switch the bucket movement which used to be on same IR remote as the steering to forward and backward motion. The pic below is what was done.

The left side of the train remote is forward and backward motion and the right side is turning. As I explained, I wanted to be able to do everything at same time which is not possible with that option because you need two hands for motion and steering. So I made it possible for motion and steering with just one hand.

Hope that helps explain it better.

Cheers,

[Riley-NZL]

The operation of the loader had jerky steering so there were two solutions posted on this forum. 1) change servo motor to M motor and add actuator and other bits to make it work. 2) Use a train remote.

Using a train remote also required to switch the bucket movement which used to be on same IR remote as the steering to forward and backward motion. The pic below is what was done.

The left side of the train remote is forward and backward motion and the right side is turning. As I explained, I wanted to be able to do everything at same time which is not possible with that option because you need two hands for motion and steering. So I made it possible for motion and steering with just one hand.

Hope that helps explain it better.

Cheers,

i understood using a train remote, and have the same solution myself. Just didn't get the bit you added on top of the train remote, but that makes sense, although looks like it might be a bit awkward to control?

[technic_addict]

It works quite smoothly. I used the parts that I had at the time, so I think it can be lowered one stud. It is much easier to use than the picture I posted.

[Cumulonimbus]

Thanks to Efferman, my 42030 now has the wheel covers it deserved:

More info can be found in this topic.

[PFTechnicBuilder]

Does anyone have any instructions for a 6-wheel MOD to the B Model (Dump Truck Hauler)?

[emielroumen]

Designer Han offers these instructions on his webpages. Google can help :)

[PFTechnicBuilder]

Designer Han offers these instructions on his webpages. Google can help :)

This one?

http://designer-han.nl/lego/index.htm

[PFTechnicBuilder]

I think I know how to add the extra two wheels, but I really need help on how to build a good dumping bed. I'll post pictures in a few weeks, and I'll see if anyone kind here can help me.

[PFTechnicBuilder]

I'd like to build mine a lot like the one in this video.

I would like to compliment that builder for making an excellent design.

[richellis]

Hi, I want to do the steering mod, I've the image of the needed parts, but can any one help on the axle sizes needed? Can't work it out from the picture, also I've got an M motor ordered, also are the linear actuators 92693?

[radar92]

Hi, I want to do the steering mod, I've the image of the needed parts, but can any one help on the axle sizes needed? Can't work it out from the picture, also I've got an M motor ordered, also are the linear actuators 92693?

I used the instruction in post #86 by efferman

there is an instruction available for my steering mod

https://www.dropbox....ngsmod.pdf?dl=0

thanks to catweazel for doing this

[Dafgek81]

This is still the best thing to do with this set:

http://rebrickable.com/mocs/M_longer/volvo-l250g-wheel-loader