Tamiya King Hauler Build

[BART]

Always wanted one of these and for the life of me can't figure out why it took me so long to get one. This was one of my christmas presents from me to me. It's a slow build, but honestly, thats what i wanted. I'm in no hurry to finish it because when I do i'll either put it on a shelf or want another one. I'll add pics as they upload. BTW, this is the "black" edition.
































Yikes, somewhere there is a kitchen table there.

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Just realized I should have taken more pics but as with many things, you get caught up in the moment and forget. Actually had to build the leaf springs and bolt the shackles on. Had to build the 3 speed manual transmission as well as both rear diffs. Quite an impressive and enjoyable build so far.

[zippo855]

man, this thing is sick. might have to look into one of these. keep up the good work man, and lots o pics
man just looked up the price of these bad boys, figured it was close to that, but still badass.

[BART]

Originally Posted by zippo855

man, this thing is sick. might have to look into one of these. keep up the good work man, and lots o pics

I'll try, notice the gopro manual in the last pic. You can pretty much take credit for that. Haha. I need to finish this thing at some point so we can sit down for dinner again.

[zippo855]

lol, yeah, the go pro was like this was to you. i had been wanting one forever, and always had planned on getting one, but waited, and waited, and finally got it.
i was just looking around for these on ebay and a few other places, and saw some really nice trailers that they make to go with these.

[BART]

I had no interest nor desire for one, and then I saw your videos and said "****, that looks good". Asked a few questions which I thank you for answering, did some research, and then headed to best buy and broke them down until I got a deal I couldn't refuse. Kids love it, and I have no idea where it even is.

[zippo855]

lol, gotta love the kids, cool thing is, once this is done you should be able to get some sick vids. if you can get it from your kids. lol.
and anytime man, best way to find out about something is to ask.

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Apparently the upgrade bug has hit me before I even finished it. Been working on the new aquarium so the truck hasn't seen much progress. I did however tear it completely back apart to install a 5 inch stretched frame...





Ordered a trailer for it tonight as well but it will be modified before it is even built. Way too short in stock form.

[clintr79]

That looks way better with the extended chassis. Can't wait to see it all complete and painted up.

[BART]

No paint, it's staying flatish black, but there are plenty of chrome pieces to go on and possibly a few decals. I wanted black frame rails but all they had in stock was red so I bought them planing on painting them black. I actually glad they are red and won't paint the as they really break up the color and look quite good in my opinion.

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Well the trailer is supposed to be here monday so I figured I better get this truck done. Although we are expecting 8-18 inches of snow sunday/monday so i would bet the trailer will be delayed. Anyways, other than a few stickers its complete. 3 speed shift from the controller transmission is pretty cool.


Didn't want to spend 45 bucks on a custom driveshaft so I cut the stock one in half, turned down the ends of a steel rod, and inserted them in the hollow ends of the stock driveshaft. Drilled, tapped, and used set screws to keep it from turning. The driveshaft gives you a pretty good idea of how much longer than stock the truck is.



here is the progression to completion.


























(just noticed the missing fog light, it has been found and replaced)

[zippo855]

man, this thing looks sweeter and sweeter each time i see it, really making me want one. I've been browsing some of the custom parts, and trailers for these. there is many many many options for these trucks.
Cant wait to see a vid

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I wanted a lowboy trailer but they are quite pricy. Well over 1000 bucks. I went with the flatbed and will extend it to 42 inches before it is even built. Might even attempt to do a spread axle conversion on it. Need to find a sensored crawler motor and esc for the rig. Might be working a deal with B1G but not sure yet so still looking.

[BART]

So it's trailer time. Instead of cutting it up straight out of the box, I built it stock to see how small it would look, not much of a surprise that it looks comically small behind the stretched tractor...














SO off to the chopping block, I decided to make a scale 50 foot trailer so a little bit of math later led me to needing to extend the trailer about 14 inches for a total length of 42 inches...











Made my own additional center braces / deck supports out of 3/8 square hardwood...








The included decking would obviously not be long enough so I went to pat catans and bought basswood strips. Only problem is that the included decking is not quite a standard thickness and what they sell isn't long enough so I did a stagger with the originals and the new. Once it was complete, about an hour with a sander and then a DA got it level. Still need to finish all the trim and mud flaps but my hands hurt too bad to continue tonight.

[clintr79]

That turned out great
What's next for it

[BART]

Thinking about building a lowboy.