DAF FTG 95XF.380 6x2/4 with Floor conveyor belt trailer
Self unloader have always interest me. When I was about ten years old I saw a LEGO model of a conveyor belt trailer. It
actually was the first time I saw such a vehicle. Together with my father I made one of LEGO as well.
I made the truck itself, my father put the techniques into the trailer. And then a truck was born, loaded with beans, which
could unload itself.
Self unloader
Now I made my third 1:13 model of a conveyor belt trailer. You might say it's not a challenge anymore, but this time I made
another type of trailer. The first two models had a fully closed body on both sides, the third one has open sides (sloped) and
it manufactured by Floor, a Dutch trailer manufacturer. When I was looking for a suitable truck it already was for sure the
primary color would be red. Court of first I wanted to build a truck of Dutch hauler 'Verbeek', but their trucks are orange and
the model then wouldn't come close to the original. Farm Trans, another Dutch hauler, was another option but like the
Verbeek trucks the color is more tending to orange than red. Moreover Farmtrans has a new house style (silver grey with black).
In short, I could start building the trailer, but I still didn't found a suitable tractor.
Eventually I saw a picture of a then brand new DAF 95XF of in the south west of Holland based hauler Van Keulen of Middelburg.
The picture only showed the tractor, but I knew this hauler also has some trailer in operation which I wanted to build. So after a long
time of searching I found the right vehicle.
The LEGO model
Because this is my second DAF 95XF building the tractor was a piece of cake. While the first XF still wasn't broken off, I could
easily build the second one. The driver's cab has a high roof though. Because the front of the roof is inclinable to the back
I have used
65� slopes.
In the past I ordered about twelve of those I every color so I was able to build a high roofed driver's cab in any color.
The chassis is a bit different. The
XF of De Kil
is an spring suspended 8x4. The DAF of Van Keulen has an air suspended back axle.
The second axle is steered. With the help of the necessary DAF brochures I was able to build the whole chassis just like the
real thing. The tractor is, as usual with a 6x2/4 configuration, quite compact. Because of this it was very difficult to mount
the fuel tank to the chassis. And while the chassis is wider at the front I needed a few hours of studying how I could best
put the tank to the chassis. The tractor has a catwalk on the chassis which isn't an unnecessary luxury at all.
When the trailer is unloading some 'dirt' falls between the conveyor. Now it falls on the catwalk so you can easily sweep
away the dirt.
The trailer
Because the trailer has a different body in accordance to the earlier models, I had to order lots of brick at Shop at Home. After a
calculation the 1x6 bricks seemed to be most economical. That's way I decided to order
ten packages of these grey bricks. For the red frame I ordered some 1x6 plates. On this way it was very easy to build the
side parts of the bodywork. The older trailers needed a lot more time to build.
The underside of the bodywork is sloped. Therefore I made to long pieces of grey plates. I only has to find a well
solution to keep the long sections of its place. To the trailer chassis I mounted a few
1x2 plates with arms where the sections could be placed behind. It fits very well.
Because I have quite some experience with building conveyor belts you might think that would be an easy task as well but
that's not true. While earlier models where both driven at the front and the back, with the new trailer that was not possible.
The only place to put a drive shaft is at the back. Former I made a double drive because I thought the conveyor would
turn more smooth. The reliability was sufficient as well. But with the new trailer I made a more or less original drive train.
The two 12V motors once are placed in the middle of the trailer, underneath the chassis.
A drive shaft goes to the back of the trailer where a
gearbox with a worm screw is placed. With the help of a double link belt the conveyor is driven.
In the early stage I thought the link belts would hold the power but after unloading the trailer a few times it kept away
my thinkings very quickly. I works very well and smoothly. In the bodywork I put a
shaf to lower the pressure on the conveyor. With this trailer the shaft also the prevents the bodywork doesn't split.
Between the two rows of links I put a ridge so the beans wouldn't stuck between the conveyor and the conveyor would
shot loose.
The trailer has a steered back axle. Because it's a forced steered axle I tried to make a steering mechanism with ropes.
Soon I saw the conveyor was standing in the way so I didn't put a real working steering in it. To build the trailer in
detail I studied an original vehicle and pictured it. That trailer also had a steered back axle, but with the help of
two cylinders instead of cables. Pneumatics always works and need less space. But unfortunately it wasn't
possible to build to pneumatic cylinders above the fifth wheel of the tractor.
Finally I finished the trailer. I put to fixed axles underneath the chassis as well as safety bars on both sides. Later I put
two extra mudguards on the trailer between the last two axles.
I think this is the best self unloader I've built. It's more reliable than the other vehicles. But just like the previous models,
it nearly impossible to prevent that the conveyor would roll out. In 2002 I was on the modelshow of the Mackday. Then
one of the drive works of the 12V motors broke: out of service. Because I had another broken drive work, I made a fixed
one of two broken copies. Later I had less problems with this model.
Video
Herewith a short video of how the trailer operates. I made this video with an old camera without a microphone.