Rover docking solutions (non-claw)

[Levelord]

I've been giving some thought on how to create a solution for rovers to dock with bases, either for re-fueling purposes or for roleplaying. Currently, the problem arises from docking ports not aligning depending on the planet's gravity pulling down on the rover's suspension, and bases sinking ever so slightly into the ground that the docking port becomes too low for the rover itself.

 

So far has anyone come up with creative docking solutions for their rovers with their planetary bases/colonies?

[nascarlaser1]

If your ok with using mods, get Kerbal inventory system and Kerbal attachment system. This two mods combined let you actually attach pipes, winches and other parts to your crafts. This means that all you need is one pipe piece on the rover, and one on the base, and then eva your Kerbal out and you use him to link the two pipe pieces together. These mods can also be used to attach spare/new parts to pre existing crafts, like a solar panel to a rover.

[Ty Tan Tu]

Oddly enough I have not had as much trouble docking as I thought I would. If I can get close enough, I have found, I can use the pitch controls to get the magnets to kick in and dock. In one instance my rover was actually suspended above the ground. It did not seem entirely realistic to me, but it did allowed me to transfer fuel. If the base's docking port is a wee bit high I have not had a problem. So far I have not run into the opposite condition, but it would not surprise me to see my base suspended above the ground.

[FungusForge]

By way of mods, there's KIS/KAS as @nascarlaser1 said. Alternatively you could use Infernal Robotics to lift/level the rover, or just move the docking port itself, without needing to have a kerbal get out. There's also Flexible Docking Ports which add flexible docking ports to better facilitate surface docking.

If you don't want to use mods, maybe you could experiment with using landing gear to lift the rover. To maybe make it easier you could have a top mounted port on the rover with a down-facing port on the base. That way the rover could just slam itself into the port without having to worry too much about vertical accuracy. I've not tried this myself since I use mods, but I reckon it could work.

[Gargamel]

4 hours ago, FungusForge said:

That way the rover could just slam itself into the port without having to worry too much about vertical accuracy. I've not tried this myself since I use mods, but I reckon it could work.

Ahhhhhhh..... so kerbal. 

[Bornholio]

Second @FungusForge's recommendation of flexible docking ports.  If stock consider using airbrakes/control surfaces to lift things. They can have adjustable limits.

[Overland]

Another vote for the KAS/KIS way of refueling - 

I gave up on docking ports a long time ago - they also tempt the kraken

 

You'll need one of them ground pylons and the cement base generally, a few fuel ports but once its set up right, its a very ideal way of refueling - also using a winch with magnet would  be a good way of storing a rover 

[Levelord]

I've managed to design a docking bay system for a rover I quickly cobbled together. This is using stock parts. Also, landing legs tend to clip through ships when they apply enough pressure to a body, so I had to look for alternative moving parts, then I remembered air brakes existed. The advantage of using air brakes is that you can also adjust the authority limiter which means you can adjust how high and how hard to lift a vessel. The docking bay itself has its own floor in order to negate the effects of a vehicle or the platform itself sinking into the terrain, so the height from the platform floor to the docking port above has been standardized no matter what planetary body you are on.

 

 

Below, the rover has detached from the docking bay. As you can see the guard rails also assist in passively aligning the rover when it eventually comes back in to dock. It also means you only need to focus on one axis of motion (which is forwards or backwards) in order to dock. So no more fiddling going left or right.

 

Below here we have driven up the platform and aligned the docking ports roughly with each other. The alignment doesn't need to be 100% as the air brakes will shift them into position.

 

Below here, the air brakes have lifted the vehicle and forced a dock. The air brakes don't clip the vehicle, thus provide a full lifting force. The air brakes will eventually clip the rover once the game recognizes the dock and thinks of it as a single vessel with the platform.

 

Docking confirmed

 

Below I will attach the example file for you guys to try out.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dl5qiv0z9ehm6om/Rover 2.craft?dl=0

 

Edited May 21, 2017 by Levelord

[legoclone09]

1 hour ago, Levelord said:

I've managed to design a docking bay system for a rover I quickly cobbled together. This is using stock parts. Also, landing legs tend to clip through ships when they apply enough pressure to a body, so I had to look for alternative moving parts, then I remembered air brakes existed. The advantage of using air brakes is that you can also adjust the authority limiter which means you can adjust how high and how hard to lift a vessel. The docking bay itself has its own floor in order to negate the effects of a vehicle or the platform itself sinking into the terrain, so the height from the platform floor to the docking port above has been standardized no matter what planetary body you are on.

 

 

Below, the rover has detached from the docking bay. As you can see the guard rails also assist in passively aligning the rover when it eventually comes back in to dock. It also means you only need to focus on one axis of motion (which is forwards or backwards) in order to dock. So no more fiddling going left or right.

 

Below here we have driven up the platform and aligned the docking ports roughly with each other. The alignment doesn't need to be 100% as the air brakes will shift them into position.

 

Below here, the air brakes have lifted the vehicle and forced a dock. The air brakes don't clip the vehicle, thus provide a full lifting force. The air brakes will eventually clip the rover once the game recognizes the dock and thinks of it as a single vessel with the platform.

 

Docking confirmed

 

Below I will attach the example file for you guys to try out.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dl5qiv0z9ehm6om/Rover 2.craft?dl=0

 

That's a really good design! I'd never have though of something like that!

[Foxster]

The only reliable method I've found in the past is as someone else described: Having a docking port on top of the rover and lowering a craft or part of a craft with a docking port onto it. 

[Majorjim!]

16 hours ago, Levelord said:

so far has anyone come up with creative docking solutions for their rovers with their planetary bases/colonies

Yes.

 Test the crafts on said planet.

[HafCoJoe]

1 hour ago, Majorjim! said:

Yes.

 Test the crafts on said planet.

When in doubt, try it out  The 'ol kerbal motto

[GKSP]

I had a similar issue when designing bases.  I ended up using a universal wheel module that can attach to 2.5m round parts.  I also made a rover using this system so there is no worry for not aligning.

Edited May 21, 2017 by GKSP
2nd part

[Freshmeat]

On 21/5/2017 at 7:15 AM, Levelord said:

I've managed to design a docking bay system for a rover I quickly cobbled together. This is using stock parts.

<snip>

I don't think you really got enough praise on this one. It is well thought out and the artistic execution is very good as well. Props to you.

[Snark]

Regarding KIS and KAS:  Actually, you only need KAS (though KIS can be a nice complement to it).

On 5/20/2017 at 8:01 AM, nascarlaser1 said:

If your ok with using mods, get Kerbal inventory system and Kerbal attachment system. This two mods combined let you actually attach pipes, winches and other parts to your crafts. This means that all you need is one pipe piece on the rover, and one on the base, and then eva your Kerbal out and you use him to link the two pipe pieces together.

On 5/20/2017 at 0:41 PM, FungusForge said:

By way of mods, there's KIS/KAS as @nascarlaser1 said.

On 5/20/2017 at 6:11 PM, Overland said:

Another vote for the KAS/KIS way of refueling

+1 to this, I do it all the time, it's my preferred way.  Just to clarify for anyone not familiar with these mods:

• Kerbal Attachment System (KAS) is the one that has the "connector port" pieces that let your EVA kerbals hook things up with pipes.  If all you do is to put these ports on your various base components and on your rovers and what-not, that's all you need .
• Kerbal Inventory System (KIS) lets your engineer kerbals dynamically attach and detach individual parts on-site using tools.  It's a handy complement to KAS, but not strictly necessary.

If you're going for "minimal mods", you can install just KAS.  KIS does work nicely together with it, though.  Things you can do if you install KIS, too:  First, it lets you revise your bases; for example, suppose you have some ships which you launched, without the foresight to have connector ports in all the necessary places.  You could launch a repair ship with an engineer who has some connector ports as "spare parts" in inventory; the engineer then attaches the ports on-site so that you can link up your craft.  Second, KIS includes some additional parts that can make it easier to link things together in surface bases, such as a concrete "pedestal" you can install on the ground, to which you can then attach a pylon with connector ports.  Makes things more convenient-- but not, strictly speaking, necessary.

[Mic_n]

I happily just built a little unmanned science gathering probe rover that snugs neatly into a 2.5M service bay.  Clamp-o-tron Jr mounted on the underside snugs neatly onto the matching one mounted into the base of the service bay, which in turn sits on the ground (surface-mount engines on the sides, landing struts deployed to take the impact and then retracted to let the bay rest on the Munar surface).  Admittedly on such a small vehicle, the relative area of 'magnetic influence' from the clamps is well and truly enough to cover any slight differences in alignment that might occur.  Bonus is that it has a nice little garage to tuck into and rest

 

That said, waaaaayyyy back in the beforetime I made a "rescue" seaplane (floating girders, jet engines pointing everywhere and inventive action groups) that was completely stock, for picking up splashed-down pods and delivering them back to the KSC.  It had a gantry on the back - a double-set of rectangular wing sections forming ramps with a gap down the middle, upon which a small 'sub-craft' would ride on landing gear.  That one had a docking port underneath (protruding through the gap) that could dock to the pod, and another at the front that could dock with the main craft when run all the way forward.  A probe core, battery, small fuel tank and engine make it controllable and allow it to be pushed up the ramp, meaning you could adjust the height of that docking port by rolling that gantry along the ramp, then take it right up to the top and lock it all in.  It's not particularly elegant, but it works, completely stock.

 

These days: KAS/KIS.  Don't leave home without 'em!

[suicidejunkie]

KAS hoses are great.

The vertical docking port is also nice, but you need either good piloting precision, extra fuel, or some strong gyros and a helpful EVA bump from a friend.

 

[klgraham1013]

I'd recommend EVA Transfer as a more light weight alternative to KAS.  The craft aren't actually linked, which can help to avoid unwanted side effects KAS may have when attaching landed vehicles.

[septemberWaves]

I tend to put the docking ports at the top of the rover and the bottom of a base module, and with such a design it's usually helpful to put landing legs on the rover itself. I'll generally have 4 landing legs on the rover that are tied to a specific action group rather than the landing gear group, so that they can be raised or lowered for docking the rover and there's no need to build a device like that airbrake-based rover lift. That said, the idea of driving the rover on top of a base segment is giving me some ideas for how to dock rovers better...

[Alshain]

17 hours ago, klgraham1013 said:

I'd recommend EVA Transfer as a more light weight alternative to KAS.  The craft aren't actually linked, which can help to avoid unwanted side effects KAS may have when attaching landed vehicles.

KAS doesn't have problems as long as you don't leave them linked while you leave physics range while they are sitting on the  surface.

Edited June 9, 2017 by Alshain

[klgraham1013]

6 hours ago, Alshain said:

KAS doesn't have problems as long as you don't leave them linked while you leave physics range while they are sitting on the  surface.

This is the problem I'm talking about.

Edited June 9, 2017 by klgraham1013

[Alshain]

7 hours ago, klgraham1013 said:

This is the problem I'm talking about.

Right, well what I'm saying is, just don't do that.  There is no conceivable reason that you need the fuel lines linked while you aren't there.