What's the best stock way to connect a truck & a trailer?

[jmiki8]

Hi there!

I know that there are some threads discussing the same issue, but they are pretty old & outdated, so I didn't want to bump them.

My question is the following: What's the best method in vanilla KSP to connect a truck and a trailer (so the trailer would be pulled by the truck, but itself would turn almost independently)?

I've seen more truck designs in 0.23, but I've never seen the actual solution. I've also been experimenting with RTGs between the two "modules" (as they are the most "wiggly" parts, afaik), but still, my truck design is too rigid to resemble an actual articulated vehicle. (the difference in angle between the truck and its trailer is like 10°, or even less).

great MS paint image

Did you develop a good hinge/ball socket dunno which is the correct word for trucks?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Edited February 18, 2014 by jmiki8

[1greywind]

Smallest docking port - it creates flexible and relatively strong connection. I've been able to pull 50 ton plane with it.

[jmiki8]

Thanks! I'm trying it asap!

EDIT: It's still too rigid... I've attached a trailer with a jumbo tank to my ~10 ton truck, and the two docking pods kept being rock solid. Is there a way to make it flexible?

Edited February 18, 2014 by jmiki8

[Cerberus738]

What if you had the truck and trailer as separate vehicles and just rested the trailer inside a bearing of some sort. you could have it fully articulate that way. i might try and build that..... i'll post a pic if i come up with anything

[Psycix]

Try these:

http://wiki.kerbalspaceprogram.com/wiki/Structural_Pylon

People use them to make helicopters, so I figure a truck would work too.

Otherwise you can also stack multiple connections on top of eachother to make it more flexible.

[jmiki8]

Cool! Structural pylons are the best so far, but I have to assemble them in chains to have enough flexibility. Now I'm trying to make these chains more compact.

[Cerberus738]

there's a bulky bearing. the top part spins freely against the bottom part after they separate. might be able to make it smaller.

[Cerberus738]

as you can see from the last picture the trailer doesn't stay in the center of the hitch... some redesign is in order. however it did stay attached to that one wheel and i drove it around for a long time.

[jmiki8]

Cool design! Mind if I reverse-engineered the solution for testing?

[Cerberus738]

i'm not sure how to send you the craft file..... give me a few minutes

k i think i figured it out

http://www./view/r3whxzipm7gwm36/DT_Truck_&_Trailer.craft

let me know if that works. it was created in the SPH

http://www./view/hphztc8sjvkli23/PT_Trailer_Hitch.craft

there is the hitch subassembly originally made in the VAB

Edited February 18, 2014 by Cerberus738

[Cerberus738]

So i got rid of the rover wheels and just used cubic octagonals to hold it in place. its oddly stable lol. i took it into the hills west of ksc and took a really sharp turn after doing some jumps and it jackknifed.... sadly the legs broke off so i can't get under it again.

i switched to empty rcs tanks because they have a higher crash tolerance. should probably move the hitch forward so its more in the center of the 2 axles. it tends to flip the nose up the way it is now. also need stronger legs to lift it clear when unhitching. another problem is controlling the trailer brakes. the trailer doesn't slow down when you hit the brakes so it gets all flippy ha ha ha. i might try something with KAS to give me control of the trailer brakes.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Cerberus738

[Taki117]

So i got rid of the rover wheels and just used cubic octagonals to hold it in place. its oddly stable lol. i took it into the hills west of ksc and took a really sharp turn after doing some jumps and it jackknifed.... sadly the legs broke off so i can't get under it again.

Pic snip

i switched to empty rcs tanks because they have a higher crash tolerance. should probably move the hitch forward so its more in the center of the 2 axles. it tends to flip the nose up the way it is now. also need stronger legs to lift it clear when unhitching. another problem is controlling the trailer brakes. the trailer doesn't slow down when you hit the brakes so it gets all flippy ha ha ha. i might try something with KAS to give me control of the trailer brakes.

If you do use KAS I suggest using the Fuel line part, and not the winches. Also, Infernal Robotics has some free spinning bearings.