Tutorial for building/transporting a KAS ground construction vehicle?

[RainDreamer]

I have plans to build a ground station, and I need a ground construction vehicle to tow and move air dropped components around and attach them. The problem is, I had no idea how to build one in-situ or how to transport a fully built one from KSC to landing site due to the size involved. And I have seen people with such vehicles in other planets! Is it possible, or did those people just use extraplanetary launch pad?

[kerbiloid]

For example, have you ssen this guy's channel?

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGrBYmOsaW5lDVGUVPjN6qA/videos

[RainDreamer]

Nope. Funny that I didn't search for "crane design" but I searched for "ground construction vehicle", which didn't give me the guy's crane design video. That is useful. Though I can't fly something like that with NEAR. Will try to figure a way.

[Belphegor]

on what planet/moon would you like to build? in low gravity i usually use a skycrane to deorbit and dock modules vertically. a bit tricky but it works. on minmus i just dropped the entire 108 ton supply base in one piece because the gravity is so low anyways.

in the pic you can see a skycrane design. just make sure it's wide enough so it doesn't thrust into the load (like the one refueling, that's why there is a bigger one parked behind it) you might want to strut the heavier loads to the crane with KAS

[Kamuchi]

Build a crane with IR

Getting it to location can be abit tricky with balancing and as frustrating as it some times gets, it quite abit of fun

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[RainDreamer]

Lol, I wonder how I am going to fly those beasts into orbit with NEAR. But I have been attempting to build my own tiny crane too. The result wasn't that good, but it serves the purpose when nothing else is available:

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Here is my second attempt at building a more stable crane/space plane hybrid, but I gave up on it at the moment, since the thing can't take off in anyway.

Gotta think of a new design. Not many can fit a cargo bay, and not many can be flown with NEAR.

Edited November 26, 2014 by RainDreamer

[kerbiloid]

Lol, I wonder how I am going to fly those beasts into orbit with NEAR

As I can understand, NEAR is a lite version of FAR. Do you use Procedural Fairings or KW Rocketry to protect you cargo?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/39512-0-25-Procedural-Fairings-3-10-payload-auto-struts-%28October-11%29

[RainDreamer]

As I can understand, NEAR is a lite version of FAR. Do you use Procedural Fairings or KW Rocketry to protect you cargo?

http://forum.kerbalspaceprogram.com/threads/39512-0-25-Procedural-Fairings-3-10-payload-auto-struts-%28October-11%29

Yeah, I have Procedural Fairings. I imagine a near-dish-like top with vehicles that are very wide would still diminish the effect of the fairing though. That is why I try to design my vehicles long and thin.

[Squatch123]

Sorry for only partially related reply, but forums won't let me post a new thread from my phone.

With KAS, I can't seem to use the Strut End Point on my space station orbiting Kerbin. I EVA and right click on it but I don't get any options; no response at all. Anyone know why that might be?

[Zylark]

I've tried the construction vehicle approach to assembling bases - and found it very tedious, difficult and finicky to get right. A much better approach is to have wheels on your base modules and then just park them into place. Now, these wheels need not be permanent. Attach wheels to a girder that itself is attached to the module via a radial decoupler, like so for instance:

In the end, I didn't even bother with a lander, as it got tedious with all the docking, refueling and so on just to land down one module at a time. So added some simple rocket parts to the modules to get them to Mun orbit and land them. Again - detachable when done with:

Worked really well

[RainDreamer]

The wheels on base modules are good for horizontal expansion, but when you need to stack things on top of each others, like what I would do with a radio tower for my RT2 control center base, I need something that can lift it up and put it on top of one of the modules, or when the modules flipped over and need to be righted up - especially important when I might be air dropping those things with chutes over uneven terrain, for example.

[xkerbal]

use ground construction a good mod