Bill's Utility Truck. A Redneck pickup with a few extras.

[Jakalth]

This time around I'm showing you a project Bill and Bob have been tinkering with. You see, Bill found this old 4x4 pickup in Jeb's junkyard and decided to fix it up. Him and Bob have been working on it a little at a time between rocket tests and space exploration. They both find working on this old simple truck relaxing after a long days work. They finally got the old gal fixed up and running like a clock. Little do they know, Jeb also has been tinkering on it when the two of them were not looking... Who knows what mischief Jeb has planned for these two.

Here you see Bill and Bob, parked out front of the astronaut center.

Those two have no idea what is in store for them. Is that a Rocket packed into the rear of their truck? So that's your plan Jeb...

While doing speed tests of the truck, on the runway, Bill finds this odd green button and presses it. Hang on guys!

Yep, it's a rocket boosted old pickup. It uses a combination of RoverMax model M1 for driving and Small Gear Bay for added durability on rough terrain. It has a lot of SAS control allowing it to turn fairly hard at up to 19m/s as well as making it easier to right the truck if/when it flips over. The truck is quite durable. It can take a fair amount of a beating before breaking, but it is not indestructible... On it's own wheel power, it is capable of topping out at 21m/s. But, when you kick on the little Rockomax 48-7S it can push the truck to speeds over 61m/s. Be warned though, at speeds over 50m/s, it becomes hard to control and can blow out the RoverMax tires. The Rockomax 48-7S has another use though. If the truck tips over onto its roof, it is hard to right it again, even with the excessive SAS control. Using the rocket engine to push the truck onto its hood makes it far easier to right the truck again.

Specs:

total part count = 263(clean version)

weight = 11.5 tons(kinda heavy....)

top speed = 21/61(tires/rocket)m/s

crew capacity = 2(easily modified)

range = nearly unlimited(limited rocket fuel, nearly unlimited electric)

download = Utility Truck.zip

This truck is just for fun. Enjoy.

- - - Updated - - -

Found an odd glitch when playing around with this truck. If you add Canards to the front and back of the truck, the truck is able to accelerate to speeds of at least 40 m/s, without using the rocket engine. All you have to do is attach front and rear Canards to the truck, and simply drive forwards. Normally, the truck runs out of steam at about 21m/s. But with the canards, it keeps accelerating to speeds over 40m/s, although it becomes nearly impossibly to control.

The center wings are not needed for the glitch, but it is funny to simply drive the truck until it's moving fast enough to actually lift off the ground.

Anyone else seen this glitch before?

Edited February 2, 2015 by Jakalth

[T-Bouw]

Actually, I don't think it's a glitch.

I'd rather think it's because the wings take (some of) the weight off the truck.

Less weight results in less resistance on the wheels, hence a higher speed.

[Rune]

Actually, I don't think it's a glitch.

I'd rather think it's because the wings take (some of) the weight off the truck.

Less weight results in less resistance on the wheels, hence a higher speed.

No, it's an infiniglider. Her is using the magic forces of control surfaces to increase his speed.

Rune. Which makes much more sense. Ever heard of traction? It's required to accelerate.

[T-Bouw]

No, it's an infiniglider. Her is using the magic forces of control surfaces to increase his speed.

Rune. Which makes much more sense. Ever heard of traction? It's required to accelerate.

Sure I heard of traction, but Jakalth talked about a higher top-speed, not acceleration.

More friction alone does not account for a higher top-speed, it helps for cornering and with a stronger engine, better acceleration.

Think about a tour-racing-bike. It's tires are much smaller than those from a regular bike. Less resistance, thus a higher top-speed can be achieved using the same cyclist.

I don't know enough about the infiniglide-bug, so you may be right about that one!

Edited February 2, 2015 by T-Bouw

[Scoundrel]

Rune is correct. It's the infiniglide bug. Also the rover wheels don't have traction per se, as the wheels in KSP behave like small electric rockets so there's no actual torque or traction budget. It is why they can't be driven uphill without rockets or a lot of momentum. You can test this by trying to drive up the side of the launchpad from a full stop. You'll also notice that mass doesn't really affect top speed or acceleration. Hopefully this will be fixed someday.

[T-Bouw]

Okay, I think I understand now.

And here I was thinking that all real world physics apply to KSP..

Still love KSP though!

[Jakalth]

Yeah, it is the infiniglide glitch. Made a test rig to figure out what was going on and it ended up going airborne, and then staying there, floating, slowly, diagonally. Was a true "physics, you drunk" moment when it happened, but it explained how the canards were making the truck go faster. So by accident, the truck was my first infiniglider, all be it a very bad one.

[GusTurbo]

Nice truck!

Also, you can make insanely fast rovers (for bodies with an atmosphere) using just control surfaces and landing gear wheels, because the landing wheels don't break.