Sci-fi Author Needs Heavy Machinery Advice!

[KidCracker]

PS the driveability question I posed earlier is incredibly important, though. The whole thing will fall apart if I have regular joes doing something they wouldn’t realistically be able to do. Like I say, I don’t think a skidder will be too much trouble by the looks of it but a scraper?

 

[AusDave]

I went down this route originally but was told an earth mover would actually be better for what I’m planning

Not really. There was a scenario in the US where a guy went crazy on a town with a bulldozer over some personal vendetta. He had a large bulldozer which he had spent many months and tonnes of heavy metal plates to protect the delicate parts of the bull dozer such as exposed hydraulic lines, windows on the cab, fuel tank etc. A tank already has that covered with armour plate so there are no exposed parts which are easily damaged when you plough into road full of stationery vehicles.

And think about it, are you wanting to spend time and fuel pushing vehicles out of the way or just drive over them as if they were no more than a speed bump?

 

[KidCracker]

Not really. There was a scenario in the US where a guy went crazy on a town with a bulldozer over some personal vendetta. He had a large bulldozer which he had spent many months and tonnes of heavy metal plates to protect the delicate parts of the bull dozer such as exposed hydraulic lines, windows on the cab, fuel tank etc. A tank already has that covered with armour plate so there are no exposed parts which are easily damaged when you plough into road full of stationery vehicles.

And think about it, are you wanting to spend time and fuel pushing vehicles out of the way or just drive over them as if they were no more than a speed bump?

Tread. Only documentary I’ve ever watched three times (Apart from Being Evel, cannot recommend strongly enough.)

 

[KidCracker]

Not really. There was a scenario in the US where a guy went crazy on a town with a bulldozer over some personal vendetta. He had a large bulldozer which he had spent many months and tonnes of heavy metal plates to protect the delicate parts of the bull dozer such as exposed hydraulic lines, windows on the cab, fuel tank etc. A tank already has that covered with armour plate so there are no exposed parts which are easily damaged when you plough into road full of stationery vehicles.

And think about it, are you wanting to spend time and fuel pushing vehicles out of the way or just drive over them as if they were no more than a speed bump?

All excellent points, but… gonna be a lot easier to find a skidder than a tank!

 

[AusDave]

It's fiction, you can find whatever you need
A matter transporter may solve all your earthbound needs!
Maybe an ACME bulldozer in a box... just add water and poof! 70 tonnes of earthmoving gear

 

[Monkeybusiness]

All excellent points, but… gonna be a lot easier to find a skidder than a tank!

Dunno - you wake up in an empty world with destruction all around, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to head to a local army barracks for signs of life/shelter/answers etc. More plausible than heading off into the forest looking for harvesting machinery I’d have thought?
But if it has to be a skidder they often have log pushing/stacking blades on the front that would easily shift cars out of the way, and big winches on the back that would drag anything else.

 

[V8Druid]

No, they won’t, but one character could simply say ‘what about that scraper?’ They used to work on a building site in the past. They point to it, then I can describe it, job done!

motor scraper

 

[Lancs Lad]

Best thread ever op has hit the motherlode

 

[CPS]

PS the driveability question I posed earlier is incredibly important, though. The whole thing will fall apart if I have regular joes doing something they wouldn’t realistically be able to do. Like I say, I don’t think a skidder will be too much trouble by the looks of it but a scraper?

The Volvo will be relatively easy to drive for unexperienced people, pretty much like an automatic car

 

[KidCracker]

Dunno - you wake up in an empty world with destruction all around, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to head to a local army barracks for signs of life/shelter/answers etc. More plausible than heading off into the forest looking for harvesting machinery I’d have thought?
But if it has to be a skidder they often have log pushing/stacking blades on the front that would easily shift cars out of the way, and big winches on the back that would drag anything else.

In my mind they're going to run across a building site (common) and the rest writes itself (oh, wait... I have to do that, dammit). One of the team is literally an army fella so in one respect he could suggest a barracks but then I'm into a whole logistical nightmare of how and where the army keeps its tanks (does every barracks have tanks?) how they're kept, what security measures would need to be overcome etc... best just to stumble onto a site and go on a joyride.
Skidder with a stacking blade sounds great, and that could bash through roadside barriers and not worry about ditches?

 

[KidCracker]

Probably last question: and something with tyres would do it, it wouldn't need to be something with treads? I'm guessing the tyres are better for the longer trek?

 

[6feetdown]

In my mind they're going to run across a building site (common) and the rest writes itself (oh, wait... I have to do that, dammit). One of the team is literally an army fella so in one respect he could suggest a barracks but then I'm into a whole logistical nightmare of how and where the army keeps its tanks (does every barracks have tanks?) how they're kept, what security measures would need to be overcome etc... best just to stumble onto a site and go on a joyride.
Skidder with a stacking blade sounds great, and that could bash through roadside barriers and not worry about ditches?

They could be on a military exercise or heading g for 1 on the outskirts of Edinburgh

 

[Lancs Lad]

Probably last question: and something with tyres would do it, it wouldn't need to be something with treads? I'm guessing the tyres are better for the longer trek?

Are you going to add in the electromagnetic field frying modern electronics like Greenland type scenario?

 

[6feetdown]

Probably last question: and something with tyres would do it, it wouldn't need to be something with treads? I'm guessing the tyres are better for the longer trek?

Why don't they start with 1 vehicle then ½ way encounter problems but come across a different vehicle

 

[Lancs Lad]

Why don't they start with 1 vehicle then ½ way encounter problems but come across a different vehicle

We need a cut

 

[6feetdown]

We need a cut

Or a character

 

[KidCracker]

Or a character

This could possibly happen. Any suggestions sensible enough to actually be used () will go to a vote...
PS no-one seems to know about the ditch/roadside barrier question though?

 

[KidCracker]

I'm also thinking about the treads issue a lot as well. This could mean simply going over cars in a lot of cases. Is there any reason a tread machine couldn't make it from Scotland to the south coast?

 

[JD450A]

I'm also thinking about the treads issue a lot as well. This could mean simply going over cars in a lot of cases. Is there any reason a tread machine couldn't make it from Scotland to the south coast?

Time..... You'd struggle with anything tracked.

A A30C grill is about 1m off the ground... And the rads aren't behind it (mounted on the side) they are easily as tough as a scraper.

 

[6feetdown]

This could possibly happen. Any suggestions sensible enough to actually be used () will go to a vote...
PS no-one seems to know about the ditch/roadside barrier question though?

Missed the ditch bit?