Sci-fi Author Needs Heavy Machinery Advice!

[Mogman]

I am eagerly anticipating the mention of cetops now....

And brown paint

 

[JerryRtilt]

I am eagerly anticipating the mention of cetops now....

That will take some explaining

 

[Rob65]

That will take some explaining

Oh dear, what have I started

 

[Rob65]

And brown paint

A point of order here if I may. Common or garden tillty's are painted in common colours but the best quality hand built bespoke tilty's are only available in gold if my memory is correct.

 

[6feetdown]

Someone (my apologies for not having people's usernames, I assure you this is all extremely well appreciated) suggested getting off the road into the landscape nearby when things are really backed up, which made a lot of sense. I wanted to know if the scraper/volvo/JCB would have any issues a: punching through roadside barriers and b: getting over roadside ditches which are narrow but often quite deep?

This should clear a few ditches

 

[Canal Navvy]

Would have been much more fun if they started their mission in Misson rather than Edinburgh

 

[Bri963]

WOAH!! Are these more common than a scraper? And can they motor?

Cat 954. Not common apart from opencast mines/quarries. But you only need one. Capable of pushing anything abandoned on a motorway, unlike a duck and tilty which would need to stop, lock its axle, put blade down, use grapple to pull up barrier so it could crawl round obstructions, except possibly the odd Toyota Argo which it could probably push out of the way. When this novel that we’re all co-authoring gets made into a film, what’s going to look most spectacular blasting across the screen with Hayley Atwell driving it?

sorry, got a bit carried away there.

 

[Smiffy]

Volvo dumper

Vs

mk7 transit

I think think the trannies winning and druids just posted up one for sale as the perfect promotional piece

 

[V8Druid]

A couple of suggestions here. If you want something readily available in most towns that already has a vee blade and a bit of weight behind it look no further than a snow plough gritter truck as is used to clear motorways of snow.

But seriously guy you are all over thinking this. What is one of the most talked about bits of kit on this forum? To save a great debate I’ll tell you. It’s a duck with a tilty and this apocalyptic world would make it perfectly opportunity to tow a trailer on the road which would carry all the quickly changed attachment’s required for the trip.

Need to go off the road? Simple put your grab on and pull the barrier out, then drop the grab on the trailer and pick the bucket up to fill a ditch. Cars obstructing the road? Drop the bucket off the machine on to the trailer and attach your magnet. Use the magnet to clear the cars out of the way. Oh look, there is a lorry on its side blocking the road and it’s too heavy to lift with the excavator arm. No problem fit the scrap metal cutting shear and cut the lorry in to small pieces.

The plot here is unlimited

View attachment 49867


For the OP who may need a bit more help visualising this, here is a link showing a few different toys / attachments being used on such a machine.

Nearly forgot to mention most of these machines have a dozer blade fitted already that would just push through the saner run of the mill obstacles encountered on the road.

I’ll leave it here for everyone else to have wet dreams writing all the details………….

been biting my lip on the duck front from page 1
nice selector grab'd do most things, including ditch filling
bigger trailer than pictured .. att.s up front .. everyone/thing else further back

 

[V8Druid]

A point of order here if I may. Common or garden tillty's are painted in common colours but the best quality hand built bespoke tilty's are only available in gold if my memory is correct.

exactly Rob .... if it's bespoke it gets my colours

and this is what they're talking about @KidCracker

it'll pick and carry 4-5+t and lift 10t

 

[V8Druid]

Would have been much more fun if they started their mission in Misson rather than Edinburgh

I should co co ... from Jacksons on the rocket site

 

[AHPP]

A backhoe (JCB 3CX/4CX) or a telehandler (ubiquitous on building sites and farms) seem the most realistic. They're not too big. Machines the size of a house will surely seem silly. And people know the backhoe as the thing that occasionally rips a cashpoint out of a wall. It's got a bit of lovable-rogue about it. Also the easiest to work into a film or do a photoshoot with because they're less specialist and less money than the big things. Let Killdozer be Killdozer. You're not topping that story.

 

[AHPP]

If you haven't seen it btw, Children of Men is a decent film and has a bit in common with your story.

 

[KidCracker]

A backhoe (JCB 3CX/4CX) or a telehandler (ubiquitous on building sites and farms) seem the most realistic. They're not too big. Machines the size of a house will surely seem silly. And people know the backhoe as the thing that occasionally rips a cashpoint out of a wall. It's got a bit of lovable-rogue about it. Also the easiest to work into a film or do a photoshoot with because they're less specialist and less money than the big things. Let Killdozer be Killdozer. You're not topping that story.

I wouldn't try, and the bulldozer is a plot element, not the centrepiece, unlike with Tread. The readers that are waiting for this instalment are a lot more concerned with the main Macguffin, don't worry ;-)

 

[KidCracker]

A couple of suggestions here. If you want something readily available in most towns that already has a vee blade and a bit of weight behind it look no further than a snow plough gritter truck as is used to clear motorways of snow.

But seriously guy you are all over thinking this. What is one of the most talked about bits of kit on this forum? To save a great debate I’ll tell you. It’s a duck with a tilty and this apocalyptic world would make it perfectly opportunity to tow a trailer on the road which would carry all the quickly changed attachment’s required for the trip.

Need to go off the road? Simple put your grab on and pull the barrier out, then drop the grab on the trailer and pick the bucket up to fill a ditch. Cars obstructing the road? Drop the bucket off the machine on to the trailer and attach your magnet. Use the magnet to clear the cars out of the way. Oh look, there is a lorry on its side blocking the road and it’s too heavy to lift with the excavator arm. No problem fit the scrap metal cutting shear and cut the lorry in to small pieces.

The plot here is unlimited

View attachment 49867


For the OP who may need a bit more help visualising this, here is a link showing a few different toys / attachments being used on such a machine.

Nearly forgot to mention most of these machines have a dozer blade fitted already that would just push through the saner run of the mill obstacles encountered on the road.

I’ll leave it here for everyone else to have wet dreams writing all the details………….

Thanks very much, the issue again here though is how easy (or not) it is to fit various attachments for people unfamiliar with doing so. I love the fact of them already having a dozer blade fitted though, if that's normal then that's great

 

[Giles]

A boat would be easier? Big motor cruiser or fishing boat lol keep the land in sight

Or borrow a train lol

Constantly smashing into cars is going to throw everyone not fastened down off and give everyone whiplash plus assumes it’s not 5 miles bumper to bumper lol

Decent 4x4/pickup then hop between vehicles if any major obstructions or go around etc

Stihl saw and impact wrench for Armco barriers to get off motorway network etc

 

[KidCracker]

Can't take a boat for reasons in the sci-fi setup (I looked into it but it can't work). Very nice suggestion with the train and I'd love to use it but ChatGPT just told me it'd be wayyyyy too complicated.

 

[Canal Navvy]

A FV 180 combat engineer tractor would sound a pretty good bet .... don't think Jacksons at Misson have one in stock at the moment but a look at their site would convince you that the military have ideas as wild as us ......... and fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be they have the cash to make them happen

 

[Canal Navvy]

A FV 180 combat engineer tractor would sound a pretty good bet .... don't think Jacksons at Misson have one in stock at the moment but a look at their site would convince you that the military have ideas as wild as us ......... and fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be they have the cash to make them happen

If you lot are REALLY unlucky I'll tell you the story of how an FV 180 in a lovely vivid pink with blue spots towing an oversized shiny beer keg came to be parked on a verge in Edinburgh near a demolition site with a rather nice old Victorian brewery inconveniently at the back.

 

[maz]

After all this effort, I hope you're not going to tell us the main characters are a purple haired social sciences graduate and an art student who wouldn't know a diggers arse from its boom!

I'll offer the same thing I said in the last "zombie" thread we had....your survivors accidentally stumble upon a fully restored Scammell Explorer with full recovery gear...maybe I'm just living out my own fantasy though...in reality, I'd just find a moped, meep meep!