Monday, July 13, 2015

Sectional Terrain: Transportation

The last project associated with Historicon is building a rolling cart to help move the terrain boards, scenery and troops around the convention.  It also has to fit inside my SUV.  I came up with the following design based on the lumber I had in stock in my shop.  First I made two more panels but the long sides are 48.5 inches long and the short sides are 24 inches long.  The terrain boards fit upright inside each of the caps kind of like the filling in an oreo-cookie.   Mmmmm Oreo's..... But I digress.

Kind of confusing?  Well wait, there's more

 The bottom panel will have side rails which have been cut out and assembled.  The side rails help stabilize the terrain panels by preventing side to side movement and the end caps on each of the top and bottom panels keep the boards from moving forwards and backwards.  I'll also add some hardware tie-down points on the rails to allow for a cross stitch rope webbing to further stabilize the panels (here's where being a sailor comes in handy with ropes and knots).  Once done the panels will be stable and I'll have an additional platform on top for the terrain and troops boxes.

But how does it roll?

That was the hard part - wheels add height and my SUV will not accept anything higher than 28 inches.  That means the wheels will need to be detachable.  I came up with the following design.  The caster wheels will be attached to a 2x4 section of wood that 25.5 inches wide vs the transport body width of 24 inches.  That means .75 inches of the wheel base will stick out of each side.

Why?

I'll be attaching the wheels bases to the bottom tray with the home craftsman's best friend - velcro!  (the 1x2's in the third picture will serve as guides to fit the 2x4 wheel bases in between.  Velcro will be more the strong enough to hold the wheel on and when it's time to load in my SUV one will just roll it up to the back and step on the extended wheel base to remove the front wheels.  The lift the unit up and remove the back wheels as it slide in.  There's plenty of room beside the unit for all the other stuff.

Well that's the plan - we'll soon see if this plan survives contact with the enemy!

3 comments:

Curt said...

Sorry Miles, I started to loose consciousness after the first paragraph, but it all sounds (and looks) very, very impressive. It seems like this rig could also serve as accommodations in case your room doesn't pan out...

jmilesr said...

Ouch! I guess I should shelve my upcoming blog missives on both lumber grades "Grade "A" Pine isn't always a fine Wine" or the equally exciting treatise on sailing rope "Single vs Double Braded Cordage: the Eternal Debate"

I was planning to use the rig post HCON as a mini food vendor truck selling vegan delicacies at future gaming conventions. I don't suspect I'll need to stock a lot of inventory but will charge for pictures so gamers can prove to their spouses they "ate healthy" while at the event.

:)

Millsy said...

Goodness Curt, it's exactly THAT kind of attitude that got the world into the state it is today...