Military Ground Vehicles of Your Nation [NO MECHS] Mark 8

[The Kievan People]

The reason why I am asking is, if you wish to know a vehicle design (or rather a few) I am working on. The vehicles in question all basically have the same layout. The crew is in the front, the engine behind them and a large cargo bay behind the engine still. And I was thinking that with a quick detach engine and a set of rails on the floor I could rapidly remove the engine without any cranes. You just uncouple it and slide it out. And the space inside the cargo area should be more than enough to perform any maintenance you wish to do short of swapping the whole unit out. Something which again is a slide in - slide out affair. And I wanted to know how quick and practical this would be. Obviously, light maintenance like changing the oil and stuff would just be done in place without removing the engine.

You will never be able to replace the engine without cranes, don't even worry about it.

[Purpelia]

The reason why I am asking is, if you wish to know a vehicle design (or rather a few) I am working on. The vehicles in question all basically have the same layout. The crew is in the front, the engine behind them and a large cargo bay behind the engine still. And I was thinking that with a quick detach engine and a set of rails on the floor I could rapidly remove the engine without any cranes. You just uncouple it and slide it out. And the space inside the cargo area should be more than enough to perform any maintenance you wish to do short of swapping the whole unit out. Something which again is a slide in - slide out affair. And I wanted to know how quick and practical this would be. Obviously, light maintenance like changing the oil and stuff would just be done in place without removing the engine.

You will never be able to replace the engine without cranes, don't even worry about it.

Not replace completely but make it easier to remove. I can't get a crane into the cargo area but I can get a crane to the rear doors.

[Anemos Major]

You will never be able to replace the engine without cranes, don't even worry about it.

Not replace completely but make it easier to remove. I can't get a crane into the cargo area but I can get a crane to the rear doors.

I'm not 100% sure why you're doing this, but if you must - why wouldn't you put the engine at the back where it's easier to access, and allow access to the cargo area through hatches on the vehicle's side or top?

[Purpelia]

I'm not 100% sure why you're doing this, but if you must - why wouldn't you put the engine at the back where it's easier to access, and allow access to the cargo area through hatches on the vehicle's side or top?

The reason why I am not putting the engine in the back is because I want to leave the back open for a large cargo bay with a ramp. And I want to maximize the cargo space and ease of loading. My design is basically a variation on the standard truck layout of a cab in the front, engine behind it and a cargo area behind that. I just can't use a flip-open cab. And I can't have a front engine because of other technical limitations.

So it's slide-out instead of swing-open.


On a related note when I asked before about doing a vehicle layout where the engine is underneath the cab I was told some rather negative views of that. So why are real trucks doing it if it sucks?

[The Kievan People]

Why wouldn't a crane be able to reach the middle of the vehicle?

[Purpelia]

Why wouldn't a crane be able to reach the middle of the vehicle?

Because the roof does not open. I could maybe wheel a crane in through the rear hatch. But it's a hassle compared to sliding the engine along the floor for some 2-3m so that the crane can reach in more easily.

[The Kievan People]

Because the roof does not open.

I'm done here.

[Purpelia]

Because the roof does not open.

I'm done here.

There is stuff on the roof that prevents it from opening. Stuff such as a folding bridge segment.

[Yukonastan]

Air defense systems, and how they are fitted to ground vehicles.
Also known as: How big of a radar can one put on a tracked vehicle, both in terms of size and in terms of radiated power?

[The Kievan People]

There is stuff on the roof that prevents it from opening. Stuff such as a folding bridge segment.

Either:
1. It is a multipurpose vehicle with a bridgelayer variant. In this case it doesn't matter. Bridges are always in the way and these vehicles will rarely if ever need rapid engine changes.
2. It is a bridgelayer. In which case it does not need cargo space. Put the engine in the back.

[Purpelia]

There is stuff on the roof that prevents it from opening. Stuff such as a folding bridge segment.

Either:
1. It is a multipurpose vehicle with a bridgelayer variant. In this case it doesn't matter. Bridges are always in the way and these vehicles will rarely if ever need rapid engine changes.
2. It is a bridgelayer. In which case it does not need cargo space. Put the engine in the back.

It's neither. It's combination pontoon bridge and barge which can operate either as a barge with internal storage for people or in a convoy as a pontoon bridge using inflatable pontoons and the large internal cargo space full of air for buoyancy. It's an old design of mine that went over well and I am rehashing to give it a new Flash or possibly 3D look.

http://z4.invisionfree.com/NSDraftroom/ ... opic=10186

[The Kievan People]

Oh.

That.

[Purpelia]

Oh.

That.

Yea. It's a bit out there, but it is plausible enough.

This said, if you were to take a peek at that picture of a truck I posted earlier, the one with the swing-open cab. I inquired about such an engine setup for my own needs a while back and was told sternly that in case of problems the passenger cab could fill with smoke. Is this true? Or is such a mounting safe?

[Tule]

Would putting a hatch (more of a small blast door really) on the lower left portion on the frontal hull on my MBT make it overly vulnerable? The idea is to make it an escape hatch, but mainly a way to make re-supply in the field quicker.

[Gallia-]

Would putting a hatch (more of a small blast door really) on the lower left portion on the frontal hull on my MBT make it overly vulnerable? The idea is to make it an escape hatch, but mainly a way to make re-supply in the field quicker.

Yes.

Put it on the back.

[Tule]

Would putting a hatch (more of a small blast door really) on the lower left portion on the frontal hull on my MBT make it overly vulnerable? The idea is to make it an escape hatch, but mainly a way to make re-supply in the field quicker.

Yes.

Put it on the back.

But that would necessitate putting the engine in the front. I can't find any pics online of the Merkava's interior.

It's not like the hull lower front is that heavily armoured anyway is it? Might even make it serve as a blow-off panel since ammo is usually stored in that section of MBT's anyway.

[Korva]

Yes.

Put it on the back.

But that would necessitate putting the engine in the front. I can't find any pics online of the Merkava's interior.

[Tule]

But that would necessitate putting the engine in the front. I can't find any pics online of the Merkava's interior.

I was talking more about the crew layout and location of the fuel tanks, with the engine in the front I'm having a hard time imagining where the driver sits.

[Korva]

I was talking more about the crew layout and location of the fuel tanks, with the engine in the front I'm having a hard time imagining where the driver sits.

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/201 ... -5ty4z.jpg

[Tule]

I was talking more about the crew layout and location of the fuel tanks, with the engine in the front I'm having a hard time imagining where the driver sits.

http://image.noelshack.com/fichiers/201 ... -5ty4z.jpg

I don't really know what I'm looking at here.

Look, I'm not talking about putting a pet flap on the frontal hull, I'm talking about something like a 15 cm thick solid steel blast door with a powered opening/closing mechanism. Turning the left half of the frontal hull armor into a draw bridge.

[Korva]

That white area near the top of the photo is the driver position.

See the periscopes and open hatch?

[Tule]

That white area near the top of the photo is the driver position.

See the periscopes and open hatch?

So the engine is located slightly to the right? Interesting.

[Gallia-]

Yes.

Put it on the back.

But that would necessitate putting the engine in the front. I can't find any pics online of the Merkava's interior.

It's not like the hull lower front is that heavily armoured anyway is it? Might even make it serve as a blow-off panel since ammo is usually stored in that section of MBT's anyway.

Don't worry about it, the turret would function as a 20 tonne blow off panel in that case.

[Tule]

But that would necessitate putting the engine in the front. I can't find any pics online of the Merkava's interior.

It's not like the hull lower front is that heavily armoured anyway is it? Might even make it serve as a blow-off panel since ammo is usually stored in that section of MBT's anyway.

Don't worry about it, the turret would function as a 20 tonne blow off panel in that case.

Something that can't happen with the tanks currently in use?

[Doppio Giudici]

This is a working prototype of the Titan 6, which is basically a Tiran-6Sh for big people.

Took my product, ""Frenched it up" and then left it as is.

So what I want to know is if this is reasonable and how much this would cost over the old model? (IE, how much does the barrel, new engine, and tracks cost?)