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Introducing the Soldier B HubHelper!!

US6x4

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I don't have an A1 or A2 but I can confirm mine worked perfect on my M923 to change out a leaking inner mid-axle seal over Labor Day weekend.

View attachment 775961
It was TheQuaker's truck I was thinking was an A1 - my mistake. I'll have to correct my previous statement.

Edit - I spy an air canister behind the drum of Dan's 939 series axle in post #40 so the 5-ton HubHelper obviously works on trucks with air brakes!
 
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Mrgior31513

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Just a thought, do you think a 2-4 hole bottom section with the angle, and 2-4 hole top section with a hole for lifting would work? It would cut down on the size of the package needed for shipping, cut down the material necessary for the part and be a little bit easier to store. The weight loss would be marginal, but the other advantages seem to be worth giving it a try maybe.
 

US6x4

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There is more than one way to skin a cat and I think I follow where you're going. I think it would be worth trying on the 5 ton version as shipping is more costly than I like. Since the 2.5 ton version fits in a flat rate box now ($19.95) I don't think I'll chop that one down any further. If the 5 ton tool was just a ring with a detachable top & bottom it still wouldn't fit in a flat rate box because the ring is so large. To get there the ring would have to get split into two pieces. I'll play with some 3D models of a split ring with a detachable base and if that fits in the box it would be a good option.
 

US6x4

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Just a thought, do you think a 2-4 hole bottom section with the angle, and 2-4 hole top section with a hole for lifting would work? It would cut down on the size of the package needed for shipping, cut down the material necessary for the part and be a little bit easier to store. The weight loss would be marginal, but the other advantages seem to be worth giving it a try maybe.
5T 2-PIECE WHEEL ADAPTER ASSY.jpg

I believe this is what Mrgior31513 was talking about as a way to reduce the shipping size/cost and I think this could work. The bottom part with 4 lug nuts attached would to the work and the top ring would attach with 2 lug nuts to help maneuver the hub. When not in use these two parts would bolt together.

Would anybody be interested in this 5 ton version over the 1-piece design?
 

US6x4

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Might be a good option for my 10 ton HubHelper
The size difference between your 10 ton version and the 5 ton version is almost the same difference as the 2.5 vs 5.

With the heavier gear reduction hubs of a 10 ton I would think about making the bottom piece a complete semi-circle that would attach to 6 lugs.

20190908_145909.jpg
 

Ajax MD

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View attachment 777671

I believe this is what Mrgior31513 was talking about as a way to reduce the shipping size/cost and I think this could work. The bottom part with 4 lug nuts attached would to the work and the top ring would attach with 2 lug nuts to help maneuver the hub. When not in use these two parts would bolt together.

Would anybody be interested in this 5 ton version over the 1-piece design?
Dang it, you're as bad as Apple! As soon as I buy a product, it's replaced with a better version just a few months later! LOL. :burn::lol:
 

Jbulach

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Dang it, you're as bad as Apple! As soon as I buy a product, it's replaced with a better version just a few months later! LOL. :burn::lol:
IMG_7767.JPG
Here’s your free aftermarket upgrade! Unless the lug nuts wont tighten down all the way, anything more than two lugs top, and two lugs on the bottom half is just fluff, and a huge waste of material...
 

US6x4

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Dang it, you're as bad as Apple! As soon as I buy a product, it's replaced with a better version just a few months later! LOL. :burn::lol:
Well, maybe not completely replaced but augmented with a new option. I will still make the one piece version, but many folks are keen on reducing the shipping size/cost and I understand why. I'm not sure what size of box this 2-piece version will fit in until I make one of them, but the shipping should be a bit less.
 

Mrgior31513

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Really, the stress points on the bottom are to be found most on the angle section of the tool, having a full ring only actually adds more weight to only add more holes to mount. If it were necessary to have all holes bolted it might make a difference, but it really only needs as many as necessary to hold it to the angle secured to the jack. The stress points on the top ring are to be found on the upper most hole for the hook, and same applies as with the nut holes for securing it to the part. The amount of force necessary to bend the angle is not entirely considerable with enough force, but to shear the top hook is quite considerable.

That being said, if you want an extra-heavy duty part, making the bottom angle with some welded in gussets would do the trick, but the full ring would still be unnecessary if 3 or 4 nuts were secured to the part. Keep in mind that I am just a humble fabricator/welder with much to learn, and by no means an engineer, from what I have learned in my years of building, I feel quite confident in this summation of main forces in play as there are no flex points with a few nuts adequately secured.
 

US6x4

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There are several forces in play and as Mrgior31513 mentions, there are stresses at the 90° bend and those will be the same regardless of how many holes are engaged with lug nuts. There is a vertical shear stress from gravity pulling straight down on the hub & drum and that stress is shared by whichever holes are engaged with lug nuts (4 holes is plenty for the 5 ton and probably overkill for the 2.5). This stress is trying to elongate the holes of the tool into an oval. Another force is a moment originating from the centroid of the hub (like the center of mass) which is a different location for the fronts and rears, but let's assume the centroid of the hub is behind the ring. The moment is a torque that wants to rotate the hub/drum about the centroid away from the top of the ring and toward the bottom of the ring so the lug nuts on the top want to pull through the ring and the lug studs on the bottom want to push into the ring. This is also what causes the bending tendency at the 90° bend that the steel has to resist. The forces wanting to pull through the top lug nuts and push into the bottom ones will be the same but the pressure experienced by the steel between the top holes and bottom holes will be different between the full ring versus the half ring. Since pressure is force / area, the pressure spread across a full ring will be less than the same pressure spread across half of a ring. I don't think 3/8" thick A36 steel really cares about this much with the 5 ton hub/drum.

Here's an example: imagine you're holding a 10' long 2x4 in front of you hanging out to your right side. Your left hand is wrapped around the left end of the stud and your right hand is under the board 3' away from the left hand. Together your hands are keeping the 2x4 horizontal and resisting the boards tendency to want to rotate until it touches the ground because 7' of the 2x4 are cantilevered beyond your right hand. Since you ate your Wheaties this morning your hands have no problem doing this, but now bring your right hand closer to the left hand, say 1.5' away. You will feel a lot more pressure in your hands trying to keep that 2x4 horizontal. Since the steel is stronger than our hands it will do this without any complaining.

To mitigate the forces that want to bend the HubHelper inward there is a tapped hole in the tail of the tool to put a 1/2" bolt into that allows the bolt to be adjusted until it supports the drum and helps alleviate the force on the bend of the steel (see below in picture of my first 5-ton prototype. This extra contact point pretty much eliminates the bending moments and reduces the forces to vertical shear only, but the steel is strong enough that I don't use this bolt anymore. The hole will be there if anyone wants to use it (I would definitely use it on the 10-ton with its gear reduction hubs).

*side note: that hole location has been relocated closer to the large slot since my prototype was made.

20180316_175809.jpg
 

US6x4

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Quick update on the HubHelpers: All of the 2.5, 5, and 10 ton HubHelpers have made it through all of their fabrication steps are awaiting a zinc-phosphate bath before getting powder coated.
 

Robo McDuff

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Do you have some pics of the latest 5-ton version in action? Would love to get one, but shipping to the Czech Republic would be killing. Besides, we start work on the drums this week. However, the truck is now at the blacksmith forge workshop of my son, so we should be able to copy some of your ideas for this. Probably mounted on a hand forklift
 

Psyb0rgDreamz

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Brilliant idea. Could have used this in the Motor Pool, not kidding. My back might not be in such bad shape if I had one to use back then! Look forward to seeing one for sale sometime.
 
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