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Article Number: 40 | VC6 | VC5 | VC4 | VC3 | Post Date: September 22, 2017 | Last Updated: September 22, 2017 


I need a 53 ft long two-axle trailer for my simulation. Is there a way to make this in Virtual CRASH?

Yes. As with any vehicle in the Virtual CRASH database, it’s easy to customize an existing trailer mode. Let’s start by bringing in the 40-foot 2 axle trailer.

Next we'll go to "size" in the left control menu and modify the trailers length.

Since our wheels are now in the wrong location because we modified the trailer length, we'll go into the "axles" menu in the left-side control panel and change the overhang and wheelbase. 

Note, as with any other vehicle, you can modify the trailer’s tire, size, and inertial properties in the left-side control panel.


Next, let’s modify some of the trailer elements to give it a cleaner look. Let’s start by removing the original fenders and deleting the spare tires from underneath the trailer, and let’s extend the rearmost box to fill out some of the underside of the trailer. Note, by selecting the box portion of your trailer and changing the material type to "white" instead of "cab" in the faces menu, rendering time can be reduced by reducing the need for ray tracing over the trailer’s surface area, but you will no longer be able to change the trailer color in the left-side control panel using the color selection tool. 

Now we can bring in a tractor and attach our trailer to it using the "pick leader" option under the "trailer" menu for our trailer, and adjust the hitch overhang and drawbar length.

Here we have our finished product.

You can download a vc4 file with this trailer here >

You can download a vc4 file with this trailer using cab (reflective) material here > 

Note, be sure to adjust the inertial properties and cg location of this model as needed for your case. 


Tags: tractor trailers, 53 foot trailer, 53 ft trailer, modify vehicles, making a trailer. 


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