Crazy post-apocalyptic vehicle idea?

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:15 am

Working on the bulldozing & excavator business = lots of time, when you don't need to use your brain, so I've had a chance to make up some crazy ideas for the past few days.

While watching an old Komatsu work at our field, I came up with an idea I've never seen used in any post-apocalyptic setting... Battle Excavators!

I mean, there are tanks in Fo:Tactics, Soldiers of Anarchy, STALKER etc, but after the apocalypse, wouldn't they be a lot fewer in numbers when compared to the common and cheap civilian working machinery?

An average excavator could be easily turned into a capable weapon of destruction with a few upgrades. Here's an image of a quite common one:

Imagine if the glass around the driver's seat was replaced with iron / steel sheats, plates or whatever, with little "lookout-hatches" on each side, just like in tanks. This one would be pretty easy to do with all the metal junk around. Next you'd add a mounted machinegun either on top of the "driver's cabinet" or on the backside of the vehicle.

The reaching claw could be used both in peaceful and less-peaceful purposes... To dig ditches and stuff OR crash other vehicles, walls and people. The backside of the excavator is made of heavy steel by default, so there isn't really any need to make armor upgrades on that part. This vehicle would be invulnerable to normal handgun & rifle rounds + it's very common and cheap to turn into a potential war machine.

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I'm not sure, in which forum this should be added, so I'll just post it here in GD. So, what do you guys think of my idea? Should I go and start selling it to the people at the STALKER, Fallout3d, [insert post-apoc project name here]-project or simply shut the fuck up?

Ernesto · Post by **Ernesto** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:38 am

You've got an excellent idea going there. However, I wouldn't have had imagined the vechicle in a Post Nuclear/Apocalype with the crane still attached. Maybe a steel girder might be welded to base? I don't know.

Overall, it's makes you think how effective a bulldozer or a back-hoe would be in a combat situation.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:45 am

Hm... It's true, that the crane would most likely be torn off. But the basis would still be there and it'd do a great poor-man's-tank.

Oh and IF the crane is still attached, it has a one nifty ability beside simply crashing and smashing things... climbing up obstacles. I know this very good excavator driver, and he can "jump" over big rocks and other things with "throwing" the vehicle over it with the crane. He pushes/hurles it towards the ground and raises a part of the machinery in the air. It's real fun to see, considering that we're talking about tons of steel here.

Bull dozers could be effective, though not as good, because they don't have the mobility of excavators. And the reach of their front "claw" is very limited, so it couldn't be used as much else than additional armor & pushing things over.

Back-hoes are even less good, because of two reasons: tires and vulnerability. Tires can be popped, which means the end of the journey. And they're very vulnerable, because the chassis and covering are made of quite thin steel, that is unlikely to stop the more powerful handgun & rifle rounds.

Ernesto · Post by **Ernesto** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 1:12 am

That jumping trick sounds cool, I'll have to drop by Ikealand sometimes.

Regardless of how many excavation vechicles survived the Big One, I would think pickups would be extremely popular attack/raiding cars. Strapping a machine gun to the roof of the cab would mow down a-lot of tribals and a hemi would make for a nice getaway. I don't know, I'm not a big expert.

Correct me if I'm wrong, oh-wise-ones, I believe the US Military refers to the vehicles I described as...Technicals?

Megatron · Post by **Megatron** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 4:36 am

don't they go pretty fucking slow? why not just attach the crane bit to a big truck or something, if you're into that kind of thing of course

^-^ lmao

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 8:54 am

Yeah, they're slow. A bit slower than tanks, but it isn't your average exploring vehicle? I mean, you could use those trucks, sand buggies and other light vehicles for that and "battle excavators" for kicking the shit out of your enemy's base/town?

The pick-up sounds really good. And when you think about it, it's really obvious too, I mean there are tons of pick-up trucks in America, so why not? The thing is, that if the opposition happens to have something of a bigger caliber than tribal spears, you'll be in trouble. But that's the life of a crew in light combat vehicles