Runaway Truck

[Smiley]

In this clip, there's a point in which a truck drives towards a chain link fence (2:17). Out of curiosity, what is pushing/pulling this truck to the fence and how is it retracting back into place?

[shawnc]

I've gotta build one of those! I always liked the train (headlight) coming down the dark tunnel in some haunts and the steam locomotive coming toward the tour tram at Universal Studios, but I could never figure out a way to incorporate one of them into a haunted house and make it not seem out of place.

But the truck is perfect! Until it moves and you hear the horn blast (I gotta have the horn too) it looks like it belongs there.

Now, how to make it work. I suppose I could use some really long air cylinders, but some kind of spring setup seems like it might work as well. But I would need someone constantly resetting it, though. The best thing about using air would be that you wouldn't need to mask the sound - it already sounds like the brakes.

I'm going to have to work on this and I also welcome other's thoughts, as I'm sure Smiley does. And I thought I had storage problems before.

[shawnc]

And the headlights come on too! That would be great in a darker area. Now all it needs is a scary looking driver. Did it have one of those?

[Jim Warfield]

Gravity and then followed by the gravity reversal machine.
I saw one that had people pushing and pulling it back and forth, of course it looked like a real truck because of the absence of light when it was just a front shell on a tube steel frame with much smaller wheels under it all.
One time in clinton, Iowa the JC's had the use of an old train station and they had customers exiting over unused tracks with a similar devive except as a train coming at people. Some panties were filled that night!
Real train Station, Real Tracks, it was "Over" and were leaving when it happened.
"Priceless!"

[Smiley]

Now, where am I to find a giant rubber bumper....

Since that's what stops the truck.


EDIT: Hmmm. Perhaps...

[Jim Warfield]

Those don't look like "fenders" to me.
Build the device that you need.
A big hinge with a spring or shock absorber to keep it at a 90 degree angle with a section of an old tire bolted to the part that makes contact with the speeding object but remember to make a rubber bumper on the moving object too.

Some farmboys building a JC haunt once made a moving wall inside a house to scare people, it scared me! They simply drove their tractor right up next to the house, disconnected the hydralic cylinders from the tractor bucket and ran the hydralic hoses in through the window to attach them to the moving wall.
Could it have actually crushed toes or complete human bodys? I think that it could have.
"Come see our Killer-Tractor!"
"I didn't see any Tractor in there."
"That was where your little brother got crushed to death, the tractor did that."
"Wow! Neat! He never did move very quickly"

[icandrawem2]

I have built a train before in which we made a system similar to that on a scissors lift to propel the train forward towards the crowd. We didnt need a really long cylinder to do so either. This can either be automated or actor controlled, but resets very quickly and without wearing an actor out. Send me a message if you would like something custom built. Take care!

[woolf]

Some farmboys building a JC haunt once made a moving wall inside a house to scare people, it scared me! They simply drove their tractor right up next to the house, disconnected the hydralic cylinders from the tractor bucket and ran the hydralic hoses in through the window to attach them to the moving wall.
Could it have actually crushed toes or complete human bodies? I think that it could have.
"Come see our Killer-Tractor!"
"I didn't see any Tractor in there."
"That was where your little brother got crushed to death, the tractor did that."
"Wow! Neat! He never did move very quickly"

Here's a haunt that used a real bulldozer to scare the hell out of people. If you don't mind the possibility of actually running over someone with a bulldozer if you miss the break pedal then this would work nicely. Or maybe not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQ3JKsB56Xs

[shawnc]

How stupid was that?! Does anyone know where that was? If nearby, I'll volunteer to go and beat some sense into the promoters. If near any of you, I'll happily provide the 2X4. Do you think they had insurance, and if they did, do you think the agent knew what they were doing in there?