I have a Kessler K-Pod tripod with a Hercules 2.0 head. I ordered the tripod with the 6-inch standard caster wheels and the setup works well with a camera or Kessler crane. I wanted to play around with a track dolly and Kessler sells a set of dolly trucks (set of 3) for around $400.00. I am sure the quality is first rate but was looking for something a little less expensive. I found a camera dolly truck for the Kessler K-Pod on eBay. The trucks were around $60.00 each so after looking at them and contacting the seller I order a set of three. He indicated if they didn’t work with the idler arm from Kessler I could return them.
59
In picture 59 you can see that the trucks are a three wheel design (note the Kessler is a four wheel design). Each truck weighs in at about 1.5 lbs. The truck base is made from solid aluminum stock and has a black power coat finish. On the bottom of one truck a very small amount of coating was missing around the bolt. Overall I think the finish is very good and beats several of my India pieces of camera equipment. The wheels are attached to the truck base section with 1 ¾” x 5/16 hex bolts. The wheels have dual ABEC 9 bearings and it appears that the wheel bolts have a thread-lock compound applied. A hex socket 2 ¼” x ½” bolt attaches the truck to the K-Pod or any tripod that accepts ½”-13 threaded bolts. In the picture you can see a copper/bronze collared ring. That is actually a shoulder bearing that has a ½” shaft length and allows the truck to swivel. I am not sure but I think the bearing is made from bronze, (note this is not a ball bearing setup). Above the shoulder bearing is a 0.44” collar that is held in place with a set screw. It is very easy to remove the collar that holds the bolt with a 1/8” Allen wrench/hex key. The ½” bolt protrudes from the collar by approximately 1-inch. I had a hard time screwing it into one of the K-pod legs and it required some oil and then screwing it in a little and then unscrewing, (You will need a 3/8” Allan wrench for this job). This procedure had to be repeated several times to get the bolt all the way into the leg. Another truck also needed this procedure to attach it to the Kessler K-Pod 3-inch idler arm.
60
In picture 60 you can see the idler arm on one of the trucks. This is a massive item that is machined from solid aluminum 1.4” thick and weighs in at 1.5 lbs. The idler is around $70.00 and Kessler also has a 7-inch arm. I decided to try this setup out on 1.5-inch PVC.
54
You can see in picture 54 the leg on the left has the idler arm while the two legs on the right have just the swivel trucks. I place several different loads up to 20 lbs. on the K-Pod and check out how fluid the setup was on the PVC track. It was great and I think you are only limited by the operator. The idea behind the swivel trucks is so you can use curved track. The idler arm helps if the track separation changes. Since I only had the straight track I decided to see how the arm worked with the trucks. I started the track separation at 25-inches and ended at 30-inches.
55
56
This is a five inch spread and you can see the start in picture 55 and the end in picture 56. Sliding back and forward over these two end points produced a very smooth result.
63
Picture 63 shows the K-Pod in-between the two end points. The trucks are rated at 500 lbs. each but I do not have the Kessler seat so I could not try it out with my 175 lbs of weight. To be honest I was a little worried if I should get a 4-wheel truck setup or go with this setup. I have only played with it for a day but so far this seems to be an excellent setup and at a very reasonable price. Correspondences with the seller and service have also been wonderful and I am very happy with my purchase. To find this product on eBay just do a search using “camera dolly truck Kessler”. Please note this is not a product manufactured by Kessler and I have no relationship other than as a buyer with the seller.
59In picture 59 you can see that the trucks are a three wheel design (note the Kessler is a four wheel design). Each truck weighs in at about 1.5 lbs. The truck base is made from solid aluminum stock and has a black power coat finish. On the bottom of one truck a very small amount of coating was missing around the bolt. Overall I think the finish is very good and beats several of my India pieces of camera equipment. The wheels are attached to the truck base section with 1 ¾” x 5/16 hex bolts. The wheels have dual ABEC 9 bearings and it appears that the wheel bolts have a thread-lock compound applied. A hex socket 2 ¼” x ½” bolt attaches the truck to the K-Pod or any tripod that accepts ½”-13 threaded bolts. In the picture you can see a copper/bronze collared ring. That is actually a shoulder bearing that has a ½” shaft length and allows the truck to swivel. I am not sure but I think the bearing is made from bronze, (note this is not a ball bearing setup). Above the shoulder bearing is a 0.44” collar that is held in place with a set screw. It is very easy to remove the collar that holds the bolt with a 1/8” Allen wrench/hex key. The ½” bolt protrudes from the collar by approximately 1-inch. I had a hard time screwing it into one of the K-pod legs and it required some oil and then screwing it in a little and then unscrewing, (You will need a 3/8” Allan wrench for this job). This procedure had to be repeated several times to get the bolt all the way into the leg. Another truck also needed this procedure to attach it to the Kessler K-Pod 3-inch idler arm.
60In picture 60 you can see the idler arm on one of the trucks. This is a massive item that is machined from solid aluminum 1.4” thick and weighs in at 1.5 lbs. The idler is around $70.00 and Kessler also has a 7-inch arm. I decided to try this setup out on 1.5-inch PVC.
54You can see in picture 54 the leg on the left has the idler arm while the two legs on the right have just the swivel trucks. I place several different loads up to 20 lbs. on the K-Pod and check out how fluid the setup was on the PVC track. It was great and I think you are only limited by the operator. The idea behind the swivel trucks is so you can use curved track. The idler arm helps if the track separation changes. Since I only had the straight track I decided to see how the arm worked with the trucks. I started the track separation at 25-inches and ended at 30-inches.
5556This is a five inch spread and you can see the start in picture 55 and the end in picture 56. Sliding back and forward over these two end points produced a very smooth result.
63Picture 63 shows the K-Pod in-between the two end points. The trucks are rated at 500 lbs. each but I do not have the Kessler seat so I could not try it out with my 175 lbs of weight. To be honest I was a little worried if I should get a 4-wheel truck setup or go with this setup. I have only played with it for a day but so far this seems to be an excellent setup and at a very reasonable price. Correspondences with the seller and service have also been wonderful and I am very happy with my purchase. To find this product on eBay just do a search using “camera dolly truck Kessler”. Please note this is not a product manufactured by Kessler and I have no relationship other than as a buyer with the seller.
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