Construction
Popular Science described the Landmaster:
- Three independent drive sources running from a gasoline power plant. Uses semi truck parts in the drive train. Can operate with the front or rear wheel trinary out of commission. Side and top hatches on the main unit and rear and top on the after section. Full running lights and brake lights for urban street use. External video camera is mounted on the forward pylon located just behind the front top hatch. Could also house the antenna. All pylons are hardened and armored. Can operate in water and will remain sealed when fully submerged. Can float while half full of water.
While the film is fiction, the Landmaster vehicle itself is real. In the story, the Landmaster was designed to use as many standard truck parts as possible, so that any junkyard would have whatever was needed for repairs. The real Landmaster is powered by a 427-cubic-inch (7.00 L) Ford industrial engine, and uses the rear-ends of two big trucks and an Allison automatic truck transmission. It features a fully functional, custom-built "tri-star" wheel arrangement, which could actually help it crawl over boulders. All 12 wheels are driven, but only 8 are normally in contact with the road surface at any one time.
It also used an innovative steering mechanism which guided the vehicle, not by turning the front wheels, but by bending the middle section with hydraulic rams to effect a turn, similar to large construction equipment. The Landmaster's bodywork was made with 3⁄8-inch (1 cm) steel plating, which helped it tip the scales at over 10 tons. The design's strength allowed it to survive a 25-foot (7.6 m) jump during testing with no damage.
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