The story of ATT
From prototype to production
Hi and welcome to Astro TUFF TRUK, my name is Lee and I want to share with you an idea I had that started out as a personal solution to what has now become an actual product thanks to a fabricating very good friend of mine, Matt Heap. Some of you may have seen an article, Keith the editor of Astronomy Now kindly published of my home built observatory way back in the August issue of 2021 which was a very proud moment for me being featured in my #1 astronomy magazine of choice, so here I was again blessed with being gifted another appearance in this awesome publication to tell the story of my prototype telescope trolley featured in the June issue of 2022. I can’t thank Astronomy Now magazine enough for their support.
Looking back at my observatory article it’s clear to see that over the past few years all I have really been doing astronomy wise is imaging, sat in front of screens watching the subs role in, and it was just by chance that I stumbled across my binoculars while tidying one day and I pointed them up at the inky black sky of the winter Orion area, and I thought OMG ! How I have massively missed so much the visual side of this beautiful hobby from where I started out, so….the very next day I was straight onto my good friend Kerin at Telescope House, who has looked after me for decades, and ordered the ultimate visual scope I could afford… the massive 16” SkyWatcher Truss Tube Goto Dobsonian, well it was almost Christmas and what else could my wife buy me that was useful, socks ? lol.
So, literally a couple of days later the beast arrived in 3 boxes big enough for a den I could fit in with my daughter at her delight, but that was another project to work on for another time. Once unpacked and built up it was time for first light, all I can say is the magnificent M42 was just epic and justified every penny this beautiful scope cost. Now this is where it gets interesting because although the 16” Dobsonian is technically transportable as it dismantles with quick release bolts etc, this thing is a monster and the main base and OTA are let’s say, cumbersome to move on your own, so after the second outing of this scope I realized I had to come up with a solution to save my back, so like my observatory build, it was time to get the drawing board, scale rule and pencil back out and design a trolley of sorts and this is where Astro TUFF TRUK was born.
I looked around on the internet at what was available worldwide, but all the trolley versions I could see were just not to my over engineering mind set, so I came up with what is now the prototype first TUFF TRUK, and it was a game changer for this monster scope. The scope lives on the TUFF TRUK permanently as I designed mine to squeeze through my workshop door where the scope lives under its cover already at an ambient temperature. Set up time has reduced from a 10 min of heavy multiple lifts with five journeys, to about 2 mins and one journey. I connect the handle, pull the scope out, level the feet and it’s ready as quick as that. Almost zero effort and in 2 mins I am collimating and getting ready to observe. The other added appeal is if the clouds roll in as per UK weather tends to do at the drop of a hat, or it’s just time to pack up, then the reverse is every bit as quick, again 2 mins, and it’s all back inside and my back intact. Having this TUFF TRUK has made the visual side of this reborn venture so wonderful because where there is a break in the clouds even if only for an hour or so I don’t have to get all motivated to be bothered with the set-up and tear down for a quick session as the TRUK really has made whipping it out an absolute dream, I literally have no excuse to be able to just grab it and start observing or videoing the moon and planets…. It’s that quick and that easy, and it has 100% added to the overall enjoyment of an observing session, no matter how long or short.
On to the actual build of the TUFF TRUK, like all my ventures I wanted to build something that was robust, ridiculously strong but also looked a high-end product, so there was only one lad that I could entrust the quality fabrication I needed to help me make this, Matt Heap is a lifelong friend of mine and just so happens to have once owned his own fabrication business, a triple award-winning one at that, so I took my plans off to his workshop where we could then set about cutting, grinding and welding 3 mm box section mild steel to create the first TUFF TRUK.
Once built it was sent off to the powder coaters and on its return it looked absolutely stunning, We were very proud of what we had created, and I was blown away with the finish and accuracy Matt gave the project. Once the TRUK was back at my house and my scope sat atop, it was time to take some pics for the forums that cover astronomy related DIY builds and projects. Once a few pics were uploaded with a brief story of why we built it, the positive and friendly comments started flooding in, and the overwhelming response was again another very proud moment, the amount of people saying we should get into making and selling these was at first a nice idea and a kind thing to say, but then people started asking can you make them any size, can you make a tripod one, can a shelf be added etc etc, so this actually got me thinking, so I went back to my drawing table and designed 3 versions of the TRUK’s. Initially I drew up 2 sizes of a Dob TRUK to accommodate 8” to 12” dobs and 14” to 18” with the pretence of making each dob TRUK specific to the base of the customer’s make and model (although they have evolved since then to be more flexible for many models base requirements) and then I drew up a Tripod TRUK and just as a test I designed a Pier TRUK to which has also now evolved into a mini pier version too.
I then called up the immeasurable wealth of knowledge and experience of Kerin again over at Telescope House for his perusal and opinion and just for another crazy proud moment he said we need to bring these 4 models and display them on the Telescope House stand at the 2022 PAShow in Kettering… Matt and I couldn’t believe it… this was becoming very real and beyond a dream, we immediately went back into the workshop and started the production of these 4 versions we were taking to the show. To our amazement the Telescope House stand was front and centre as you entered the show, so people had to walk past us twice, Kerin brought a huge dual scope rig on a SW EQ/Tripod for our tripod TRUK and Steve Collingwood on the Pulsar Observatory stand lent us one of his beautifully fabricated multi pier adaptor plates for the Pier TRUK to show the potential of any mount can fit. The response and interest was simply overwhelming at the show… First sale came in within 15 mins, which left Matt and myself smiling from ear to ear with pride. Many sales were made that day, but the amount of people saying how we need a product like this on this side of the pond was inspiring. We lost count of how many people were taking photos of themselves near our TRUK’s, it was a crazy day, but the sheer volume of positive comments was heartfelt considering this started out as just one TRUK to help my back moving my new scope.
The TRUK’s themselves are massively overengineered and there were a lot of people at the show amazed at how easy they are to pull with either Kerin’s rig or my 16” dob on as I took my scope for people to see the versatility and ease of manoeuvring such a big rig, even with one hand. They are made from 3 mm mild steel box section 60mmx40mm, all fixings are stainless steel, the 10” pneumatic wheels are zinc plated and then enamel sprayed and with the detachable handle and powder coating of your choice of colour I hope, like me, you think these are a great looking solution to a quick set up and pack up while keeping our gear and physical health safe. Manoeuvrable load capacity is 544 kg at 30psi, so it’s safe to say I don’t think you can overload an Astro TUFF TRUK.
Moving forward, Matt and I have now incorporated Astro TUFF TRUK as a Ltd business, and we are working hard to make every hand built TRUK as perfect as the last with all the care and attention to detail these TRUK’s deserve.
If you would like any extra info or help with what we can do for you, please email us at:- astrotufftruk@yahoo.com
Hope to see you at the next show, where you’re more than welcome to take a closer look or even take one for a ride.
Clear skies, Lee and Matt.
