Subscribe to download
FRHV14 OT-HoverExcavator (Open Top)

Mod/Scenario - None (Vanilla)


The fourteenth in my First Run Hover Vehicles series, the HoverExcavator is my ultimate expression of a multi-crew mining vehicle.
Carrying six Mechanical Drilling Modules on the front and sides, it should make short work of any deposit whilst also mining wide enough to dig itself out of its own hole. Also, with three Drill Turrets and two passenger seats, you can take 2 of your faction members with you for some co-op digging - although any player operating the upside-down Drill Turret might get a little queasy, it is perfect to clear away those pesky pyramid-shaped bits of ore & rock left behind from the drills that the HVs seem to love getting beached upon.
It comes equipped with a Harvest Module for clearing the area of a deposit of trees and a 13k SU Ore & Wood container, plus two Gatling Guns and four Minigun Turrets for defence, with a 3k SU Ammo container.
The HoverExcavator also comes with: a detector; a Wi-Fi; two O² Stations with four O² Tanks; two Mini Fridges; two Armour Lockers; two large and two small Cargo Boxes.
For propulsion: it is lifted by default by four large Hover Engines with six more for mining and a further four more set to the "MaxLift" custom shortcut, as well as four Medium T2 Thrusters pointing downward at the rear to help pitch forward when starting to dig into the ground; three Hover Boosters; six thrusters for forward thrust, six for reverse, and three on each side for strafing thrust, all of which are T2 Large Thrusters; and six RCSs.
It is also powered by three Generators fueled by 10 large Fuel Tanks.
- NOTE - any Mini Fridges on board come turned off by default.
- NOTE - The shade of orange used on the HoverExcavator has changed slightly since the screenshots were taken. Only the Thumbnail and the first image show the correct colour (however, as you can see by comparing those pictures to the other images, the shade is still close enough that the "incorrect" images still give a fair representation of how the vehicle looks).
- NOTE - 2 LCD Projectors have been added to the vehicle's cab since the screenshots were taken.

By replacing the T3 CPU Extenders in the shuttered compartments at the rear of the cab, along with the red blocks found therein too, with the T4 CPU Extenders, the following modifications can then be made to the OT-HoverExcavator:
Replacing the 6 Mechanical Drills with Laser Drills;
Replacing the red blocks in the centre compartment at the rear of the cab with a Pentaxid Tank;
Adding a Shield to the rear compartment;
Adding four Power Generators to the side compartment (accessed from the top).





Body = Steel.
Deck Plating/Floor = Carbon Composite
Armour = None.
Turning the 'Power Save' custom signal on turns the following devices off:
Wi-Fi; upgrade slots LCD Projectors; Holoprojection "Device & Signal Toggles" Info Screens.
The hazard beacons atop the HoverExcavator come on automatically when using the "MiningMode" Custom Shortcut.
Video - How To Turn Off Wimp's Blinking Lights


Originally part of the "Open-Cockpit Utility Hover Vehicles" series, prior to the full release of Empyrion. Finally updated Dec 2022.

(Clicky linkies)
FRHV21 EC-HoverExcavator
FRHV13 HoverIntruder
FRHV15 HoverCreeper
FRHV04 HoverDigger
FRHV11 HoverDriller
FRHV19 HoverBurrower
FRAHV HoverBorer
FRAHV HoverExtractor
MULTV01 Ox AEV - Felling & Excavation
WM04 Mentee HV Miner
WM05 Trainee SV Miner
Wimpomanufacturing 'Terms, Definitions and Conventions' Guide.