[MOD] 42128 - Tow Truck - Mods and Improvements

[Tazmancrash]

2 hours ago, Blippi said:

Thanks appreciate the input. The Mack Anthem tow truck is now finished;

Wasn't 100% on the trailer which looked like it belonged to a different truck with the green so modded the truck and trailer into this;

The rear ramps fold down using the hand crank on the side. HOG has been moved to back of cab. Also added white wheel arches etc.

Much happier with the truck now and is same size as the Mack Anthem tow truck (with ramps up). So look good displayed together.

Looks good, but the mack probably wouldn't have a sleeper cab. Can it be changed to the day cab?

[Blippi]

Tbf the only real life versions I've found have both been sleeper cabs but with only 2 rear axles. I think having the sleeper cab and the extra height helps balance the crane height, which would be a lot lower in a real world truck. Appreciate the input though.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Soon.

[KevinMD]

Logging truck? Looks like a pinching claw mechanism.

[mortenm]

Bought and build this set in august '21, but keep forgetting asking in here. 

Am I the only one having problems with the fake engine jamming and eventually falls apart? 

[schraubedrin]

3 hours ago, mortenm said:

Am I the only one having problems with the fake engine jamming and eventually falls apart? 

Nope, i had exactly the same problem.
Solved it by pushing the bushings further on the axles, thus reducing the stroke of the "cylinders".

[Johnny1360]

3 hours ago, schraubedrin said:

Nope, i had exactly the same problem.
Solved it by pushing the bushings further on the axles, thus reducing the stroke of the "cylinders".

I did this as well, works like a charm. You can experiment a little and find what works best for you.

[anyUser]

10 hours ago, mortenm said:

Am I the only one having problems with the fake engine jamming and eventually falls apart?

No.

My guess would be that the sharp edge of the brown axles do not slide very well.

6 hours ago, schraubedrin said:

Solved it by pushing the bushings further on the axles, thus reducing the stroke of the "cylinders".

I found that using a bushing on the lower end has better slide. Thus my solution is using 3.2L axles with the benefit of more cylinder-like look:

 

[Zerobricks]

Or you can use cam pieces, which are literally designed for such applications. 

[mortenm]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll take a look at it in the weekend 

[thekoRngear]

@anyUser's solution works surprisingly well. I have observed

- no slightest misalignment of any of the bottom half-bushes. They slide very well.

Just push the truck gently either forward or backward. If you observe any of the Engine pistons moves up like popping you will understand it has potential issue. I have not seen such.

- With that solved I have found a problem that can be seen from nitpicking level. The Technic gear rack (part #18942) inside the blue crane does not slide out after a long time. A gentle tap on it and then it can slide in and out all day long. Come back after two weeks, or even a month this will appear again. As you can see in the pic I even removed the red notched axle hoping it would ease its behavior but did not. It seems it likes to jam or get stuck after a long while. Any solution?

- A good thing is removing the 3L blue beam indeed eases the deploy of the tow bar. Ever since the beam is removed it retracts as it should.

I did not know AnyUser did a great review/article on this set at brickset. It is really helpful. 

Edited April 19, 2023 by thekoRngear

[Polarlicht]

Thats just the pneumatic components, they get stuck over time.

[anyUser]

I would like to show a modification of the original truck that has been on my mind for a long time. Only in the past weeks I was motivated to build it.

I wanted a shorter version of the truck. Instead of keeping all of the functions and try to squeeze them in a smaller space the idea was to drop them:

• No third rear axle
• No raise/lower function to the remaining ones
• simplify the crane:
  no raise/lower
  no extension
  no rotation
• Side outriggers are not necessary

This is where i started

And this is the current state (as shown above):

I kept the front (left to the green line) and rear section (right of the blue line) from the original truck.
All of the mentioned functions were removed and the two units connected:

The lime beams, red 3L pins, and 6x4 grey angle beams indicate the new connections.
Then I have buildthe rear of the cab. The funnel has been placed behind as there was no space in its original position (I wanted to use the 3x11 curved shell).

The final truck is shorter by 14 studs than the 42128 set:

Changes on the decorative parts have been made because I don't have the second set of all the required elements.
 

[Aurorasaurus]

I think your version with less wheels looks better than the original. Nice work!

[nintiendo]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:02 AM, thekoRngear said:

@anyUser's solution works surprisingly well. I have observed

- no slightest misalignment of any of the bottom half-bushes. They slide very well.

Just push the truck gently either forward or backward. If you observe any of the Engine pistons moves up like popping you will understand it has potential issue. I have not seen such.

- With that solved I have found a problem that can be seen from nitpicking level. The Technic gear rack (part #18942) inside the blue crane does not slide out after a long time. A gentle tap on it and then it can slide in and out all day long. Come back after two weeks, or even a month this will appear again. As you can see in the pic I even removed the red notched axle hoping it would ease its behavior but did not. It seems it likes to jam or get stuck after a long while. Any solution?

- A good thing is removing the 3L blue beam indeed eases the deploy of the tow bar. Ever since the beam is removed it retracts as it should.

I did not know AnyUser did a great review/article on this set at brickset. It is really helpful. 

Can you give me the Brickset article link mentioned above? /cc @anyUser

Thanks,

[anyUser]

On 11/24/2024 at 12:32 PM, Aurorasaurus said:

I think your version with less wheels looks better than the original. Nice work!

Thanks.

10 hours ago, nintiendo said:

Can you give me the Brickset article link mentioned above? /cc @anyUser

Please see the Pneumatics section..

Edited November 25, 2024 by anyUser