Pneumatic Tow Truck part 2

I'm now pretty much finished with the MOC, having added some more functions today.

Firstly I added a front winch, and then I made the towing fork extendable using a long, old style cylinder. It retracts via rubber bands, eliminating the need for superfluous pneumatic stuff (old pump and distribution block)

The below image shows the front, with the cabin removed. The horizontal cylinder on top of the engine is the one used to tilt the cab. You can also see where the front stabilizer cylinders are attached, as well as the extra grey springs on the suspension, needed because of the high weight of the model

 The outriggers on this MOC are all actually needed, as pumping on either side of a vehicle with full suspension makes it wobble from side to side.

Next is a picture of the base of the crane, as well as a lot of the pneumatic stuff. You can also barely see the two cylinders used for slewing the crane, in the same way as is done on the infamous 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig from the early nineties. The gears is for the extention of the boom on the crane. A crank on the right hand side of the chassis, drives axles and gears up through the turntable, and finally to a wor gear, that extend the boom.

A close up of the outrigger mechanism. You can also see the "wishbone" parts used in the rear suspension. Although it is live axle, using this part instead of the more common 6L link with ball sockets on either end, restricts movement to two axis', instead of the usual three (the drive shaft has too much slack to be effective alone). It worked really well! The rearmost axle has a different setup again=)

These are the front axles. Nothing special here really.. the different turning radiuses is achieved using a short axle with gear reduction (12:20) for axle number 2.

 Will have a video in the next couple of days (hopefully tomorrow)

Technic pneumatic tow truck "Pneumayhem"

I am in the finishing stages of building my version of a heavy duty tow truck, trying to make a model with a high level of platability, without using any electric parts at all. At first I just tried to make an 8x4 chassis with full independent suspension (double wishbone on the front two axles, and Live axle for the rear two axles. The below picture is close to the final result, but some modifications have been made as I went along, including a differential between both driven axles (located more or less amidships), and more springs in the front to support the massive weight.

This is not a complete presentation, as the truck isn't finished yet, more of a teaser of some of the functions (mostly pneumatic) and features of the model.

The cab, is loosely based on the one from the beloved 8258 Crane Truck, however the roof is a design of my own, as is the grille and also a lot of other details, as later pictures will show.

The above picture shows the truck in a more or less completed state, but several improvements have been made since this picture was taken.

The above image shows the front sans cab, with the pneumatic air tank, and the two manual pumps.

Minor changes have been made, amongst others a pneumatic cylinder to facilitate lifting of the cab.

Here you see the improved cab, featuring opening doors and a better looking front assembly thingy.

You can also see parts of the self sustained automatic electric compressor unit, that can be placed inside the cab instead of the seats and steering wheel. It is then connected to the pneumatic circuit, and will maintain pressure, without having to use energy yourself.

A closer view of the rear outriggers, towing fork and small winch, as well as the main boom lifting cylinders. The boom extention is via a crank on the right hand side of the chassis. it drives a worm gear in the main boom, through an intricate system of axles and gears from the chassis.