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Clicking on thumbnails
links to a bigger picture (100k average).
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Tow truck.
I actually thought about this model for a while because I still wanted to incorporate a fair amount
of working options.
At the time (end of year 1999), I was into pneumatic cranes. So I
decided to model a European parking enforcement tow truck (since they
use a crane to lift illegally parked cars).
The model has three solid axles with suspension. No driving motors.
Driving/steering is done by hand.
The model also includes a pneumatic rear car lift, powered stabilizer legs, a powered
compressor, and a powered winch.
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This is the basic chassis. You can see the front solid axle with steering and suspension.
The front is attached to the back through the stabilizer structure. |
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You can see the air tanks and the turntable for the crane. I used four shock absorbers per rear axle. |
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The air compressor is partly visible inside the chassis, just in front of the first rear axle. |
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A nice view of the front axle. Four shock absorbers ended up being a bit firm. |
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The cab is now done. See the cable spooled up under the turntable. |
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The motor powering the winch can be seen behind the air tank. |
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The base of the crane. Since it should be capable of lifting a car, three air
rams raise/lower it. Notice the micromotor to rotate the turntable. |
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Here you can see the rear lift mechanism.
It is raised/lowered by three air rams. The black hinge at the
end is from the tow truck (as will be the wheel holders for the towed car). |
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General view of the truck. Just missing the top of the crane and the flatbed. |
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Truck at work! The crane has the boom
extended. The strings (belts on the real truck) have to be looped around the car manually. |
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Car is off the ground. Notice the suspension at work, even with the stabilizer legs out. |
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Another shot of the loading process. A couple more shots of the loading are below. |
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Car is loaded. Now place a second in tow. First pull it with the winch (after lowering the car lift). |
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When the car is in the holder, simply lift it off the ground. Finally, a few more action shots below. |
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