8256 Crane Truck vs. 8285 Tow Truck

[chaosof99]

I recently got my 8258 Crane Truck and after building it, I'm more impressed than I thought I would be. My usual pattern of selecting sets is reading the instruction manual off of the Lego home page. The 8258 was one of the first I read when I came out of the dark ages and while I recognized it being a complex and huge set, I wasn't terribly excited or eager to get it. Partially that was also because it was out of my price range at the time.

I got my 8285 a couple of months earlier off e-bay, though unfortunately incomplete. I restored it to near completion since, but I was excited about the set from the moment I came to know it even existed and still very much am, because I really like such big tow trucks.

Now that I have both, and the comparison between the two is rather easy to make. Both have the same number of pieces (1877) and rather similar features, though for different purposes. Both have a limited extensible crane arm with a winch and a metal hook. Both have differentials leading into fake motors that are under pieces which can be lifted and angled outward. Both have outriggers. They are of almost identical length (the car lift of the 8285 not withstanding). And simply, both are trucks.

Now, the key difference between the two beside the purposes of the model, one being a tow truck for vehicles and the other being a lift truck for heavy equipment or cargo, is that the 8258 is motorized while the 8285 is not and uses manual input for all functions instead. Though the 8285 also has a small air piston to deploy the car lift, and a pneumatic function for raising and lowering the car lift.

In my personal opinion, I like the 8285 more, due to the design and diversity of functions, though the 8258 has very thoroughly and well implemented functions as well, in particular the folding crane arm. My question however is, which do you guys prefer, are they equal in your opinion, or are you entirely indifferent about both?

Edited June 18, 2011 by chaosof99

[DLuders]

The 8258 (not "8256") Crane Truck (from 2009) is considered to be one of the most advanced Power Functions sets. The 8285 Tow Truck (released in 2006) is considered to be one of the finest "Model Team"-type sets. With the high demand (and prices) for the 8285 Tow Truck, I agree that it is the "more desirable" set.

[chaosof99]

The 8258 (not "8256")

Corrected in the body of my post. Unfortunately can't do it in the title.

[Erik Leppen]

My question however is, which do you guys prefer, are they equal in your opinion, or are you entirely indifferent about both?

I own both but I very much prefer 8258. The tow truck 8285 had an unusually good value for money but the model itself had too much open space for my taste. Also I don't really fancy tow trucks in general. 8258 was much more technically interesting and the gearbox is simply fantastic and the whole set is much more "filled" with functionality. For example the four wheel steering or or the four outriggers. Also the folding crane is a great piece of design. Also I think the frame is better designed, partly because of the new 5 x 7 and 5 x 11 liftarms. The only drawback of 8258 is that it is a lot more expensive.

In conclusion, in my opinion 8258 >> 8285.

[RockeTeK]

I own both sets you mentioned, and I prefer both for different reasons.

As for the aesthetics: I prefer 8285, since it just looks massive.

However, the model itself isn't robust at all (unlike 8258). It is possible to twist the frame several degrees.

Motorized functions are not a pro for me, and 8258 has an additional problem;

the batteries cant be replaced easily (without taking a piece of the model apart).

Both have cons and pros, but for me they all cancel each other out, so I rate both sets as very good (8,5/10).

[Dutch_EE]

Hmm,

I have both the models. I also modded both the trucks. The 8285 was changed more intensively because I wanted to have it motorized. See my thread.

8285 MODed

Recap : I made the truck RC, I motorized the functions and I made the tow arm all pneumatic.

With this modification I like the tow truck more. It gives a bigger possibility of functions and it offers a way of towing your other creations. The tow truck has, also in it stock version, more functions to play with than the crane truck 8258. Also, it's tow arm can actually lift something.

[Ultimario]

8258 any day. The 8285 is a bit prettier but once i studied it closer i just got disappointed, it's just a frame with a few very simply implemented functions. The 8258 again is filled with complex functions and a sturdy feel. As a display only model the 8285 is okay and beats the 8258 but once we move to any swooshing, playing or functionstudying the 8258 delivers the big money.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Ultimario

[bord4kop]

Own the 8285, build the 8258.

The 8285 is big and massive. As is the 8258, but appearance isn ´t quite as massive.

The TowTruck is really nice with cool functions.

But... The 8258 is just a bit more.. shal I say: "designed"?

It has more functions, better or more complex technical concepts.

So the 8258 is the better choice.

But not by a really big margin.

It has more and better functions, it is more challenging. And has a Bigger variety in parts. (The exception of course are the pneumatic parts of the "tow-er".)

On the other hand, the 8285 functions actually work. It can and will lift things. As opposed to the crane-truck which can only be played with as a kind of demo. Just showing its functions..

And my 8285 has the ´silver´ parts which always seem to find their way to my MOC ´s

So there you have it, I too, cannot -really- make up my mind

[Alasdair Ryan]

Well i got the crane truck a while ago, i am now using it for parts, i have to say i dont like the crane however this can be change by Hans mod.

Edited June 19, 2011 by Alasdair Ryan

[technicmad]

The 8258 was my first set as an AFOL and I loved it. I felt a bit disappointed that the outrigger arms didnt drop automatically after sliding out, but I guess I have to do sometihng myself :) The complexity of the internal gears was great, and when I found that I had made a mistake it was a lot of fun trying to debug how it all worked!