42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245

[TheItalianBrick]

Sounds like a nice bonus! Which shop did you order from?

At argos they gave me a £15 voucher so guess it's that one....otherwise in few weeks Smythstoys will offer the usual 20% discount...

[Boulderer]

I'm having to keep my power dry where the 2H sets are concerned but, it's becoming increasingly difficult with talk of "deals"

[LucyCol]

Cats love Lego, I keep a bucket of old stuff for them to play with that way they leave my Technic alone.

Half way through the build at the moment, frustrated by lack of time to actually work on it.

[ChrisGTA]

Thanks for the tip on Lego customer service. I wouldn't expect a free replacement but I've heard Lego is very generous.

Those cats drive me crazy. The will sit by my table and wait for me to drop something then swoop in and grab it. It's like a race to see who can find it first.

I think since I'm going to have to replace the hose I will go ahead and order all the parts to change the cab color. I'm not crazy about the white. I'm thinking blue or orange.

Edited August 7, 2015 by ChrisGTA

[Ngoc Nguyen]

What are the differences between the yellow suspension and the grey suspension?

[Richard Dower]

What are the differences between the yellow suspension and the grey suspension?

the spring....the yellow is a harder spring then the gray ones. different springs hvae different strengths.

i think someone had a diagram of all the various suspension arms here once.......

Edited August 7, 2015 by Richard Dower

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Then shouldn't the yellow ones be placed in the rear wheels instead of front wheels? Since the rear wheels are supposed to carry heavy loads from the tipping body.

[LennyRhys]

Sounds like a nice bonus! Which shop did you order from?

It was actually ebay - I ordered from there because the seller was the only one offering fast delivery/UK dispatch at a reasonable price (below £100) - the 15% discount voucher was a very nice surprise. The shop is http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/ and the prices are certainly not the best (Arocs is £159) but with the 15% discount I can buy two or three Lego sets and save a lot of money.

Edited August 7, 2015 by LennyRhys2

[Richard Dower]

Then shouldn't the yellow ones be placed in the rear wheels instead of front wheels? Since the rear wheels are supposed to carry heavy loads from the tipping body.

Sariel and others had a discussion about that....was said to put the yellow ones on the back and greay on the front....flip what the instructions says.

[Oliver 79]

It was actually ebay - I ordered from there because the seller was the only one offering fast delivery/UK dispatch at a reasonable price (below £100) - the 15% discount voucher was a very nice surprise. The shop is http://www.jadlamracingmodels.com/ and the prices are certainly not the best (Arocs is £159) but with the 15% discount I can buy two or three Lego sets and save a lot of money.

I got mine from the same store but on amazon. It was £150 with free delivery. Wonder if I'll get a voucher too....

Edited August 7, 2015 by Oliver 79

[D3K]

Then shouldn't the yellow ones be placed in the rear wheels instead of front wheels? Since the rear wheels are supposed to carry heavy loads from the tipping body.

Sariel and others had a discussion about that....was said to put the yellow ones on the back and greay on the front....flip what the instructions says.

Having built several truck MOCs in roughly the same scale as the 42043, I can say from experience that this is a case where real life translates poorly to LEGO. More often than not I've had to put more than one hard spring on each front wheel, and the rear ends up so lightweight even the soft springs can seem too hard on occasions. The problem is the weight of all the parts up front - you have the cabin with interior, fake engine, perhaps an equipment tower, the batterybox and in the 42043's case; the crane itself - all resting more or less over the two front axles, whereas the rear two (dual wheel) axles have nothing in comparison, unless you have a constant heavy load in the actual bed.

[kisper]

Having built several truck MOCs in roughly the same scale as the 42043, I can say from experience that this is a case where real life translates poorly to LEGO. More often than not I've had to put more than one hard spring on each front wheel, and the rear ends up so lightweight even the soft springs can seem too hard on occasions. The problem is the weight of all the parts up front - you have the cabin with interior, fake engine, perhaps an equipment tower, the batterybox and in the 42043's case; the crane itself - all resting more or less over the two front axles, whereas the rear two (dual wheel) axles have nothing in comparison, unless you have a constant heavy load in the actual bed.

Good point. So should we switch the suspensions in your opinion ? Please advice :)

[allanp]

I would not switch them. In real life the rear ones are harder to carry very heavy loads in the bed. When the bed is empty the rear suspension is way too hard, it's a compromise. So unless you intend to have very heavy loads in your 42043 bed, id'e keep the suspension as it says in the instructions. This set does have more weight on the front wheels that it does on the back when the bed is empty.

[miguev]

I just an interesting compromise could be to have soft spring on axles 1 & 3 and hard spring on 2 & 4. The idea is that load capacity is more even along the truck, but when hitting bumps the softer springs would make for a more comfortable ride. That is, for a little GoPro riding the truck. Any one up for trying this out? I won't get my truck until January...

[TheItalianBrick]

I think best set up is to have 4 of the soft ones!

[Richard Dower]

the new pnumatics and gear racks are popping up on ebay:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Lego-Technic-Stutze-Ausleger-rot-grau-NEU-42043-6114965-6114979-/161777507822

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Lego-Technic-Pneumatic-System-V2-Pumpe-1x6-blau-NEU-42043-19482-6133813-/151770982687

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Lego-Technic-Pneumatic-System-V2-Zylinder-1x5-gelb-NEU-42043-6099774-/161777507827

[MrPaulo23]

I got mine yesterday after I ordered it from Lego, it's a monstrosity, the box alone its the biggest Lego box in my collection and it's heavy too. Won't be be building it not just yet, I want to raise the dumping bed by 7M - 8M to make it more realistic, then I probably will have to order those round Lego parts to simulate gravels of different sizes, the soft shocks at the back won't cut it for me because you can never tell when you will play it with heavy loads, so that has to be changed. Has anyone already built or modified theirs with dual Linear Actuators? aside from Dokludi with his replica?

[Richard Dower]

Has anyone already built or modified theirs with dual Linear Actuators? aside from Dokludi with his replica?

BINGO!....i always thought and wonder why there wasnt a dual setup, more lifting power + looks better....how do the real life vehicles look?

Do they have one or two?

[SNIPE]

Haha I wouldn't let them near the boxes either!

I just got my 42042 crawler crane delivered this morning and with it I received a voucher from the shop I purchased it from... which means I can get the Arocs for £135. Might get it sooner than later, I think...

Could you not swap it with one in the model that doesnt need the extra slack so put the chewed one where this would go and put the longer one where the chewed one was , or cut it down if its really long.

Maybe it would mean removing one of the tube holder pieces but no big deal

[dhc6twinotter]

I don't think the rear springs mounts will work very well with the stiffer springs. The springs will probably pop off the axles whenever they are compressed.

The front of the truck also has the battery box, which is part of the reason why stiffer springs were used.

[Moosetruck]

I've built both as my son wanted the a model so I built the b model and think they both brill must admit.but I've modified the trailer a bit put side rails and put a claw like the logging truck on it.

Ooh and I put the battery box on the trailer.

Edited August 7, 2015 by Moosetruck

[MrPaulo23]

BINGO!....i always thought and wonder why there wasnt a dual setup, more lifting power + looks better....how do the real life vehicles look?

Do they have one or two?

I know it only has one but it's a huge actuator. I've finished designing my modifications to the bed which is a taller unit just need some finishing touches and I'll be ordering the parts from Lego.

[MrPaulo23]

I wanted to do the dual setup too though but I have to study the manual and see if it can be done in the original build setup which alone can alter and ultimately delay the build process, if it's a simple retrofit I'll have to find it out. This set reminds me a lot when I put up my first 8110, the chassis is insanely complex mainly because of all the details Lego has put in it.

[Leif]

Everything built and mounted but the crane. Looking forward to a complex build!

[talos]

FedEx is supposed to deliver mine today, its 'out for delivery' but probably won't show up till late afternoon, so won't have time to start working on it till tomorrow... Looks like a really nice/fun build, can't wait.