RCCrawler Forums

TheScaleAddict · 06-03-2013, 11:42 AM

My oldest son will be turning four this November. I have been wanting to build him a' scale' tow truck for a while now! I was thinking about using a Midnight Pumpkin body to make 'Tow Mater' from cars. Those thoughts went out the window when I found a Tonka Tow Truck for him.

I went for a ride with some friends (road bicycles) over the weekend. I made it back to the 'rally point' about thirty minutes ahead of everyone else, so I had some time to burn. I stopped in an antique shop while I was waiting for my friends to get back, and I found this:

It's the perfect width for some SCX10 Axles. I'm thinking I'll run it on 1:55's, since they are really close in diameter to the existing 'tires'. That, and I have a set of 1:55 Growlers coming that I prerecorded for a rig that I ended up selling.

We're in the middle of selling a house and moving, so it'll be slow going on this one for a while, but I thought it'd be good to get a thread started.

Overall Plans:

1:55 Wheel/Tire Combo (Pit Bull Growlers/RC4WD Steelies(in white))
SCX10 Axles with Beef Tubes, and Aluminum chUbs, Knuckles, and Lockouts
SCX10 Transmission (geared VERY low to accomodate for the weight, and to make it easy for him to control)
Servo Winches on the Twin Booms.
Functional (Rotating) light on top.
LED's front and rear (head/tail lights)
4Link Suspension front and rear (limited travel with short, firm shocks - He'll mostly use it in the back yard and on the patio. )

I'm not even going to tough the paint. It's pretty darn cool as it sits! All I have to do for the chassis is fabricate a transmission skid and reverse/flip the curvature of the axle drop outs that hold the stock 'axles', which will retain the c-chanel of the 'frame' and allow for the scx10 axles to fit under, and even travel a bit.

TheScaleAddict · 06-03-2013, 12:09 PM

Here's a bunch of pictuers... You can get a better idea of what I referring to on the 'frame'. It should work out great.

I accidentally turned one to Black and White when I was resizing the pics.... Oh well, it gives it that vintage feel... LOL

Dostradamas · 06-03-2013, 04:45 PM

Nice find!
That will be a sweet project & your boy will have a one of a kind Tonka truck.

TheScaleAddict · 06-03-2013, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dostradamas

Nice find!
That will be a sweet project & your boy will have a one of a kind Tonka truck.

Thanks. He's going to be so stoked when he gets it. The hard part will be keepin it a secret till November!

gadge · 06-04-2013, 02:38 PM

as a former antique dealer all I can say is PLEASE don't cut that up.

JDCrawler27 · 06-04-2013, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadge

as a former antique dealer all I can say is PLEASE don't cut that up.

haha cut it up man it is just a toy truck, no old guy needs it to sit on his shelve collecting dust!

cut it up build it a post a picture of you happy son when you give him one sweet tow truck!

Dostradamas · 06-04-2013, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadge

as a former antique dealer all I can say is PLEASE don't cut that up.

You made me look.
This one is cheaper than some of the New Brites I see out there & way cooler.
This would be a cool one to chop up.
Vintage Original AAA Tonka Tow Truck Tow Truck not Played with Super Clean | eBay

TheScaleAddict · 06-04-2013, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gadge

as a former antique dealer all I can say is PLEASE don't cut that up.

As a 'scale addict', I can't make you any promises...

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDCrawler27

haha cut it up man it is just a toy truck, no old guy needs it to sit on his shelve collecting dust! cut it up build it a post a picture of you happy son when you give him one sweet tow truck!

I fully intend to do just that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dostradamas

You made me look.
This one is cheaper than some of the New Brites I see out there & way cooler.
This would be a cool one to chop up.
Vintage Original AAA Tonka Tow Truck Tow Truck not Played with Super Clean | eBay

I'm pretty sure that's a really narrow body; probably around 5-6 inches or so. I've never seen one in person though. It is pretty darn cool though. The one I have is a bit skinnier than an SCX10, has a much shorter wheel base than an SCX10, and weighs as much or more than my tricked out Wraith.

TheScaleAddict · 06-04-2013, 03:21 PM

Man, was I close with my guess of 5-6 inches wide!!! It's 5.5" wide!

Here's one for $24.99.

TheScaleAddict · 06-04-2013, 03:23 PM

Hahahaha... Here's the spanish version of mine! It only has one boom... LOL

Dostradamas · 06-04-2013, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cephas

Man, was I close with my guess of 5-6 inches wide!!! It's 5.5" wide!

Here's one for $24.99.

Losi mini crawler axles?

Dostradamas · 06-04-2013, 04:13 PM

You are killing me!
These damn tonkas are too cool.
I can't afford a tonka basher build....................................Can I?

06ToasterBox · 06-05-2013, 12:12 PM

I was able to see this tonka tow truck yesterday in person. Its gona be sweet to see this build. Great find.

Sent from my hotel.

TheScaleAddict · 06-05-2013, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 06ToasterBox

I was able to see this tonka tow truck yesterday in person. Its gona be sweet to see this build. Great find.

Sent from my hotel.

Yeah, it's going to be fun.

TheScaleAddict · 08-01-2013, 01:03 PM

I cut the original axles off and cut the 'frame rails' to fit a wraith skid plate. It fits so well you'd think that this is what Tonka had in mind all along. I was considering going with 1.5's, but after taking a look at some 1.9 ripsaws under Mater, I'm going to go ahead and do 1.9's. The only concern I have is how short the wheel base is. Granted, I'll have to do custom drive shafts. My concern is with the drive shaft angles. In the end, it will sit lower than shown in the mock up. I am going to use very stiff, very short shocks so that it handles decently while the kiddo drives it around the back yard.

Hopefully the low ride height will equate to very mellow drive shaft angles. All in all, there will be between 1/4" and 1/2" of clearance between the tires and the wheel wells.

sassgrunt · 08-01-2013, 01:22 PM

I like the Mighty Tonka tow truck as well. But, I don't think that ANY of us like it as much as this guy; who built a full-size one!

Life-size Tonka truck fulfills boyhood dream | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

truckbob · 08-01-2013, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sassgrunt

I like the Mighty Tonka tow truck as well. But, I don't think that ANY of us like it as much as this guy; who built a full-size one!

Life-size Tonka truck fulfills boyhood dream | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

Nice find!

That's to cool. I don't care who you are. I'm building a Tonka ,Leaf spring tho.

TheScaleAddict · 08-01-2013, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sassgrunt

I like the Mighty Tonka tow truck as well. But, I don't think that ANY of us like it as much as this guy; who built a full-size one!

Life-size Tonka truck fulfills boyhood dream | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

I'm speechless....

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckbob

Nice find!

That's to cool. I don't care who you are. I'm building a Tonka ,Leaf spring tho.

Link to thread? Pictures? Don't be a tease!

TheScaleAddict · 08-01-2013, 07:05 PM

This is about how high it will sit.

truckbob · 08-03-2013, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cephas

I'm speechless....

Link to thread? Pictures? Don't be a tease!

Ok . Here you go.

Shortened f-350 frame

06-03-2013, 11:42 AM	#1
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	Tonka Mater My oldest son will be turning four this November. I have been wanting to build him a' scale' tow truck for a while now! I was thinking about using a Midnight Pumpkin body to make 'Tow Mater' from cars. Those thoughts went out the window when I found a Tonka Tow Truck for him. I went for a ride with some friends (road bicycles) over the weekend. I made it back to the 'rally point' about thirty minutes ahead of everyone else, so I had some time to burn. I stopped in an antique shop while I was waiting for my friends to get back, and I found this: It's the perfect width for some SCX10 Axles. I'm thinking I'll run it on 1:55's, since they are really close in diameter to the existing 'tires'. That, and I have a set of 1:55 Growlers coming that I prerecorded for a rig that I ended up selling. We're in the middle of selling a house and moving, so it'll be slow going on this one for a while, but I thought it'd be good to get a thread started. Overall Plans: 1:55 Wheel/Tire Combo (Pit Bull Growlers/RC4WD Steelies(in white)) SCX10 Axles with Beef Tubes, and Aluminum chUbs, Knuckles, and Lockouts SCX10 Transmission (geared VERY low to accomodate for the weight, and to make it easy for him to control) Servo Winches on the Twin Booms. Functional (Rotating) light on top. LED's front and rear (head/tail lights) 4Link Suspension front and rear (limited travel with short, firm shocks - He'll mostly use it in the back yard and on the patio. ) I'm not even going to tough the paint. It's pretty darn cool as it sits! All I have to do for the chassis is fabricate a transmission skid and reverse/flip the curvature of the axle drop outs that hold the stock 'axles', which will retain the c-chanel of the 'frame' and allow for the scx10 axles to fit under, and even travel a bit.

06-03-2013, 12:09 PM	#2
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	Re: Tonka Mater Here's a bunch of pictuers... You can get a better idea of what I referring to on the 'frame'. It should work out great. I accidentally turned one to Black and White when I was resizing the pics.... Oh well, it gives it that vintage feel... LOL Last edited by TheScaleAddict; 06-03-2013 at 12:12 PM.

06-03-2013, 04:45 PM	#3
Dostradamas RCC Addict Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Oreganastan Posts: 1,151	Re: Tonka Mater Nice find! That will be a sweet project & your boy will have a one of a kind Tonka truck.

06-04-2013, 02:38 PM	#5
gadge Quarry Creeper Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: in the shop, of corse! Posts: 361	Re: Tonka Mater as a former antique dealer all I can say is PLEASE don't cut that up.

06-04-2013, 03:21 PM	#9
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	Re: Tonka Mater Man, was I close with my guess of 5-6 inches wide!!! It's 5.5" wide! Here's one for $24.99.

06-04-2013, 03:23 PM	#10
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	Re: Tonka Mater Hahahaha... Here's the spanish version of mine! It only has one boom... LOL

06-04-2013, 04:13 PM	#12
Dostradamas RCC Addict Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Oreganastan Posts: 1,151	Re: Tonka Mater You are killing me! These damn tonkas are too cool. I can't afford a tonka basher build....................................Can I?

06-05-2013, 12:12 PM	#13
06ToasterBox Rock Crawler Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Casper Posts: 505	I was able to see this tonka tow truck yesterday in person. Its gona be sweet to see this build. Great find. Sent from my hotel.

08-01-2013, 01:03 PM	#15
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	Re: Tonka Mater I cut the original axles off and cut the 'frame rails' to fit a wraith skid plate. It fits so well you'd think that this is what Tonka had in mind all along. I was considering going with 1.5's, but after taking a look at some 1.9 ripsaws under Mater, I'm going to go ahead and do 1.9's. The only concern I have is how short the wheel base is. Granted, I'll have to do custom drive shafts. My concern is with the drive shaft angles. In the end, it will sit lower than shown in the mock up. I am going to use very stiff, very short shocks so that it handles decently while the kiddo drives it around the back yard. Hopefully the low ride height will equate to very mellow drive shaft angles. All in all, there will be between 1/4" and 1/2" of clearance between the tires and the wheel wells.

08-01-2013, 01:22 PM	#16
sassgrunt Newbie Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Pearl City Posts: 3	Re: Tonka Mater I like the Mighty Tonka tow truck as well. But, I don't think that ANY of us like it as much as this guy; who built a full-size one! Life-size Tonka truck fulfills boyhood dream \| wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

08-01-2013, 07:05 PM	#19
TheScaleAddict RCC Addict Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Crawlerado Posts: 1,582	This is about how high it will sit.

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