When I saw this new product in the 2023 catalog, I immediately wanted to test it, because I always dreamed of having such a vehicle. Being able to remove dust from the track without getting tired.
As always, Carrera 1/32 vehicles are delivered in a beautiful blue box with a transparent lid. After opening, simply unscrew the screw under the support to release the vehicle.
Behind the base, a small hatch hides the instructions and 2 small pieces of fabric to clean the track. It will have to be fixed on its support at the back of the truck. Be careful, the small assembly instructions are on the cardboard surrounding the model.
To fix the fabric, you have to remove the small rear block from its support. Be careful when unclipping it, not to break the clips. These little things are fragile. I hadn’t paid attention but in the end this cleaning module is fixed on a towing support. And besides, it’s a towing truck pure and simple. It is identical to the towing trucks already available (example ref 20030978) except for the color which for our model is orange. It’s great, here is a versatile model that can do repairs and cleaning. I had seen the breakdown vehicles but for the little use, I found it a little expensive.
The tow truck is equipped with two rear axles but only one is motorized (the rear), the second is only an accessory.
Well, it’s time to put the truck on the track. The front headlights come on (no rear position lights) and the rotating beacon bar flashes. When stopping the vehicle by pressing the trigger on the lever, it is possible to have only the headlights, only the rotating beacon bar, both on or neither.
Truck decoration
On the front of the vehicle and the back of the cabin, I love the license plate on the front “CL-EAN 1”, clean which translates from English to French, means to clean – clean. A nice little nod to its function.
On the front and the doors, we can see written in black, the word “ENTDRECKER” which translates from German means “Explorer”. On the back on each side is also the text “Wir kümmern uns um jeden Dreck” which means “We take care of every dirt”.
Mounting the fabric on its support
You have to fix the fabric on the 4 spikes of the support, then clip the support on the towing basket. Nothing could be simpler, but given the thickness of the fixing strips, I was careful not to break them.
Cleaning
The towing basket is now deployed on the track with the cleaning module. The latter is well attached to the track thanks to a magnet inside. This allows the track contacts to be cleaned well. Except that the force of the magnet is so high that the truck sometimes has difficulty moving forward. It often happens that the engine strains, or even that the wheels slip. This is where we understand the warning on the box of the maximum traction time of another vehicle of 3 minutes. I even think that the truck struggles much more in cleaning than in towing, according to my tests. For this type of truck, speed is not an important criterion, Carrera could have modified the gear diameters in order to give it less speed and more torque.
Don’t forget to put the two small red flags on each side of the cleaning module. Functionally it’s useless but it’s visually more pleasant.
After a lap on each track, I look at the state of the piece of fabric. We can see beautiful black traces of elements removed from the power rails. While I thought my tracks were clean, well not so much! Let’s do a few more laps to finish cleaning this track.
I do a few laps of the track, always taking care to go through the switches and the pits to clean the entire track.
The switches do not pose any problem to the truck, the fabric slides perfectly on the track changes.
As indicated, it cleans the 2 contact rails of the track very well. The module removes dust on the track, like a broom, so if the dust does not remain stuck on the fabric. It can fly elsewhere, outside the track or next to it on the track, the other track. A fabric more adapted to capturing dust could be better suited to this function.
However, unfortunately, this truck does not remove dust stuck in the slot of the track.
Towing
Since our cleaning truck can also do breakdown and tow cars. We need to test it. So let’s choose a vehicle to test the towing.
We put the front wheels on the basket by putting the guide in the slot provided for this purpose and off we go. The truck does not struggle to tow the car, it is less difficult for it because the effect of the magnet in the car is less since the car is not stuck to the track. It is therefore easier for the truck to move the car than to drag the cleaning module. However, there is more weight, but the effect of the magnet is less.
I scrupulously respect the warning message on the base of the box. No towing for more than 3 minutes!
Below are the assembly instructions, only present on the cardboard around the box, so do not lose it.
Be careful, as shown by the sticker on the side of the box base, this vehicle is not recommended for R1 type banked turns.
Price-wise, the “Explorer” is at a public price of €95, which is ten euros more than the recovery version without the cleaning module.
Acquiring a second vehicle just for cleaning if you already have the towing one is a bit expensive, but if you don’t have it, choosing this vehicle is a good purchase.
Summary
If I am not necessarily convinced by the towing function which in my opinion has little interest from a racing point of view, the possibility of cleaning the track allows easily in a few minutes to keep a clean track.
Ref: 20031094
Indicative price: 95€