Looking for a small Rc to travel with (1 Viewer)

[Brake Weight]

I've got a question. I've got a pair of Axial crawlers but I do some traveling by plane once a month staying in hotels and what not for a few days. These crawlers are too big to carry with me and there's ususally no where to run one, but there's usually a paved or concrete parking lot.

Question: what's a good scale on road chassis that a total package(chassis, body, charger, radio) would fit into a shoebox or smaller?

Reason for a shoebox is so I can pack it on the side of my suitcase and just check it with everything else under the plane. Not really having an idea of what's out there I hit fleaBay and did some quick googleing, but I'm at work currently. Tamiya has a few small ones and there's some small HPI RTRs I like. But it doesn't have to be a RTR. I could move one of the Axial TX/RX over to it and have an excuse to get a 3 channel with a winch for one of my crawlers.

 

[Fast Eddy]

Check out a Losi micro t.

 

[Brake Weight]

Thanks for the Losi tip. I went all through their website and I think this: http://www.losi.com/Products/Features.aspx?ProdId=LOSB0233T3 may be the one. Small, big enough tires to handle a not so perfect parking lot, yet still be able to pack it up into a child's shoe box. There appears to be a little following, as well.

 

[stevezero]

You may run into issues if you try packing LiPo batteries. They may let you go thru with nicad or nimh batteries.

 

[Brake Weight]

Scored a Losi Mini T 1/18, a Losi Micro 1/36, and a Redcat Sumo 1/24. Then a few days later picked up a set of older, Korean A-Tech 1/18s on a low bid that I forget about. Damn the eBay. I think I'll keep the Losi 1/18 and then let my 3 kids pick what they want of the 4 others.

None of them are LiPo, yet. Now I need to kill the grass in a corner of my yard and make a little track for the kids to run on.

 

[romelm]

How about one of these? 1/24 scale, real 4wd, servo motor for super torque. Will climb over anything and 2.4GHz to boot.

 

[Brake Weight]

What is that?

The deals on the used Losi Minis from eBay are already getting offset with Lipos, aluminum bits, and bearings. Both the Losi ended up being 1/18 since one was mislabeled as 1/36. Now parts swap, which is good. The Redcat 1/24 is a blast. I don't foresee it lasting too much longer. All of them are too fast for a child to run indoors.

 

[Fast Eddy]

All of them are too fast for a child to run indoors.

A lot of radios would have top-end limiting in a menu. With a cheap radio you might be able to figure out a way to put a piece of rubber hose around the trigger to achieve the same effect.

 

[Brake Weight]

I picked up a DX3e today and it has endpoint capabilities for every channel at a decent price point. But I can't see myself getting a bunch of these radios and receivers just for the kids to run around the house. I do have a spare Axial radio, AR3 rx, and and AE-2 esc that I'm going to attempt to put into the Mini Buggy since it has some bad wiring/electronics/short. IIRC, I can 'set' the hi/lo with the esc in a roundabout way as well as adjust the drag brake. I just need a few deans connectors for power and figure out how to make the Losi servo work.

 

[Brake Weight]

Got them both going now. The Mini Desert Truck is awaiting a set of wheel bearings and the Mini Buggy has Axial electronics and a new 3 wire servo. The buggy is a low rider and doesn't do as well in my gravel driveway. The DT has a set of upgraded/longer shocks that help it out in the rocks. The LHS has a set of longer/aluminum shocks that'll be getting bought today.

 

[Brake Weight]

I put a set of pink, oil filled Losi 'Race Shocks' on the buggy and it does great now. I put in a cheap servo and broke it already. Actually it held up on the aging Losi battery and the new LiPo got away from me in the garage and...the servo stripped. The wheel bearings in the Mini T make a world of difference. This morning I converted everything over to Deans connectors and tossed a fresh LiPo in the Mini T and it was pulling wheelies in the short grass and drifting in the garage. I have a solid diff spool coming and a HiTec servo saver for the Buggy.

I think I'll keep the Redcat Sumo for myself. It's a 6v system ran off of 4 AA batteries. That's not very efficient nor cost effective. So I've ordered a 4-pack of AA sized batteries that are 3.7v at 2300mAh each. I'll rewire the 2 battery boxes to produce 7.4v and 4600mAh. That should be quite enjoyable poolside while sipping margaritas.

I took the old shocks from the Buggy and put them into the A-Tech truck. This raised it about 1/2" and got it above the rocks now. My 3yo has a good time creeping around with it.

 

[Infamous82]

Why not just use rechargeable AA batteries. Small easy carry charger and easy to find and not that expensive. My old radio shack 1/24 and the kyoshos used 4 AAA and that's what we used at races, though you could put fresh standard batteries in and be a little faster off the gate

 

[Brake Weight]

It raised the voltage to just under 8v from 6v and it's faster now with extended run times.

 

[Infamous82]

10-4. Just keep an eye on temps and don't blow the esc. Shouldn't be too mush of a problem but not sure what those are rated for

 

[Brake Weight]

I've added a heatsink and cut out the windows. It does get very hot after a few high speed passes.

 

[Brake Weight]

The little thing is fast...real fast for its size and a brushed motor.
http://vid968.photobucket.com/albums/ae170/brakeweight2005/Mobile Uploads/IMG_1015_zps4d39039a.mp4

I've found a few gears to eliminate the brittle front gear.

I found this brass EFlite gear and shaved it down with some sandpaper. It worked good, but I didn't have any glue that would hold it longer than 5min. So I attempted to solder it on the shaft and burnt it.

I don't have a pic of them all, but I also got 20 of the same spec gears, by nylon, for $4 from China. I haven't ran one yet, but they're there if I need them.

Now that this Sumo is almost bulletproof for its setup, I've picked up another money pit.

The Losi Trail Trekker.

I've cut the bump stops, pulled the tire foams, and wrapped solder around the wheels for more weight. I've ordered a set of MiClaw tires and have a guy making a custom set of slightly oversized delrin wheels to look similar to a set of 20s or 22s on a 1:1. I'll have to stretch the tires on like putting 1.9s or a 2.2 wheel.

 

[Brake Weight]

Here's the new wheels and tires. I've since corrected the tread direction.

 

[David marsh]

Here's the new wheels and tires. I've since corrected the tread direction.

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this little car is extremely fast.it is very durable.this is by one of our favorite toys.its work very well expect for the plastics parts on the steering too cheep shuld make them out of metal.really awesome car.i highly recommend to buy this car.