Go ahead Eric. Say it. It's my fault.....
Scale RC/ RC crawlers
- Thread starter lt1fire
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Go ahead Eric. Say it. It's my fault.....
It's been brewing for a while. While I'd love to lay fault on someone else's feet, I cannot. lol
After I posted some pics on Fakebook I had a request to post up some info in this thread on our latest RC purchase. I'll do a little review with a few pics thrown in. The truck is an RC4WD Trailfinder 2. It is a 1/10 scale replica of the early 80's Toyota Hilux. RC4WD also makes an FJ40 version that shares most of the mechanical pieces with the TF2 but with a shorter wheelbase and (of course) a 40 body. The RC4WD machines have hard plastic bodies whereas most other brands use thin flexy lexan. Both types have their pros and cons, weight being the main drawback to hard bodied RC's. I bought this truck lightly used from @little_joe for Nathan's birthday back in November. Here's pretty much what it looked like then:
Both the RC4WD Trailfinder 2 and the Gelande (FJ40) are offered as a DIY kit (KIT) or as a ready-to-run (RTR) vehicle. For those of you not immersed in the RC world, these KIT vs. RTR offerings are pretty standard with many other brands. The build-it-yourself KIT version typically will include a few upgraded bits and pieces that are not available on the RTR version but the KIT will have no electronics whatsoever. You'll have to source all the electronics to make the truck run (steering servo, motor, speed controller, transmitter and receiver). With some brands the KIT will get different graphics, metal shock bodies and stickier compound tires as opposed to the cheaper components on the RTR versions.
In the case of the RC4WD TF2 and Gelande the KIT upgrades include a two-speed transmission and leaf sprung suspension. The RTR version gets a single speed trans and link suspension with coilover shocks. Nathan's truck is the KIT version. @little_joe bought this one as a kit and built it using top shelf electronics.
One thing Little Joe did with this truck was purchase a second body for it. He kept the KIT body disassembled in the box and bought a separate body to bash around with on the trails. Smart move. Nathan and I assembled the fresh body and for Christmas, Nathan got some cool scale decals and accessories that we have added. Here's the truck as it sits now with an added RC4WD camper top:
Scale AISIN hubs
Hilux accessory graphics
Steel roof rack, Hi-Lift jack, camo sleeping bag, foam sleeping pad, axe, milk crate with ARB tree straps
Both the RC4WD Trailfinder 2 and the Gelande (FJ40) are offered as a DIY kit (KIT) or as a ready-to-run (RTR) vehicle. For those of you not immersed in the RC world, these KIT vs. RTR offerings are pretty standard with many other brands. The build-it-yourself KIT version typically will include a few upgraded bits and pieces that are not available on the RTR version but the KIT will have no electronics whatsoever. You'll have to source all the electronics to make the truck run (steering servo, motor, speed controller, transmitter and receiver). With some brands the KIT will get different graphics, metal shock bodies and stickier compound tires as opposed to the cheaper components on the RTR versions.
In the case of the RC4WD TF2 and Gelande the KIT upgrades include a two-speed transmission and leaf sprung suspension. The RTR version gets a single speed trans and link suspension with coilover shocks. Nathan's truck is the KIT version. @little_joe bought this one as a kit and built it using top shelf electronics.
One thing Little Joe did with this truck was purchase a second body for it. He kept the KIT body disassembled in the box and bought a separate body to bash around with on the trails. Smart move. Nathan and I assembled the fresh body and for Christmas, Nathan got some cool scale decals and accessories that we have added. Here's the truck as it sits now with an added RC4WD camper top:
Scale AISIN hubs
Hilux accessory graphics
Steel roof rack, Hi-Lift jack, camo sleeping bag, foam sleeping pad, axe, milk crate with ARB tree straps
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More details of the driveline and suspension:
Motor and two-speed transmission. Note that the trans is shifted by a servo. To make this truck go you need at least a 3 channel transmitter and receiver. One channel for forward/reverse. One channel for steering and one channel for the transmission shift. The transmission feeds into a steel gear-driven transfer case.
Suspension:
Couple more scale accessories:
Final thoughts on this rig are that it is by far the most scale correct RC truck on the market. I have not seen the FJ40 Gelande in person but I would expect that it would be just as scale correct as the TF2. The components are well made. The two-speed transmission is a big plus. The leaf spring suspension is as scale as it gets. It is a well thought-out, beautiful little machine. In my opinion, however, it's scale looks eclipse its actual ability on the trail. This truck is not a competitive crawler. The leaf suspension offers little flex compared to the other RC's in our stable. The scale wheels and tires limit the clearance of the axle center sections. The axles get dragged across rocks...a lot as evidenced in the underside pics. As with 1:1 trucks, the departure angle leaves much to be desired. These issues could be fixed with bigger tires, slinky link suspension and a bobbed bed but at some point the truck will be too modded to be considered scale correct. We have other RC's that crawl well. We have ones that go fast too. This one does neither but damn it looks sweet! Oh, and despite it's limitations it happens to be Nathan's favorite. Mine too.
Motor and two-speed transmission. Note that the trans is shifted by a servo. To make this truck go you need at least a 3 channel transmitter and receiver. One channel for forward/reverse. One channel for steering and one channel for the transmission shift. The transmission feeds into a steel gear-driven transfer case.
Suspension:
Couple more scale accessories:
Final thoughts on this rig are that it is by far the most scale correct RC truck on the market. I have not seen the FJ40 Gelande in person but I would expect that it would be just as scale correct as the TF2. The components are well made. The two-speed transmission is a big plus. The leaf spring suspension is as scale as it gets. It is a well thought-out, beautiful little machine. In my opinion, however, it's scale looks eclipse its actual ability on the trail. This truck is not a competitive crawler. The leaf suspension offers little flex compared to the other RC's in our stable. The scale wheels and tires limit the clearance of the axle center sections. The axles get dragged across rocks...a lot as evidenced in the underside pics. As with 1:1 trucks, the departure angle leaves much to be desired. These issues could be fixed with bigger tires, slinky link suspension and a bobbed bed but at some point the truck will be too modded to be considered scale correct. We have other RC's that crawl well. We have ones that go fast too. This one does neither but damn it looks sweet! Oh, and despite it's limitations it happens to be Nathan's favorite. Mine too.
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NCFJ
Supporting Vendor
I've always liked the scale stuff in the RC world. I once built a 60 size scale Bell 222 RC helicopter with working, retractable landing gear. Thousands upon thousands of rivets made with a syringe/needle and Elmers wood glue. I was able to pull off several rolling landings on a black top runway with it. Guy II sold it to crashed it soon after he bought it.
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little_joe
SILVER Star
@roadstr6 Dave as I said via text, you guys did a superb job with the TF2! Those scale accessories are awesome, and it's so cool to see the vision you and Nathan had come to life.
Even though it's not the most capable platform, it is an absolute hoot to drive, and really requires skill - I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm thrilled you're enjoying it.
Even though it's not the most capable platform, it is an absolute hoot to drive, and really requires skill - I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm thrilled you're enjoying it.
Ok guys. The bug has set in. I'm in the market for a used crawler for me. Lol
I got Stacy a TRAxxas Rustler yesterday and she's having a blast.
Sadly, I'm open to selling my crawler. After putting a couple hundred into it I used it like three times. It's a lot of fun, but I just haven't used it and it's collecting dust.
Let me know if you would like details and I'll get you a list of details with a price.
Kind of a crawler. Kind of a basher. Somewhere in between. Nathan's Wraith is set up similarly and it's his go-to truck for pretty much everything:
LIKE NEW AXIAL RR10 BOMBER
LIKE NEW AXIAL RR10 BOMBER
Yup. Shoot me the info please.
Quick pic of Stacys truck. Pretty impressive for an under $200 rtr
The Rustlers can haul the mail! They will wheelie with ease on 2S lipo. Tell her to be careful with that thing. They tend to find large stationary objects with great speed and momentum.
I was wondering that. It came with a nihm 7cell but already thinking on lipos. Lol
Gotta make sure your ESC can handle lipos, then how many cells it can handle. My crawler runs on lipos, but I've only got 2 cells. Never invested in more.
jfz80
Cruisin’
Concretejungle's standing record is about 12 minutes before ultimately impressive failures 
Curbs come to mind. 40' launches at portsmouth, mailboxes, oh and watch your ankles too
Not sure which he has now but his esc will run 5cell lipos and the LHS owner just laughed. Said anything above 3 will stretch the tires and spit them off the rim even with glue.
Curbs come to mind. 40' launches at portsmouth, mailboxes, oh and watch your ankles too
Not sure which he has now but his esc will run 5cell lipos and the LHS owner just laughed. Said anything above 3 will stretch the tires and spit them off the rim even with glue.
The Rustler ESC will handle 2S lipo no problem. You may want to program it for the lipo cutoff feature. I had one delivered to me as a basket case a while back. As a favor to the owner I got it back running and played around with it on 2S to test it out. Fun truck.
Man she had a ball with it. Already thinking about breaking out the tractor so a small course. Lol.
I may need to get her some wheelie bars. Lmao
I may need to get her some wheelie bars. Lmao
jfz80
Cruisin’
@erymer i havent been since ~96 but i bet hobby park in clemmons still has the airfeild and dirt track. Close and fun. Lots of jumps, grandstand for operators, and electric for charging. Never ran it, was always on the mtn bike in those days.
But by all means bust out that tractor seekng as you have a perfectly good excuse
But by all means bust out that tractor seekng as you have a perfectly good excuse