JimK's Cherokee X-Trail Revival

[JimK]

Took the Cherokee out for a good run today after work....had a blast!! It was nice and sunny and the temperature was in the mid 40s which was perfect for a nice walk in the woods. I went to Brunet Park which has a few kilometers of hiking paths and mtb trails.

A couple of freshly charged battery packs and we're good to go.



The trails had a lot of leaf cover on them but I know these trails pretty good from riding them so that wasn't an issue. The Cherokee made it's way through the heavy leaf cover without any issues as well.



The little creek was dry but we took the bridge across anyway.



Made it up and over several of the log crossings without any trouble.



This piece of concrete is part of several cement sidewalks that make there way through this large forested area. Way back when WW2 was happening this area was designated to have "war time housing" built to house soldiers. They apparently got the sidewalks in but didn't get any further and the project was cancelled when the war ended.



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[JimK]

I made my way back to a set of rolling hills that are a lot of fun to play on. This first one is pretty steep and the Cherokee scooted right up it like it was nothing.





After a few minutes of playing on the hills it was time to head off back down the trails



I made my way down the bank and into the dry creek bed.



The far creek bank is a pretty steep and rooty climb to get back out. I'm standing in the bottom of the creek and my truck was just above my eye level in this picture. My SCX10-3 Gladiator on Hyrax's will pull off this climb but the Cherokee just couldn't do it. It got much farther than I figured it would on the Wildpeaks though so I'm pretty happy with that.



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[JimK]

Once I got up out of the creek it was time to head to the far side of the park and check out the trails over there. A short stretch of paved walking trail and we were back into the woods in no time.



There was another small creek to cross and this one had a few inches of water in it.



Making it's way nice and slowly down the river bank....



....and then across the sketchy little bridge made of concrete pieces.



I followed this trail for a little ways along the side of the creek. When I was almost at the end of the trail I noticed some pretty sweet blow downs on the other side. I knew roughly where they were and decided to try and get to them. A little further up there is a road that passes over the creek and I knew I would be able to cross there.



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[JimK]

Once I got to the other side of the creek I found the trail and headed in the direction of the big trees. I stepped over this log but the Cherokee was able to scoot right under it.



The trails on this side of the creek were quite a bit clearer and didn't have nearly as much leaf cover on them.....nice!!



As luck would have it this trail took me right to the big trees....they were literally right alongside the trail.





I'm surely going to come back here and do a little work on these big trees to make them more rideable. Some ramps on and off of them and something to transition from one log to the other. There are so many trees on the ground here that the possibilities are endless!



Good place for an off ramp here.



Won't be too long before this big old tree falls over and ends up on the ground too.



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[JimK]

Well, it was starting to get dark pretty fast so I started heading back towards my car. I piled a few branches in front of this old beam so I could get up and drive over it.





This log pile was wet and slick but we made it over on the first attempt. Nice job Falken WildPeaks!!





Got back to the car and popped the top to power down. There was a few leaves that found there way inside but that was way better than the mud that was packed in there the last time!!



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[JimK]

When it was all said and done this was a really fun tiny truck adventure. I got an hour and fourty five minutes of runtime out of my 2200 mah 3s battery pack which was way more than I expected. The truck died just before I got back to my car so I just picked it up and carried it the last little way instead of swapping out the battery packs in the dark.



Random thoughts about the X-Trail Cherokee. I really like this truck!!

I recalibrated the transmitter to the esc and throttle modulation is excellent now and the throttle is very easy to control....not jerky like before.

The Hobbywing Fusion SE 1800 kv motor is the friggin bomb!! The FOC allows for a very precise slow crawl and it has plenty of wheel speed when and if you need to punch up and over hills and obstacles. The slow crawl on the way down steep hills lets this thing move in such a slow and controlled manner....love it!!

As I mentioned before the suspension is very lively and active but still firm enough to support the truck when it needs it. The truck sags about half way into the shock travel when you set it down which is pretty much how I like it. There is some body roll but it isn't horrible.

The Falken WildPeaks MT tires performed pretty good and actually much better than I was expecting them to. The tight tread pattern definatley has it's limitations but they are nice and soft and they took me just about everywhere I wanted to go. I don't see any reason to swap them out for now. That may change once we get a little snow on the ground and a more aggressive open tread pattern is needed.



I have few little doodads on the way that I'm going to add the truck and in the future I might consider adding a little bit of brass here and there and perhaps overdrive up front. I'd also like to add an interior of some sort and a driver too. As it sits right now though this truck is a lot of fun to drive and I'm pretty happy with it. Thanks for lookin".

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[JatoTheRipper]

These photos make me miss trailing even more.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

These photos make me miss trailing even more.

Thanks man....I've been having a lot of fun on the trails with my tiny trucks!!

[JimK]

Greetings everyone. I hope you are all enjoying the Holidays.

I spent some time today mounting inner fenders to the Cherokee. Hopefully this will help keep mud and debris from getting up inside the truck. Installation was pretty straightforward with only a bit of trimming and drilling a couple clearance holes needed to make these fit.

I got these scx10 ii fenders off Amazon and unfortunately I couldn't find just fronts so I had to buy a full set.





A bit of preliminary trimming around the shock tower openings and the fenders fit in place pretty nicely.



The forwardmost screw hole lined up with the existing hole in the frame but I had to drill the other clearance hole to match.



The rear mounting hole had to be drilled in the frame so I could use the provided screw and lock nut to fasten the back of the fender. Once I had the first fender trimmed and mounted it was pretty quick to copy the procedure and get the second one mounted.



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[JimK]

The front edge of the fenders hung down below the front bumper so I trimmed about a 1/2" off of the lower front edge. I also trimmed a bit off the sides of the fenders so they would fit up inside the body. The fenders also fit nicely under the body mount magnets so thankfully I didn't have to relocate those.



The fenders fit nicely up inside the body.



The front tire is not even close to being centered in the fender and looks a little odd with the body off. Fortunately the tires don't rub and you don't see this once the body is put in place.



A couple shots with the body back on and you barely notice the new fenders.....perfect!! Now I just need to figure out a way to enclose the big opening in the back of the lower cab area.





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[JimK]

Swapped out the 90mm shocks for a set of 100mm tonight. I got these off Amazon and the quality seems to be pretty good. Aluminum bodies and preload collars and two piece cap with bladders. Pretty smooth stroke and not too much play in the shock shaft. Price was good so we'll see how they hold up.



Side by side comparison to the old shocks. The black looks a lot more stealthy than the silver. I like the slimmer size of the new shocks too.



I tore them all down for inspection and filled them with Trinity 55 weight oil after putting them back together.



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[JimK]

Only took a few minutes to swap them out.



Replaced the rears first. I much prefer the stealthy look of the black shock.





Swapped out the fronts next.





The truck sits a bit higher for sure but not too tall. I'll get it out for a test run and decide whether or not I need to tweak the oil or spring weight?



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[JimK]

I've been fortunate to have been off work for the holidays since December 22nd. Sadly the weather has been absolutely crappy and it has rained almost every day. It was cold outside today but finally not raining and dry enough to have some tiny truck fun. I tossed a couple rigs into the back of the Cherokee and headed over to the trails at the arena for a little stroll.



Plenty of puddles and standing water still on the ground but there was also lots of great places to drive that were dry enough.



There are many drainage areas like this on the property that are fun to play around on and plenty challenging for the Cherokee. She does pretty good though if I don't forget that this is a trail truck and try to push her to hard.







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[JimK]

I played on the rocks for a while then headed down the walking trail to a fun little spot in a wooded area next to the marsh.



This is a fun little spot with a few twisty trails that run along the edge of the marsh. It's full of small rolling hills and lots of little roots to add to the fun.



I managed to make my way right down to the waters edge. There was a pairs of trumpeter swans swimming in the pond but they were to far away to photograph with just my cell phone.





The new shocks are slightly firmer but they work just fine and still allow for good articulation.





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[JimK]

A little further down the walking trail I started seeing orange trail marking tape and flags dotting the fields. Recently the town approved the addition of some cross country mtb trails and the group that is putting the trails in have already started marking where the new trails are going to be. I'm very excited for these new trails to be done.







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[JimK]

I started making my way back towards the car. I decided to head up over the big hill and see what I could find up there. I spent a bit of time traversing back and forth over this dirt pile. The dirt was damp but not muddy like the last time I passed through this area.



I'm working my way over to the hill in the background.



Up to the top we go.



Found a big log and tried to drive up onto it. I came pretty close a few times but the truck kept wanting to flip backwards when I got close to the top.





I heard some rattling around inside the truck after a couple attempts at the log and discovered that the passenger side window had fallen out and was rolling around inside the cab. I'm glad it stayed inside the truck and I didn't lose it. I also broke the passenger side mirror off. I'll have to figure out a way to reattach it?



I also found some nice big landscaping rocks to play on as I got a little closer to the car. All in all it was a fun little adventure and nice to finally get out of the house and get some fresh air.



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[B-MOW71]

The Cherokee is lookin' good out on the trails. Looks like a great spot to do some trailing and have some fun.

Always a good day when the weather is decent enough to take the rigs out for a walk.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

The Cherokee is lookin' good out on the trails. Looks like a great spot to do some trailing and have some fun.

Always a good day when the weather is decent enough to take the rigs out for a walk.

Thanks Brian. I was a fun time and good to get out and get some fresh air.

[JimK]

I ordered some brass bits for the Cherokee and it has started to show up. I took a few minutes today and installed the axle bits. The fit and finish on these parts is absolutely beautiful....very pretty indeed!! Each part was in it's own plastic bag to help keep them pretty during shipping.





The stock plastic parts weighed in at a mere 22 grams.



Just one of the knuckles weighed over twice as much as all the plastic parts combined!!



All the brass parts together weighed a whopping 181 grams. In total I'm adding 159 grams more unsprung weight down nice and low. I like that!!



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[JimK]

I started with the rear axle as it had the least amount of disassembly to get the job done. It only took a couple minutes to swap these out and pop the tires back on.



The c-hubs fit nice and snug. I would have preferred a threaded fitment on these but they fastened with a screw and lock nut. Not a big deal for sure but a screw only would have looked a little cleaner.



The set came with brass bushings for the knuckles to turn on but I was able to use the stock king pin screws instead. A dab of blue loctite on the threads to keep them in place.



Left side done and looking pretty sweet I must say.



All back together and ready to mount the front tires. I adjusted the link ends slightly while I had it apart to reduce the amount of toe out.



I really like how nice these parts are. Everything went together nicely and there was no interference or tolerance issues to deal with.



I'm currently waiting for a set of brass diff covers from the same manufacturer and a set of alloy steelies to replace the plastic beadlocks. I'm also considering putting a Proline Comp Wagon body on this rig?? We'll see, I really like this Cherokee body.

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