Project "Rent-A-Jeep" a CRC Edition JK with a twist or two

[Hoosierdady]

I picked this RTR up after selling off a mud truck I built. I wanted to buy something that I could pretty much just have some fun with and let my nephews drive while they visit. Just like anyone with kids would expect, they bug the sh!t out of me to drive my rigs while they're visiting. I'm not exactly keen to the idea of letting them drive my comp trucks, so I bought this. The idea is that they earn driving time by behaving while visiting. I've got three nephews all stair stepped in age, so sh!t can get hectic now and then. Most of the upgrades and what not are simple and cheap. I wanted to build something that I could hand the controls over and not worry about the cost. Anyway, enough talk.


I started with a CRC Edition Axial JK like this.


I bought some Boom Racing High Mass wheels from AsiaTees along with some RC4WD Claws. I also strapped in a ESS-One sound module for a little added cool factor. THen I moved the battery plate up front to help with the weight distribution and added a GCM CMS and some STRC alloy steering links and a HR servo horn. I'm leaving most of the electronics stock, but I will be running 3S on the rig so from what I've read a BEC was recommended.


I did some painting on the interior, added a ton of scale hardware from lockeduprc.com and swapped out the decals with some Poison Spyder decals. Then I cut out the grill and ShooGoo'd in a Next Level ported grill from CKRC.



I backed the grill with some clear lexan, installed some mesh that I painted silver and glued in a handfull of hardware.


I bought a used BGR aluminum front bumper on here as well as some black and silver HR rock sliders and some aluminum RC4WD fender flares. I'll do some black on the flares and bumper to make everything flow a little better.




I couldn't resist making a video of the sound module.

[WhatsInYourHead]

I'm diggin' the sound

[flatfoot]

very nice looking rig you're building there.especially for a "rental".what age ranges are you looking at(for the "renters"), so we can gauge the level's of abuse to expect?

[CamaroTom]

Nice work hopefully they don't scratch it up too bad.

[Hoosierdady]

Originally Posted by WhatsInYourHead

I'm diggin' the sound

Thanks. You can't help but smile while running it.

Originally Posted by flatfoot

very nice looking rig you're building there.especially for a "rental".what age ranges are you looking at(for the "renters"), so we can gauge the level's of abuse to expect?

My nephews and daughters range from ages 7-14. I let the neighbors kid and my youngest drive it last night. It held up really well except for losing a center cap on one of the wheels. My OCD kicked in and 2 hours later I still couldn't find it so I ordered another set of wheels . It should be able to handle their abuse. What parts break will be upgraded as they go.

Originally Posted by CamaroTom

Nice work hopefully they don't scratch it up too bad.

Oh it'll get abused I'm sure. It's funny because I was driving it harder than the kids were last night. My little girl kept saying "Dont scratch it Dad!!" But it was very cool as a dad to pick a tough line and watch my daughter try over and over to replicate the line. Once she made it she was smiling from ear to ear and happy as could be. That in itself made this $700+ "Rental" well worth building. I've got a handfull of upgrades left to install yet, I'm just waiting for them to arrive.

[Hoosierdady]

I did a little work to the Jeep over the past few days. I pulled the BGR bumper off and painted the lower portion with Rustoleum Fine texture paint. You can also see the zinc scale hardware from lockedup.com I added.


What you can't see is the set of brass Crawl Tubes I installed in the axles. I picked up a set of cheap C-hubs, knuckles and lockouts too. You can definately tell a difference in the quality between Asiatees and VP parts. The bearings in the rear lockouts have enough play in them to let the bearings move up and down. The front C-hubs are too short and leave a mm gap between them and the hat bushings too. But I got the whole set for under $30 so I can't complain to much.


I found a Integy winch in a drawer and wired it up to a push button for the kids to use. The stock remote is just a 2 chan. so I ahd to do something to make it work. It free spins enough to pull out manually but has enough power to real the line back in at a decent speed.



I also through the short light bar that came with the RTR at it with a LED strip I had in another drawer.


All in all it's really taking shape. I have a SSD rear bumper enroute for it as well. This is turning into one hell of a Rental for the little ones to use.

[md666]

Really like the looks of the whole rig, love the hardware details.

[flatfoot]

looking better all the time.in fact I like it soo much, I have one on the way, supposed to be here tomorrow.but mine won't be a rental, just one more for my fleet.then I can start throwing money into it.already looking at wheels/tires.

[SeeGee911]

I really like this build man. Gives me some ideas for mine. Thanks!

[CreoUCLA]

Nice build!

Originally Posted by Hoosierdady

Just like anyone with kids would expect, they bug the sh!t out of me to drive my rigs while they're visiting.

Yeah, that's the reason I just bought a Deadbolt for my soon-to-be 8 year old son. He's been driving around a cheap Himoto 1/18 truggy for a couple years now, so it's definitely time for an upgrade... I can't wait to see the look on his face when he opens up the box in a couple weeks.

[2-shot]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdady

I did a little work to the Jeep over the past few days. I pulled the BGR bumper off and painted the lower portion with Rustoleum Fine texture paint. You can also see the zinc scale hardware from lockedup.com I added.





What you can't see is the set of brass Crawl Tubes I installed in the axles. I picked up a set of cheap C-hubs, knuckles and lockouts too. You can definately tell a difference in the quality between Asiatees and VP parts. The bearings in the rear lockouts have enough play in them to let the bearings move up and down. The front C-hubs are too short and leave a mm gap between them and the hat bushings too. But I got the whole set for under $30 so I can't complain to much.





I found a Integy winch in a drawer and wired it up to a push button for the kids to use. The stock remote is just a 2 chan. so I ahd to do something to make it work. It free spins enough to pull out manually but has enough power to real the line back in at a decent speed.







I also through the short light bar that came with the RTR at it with a LED strip I had in another drawer.





All in all it's really taking shape. I have a SSD rear bumper enroute for it as well. This is turning into one hell of a Rental for the little ones to use.

Hopefully it's about finished! You're gonna be busy for the next couple of weeks!! LOL!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hoosierdady]

So I have some progress to show. I found some RC4WD aluminum fender flares on Facebook. I taped them off and painted them with some fine textured black. The next upgrade is going to be some metal links. The nephews bent the hell out of the stock plastic ones their first time out, lol. Needless to say though, they all loved it.


We took it and my C3 Exocutioner out for a night run.



I ordered a 35t motor for it since the stock 27t is getting very hot. I also picked up a SSD rear bumper for it and let me tell you guys. You have to get one of these things!!! Very high quality and they bolt right on in place of your stock rear bumper. This is one bumper that will not be leaving my collection any time soon.


I also wanted to try out some of his scale hubs. As first I thought they might be just thin metal crimped around some plastic, but I was wrong...very wrong. These are built very well. The plastic inserts are available in a few different colors to match your build and work with a tool that inserts in your stock 4 way tool. The metal is nice and thick, no thin pressed sheet metal here. They have a locknut that's been pressed into the back side and short of the actual colored portion are all metal and high quality. I'll be using these on another build I have in the works.

[flatfoot]

I just put a 35t boost motor in my jeep, and really like.i'm running 2c, still crawls great, with stock gearing still.ssd for sure makes some sweet stuff, just bought some of the assassin wheels, and love them.that bumper looks sweet.

[svt923]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdady

I also wanted to try out some of his scale hubs. As first I thought they might be just thin metal crimped around some plastic, but I was wrong...very wrong. These are built very well. The plastic inserts are available in a few different colors to match your build and work with a tool that inserts in your stock 4 way tool. The metal is nice and thick, no thin pressed sheet metal here. They have a locknut that's been pressed into the back side and short of the actual colored portion are all metal and high quality. I'll be using these on another build I have in the works.

+1 on those SSD hubs.

I was very impressed by their quality as soon as I took them out of the package. The tool seems very solid as well, I wasn't worried that I would break the pins off when tightening the hubs up. I wish they made rear hubs to go along with the locking hubs.