rkj__'s 10iii Ramblings

[rkj__]

After getting into crawling with a Vaterra Ascender K10 about 2 years ago, I've finally procured rig #2! Axial SCX10iii Wrangler JLU RTR.


Since I just pulled it out of the box, I'll just share this stock photo, because this thread is worthless without pictures, right?





The first thing I did before powering it on, was unplug the dig servo. No sense burning that up, if I don't intend to use the feature. Next, I removed the Axial III stripe on the side. It was dark out, so I just crawled around the house a bit.


First impressions:

1. Nice low speed control.
2. Smooth shocks.
3. Not quiet, but not obscenely loud.
4. On 3S, not fast, but not too slow. I am somewhat interested in unlocking second gear. We'll see.
5. Yup, servo horn does hit panhard mount. I'll probably trim just a pinch off of that for a little more clearance. It's too bad there are so many holes in this commonly broken part. It seems they should have included one fewer "speed holes."
6. This thing really does look quite good.
7. This thing has some weight! I'm not looking forward to the first time I see it tumbling down a slope.
8. Tire rub! Wow, the giant Nittos rub the fenders a ton. More than expected. I have a pending deal on facebook marketplace to pick up some 4.19" KM3s.
9. The radio feels very nice in my hand, and the thumb control is nice.


There is a small handful of changes I'm considering making, but I make no promises. I never did end up doing too much to my Ascender.


I'll use this thread to continue to share my thoughts, and maybe document any minor customizations / changes I make. I'm not much of a builder, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to call this a build thread, so I'll just call it my "ramblings."

[smog]

Hey, congrats on the new rig, she’s a beauty!

[Phildirt]

Congrats on new rig. The only thing I'd do that is relatively simple is pop that body off, tape up the windows, and spray a black backer behind the red. BMow's looks good from what I can see and it gets rid of a little of that 'toy/transparent' effect that red has.

Looking forward to your Wrangler Rambling!

[rkj__]

Originally Posted by Phildirt

Congrats on new rig. The only thing I'd do that is relatively simple is pop that body off, tape up the windows, and spray a black backer behind the red. BMow's looks good from what I can see and it gets rid of a little of that 'toy/transparent' effect that red has.

Looking forward to your Wrangler Rambling!

I'll consider that. I did end up painting the inside of my Ascender shell a dark brown.


I was wondering if I should do off white on the inside of the hard top, to mimic the bare fiberglass that a Wrangler typically has. I'm maybe overthinking it though, and a single dark colour on the inside would be good.


I definitely need to trim the front fenders for easier install and removal of the body, as many have done.

Originally Posted by smog

Hey, congrats on the new rig, she’s a beauty!

Thanks! I'm excited to play with it.

[B-MOW71]

Congrats on rig #2!

It's a great rig out of the box, but I had a few minor issues with both my JLU and my JT Gladiator. When you get a chance, you should check that the portal gears are installed correctly and check to make sure that the gears in the transmission are installed correctly. Then add a good amount of marine grease to help keep water out and make the drivetrain quieter. I had a couple portal gears installed backwards and produced a slight clicking noise. All of my trans gear were installed properly in both of my rigs, but just wanted to be sure they were ok. Also added grease to the DIG and 2-speed dogs to help them to shift better.

I had the same problem, like most others, with the servo horn hitting the panhard mount. I just Dremeled off a little of the sharp edge of the panhard mount to get closer to full steering lock left.

For the tires, I ended up running the Pitbull Rock Beast OG's. They fit the body better, look great and do not rub. I wanted more of a scale look for the amazingly looking JLU body!

I agree with @Phildirt on painting the inside of the body. I've painted all of the inside of my rigs bodies black. Keeps the bodies from looking so transparant and it helps to hide everything inside the body if not running inner fenders or an interior.

On the ease of removing/installing the body, I noticed that after a few runs, the body was much easier to install. I was going to trim the front inner fenders, but may hold off now that for some reason the body just falls right into place now. Not sure why! The only problem I have is installing the body is getting the body clips in. Older eyes and fingers make it harder to clip them in! But I do like the fact that the body clips are hidden.

I agree on the radio! For an RTR radio, it is nice and I love the built in thumb steer! The new Firma ESC is nice too. It has really nice low speed control.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with your new JLU!

[rkj__]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Congrats on rig #2!

It's a great rig out of the box, but I had a few minor issues with both my JLU and my JT Gladiator. When you get a chance, you should check that the portal gears are installed correctly and check to make sure that the gears in the transmission are installed correctly. Then add a good amount of marine grease to help keep water out and make the drivetrain quieter. I had a couple portal gears installed backwards and produced a slight clicking noise. All of my trans gear were installed properly in both of my rigs, but just wanted to be sure they were ok. Also added grease to the DIG and 2-speed dogs to help them to shift better.

I had the same problem, like most others, with the servo horn hitting the panhard mount. I just Dremeled off a little of the sharp edge of the panhard mount to get closer to full steering lock left.

For the tires, I ended up running the Pitbull Rock Beast OG's. They fit the body better, look great and do not rub. I wanted more of a scale look for the amazingly looking JLU body!

I agree with @Phildirt on painting the inside of the body. I've painted all of the inside of my rigs bodies black. Keeps the bodies from looking so transparant and it helps to hide everything inside the body if not running inner fenders or an interior.

On the ease of removing/installing the body, I noticed that after a few runs, the body was much easier to install. I was going to trim the front inner fenders, but may hold off now that for some reason the body just falls right into place now. Not sure why! The only problem I have is installing the body is getting the body clips in. Older eyes and fingers make it harder to clip them in! But I do like the fact that the body clips are hidden.

I agree on the radio! For an RTR radio, it is nice and I love the built in thumb steer! The new Firma ESC is nice too. It has really nice low speed control.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with your new JLU!

I bought the 10iii expecting to do the standard axle swap. I'm a little worried I'll learn to like the portals though. We'll see. If I do the swap, I'll definitely go through the transmission at that time.


I think a tiny trim of the front inner fenders should be all it takes to make body install easy right off the bat. I promise I'll go gentle with the dremel. As expected, the hidden body posts are a blessing and a curse. At least at first, I've found myself fiddling with them a little more than when they are in the traditional exposed locations. I'm happy with the trade-off there though.


All the information about this truck on Youtube, Facebook, and RCC has really given me what I think is a reasonable set of expectations, and a good little list of minor things to tinker with, or be aware of. There's certainly an advantage to buying a popular truck.

[RCBrutus]

Congrats on the new truck, and I am also looking forward to what you do to it

I built mine from a kit and love it. Kept it stock so far as it has performed well for me and some other projects took priority over any upgrades to it.

One observation I have that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet is it tends to have a slightly higher COG in stock form than some of my other rigs (Enduro and VS4-10). It isn't a huge deal to me and I just learned to adjust my driving or understand the limitations when I am out and about with it. I did choose to not install the interior to help reduce any unnecessary weight.

Love the body on this truck too. I still cringe when I roll it! So far, everything has held on though....

[rkj__]

Originally Posted by RCBrutus

Congrats on the new truck, and I am also looking forward to what you do to it

I built mine from a kit and love it. Kept it stock so far as it has performed well for me and some other projects took priority over any upgrades to it.

One observation I have that hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet is it tends to have a slightly higher COG in stock form than some of my other rigs (Enduro and VS4-10). It isn't a huge deal to me and I just learned to adjust my driving or understand the limitations when I am out and about with it. I did choose to not install the interior to help reduce any unnecessary weight.

Love the body on this truck too. I still cringe when I roll it! So far, everything has held on though....

I was definitely thinking about removing the roll cage, but keeping the interior.

I don't often crawl with others, so it's easier to pretend my rig has no performance shortcomings when I don't compare it to any others. haha I've also gotten in to trail building on my property, so I can tailor the obstacles on my home course to the truck's capabilities.

The Vanquish rigs with the VFD are just in another league. Such a smart design, that leads to a really well planted rig.

[twade984]

Glad to see you got it! After owning several trx4’s and a 10.3 briefly, I like the performance of portals, better clearance and gearing, but just knowing that it isn’t quite... scale bugs me. Either way I like these trucks and look forward to seeing what you do.

I’m seriously on the fence with getting a Kit or rtr on my next one. I’m a fan of factory painted body’s and the electronics were pretty good (IMO).

[rkj__]

Well, I was busy yesterday.

Died the diff covers black. Red was way too bright for me.



Hit the interior with matte clear. Gave the driver some hair, pupils, a shirt logo, and a Dachshund.



I did pick up some 4.19s. They are pretty small. If I get the standard axles and use the 90mm shocks, they will probably look ok. Right now, the suspension looks a little high for them. I’ll run them for now.



Finally, gave the body a black backing.

[rkj__]

Took the truck for its first run on my home course. Wow! What a great trail truck! Though the 4.19s look a touch small in the bench, out on the trail, it looks really good. The tires stuff in nice. Also, these are the Predator compound, and the grip is insane! The truck gives me the driving experience I was looking for. Very realistic. I am happy to run it on 3S. I thought it would be a bit faster though. The smaller tires effectively gear it down though I guess.

I will get a video when I get a chance, but until then, here’s a quick pic.

[B-MOW71]

Looks great! Glad to hear it did well!

Nice job on the Rit dye. I haven't had a chance to do mine yet. I used to use the Rit dye way back in the day on my Team Associated RC-10's. It is good stuff and works great!

Nice interior! The matte finish looks much better! Another thing I've been putting off on mine. I haven't had the time to take the body back apart.

I agree on the smaller tires. I think they fit the body better than the bigger stock tires.

[twade984]

Looks good! Looking forward to more pictures.

[Levi]

The diff covers Definitely looks way better black imo. Good idea to paint the body black inside, might keep that in mind.

[addiemonster]

I was so worried 4.19 tires would look way too small with these giant arches... that looks great, though! I'm a lot less worried about the 4.25 Atturos I'm planning on running on my Gladiator. Dangit, you're making me want to pick up the JLU kit now...

[rkj__]

Here's my first video with the 10iii! The snowy conditions made my newly cut trail a tough challenge!

[smog]

Lookin good, nice work on the truck and vid

[rkj__]

Originally Posted by smog

Lookin good, nice work on the truck and vid

Thanks! I have to admit, I liked the combination of small tires and portal axle clearance.

[smog]

Originally Posted by rkj__

Thanks! I have to admit, I liked the combination of small tires and portal axle clearance.

I can appreciate that. I can't say I have ever had any issue with the portals when I am out running my TRX4. In fact, I have always relished having the extra clearance under the axle. In considering your set-up, it seems a wise to not sacrifice all of your clearance by dropping to a 4.19 tire. Tiny tires on straight axles, while challenging, can also be pretty frustrating when the terrain gets jagged.

[GorillaDad]

Crazy what a difference a couple of small changes can make. Nice rig.