Overland Gladiator [The ADDIE8R]

[addiemonster]

Bought this.



Did this.





Also installed a remote light switch and had to replace the dig servo with a metal gear Bluebird as the POS Spektrum one arrived DoA.

Got some 3D printed overland goodies on the way. The whole build was inspired by a fantastic overlanding channel I was turned onto recently called The Story Till Now. Future big mods include a portal delete and full electronics replacement. I was planning to keep the Firma installed but then I learned it has no BEC so to heck with it.

[Levi]

Nice truck buddy. The bumper upgrade looks good too. Post the 3d printed good when you get them on the truck.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Looking good! Can’t wait to see more! I feel these bodies were made for overland rigs, they just work. Lol.


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[addiemonster]

Will do! I bought the Knight Customs Gladiator files on his MMF. https://www.myminifactory.com/object...rts-set-133394 At the time of this post with the Christmas sale, it's like $12. I really need to get a printer of my own to expedite this stuff.

[addiemonster]

Just ordered a set of Amazon special $20 aluminum bumper mounts to hopefully kill off the bumper flex. I also dropped down to an 11T pinion. I think my next upgrades will be the electronics, my usual combo of SR515 rx, Hobbywing 1080, and a HH Crawlmaster Sport 550 15T. Oh, and I dropped in a DSservo 25kg steering servo last night, simply because I had one laying around.

For some reason, after awhile of driving and working the steering, my lights turn on and won't turn off. They're Y-connected together, and then plugged into a remote switch and then into AUX2 on the Firma40. I activate them with push button G on my DX5 Rugged. They work properly, until at some point giving the truck throttle or steering input activates them, and the G button no longer works. I have to turn the truck off and back on again to regain remote control of the lights.

Any ideas?

[Traulus]

any link for the bumper? Looks awesome

[addiemonster]

Originally Posted by Traulus

any link for the bumper? Looks awesome

Here you go! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Traulus]

Thank you

[addiemonster]

I wanted to wait until I had all the parts I had on order before making another update, but Amazon lost some of my stuff so here's what I have so far.

Firstly, I bought the Knight Customs JT overland files from MyMiniFactory, and I have to say it was a fantastic value for the money. I'll for sure be printing another rooftop tent for my green Marlin Crawler. I sent the files off to a printer I use on a website called Treatstock, where you can pick from different users who can print your files for you in case you're like me and haven't shelled out the dough for a 3D printer of your own.

As you can see, the top side of the tent looks a little rough fresh off the printer, but a couple minutes with a drum sander on your Dremel and some minimal finish sanding and it cleans up nice. I hit it with some black spray paint and then a thin coat of gloss clear and screwed it directly to the adventure rack cross beams.







I also had the roof rack printed, and although it has the usual 3D printed texture to it, the lines are all perfectly horizontal and you can't really see them aside from two that run parallel all around the sides. Most of the rack will be buried under cargo, so I Shoe-Goo'd it in place, let it set up for a day, and then drilled straight into the roof. It's secured with some small Tamiya screws and tiny nyloc nuts on the inside of the roof. Shouldn't go anywhere.





I'll update again if Amazon ever delivers my other parts. I was thinking about having the full-length snorkel printed, but decided to hold off as I like the one RC4WD/CCHAND has on the way for 2021. It looks like the factory option snorkel and has a neat little metal CB antenna mounted to it.

[OSRC]

Really like the looks of these...wasn't considering a III until these came out. They look fantastic! Love the overland look.

[B-MOW71]

JT look great addie! Love the name - ADDIE8R! You need to get a scale license plate with that on it!

That is a great looking front bumper! Look very beefy! I'll have to look into getting one for my Gladiator.

I hear ya on the lost parts. I've had parts ordered for my JT from eBay since early this month. Shipped same day and USPS tracking still says they are in California where they were shipped from.

[addiemonster]

Thanks, guys! Yeah, plates are already on the way! I try not to complain too much about mail/parcel issues right now, because I can't even imagine what it must be like working delivery in a time when it's a safer idea to order your necessities online rather than go to the store.

That said, I'm looking forward to some more bits and bobs where I can squeeze them into the budget. I'm mostly just waiting on the straight axles to release!

[Levi]

Starting to look like a overlanding rig for sure. Keep it up. Love theses gladiator bodies. Maybe when it warms up ill brave it and make a trip and try my scx10.3 lol.

[addiemonster]

Was hoping to have the portal delete by now but I guess this will have to do. Even with the portals, switching up the wheels and tires has done leaps and bounds for making the JT look that much more realistic. It'll look even better, I reckon, with straight axles giving a bit more tuck up into the arches.





Wheels are SSD beadlocks with neutral offset rotor hubs at the back, tires are RC4WD Atturo Trail Blade M/T 4.25

[addiemonster]

Finally, an update worth sharing. Got the straight axles in, haven't gotten around to installing the new gears in the transmission yet. So far, a simple install. I decided against using the taller shocks included with the kit as I want this to sit at the same height as the standard SCX10III Gladiator. This also means I was able to skip the step where you lengthen the links to make up for the increased shock travel. Everything lines right up. Other than that, I just followed the manual.

I also got the RC4WD-branded CChand snorkel, the one that looks like the OEM Jeep option. It's described as "durable nylon composite", in reality it's a wafer-thin highly detailed 3D print. For the money I'm not impressed. It arrived broken in the package, and I'm convinced it will snap in half the first time I roll this thing. We'll see how it goes.

As well, aluminum number plates were ordered from SRDLV.

Aside from a quick out of the box test drive, this rig has still not seen a trail.

[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by addiemonster

Aside from a quick out of the box test drive, this rig has still not seen a trail.

My JT is pretty much in the same boat! Weather is finally starting to break, so hoping to get mine out soon!

The straight axles look great under there. I think the Gladiator's look much better without the portals. Curious to hear what you think of them.

I've seen Topher Builds JT on IG with the staight axles and it looks great! He has some great pics of it out on them beautiful red rocks!

I did the straight axle conversion on my 10.3 JLU. Looks a ton more scale! Hoping to get it out soon too!

[soze]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

My JT is pretty much in the same boat! Weather is finally starting to break, so hoping to get mine out soon!

The straight axles look great under there. I think the Gladiator's look much better without the portals. Curious to hear what you think of them.

I've seen Topher Builds JT on IG with the staight axles and it looks great! He has some great pics of it out on them beautiful red rocks!

I did the straight axle conversion on my 10.3 JLU. Looks a ton more scale! Hoping to get it out soon too!

LOL, I'm in the same boat as well. I bought my JT used off someone else, but haven't had the chance to run it yet.

[OSRC]

Originally Posted by addiemonster

.... I was planning to keep the Firma installed but then I learned it has no BEC so to heck with it.

I skipped over this part before, but it just caught my eye. It has no BEC? Of course it does, otherwise the receiver/servo wouldn't power up. It's 6V/3A.

Curious, what are you looking for that the ESC doesn't deliver?

[addiemonster]

Originally Posted by OSRC

I skipped over this part before, but it just caught my eye. It has no BEC? Of course it does, otherwise the receiver/servo wouldn't power up. It's 6V/3A.

Curious, what are you looking for that the ESC doesn't deliver?

I'm not an electronics guru, it's my weakest area of the hobby. I was watching some videos and at some point I swear Matt from SBG said it lacks a BEC or maybe I misheard him. The point of the statement was that if you want to run a much more powerful servo, you'll need to change to something with a better(?) BEC or one capable of delivering the juice a stronger servo needs.

I think. At least that's what I took away from it.

?????

Like I said, electronics are my weakness, I heard that and shrugged and ordered a 1080, which is my preferred setup, anyway. The Firma is still getting used, it just replaced the ESC/Rx in my RTR SCX10.2.

This rig is already one of my heavier ones, and isn't anywhere near finished being scaled out. I haven't touched the interior yet, which will have a driver, passenger, and more stuff inside. I'm planning to run another big-time servo like a Reefs 422 in this to cope with the weight when the wheels get bound up.

Thanks for the heads up, I'm an idiot when it comes to the magic plug-in parts that make my rigs go.

[Fricker08]

Good looking rig! The conversion axles make a huge difference. Look forward to seeing how it performs for you with the swap!


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