Backyard Scaler Course

[all_scaled_out]

heres a couple pics of the work ive been doing on the ravine. did some more digging and found the two big roots are going across and in the perfect spot to serve as a little steps.
not very visible with the camera but i will rinse em off so they are more visisble.











also added another video if you didnt see it was there

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with the help of a few friends i was able to move a concrete rock onto the course. thanks again justin.

[Rockwolf]

I have a back yard that has a ditch running threw it and is backed by lots of woods. Like you my wife has conceded it to my RC fantasy so I have been thinking for months now on how I wanted to do my "scale trail"! We are locked in the middle of winter here so nothing can really be done yet, except planning! Of course many of the obvious things you have done, I had thought of as well... but there are a great many ideas, of design and how to, you have added that I had not thought of!

Thanks for showing this and congrats on a job VERY well done!

[nickd18]

first off that thing is SICK bro, nice work!

Scale winch out posts along side the trail?

[Rebelspawn]

Badass work man, gives lots of ideas


Reb

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Originally Posted by Rockwolf

I have a back yard that has a ditch running threw it and is backed by lots of woods. Like you my wife has conceded it to my RC fantasy so I have been thinking for months now on how I wanted to do my "scale trail"! We are locked in the middle of winter here so nothing can really be done yet, except planning! Of course many of the obvious things you have done, I had thought of as well... but there are a great many ideas, of design and how to, you have added that I had not thought of!

Thanks for showing this and congrats on a job VERY well done!

thank you. bet youll be pretty busy when spring is here. the course has kept me busy for about 5 months and its still not finished. good luck with your course, planning will go a long way. some of the trails were a pain.. lost of bush wacking and the trails still need some work. i tried to use as much natural materials as i could to keep it looking...well natural. i try too keep in mind that 1.9s arent exactly 2.2s so i design with both classes in mind. which can throw a twist. most of the obstacles on the course test the driver. its all about finding the correct line for your rig.

Originally Posted by nickd18

first off that thing is SICK bro, nice work!

Scale winch out posts along side the trail?

thanks, not yet, i have thought about it because a few times i have been finding myself with nowhere to hook a winch to. thats a pretty good idea, i will have to look into it and strategically find the spots where the winch is most needed.

Originally Posted by Rebelspawn

Badass work man, gives lots of ideas


Reb

thanks. there arent too many people building these types of courses so its all about thinking outside the box and using other peoples input, most are for just rock crawlers. i was surprised even my course made a super crawler sweat just a lil but still fun.


i really appreciate the generous comments, it gives me more reason to keep going and improving.

[chicostaxxs007]

i know know you went out and played after all that rain.

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well by the time it stopped raining it was really late and by the time i did go out it was only moist. still fun though and i spent some time repairing rain damage. but not too long from now i wont have to worry about flooding and the dirt washing out. i plan on adding concrete to the ravine walls and floor. that just gave me an idea.. when it does rain it will probably fill the ravine. ill have to make a run off or put a drainage pipe somewhere(dont want to worry about having to pull out the wet/dry vac after it rains).

man im long winded tonight lol

[traxxas4fun]

man nice SCALE COURSE!

i have about an acre of woods i could build a scale course in.. but its just so hard to upkeep them here because they grow up... I have a hard enough time keeping my track grass free.. I spray weed/grass killer on my track grass then rototill it and the grass still manages to grow back.. But somehow when i accidently spill a little gas in the grass around the house it wont grow back for years..

[all_scaled_out]

Originally Posted by traxxas4fun

man nice SCALE COURSE!

i have about an acre of woods i could build a scale course in.. but its just so hard to upkeep them here because they grow up... I have a hard enough time keeping my track grass free.. I spray weed/grass killer on my track grass then rototill it and the grass still manages to grow back.. But somehow when i accidently spill a little gas in the grass around the house it wont grow back for years..

thanks. yes, it is very hard to upkeep an outdoor track in the woods, its a constant struggle to try and keep the trails clear of pine needles/leaves and little roots everywhere sprouting up, not so much grass. another problem i have is vines with thorns on them, i need to get a rototiller. if i could, i would put a roof over it to stop the pine needles from falling, which is my biggest problem now. theyre always getting wrapped up in axles. i use my leaf blower but its a never ending battle.

[AX10wannabe]

my dad gave a little section of the field under some trees to build a course and yours have gaven me some ideas. i agree most of the courses here are built for rock crawlers and not so much for scalers... i was at my grandparents place over on Vancouver Island this past weekend and they are moving into a newly built mobile home park but it has some woods behind their house and it gave me a few ideas and stuff.. definitely bringing the honcho when i go back in a couple of weeks.


my section has grass too so that will be hard to keep up with, too much snow right now to do anything but i might take the snowblower and a shovel out there and build a snow course for something to do.

oh and also do you have a build thread of the scaler in your pictures?? i am looking at some tires (tsl boggers, same thing you got) and rims, just about bought a set of 2.2 rocksters but wasnt sure if they would fit on a stock honcho width wise. was just wondering what kind of rims you are running.

[all_scaled_out]

Originally Posted by AX10wannabe

my dad gave a little section of the field under some trees to build a course and yours have gaven me some ideas. i agree most of the courses here are built for rock crawlers and not so much for scalers... i was at my grandparents place over on Vancouver Island this past weekend and they are moving into a newly built mobile home park but it has some woods behind their house and it gave me a few ideas and stuff.. definitely bringing the honcho when i go back in a couple of weeks.


my section has grass too so that will be hard to keep up with, too much snow right now to do anything but i might take the snowblower and a shovel out there and build a snow course for something to do.

oh and also do you have a build thread of the scaler in your pictures?? i am looking at some tires (tsl boggers, same thing you got) and rims, just about bought a set of 2.2 rocksters but wasnt sure if they would fit on a stock honcho width wise. was just wondering what kind of rims you are running.

thats cool, the best advice i can give you is to tear up the grass where your trails will be put some salt down where you want the trails to be, it usually does the trick and environmentally safe. i tried to mimic a 1:1 park and tried to stay away from just going in one or two directions. most of my trails give the driver options. a good 14-24" wide trails is good.

i dont have a builD thread of my truck, it kinda just evolved over time. I will list my upgrades though.
ESC: xl-5 waterproof(not the best but it works for now)
MOTOR:55t Axial(cheap reliable strong motor, same as above)
WHEELS:RRP special edt. Aluminum beadlocks(rc4wd)
TIRES:rc4wd 2.2 mud slingers. great traction. not sure on weight in front with foams, rear no weight, no foams.
LINKS:front stock axial aluminum, rear threaded 6/34 rod (i think)
DRIVE SHAFTS: front stock plastic, rear rc4wd punisher shaft(cut to fit).
GEARS:11/87
BODY:(wal-mart)new bright f150 crew cab cut down to an ext cab. cut the bed out an bolted honcho cage to it
WINCH:3racing
FRONT BUMPER: axial dingo
DIFFS:axial hardened steel optional gears.
BATTS:9.6v nimh 4500mah( not sure who made it its a couple years old and still kicken, 7.2v venom 5000mah
SERVO: traxxas 2075 waterproof(plan on getting a stronger better one)
WHEEL BASE: 12 3/4"
SUSPENSION: 120mm rc4wd dual spring. modified stock shock posts with some thick lexan and drilled out some holes for ride height adjustment.
custom made lexan body mount, front using velcro to hold it on and rear(holds very well)

heres a link to the body transformation
f150 scx10 quadcab to standard

let me know if you want any more information

[AX10wannabe]

^^^ sweet thanks...

was thinking about having a easier scaler section with some valley's and canyon's and some trenches, rocks, sticks, and a whoop section, stair section and some kind of section that has a bunch of sticks or logs crossways in the trench and close together.. then having a rock pile for a friend's ax10 scorpion to play on. the ground the course is going to be on gets slick and kinda "greasy" when it gets wet so it should be fun.


thats what im thinking right now but we still have a couple months of snow left so i got plenty of time to plan!!

[all_scaled_out]

Originally Posted by AX10wannabe

^^^ sweet thanks...

was thinking about having a easier scaler section with some valley's and canyon's and some trenches, rocks, sticks, and a whoop section, stair section and some kind of section that has a bunch of sticks or logs crossways in the trench and close together.. then having a rock pile for a friend's ax10 scorpion to play on. the ground the course is going to be on gets slick and kinda "greasy" when it gets wet so it should be fun.


thats what im thinking right now but we still have a couple months of snow left so i got plenty of time to plan!!

sound good. a whoop section, thats a pretty good idea, mind if i use that one? thats pretty much what i have. was thinking of adding a bridge over one of the revines. im hoping to get some more rocks soon, i dont have enough. man i wish my course would get sloppy, would be lots of fun.

i drew a couple layouts of what i wanted to do before i built the first half of the course. the second half i just winged it.

[AX10wannabe]

Originally Posted by all_scaled_out

sound good. a whoop section, thats a pretty good idea, mind if i use that one? thats pretty much what i have. was thinking of adding a bridge over one of the revines. im hoping to get some more rocks soon, i dont have enough. man i wish my course would get sloppy, would be lots of fun.

i drew a couple layouts of what i wanted to do before i built the first half of the course. the second half i just winged it.

sure you can use the whoop section!!! haha.. was also thinking about digging small 4inch sized holes in a staggered pattern for like 5 feet or so.. want to build a bridge up and over a 5 foot fence to the other part of the course..

the section i have to work with is like 40ft by 20 feet, since its in the corner of the field and the goat pen i will have to fence it off so the animals dont mess up my hard work. its in the trees and on a slope.

i got a gravel pit (base of a mountain) about 300yrds up the road from my house so when the snow it melting im going to take the tractor and a small trailer and go up and get me some rocks and gravel.

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Originally Posted by AX10wannabe

sure you can use the whoop section!!! haha.. was also thinking about digging small 4inch sized holes in a staggered pattern for like 5 feet or so.. want to build a bridge up and over a 5 foot fence to the other part of the course..

the section i have to work with is like 40ft by 20 feet, since its in the corner of the field and the goat pen i will have to fence it off so the animals dont mess up my hard work. its in the trees and on a slope.

i got a gravel pit (base of a mountain) about 300yrds up the road from my house so when the snow it melting im going to take the tractor and a small trailer and go up and get me some rocks and gravel.

awesome, i dug out a little whoop section and it turned out pretty good, just used a little gardening shovel an scaped out the low sections. i tried the staggered thing but not with holes, i used some pvc elbows protruding from the ground an staggared them. what will you be making the bridge out of?

the size you are working with is about the same size i started with i think i started with 25x15. ahh animals are a pain, i dont have a fence and neighborhood dogs and wild animals would always come out to the river i made and would drink and bathe in it at night and mess up my plants. one morning i came out and my pond was bone dry because they stepped on the river bank and let all the water out because at the time it was underdeveloped.

i wish i had a gravel pit around here. i have to drive up an down the limestone roads and pick up rocks on the side of the roads if i want rocks lol. i need to go on another hunt sometime soon.

[08sv]

how much you charge me to play in that kick a$$ setup you got going? i'm in volusia county and can always lend a hand as long as i can play afterwards.

[AX10wannabe]

haha... i got to thinking about the holes staggered and i thought instead of holes making a whoop section and taking out a little bit of the middle of each whoop and stagger like that.. might have to lay down a stick and cover it in dirt. i can draw up something in paint program if you dont understand what i mean.. cant really explain it too well so it makes sense.

not sure what im going to use for a bridge yet.. i have 2 ideas though. someone on rccrawler took 2x4's and cut them to the length they wanted(width of bridge) and then cut 2 holes in on each wide side, then weaved rope into the boards, so it would end up a suspension type bridge.

another idea i had was take some green sticks (like willow sticks or something) like 1/2" - 1" thick and wrap rope around the ends on each stick also making a suspension type bridge.

havent decided if i want a solid bridge or a suspension bridge. you got any pictures of your whoop section yet??

[all_scaled_out]

Originally Posted by AX10wannabe

haha... i got to thinking about the holes staggered and i thought instead of holes making a whoop section and taking out a little bit of the middle of each whoop and stagger like that.. might have to lay down a stick and cover it in dirt. i can draw up something in paint program if you dont understand what i mean.. cant really explain it too well so it makes sense.

not sure what im going to use for a bridge yet.. i have 2 ideas though. someone on rccrawler took 2x4's and cut them to the length they wanted(width of bridge) and then cut 2 holes in on each wide side, then weaved rope into the boards, so it would end up a suspension type bridge.

another idea i had was take some green sticks (like willow sticks or something) like 1/2" - 1" thick and wrap rope around the ends on each stick also making a suspension type bridge.

havent decided if i want a solid bridge or a suspension bridge. you got any pictures of your whoop section yet??

the staggerd whoop section sounds good.

a rope/suspension bridge i think would be better than a solid bridge unless you staggered each plank and/or added small protruding obstacles to give it some difficulty. the willow stick an rope idea sounds good but plan on using alot of sticks and rope but it also might be too slippery if theres a buig incline an decline. have to make sure you get the spacing right.

no pictures yet, ill take some tomorrow.

[AX10wannabe]

Originally Posted by all_scaled_out

the staggerd whoop section sounds good.

a rope/suspension bridge i think would be better than a solid bridge unless you staggered each plank and/or added small protruding obstacles to give it some difficulty. the willow stick an rope idea sounds good but plan on using alot of sticks and rope but it also might be too slippery if theres a buig incline an decline. have to make sure you get the spacing right.

no pictures yet, ill take some tomorrow.

ya im not really convinced about the willow stick bridge...ya i see what your saying about the bridges... ya it will take some material thats for sure.. i gotta get out there and figure out exactly where i want to put the bridge first than that will determine how much material i need. was thinking about maybe going up to a tree then straight over the fence then down. not sure yet.