micro scale body?

[Big Tex]

Just got a quick question for you micro guys I want to build a garden crawler for the wife so if I wanted a body like this for a trail trekker what should I pay for it in brand new condition? and what do I need to mount it?







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[Intashu]

Pictured is a 10 dollar truck from a local walmart, toysRus, target ect.

if you wanted something a bit more detailed, for twice the amount you can get a model truck body, which looks a whole lot better.

[Big Tex]

Would the die cast body cause the crawler to be really top heavy?

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[smuggl1n]

Yes

[Big Tex]

Damn so my option is too detail this body as much as I can?

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[Intashu]

Originally Posted by Texas Creeper

Would the die cast body cause the crawler to be really top heavy?

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I used a cast body on one of my trucks, and yes they are SUPER top heavy at this scale. I strongly advise to avoid it. the stock shocks cant even hold them up and the truck will topple at even the slightest tilt.

Originally Posted by Texas Creeper

Damn so my option is too detail this body as much as I can?

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Yes, or buy a hobby model truck.
there are a lot of mods you can do to a cheap body to make it look awesome however.
an example would be to bend a metal coat hanger to make a body cage, bumpers, and roof rack.
and some cheap paint goes a long way with these bodies. (even silver sharpie on the details looks cool)

Originally Posted by Texas Creeper

What will I need to mount it?

you can use superglue and lego's (one on body one on frame allows you to take body off easily.)
I've seen a lot of success with Velcro for trucks this small too.

[Big Tex]

The legos sounds awesome but what scale do I look for in a model?

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[MGCrawler]

Originally Posted by Texas Creeper

The legos sounds awesome but what scale do I look for in a model?

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The 1/20 scale bodies fit about the best IMO.. However there alot of nice looking 1/24-25 scalers out there as well

[Intashu]

1:24, or 1:20th. revell makes Tons of my favorites. The things to look for are the wheel base. unless you plan to make custom sized links your going to want to find a truck that has about the same wheel base as the Trekker (or micro rock crawler if you have that, which is a shorter distance)
The Trekker has a 4.8 inch wheelbase from axle to axle, where a 1:24th pickup may be longer, and a Jeep may be shorter!

Alot of people have had success cheap body's however... like this one: Road Ripper 4 X 4 OFF ROAD SPORT VEHICLE - Jeep Wrangler - Toys & Games - Vehicles & Remote Control Toys - ATVs & Motorcycles
Turns out like this:



Direct fit, light weight, and this one is my dad's he mounted it with velcro with great sucess. it IS more top heavy than stock, but honestly it just makes it feel more realistic to a real truck!

[Intashu]

Originally Posted by MGCrawler

The 1/20 scale bodies fit about the best IMO.. However there alot of nice looking 1/24-25 scalers out there as well

True true, I was raised on the Micro crawler which is shorter. trekker is defiantly more of a 1:20th scale. unless we're talking pickup, which are inherently long enough to compensate, however they tend to look more ridiculousness when a small body is on a huge frame. All depends on what you find. I found my Xmods truck body looks awesome too, cept I accidently butchered the wheel wells to get the tires to clear. ):

edit: I am a massive scailer fan. my true 1:24th jeep (it's purple not the blue one here) is a standing testament to that. it is however much smaller than the stock Micro rock crawler... and not the best for actually taking on crawling. i does however look kick ass when it's trying to.

[minijoe]

with the jeep body is it top heavy i had to remove the springs from mine to bring down the center of gravaty

[Jcplante]

There are some new bright 1/24 scale rcs that work really well for the crawler im no sure about the trekker tho. I have a ford raptor body that is the same blue as the stock bead lock rings and it looks awsome. Its pretty light weight too. They also have a jeep brute truck one but i have not found it yet. They are priced about $12 so its not bad i have seen them at walmart and target

[Intashu]

Anything not made of the thin lexicon plastic that the trekker body is molded from will make the truck heavier. it anything it makes the truck more scale with plastic body's, but metal are just too heavy for most applications. Droop setup (no springs on shocks) helps combat that a lot however.

[razors 33]

Im using a 1/25 scale H1 snap tight on my trekker now with miclaws (big a$s) tires and the wheel base is good. I also have bwd wheel wideners which makes the tire to tire width look ok especially with the big tires.


with miclaws


with boggers



I'm also using a 1/24 77 revel gmc pick up body which is heavier than the H1 and creates a lot of body roll - which I'll have to remove the springs to correct for sag suspension




Scale bodies with detail look great, but, are heavy, can create body roll and might not be the best for hardcore crawling.

If you can find a light body then go for it.

If I wanted to do any hardcore crawling where weight, ride height ect plays a big roll, then i'll be using stock trekker body or make a comp chassis.

just my 2 cents - I'm a noob and only been in this aspect of the hobby for 2 months.