USA-1 monster goes micro flatbed

[tgh117]

So I was after a new build for a while now and came across a decent deal on a project truck.

Mcrc axles, rc4wd wheels, claws, and a knock off eBay frame. So this is how it started



I started fitting up the body to how I wanted it.





Was actually pleased with it overall but came across something I wanted to try



Picked this up and went to work.

Several tweaks and test Fits later...




Some fungi wheels and boggers







Filled in the hood hole



Prettied up the bed with diamond plate



Some shiny paint to give a polished aluminum look



Can flairs to complete the look





Working out ride height.







Test run





Back apart for some details, finish paint, etc. not sure how long these will last, but oh well





More to come soon.



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[tgh117]

Also need to work out a drop hitch eventually.



All in due time.


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[tgh117]

Well the hood was filled, final paint, a little clear for good measure, and some details. Done enough for now. Still need to fine tune and eventually cover the links, glue the tires, and who knows.

Today's trial run already resulted in a knocked off bug shield, and mirror.





More to come. Real first run is turkey day.


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[carpediem70]

Nice job! You may need a stronger motor,servo and battery to turn those wheels.Reduceing gear ratio will be good too.

[tgh117]

It's got a predator 90 t in it. Still gets warm but should hold up. Running a 350 2s lipo. Servo will get replaced eventually


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[old man 52]

I like it , and don't worry , mirrors are over rated. LOL

[tgh117]

Originally Posted by old man 52

I like it , and don't worry , mirrors are over rated. LOL

So is the light bar on the top, but its still there for now.

[old man 52]

Originally Posted by tgh117

So is the light bar on the top, but its still there for now.

But lights you need , is there a way to rap a bar over the top.

[Natedog]

Sweet, I always loved the Kyosho USA1 back in the day! Fungi makes some nice parts too! UPdates please!

[tgh117]

I probably could without too much effort. I'll see how it pans out this weekend and we'll update / rebuild from there. Needs a few other things to, plus I need to fix my trailer wheels so I can put the hitch to work.


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[tgh117]

Few pics of it in action. Still some adjusting to do... Duals were running the links, causing motor heat issues, so it went out doors on singles. Needs some weight in the wheels yet.






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[tgh117]

Well after catching up on a bunch of other things I finally got to fix up this guy a bit. Had rear axle binding issues, and some general tracking issues. Finally spent a little time fixing it up from the previous rush. Now the motor stays nice and cool. 6 tires definitely go more places then 4.

I swapped out the Mcrc stuns for Trekker ones, and that fixed all my rear axle problems. Next it needs some smooth lockouts to clean up the back. Still debating on a leaf setup swap, but we will evaluate that sometime. The parts for the next one are about to show up.


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[tgh117]

Much happier now.


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[cleanandserenesteve]

Thats a sweet scale rig!! Very nice work o the bed. Any specifics on the bed paint and how you did the front fender flares?

[tgh117]

Originally Posted by twomicros

That's an awesome build! did the original USA-1 body fit the stock trail trekker wheel base or did you lengthen or shorten the wheelbase with that ebay chassis you bought? It looks like it fit really good.

I believe it would have been close to stock Trekker length. Might just need to lengthen the rear slightly, but would fit pretty easy.

Thanks for the kind words, it's pretty good runner now that I got the bugs worked out


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[tgh117]

I have not populated this thread in a while, but my son continues to beat on the flatbed. Some further fine tuning of links and shocks and geometry has really kept it working well.







I swapped out to trekker stubs and hexes and it gave me some additional room to move stuff around and reduced some binding I was having.


My son also got a gooseneck trailer to drag various things around the house





And a bit of snow over the weekend resulted in some cold temp running




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[tgh117]

Not much to say here on this one. This thing just plain works. It tows, it crawls, just about anything.

Only change is a mg-90 in the front, as my final Losi one bit the dust.




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[tgh117]

This truck continues to perform great and do what it was built to do.


I moved around the electronics just a bit to clean up the wiring and put in a mg-90s as the Losi one finally gave out, otherwise it just cruises around.





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[irvan105]

Love the build. Did yall build the gooseneck trailer?

[JatoTheRipper]

Awesome project. That bed is incredible.