Crawler First Build

[Rodrigo360]

Hi,

As you can see I'm new to the crawlers. I'm tired of 1/8 offroad racing and want to build mi first "Crawler Machine".

I want to build something like pics at the end of the post.

I need your help to know if I can start with the "SCX10™ 2012 Jeep® Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 1/10th Scale Electric 4WD - Kit" and add Beadlock wheels/tires.
I just want to have a good crawler and nice looking ride. Any "must have" or recommended upgrades are welcome.

Thanks for any help in my build!

[Bogo_30]

If you start with the Wrangler Unlimited, there aren't any upgrades that are a "must have" as the truck is a very solid performer out of the box. However if you want to have similarly sized tires you will most likely need to purchase longer shocks or a lift kit

[new2rocks]

Two of the stock tranny gears (idler gear and lower diff gear), the stock plastic servo horns, and the drive shafts are notorious weak points and would be good candidates for upgrades in the initial build. After that, there's a nearly endless list of things you can do (knuckles, c-hubs, lockouts, upper links, ring/pinion gears, diff lockers, CVD/XVDs, sealed bearings, the list goes on), but a lot of it depends on budget and how you plan to run it. If you're going to go brushless or 3s or play hard on the rocks, it makes sense to do more of the upgrades in the initial build because you'll break some of those stock parts pretty quickly. If you're going to stay brushed on 2s and aren't planning to abuse the rig, you can leave more stock stuff in the initial build and then replace/upgrade as things break.

There's a lot of great info on various threads here. Here are just a couple:
Top Upgrades for the Scx-10
Help me build my first SCX10 (Wrangler G6 Recon)

I'd suggest doing some searches to help you make some decisions and narrow your questions. The more specific you can get, the more we can help. The SCX-10 platform is very flexible, has lots of aftermarket support, and is very capable. Have fun with it!

[crockins]

Are you wanting to start with a kit or RTR? I'd say the "must have" upgrade list is hugely dependent on your electronics. If you are starting with an RTR and plan to stick with the stock electronics or similar electronics for a while then I'd say the only real "must have" is an aluminum servo horn and metal links. Although the links can wait a little bit if you want and they can be done in stages if you want to spread it out. Start with steering links, then lowers, then uppers. The gears and drive shafts will hold up just fine for a while on a stock motor running 2s. If you are building a kit or immediately trashing the RTR electronics for high end stuff then the list is different. With a 400 oz/in super high torque servo, any plastic in the steering system will have a drastically shorter life so replacing knuckles, c-hubs, links etc will become a "must have". Also, when you start adding all that extra weight of a bunch of metal parts then there is a lot of extra strain on the drive line. Combine that with a 3s lipo or brushless motor or both and then upgrading the transmission gears, drive shafts and maybe the axle gears start becoming must have upgrades as well. It's a slippery slope.

I have a Wraith and two SCX10s (among other RCs) that were all built from kits. All three axial trucks have Tekin 35t brushed motors and they all have hitec 7985 servos which are only slightly higher torque than stock RTR and we run them mostly on 2s lipo. We have a few upgrades like beadlock wheels, but for the most part they are box stock parts. Of course the kits come with aluminum links which is important and they all have aluminum servo horns which is definitely a "must have". I guess the wraith kit only came with the lower links so I did buy VP titanium steering links for that one but the SCX10 kits came with aluminum steering links as well as the lowers. I drive my wraith moderately carefully I suppose? I mean, I don't baby it, but I also don't do things that I think are likely to break it. I have been driving exclusively 3s lately though because I'm short a 2s battery so I expect things will start wearing out and breaking a little faster. My kids, on the other hand drive the SCX10s as if they have no idea that plastic can be broken or any concept of how much money these things cost, because they are 4 and 6. They hammer the throttle, intentionally drive into and off of anything they can find, and generally cause mayhem as you'd expect from a 4 and 6 year old. So far we have had no breakages or parts failures and we've had them for a while. They've been on multiple camping trips and of course been bashed around our house and yard a lot.. It'll come eventually no matter what and some people are more or less lucky but the upgrade frenzy isn't really required until you start upping the power of the motor or the servo. Don't get me wrong, the upgrade frenzy is loads of fun! I've done it before and I'm on the verge of doing it with my Wraith but not really because it needs it, just because I want to! Just my 2 cents.

[new2rocks]

^ +1 to crockins, esp re the links. My 5 year old hasn't run anything off a 30-ft cliff in a couple of months.


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