Caught the RC bug, will be building our own.

[LeoAndRei]

Hello! My Fiance, Rei and, myself (Leo) have both caught the RC bug after deciding we needed to get out more.

I have a Traxxas Stampede 2wd and like it, but it's capabilities are kinda meh, in terms of being a multi-use RC.

Rei has a Maisto "Baja Beast", which is really great compared to some of the cheaper built "toy's" in the same price range, but it's nowhere near the hobby level trucks.


After having watched quite a few RC crawler videos and, enjoying the broad capabilities of a crawler. I'm looking into building two of my own, for us to do some trail adventures/crawling, so I've come here in search of advice on how to build them.

[86-tin-top]

I am by no means an expert but I went through the same thing as you a couple years ago. The first thing to decide is if you want a kit ( thinking this is what you mean by building your own?) Or an rtr. I went with a wraith kit for my first hobby grade electric rc. I had a fun time building it and learning how it all works. I am now buying an scx10 rtr however because i want to get ino more of the scaleading aspect. I feel the spare parts I will hAve after upgrading will be a good thing to keep me on the road while waiting for parts as I don't have a true local lhs.

I suggest planning out your build, I ended up buying a few things more than once because I didn't really read up and just bought what I thought were good deals at the time. Go to your lhs and see what they stock, I find every hobby shop I go to carries alot of spare parts for axial while the others aren't nearly as supported, which is why I'm going that route again.

Many others suggest buying a bunch of upgrade parts right off the get go, I didn't do this and it actually has saved me alot of money. I upgraded as I broke parts or seen an issue. I had alot of fun doing it this way as well.

Welcome to the addiction!

[mikebecher]

Buy the best parts that you can afford the first time around. I've wasted more money than I care to admit 'upgrading' to mediocre parts only to turn around and upgrade them again a few months later. Since you're new to the hobby, run the stock parts until they fail. There's really no need to buy a bunch of upgrades up front. You're driving style may warrant an entirely different set of upgrades than someone else.

Building the kits is fairly straightforward. Make sure you get a good set of tools and set up a proper work area. This won't be something you can lay out on the kitchen table and do in an evening. Take your time and ask questions when they arise. I spent three weeks building my first kit, not including paint and interior.

The most important part is to have fun and enjoy the build process!

[LeoAndRei]

Originally Posted by 86-tin-top

The first thing to decide is if you want a kit ( thinking this is what you mean by building your own?) Or an rtr.

Actually the plan is to buy what I can afford in terms of power-train/Suspension and etc, then make a frame/cage on my own, since I have experience with and tools needed for custom fabrication. (I've custom fabbed brackets/mounts/misc for my Mazda RX7 Autocross car)

[microcrawlers]

alright if youre building like that determine what type of rig you want, be it slow or fast, scale and/or capable. in my opinion a rig based on 1.9 tires can be just as capable as on 2.2s so just look at some videos and pictures to help there. once you decide tire size if you was 2.2s id go with an axial wraith skidplate and wraith axles. if you go with 1.9s you can go with an scx10 skid but personally i used a wraith skid so i would have room for the two speed transmission i use. for transmission a good reliable (once upgraded) wraith transmission is a good option. i prefer twin hammers transmission because its two speed. look around on the 2.2 rig section and 1.9 rig section to get some ideas of what you like. just some basics for a custom piece by piece build. also like someone else said but the best upgrades you can instead of mediocre ones only to move on to better. i recoment vanquish and ssd for some good quality axles and rims and such. pitbull makes great tires and so does voodoo.