Yay or Nay?

[kiwi-fj40]

Hey guys,
first post here, total newbie to RC Rock Crawling.

have found what i believe could be a good starting point,

just a bit of details about it.

has 2 Tamiya Clod diffs, 4x4 4 wheel steering,

the chassis is alloy, has push rods..what are these? lol, and the diffs.

here is a pic so you get the idea of what im looking at..

http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoser...32136_full.jpg

same guy also has this one for sale, http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoser...02940_full.jpg

with these details;
This truck can go any were front and back diffs are locked it has front and back steering

Steering is inderpendent back steering is worked off its own switch better than tandem steer

Body is rough from all the rocks its been climbing

Good tractor grip tyres have been cut and glued front and back mounts have been glued and strengthend

Front springs with oil and dont need back

Traxxas digitil proportional three channel radio system

Three channel receiver

Front and rear servos

Two tamiya stock motors

Esc is brand new and fitted runs sweet

The battery on the truck is not in the auction

Truck runs on 7.2

Truck is 520mm long
Truck is 320mm wide
Truck is 250mm high
tyres 150mm tall

thoughts/ideas on what would be a better base to start with?
bearing in mind that for an extra $100 or so, i get a ready to drive truck, and parts are expensive to get and buy over here for them - everything has to be got from the states :(

cheers Dave

[theshimonator]

My first thought is you DEFINATELY need to limit the suspension. shocks will sort that out though!
Oh yeah. welcome to rcrc and ignore all flamers and have fun!

[Mnster]

Looks great, you have most of the right equipment to pull it off. You need one shock and spring in the front and one in the back.

[kiwi-fj40]

Hey, is limiting the suspension the same as on my full scale fj40, using a limit strap? or is it different on RC..

theres so much info here it hurts my brain lol

thanks for the welcome.

[kiwi-fj40]

Originally Posted by Mnster

Looks great, you have most of the right equipment to pull it off. You need one shock and spring in the front and one in the back.

so in that sense, id ultimatley be better off going with the finished one, then customizing to suit my own needs where needed?

iv played with RC before, but never anything this complex..

[Mnster]

It depends, the first one needs to be finished. A couple parts need to be fabricated. Drilling a stick chassis is better left to the experienced. I would go with the complete one. Then tune and mod get some experence down.

[kiwi-fj40]

cool, thats what im starting to think after reading threads on here, iv purchased a new body - fj40 hehe, and thats hopefully on the way from the states,

just one question.. how do you weld on these? being alloy, do you tig? or something just like a cold weld epoxy?

[theshimonator]

People usually don't have the equipment to weld (no tig welders) so if you can tig weld then great! but if not the good old nut and bolt will hold the same and allow andthing broken to be changed again.

[Mnster]

Welding aluminuim is one of toughest metal to weld, well. Tig would be the best way. There are Alum-a-Weld rods that you can use with gas welding. Screws are the best bet.

[kiwi-fj40]

yeah, can weld in mig, oxyacetelene, and tig, have a cert, though havent ever worked on anything this small haha, i think for now il stick to the pre-made one and have some fun/get to grips - no pun intended with how to drive it before getting serious.

i also read in the tips and tricks sticky that nitros cant crawl..why is this?

[Mnster]

Nitro's don't have the starting torque, throttle control of electric. They are also heavy, noisy, messy, and hard to tune.

[trickedoutTLT06]

the 2nd one looks like a pretty decent crawler to start with, and Nitros cant crawl because as said about they dont have enough torque, they're noisy, and when you roll them over and spill gas all over the ground its a no no

[kiwi-fj40]

cool, cheers for the info abou the nitro, will concentrate on electric.

as a side note, does anything know anything anything the HPI Savage 4.1 chassis rails? looks like this http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoser...43973_full.jpg, can it be used as a spare base for a rock crawler? or are they designed more for use on a monster truck?

cheers

[trickedoutTLT06]

Originally Posted by kiwi-fj40

cool, cheers for the info abou the nitro, will concentrate on electric.

as a side note, does anything know anything anything the HPI Savage 4.1 chassis rails? looks like this http://images.trademe.co.nz/photoser...43973_full.jpg, can it be used as a spare base for a rock crawler? or are they designed more for use on a monster truck?

cheers

for more of a huge on a monster truck, But I suppose with a few hours of hacking you could make a decent frame out of it

[kiwi-fj40]

sweet, wont bother with that either then..

well, iv been reading heaps of info on here, and after reading, im starting to like the idea of a TLT crawler, rather than a clod as such, just looks more realistic to me.

just another few questions, and then il stop annoying you for a while lol.

will a 1/10th body which has an 11" wheel base fit onto an SW2 chassis from bender customs or will i be better of using the J2-TT chassis?

and out of those chassis' which one is the better or more versatile, after reading the specs, they both seem just as good as each other, and alot of people seem to go with either..

once again, thanks for all your help, will have a build up thread started soon too.
cheers Dave

[sods]

mornin' and welcome

both chassis you mentioned are great base points to start with.
either one will take a 1/10 body.

the sw2 chassis definatley has more mounting postions for for your shocks, links, etc. I ran a sw2 chassis for a couple of years and loved its tune ability with all of the mounting positions.

the j2-tt chassis is definatley a good chassis as well, one of the guys in my club runs one for his 2.2 comp rig and has done really well with it.

basically either chassis is great, its just a personal preference.
either one will get you going in the right direction.

matt

[kiwi-fj40]

morning as well lol - though only just; 12:23am on saturday lol

thanks for the advice, that helps alot, means i can finally make a decision, and im thinking il go with the SW2, as it seems easier to make links, shock mounts for etc.

glad to here about the body fitting, means i can finally make a good start on the crawler and order the parts from the states.

cheers Dave

[heavyD]

Hi
I have both the sw2 and the j2-tt chassis's and may i say both are first class quality items. Both Bender and Matt are always willing to answer any questions you may have.

On the sw2 if you use a pede tranny, which it is designed for the motor will hang out of one side, however on the j2-tt the chassis is wide enough to put the entire tranny inside without any overhang. Its all a matter of preference really.

Whichever one you pick i am positive you will not be dissapointed.

heavyD

[Mnster]

I'd just get the Axial Scorpion crawler everything you need in one box.

[kiwi-fj40]

Originally Posted by Mnster

I'd just get the Axial Scorpion crawler everything you need in one box.

i had a look at that and its very good for what i need, but the cost of that compared to buying a SW2 chassis or J2-TT is alot more, and i can build up my own one for cheaper than buying it complete - easy to get alloy rod etc of here, just not easy to get a good chassis.

cheers for the replys