Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition

[Col_Sanders]

IIRC the recess is for the optional link kit.

Ditching the stock skid is definitely a big improvement. The stock one always got hung up on mine so I installed the Bowhouse skid.

[tcanin00]

The machined recesses are for the 3 and 4 link kits. I like the idea of using them for a low profile skid plate, though.

Sent from my HTC Desire 626 using Tapatalk

[JatoTheRipper]

I had been asking for door panels for the TF2. svt923 recommended the LWB interior which I quickly snatched up. Then, while searching to help somebody else on this forum find a part, I came across white TF2 door panels that look very similar to the CCHand door panels. They were white, which makes them easier to paint, and they were much cheaper. They arrived yesterday wrapped in "official" Axial tape. Very interesting...




Door panels. I'm not sure how you'd mount them to the TF2 other than Shoe Gooing them to the inside of the body. The screw holes don't line up with anything in the interior. I'm open to suggestions here for sure.

[JatoTheRipper]

I didn't do any work on the TF2, but it was a fairly rare, sunny day so I took it out for some testing. Please, stop the rain, Mother Nature!!! I went right to the test stump and this truck shocked me. Before it would climb partly up the tree and then the stock skid plate would stop it dead. See the video below to see what it can do with the Bowhouse skid plate. I'm definitely impressed and I'd highly recommend a low profile skid plate as your first mod. Others will say the same thing, but I wanted to run with the stock skid plate to get an idea of stock performance. And now I see for myself how much the aftermarket skid plates help performance!

[JatoTheRipper]

More photos because I'm obsessed (I sound like my girlfriend...) with the look of this truck. I hope you don't mind.

[JatoTheRipper]

I also decided to try that 1.55 RC4WD GoodYear MT/R tires on LockedUP RC Trail Ready HD beadlock wheels from my MST CMX Unimog on this truck. At first I didn't like the "don't skip leg day, bro" look, but that's kinda how the original Toyotas always looked to me. While this look has grown on me I still prefer the black Motoworx wheels with the Rock Beast tires. I didn't drive the truck with this tire and wheel combo. The RC4WD stock foams would be too soft for sure whereas the Pit Bull foams are pretty close to perfect for me.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

...Then, while searching to help somebody else on this forum find a part, I came across white TF2 door panels that look very similar to the CCHand door panels. They were white, which makes them easier to paint, and they were much cheaper.

Door panels. I'm not sure how you'd mount them to the TF2 other than Shoe Gooing them to the inside of the body. The screw holes don't line up with anything in the interior. I'm open to suggestions here for sure.

Forgot to say, if the panels have curvature to match inside of body, E6000 them inside the cab. Otherwise glue up some thin flat styrene to form a tub-like interior and then attach them to that with E6000. A tub type interior can be attached to the body and might be easier to take the body on and off for battery changes etc.

The Pitbull Rockbeast on Motoworx beadlocks look better. I've been shopping some little bigger tires, the Growlers and Braven Berserkers are all on my list of possibles. 3.85" is as small as I want to go, but no larger than 4.19", more interested in 1.55 than 1.7" tires/wheels, how you liking the Rockbeasts?

[durok]

Man, Jato - that's a really nice TF2.

Love the color, and the detail in the interior - and the lighting is perfect!

Gotta say, I like the "little tires" look, but - that's just my opinion - it also looks great on the bigger set...

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Forgot to say, if the panels have curvature to match inside of body, E6000 them inside the cab. Otherwise glue up some thin flat styrene to form a tub-like interior and then attach them to that with E6000. A tub type interior can be attached to the body and might be easier to take the body on and off for battery changes etc.

The Pitbull Rockbeast on Motoworx beadlocks look better. I've been shopping some little bigger tires, the Growlers and Braven Berserkers are all on my list of possibles. 3.85" is as small as I want to go, but no larger than 4.19", more interested in 1.55 than 1.7" tires/wheels, how you liking the Rockbeasts?

Good ideas in regards to the body panels. I did think about gluing/E6000 them to the inside of the body. They are flat and don't match the curvature of the body. I got distracted into doing other things.

I love Rock Beasts. They are one of my all time favorite tires. I just wish Pitbull offered "better" sizes. The 1.55s are a good size and the OG Rock Beasts are a great size (that's all I run on my Ascender), but they refuse to offer them in Alien Kompound for some reason. The Rock Beast XLs are simply too big. I think you'd be very happy with the Rock Beasts.

I also think the 1.55 Growlers are way too big for me. I traded for a set and I almost laughed when I saw the size of them next to my TF2.

Originally Posted by durok

Man, Jato - that's a really nice TF2.

Love the color, and the detail in the interior - and the lighting is perfect!

Gotta say, I like the "little tires" look, but - that's just my opinion - it also looks great on the bigger set...

Thank you!

Yeah now I wanna build a tiny tires version.

[Natedog]

Thanks. Yes, the Growlers just seem a little large and tread a little too tightly spaced, but they seem to work for people.

Do it!

[JatoTheRipper]

My K5 Blazer body and the LED light kit have both been sitting around my house for a while and I was bored last night so let's put those two things together...

RC4WD LED Light kit




The kit was kind of a PITA to install. Some of the plastic light retaining pieces had to be modified just like I had to do with my Yota body. The slots for the wires on the lights aren't deep enough so you have to enlarge them. And the heads of the screws for the headlight retainers were sloppy and my ball end Allen wrench wouldn't work. I had to use an L-wrench Allen wrench and turn these two screws out a half turn at a time.

In the photo below you can see the unmodified retainer sits too high and the screw hole won't align with the hole in the bucket. This is why you have to make the slot bigger to give more clearance for the wires.




Then we go to the rear. In this case I had to enlarge both the top and bottom slots in the retainer for the taillights. That was a minor setback. But getting the retainers in this tight corner with the LEDs installed was a royal PITA. Not a fun task for people with little patience like me.




But after a struggle...success!




Of course I started and finished late so I only have bench shots at this point. The headlight LEDs are far too cool (blue) and the marker lights and turn signals don't diffuse enough so it's disappointing. In the case of the turn signals and marker lights they simply aren't deep enough and the LED basically sits against the lens which really kills diffusion. The same goes for the taillights, but unfortunately I didn't take photos of those last night.

[LSXGMC]

The LED kits are great for the most part, I'd rather do some slight modifications to install then try and figure out my own light system (I HATE wiring). I agree the rear ones are a royal PITA, but eventually ya get them. Thorw this body on your truck now and get some pics!

[Ironhide13]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

My K5 Blazer body and the LED light kit have both been sitting around my house for a while and I was bored last night so let's put those two things together...

RC4WD LED Light kit

The kit was kind of a PITA to install. Some of the plastic light retaining pieces had to be modified just like I had to do with my Yota body. The slots for the wires on the lights aren't deep enough so you have to enlarge them. And the heads of the screws for the headlight retainers were sloppy and my ball end Allen wrench wouldn't work. I had to use an L-wrench Allen wrench and turn these two screws out a half turn at a time.

In the photo below you can see the unmodified retainer sits too high and the screw hole won't align with the hole in the bucket. This is why you have to make the slot bigger to give more clearance for the wires.

Then we go to the rear. In this case I had to enlarge both the top and bottom slots in the retainer for the taillights. That was a minor setback. But getting the retainers in this tight corner with the LEDs installed was a royal PITA. Not a fun task for people with little patience like me.

But after a struggle...success!

Of course I started and finished late so I only have bench shots at this point. The headlight LEDs are far too cool (blue) and the marker lights and turn signals don't diffuse enough so it's disappointing. In the case of the turn signals and marker lights they simply aren't deep enough and the LED basically sits against the lens which really kills diffusion. The same goes for the taillights, but unfortunately I didn't take photos of those last night.

I have this job to do as well, and after your experience I'm not particularly looking forward to it...

[LSXGMC]

Originally Posted by Ironhide13

I have this job to do as well, and after your experience I'm not particularly looking forward to it...

I wouldn't fret too much honestly. I think it took me ~15 minutes to install them, I've done three sets already. The rears are the hardest simply because they have to fit n a confined space. There are a couple different ways to do this, just have a few small screwdrivers handy to help guide the wires around a little bit and you're fine .

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by LSXGMC

The LED kits are great for the most part, I'd rather do some slight modifications to install then try and figure out my own light system (I HATE wiring). I agree the rear ones are a royal PITA, but eventually ya get them. Thorw this body on your truck now and get some pics!

Your wish is my command!

Black wheels or raw aluminum wheels? I know what I prefer on this body.

[LSXGMC]

Tough call - but I think I’d go with the raw wheels. Maybe I’m biased because I have that exact wheel/tire combo sitting on my bench waiting for a project LOL

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by LSXGMC

Tough call - but I think I’d go with the raw wheels. Maybe I’m biased because I have that exact wheel/tire combo sitting on my bench waiting for a project LOL

Good choice. That's what I prefer on the Blazer. On the Yota I still prefer the black.

The only thing I'm not sure about is that the hubs look a little large for my liking so I'm trying to find smaller ones for these wheels.

Oh and the raw wheels give a really narrow track width - too narrow for the Blazer body. And because these are the A08 version I don't think there's anything I can do to make it wider. So these wheels will probably go back on my CMX.

[Natedog]

Black wheels/tires look better, the MTRs are kinda small and too aggressive looking (like an ATV tire almost) for this body. Yes, the hubs look a little big too. Make your own hub shims out of aluminum or plastic or maybe the Shifts wheel hubs guy here on RCC makes or will make them?

Userid is BC-Brian
Presenting Shifts, Lightweight n' Flexible Offset Hubs
https://www.tcscrawlers.com/lattice-.../sku186692.htm

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Black wheels/tires look better, the MTRs are kinda small and too aggressive looking (like an ATV tire almost) for this body. Yes, the hubs look a little big too. Make your own hub shims out of aluminum or plastic or maybe the Shifts wheel hubs guy here on RCC makes or will make them?

Userid is BC-Brian
Presenting Shifts, Lightweight n' Flexible Offset Hubs
https://www.tcscrawlers.com/lattice-.../sku186692.htm

I like the raw better on the Blazer. I might like the black wheels more if the tires were smaller. The Rock Beasts are just too large for the Blazer IMO.

I do agree the aggressiveness of the tires look odd on this body, but I'm OK with the size of them. Back in the day the tires were undersized for the massive bodies. Tamer tires would definitely look better though.

Seeing how I can't get a return PM from BC-Brian I will avoid that company, but thanks for the tip.

The reason I like these hubs from TSS is that they're threaded. There aren't any locknuts that will pull out.

[Natedog]

Correct about the tires sizes back in the day. RC4WD Mud Thrashers aren't much bigger than the MTRs and look more era appropriate as well as not as aggressive looking.
Licensed Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 1.55" Scale Tires
https://store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Goodye...es_p_5652.html
Advanced X2S³ Compound
Outer Diameter: 3.54in / 90mm
Width: 1.48in / 37.69mm
Inner Diameter: 1.42in / 36mm
Each Tire Weight: 1.71oz / 48.6g

MUD THRASHERS 1.55" SCALE TIRES, looks like BFG Mud-Terrains to me and they feel like decent traction just dragging them across my work bench, EDIT these tires are hard like rock and have poor traction on real rocks.
https://store.rc4wd.com/Mud-Thrasher...res_p_219.html
Outer Diameter: 3.67" (93.3mm)
Width: 1.39" (35.4mm)
Inner Diameter: 1.55" (39mm)
Advanced X3 Compound
Each Tire Weight: 2.35 oz / 67 g