Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition I've always been a fan of leaf spring trucks. Blame it on growing up in the 80's with the awesome square bodies of the day. The ease of installing suspension lifts and big tires was another reason. This is probably why I love my GMade Sawbacks so much. Because of the leaf springs, a TF2 has always been on my radar, but for some reason it always got pushed behind other truck kits. But that has ended now as I have a TF2 Mojave II kit on the way. I even acquired 1.55 wheels for my future TF2 build over a year ago. And then with the recent Pitbull RC sale I picked up the 1.55 Rock Beast tires. I'm a huge fan of these in 1.9 so I'm sure I'll love them just as much in 1.55, especially with the new Alien Kompound. Here are the Pitbull Rock Beasts on Motoworx Racing 10-Hole wheels. It's not often you start with wheels and tires, but I can't get enough tires and wheels so it's fitting for me. I plan on making this truck look like a streetable truck that an average person would have lifted and put bigger tires on back in its day. Outside of that I have no direction in mind - no paint color(s), no upgrades, no electronics...nothing. https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4391/...5b8c2033_b.jpg |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition hey, you've got to start somewhere, and those are some really nice rims and tires. |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Well I'll be... Did I see airborne swine? Jato voluntarily purchased a TF2? :ror: In all seriousness, the wheels and tires are a great start, and I look forward to seeing your build. "thumbsup" |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Can't wait to see it come together. I love my 1.55 rock beasts so far. You're literally building this one from the ground up! Ben |
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Just because I am critical of brands and products doesn't mean I don't like them nor does it mean I won't run them. "thumbsup" Quote:
:lmao: Yes, I guess I am building from the ground up. The TF2 kit is supposed to be here Wednesday. I'm also getting a Tamiya kit Wednesday or Thursday so I might start with that build as I acquire all of the stuff needed for the TF2. One of my big decisions is the color of the body. I've been looking through the gallery trying to decide on one color. This is a tough decision for an indecisive person like myself! :lmao: So far the only "upgrade" I've ordered for the TF2 kit is a stainless steel hardware kit from Team KNK. One of my friends, who is a Gelande II nut and TF2 owner said that RC4WD's hardware isn't the best. What I gathered from reading the TF2 guides is that the driveshafts are the biggest weak spot. Are the RC4WD Punisher shafts durable? MIP is always pricey. I've had good luck with Junfac. I just have to decide the brand and figure out the needed lengths and order up. Are the RC4WD XVDs the only CVDs available for the TF2? I think the hardware, driveshafts, and CVDs will be the only upgrades I start with. But I'm open for other suggestions if there are "must haves" to install right away. |
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The only XVDs I know of are the RC4WD versions. You get about 35 degrees of steering with them (better than stock), and durability is much better than stock. Of course, I'm partial to a completely different axle, but that's another story... ;-) As for other upgrades, a high clearance skid is a must. Ours works very well, and RC4WD has a new one that should be pretty good, also. The other upgrade I'd call a must is G2 hoops in front with longer than stock shocks. I've been happy with my LWB setup -- G2 hoops with the kit rear 90mm shocks mounted in front, and the kit front 70mm shocks mounted in the rear on a straight upper shock mount instead of the raised mount. With internal springs removed and 3k diff fluid in the shocks, it makes for a good baseline setup. One thing to watch for with the stock shocks is the brass inserts in the lower mounts coming out. If (more like when) they do, they can be glued back easily enough. Apart from those things, the rest of the platform is very robust. Enjoy the build! "thumbsup" |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Leaf springs for the win."thumbsup" With 1.55 rockbeasts, and a daily driver at that. Is it going to have TOY on the gate like everyone else did to their lifted 4 cylinders? |
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Your axles are awesome, but I want this truck to remain all metal. Is the RC4WD low profile skid plastic or metal? I didn't know they had one of their own. What do the G2 hoops buy you? More travel? I'll have to check out your LWB build thread assuming all of the info is in there. The stock shocks - are they boingers or do they hold oil? I don't think anybody makes a small diameter, scale-looking shock that holds oil. At least not that I know of. Quote:
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I ran the Punisher shafts on mine and they held up great! Quote:
Also invest in a low-profile skid. I ran the Bowhouse one from Shapeways and it was tough as nails and made a big difference for clearance. The stock one is brutal! Gelande II front shock hoops are worthwhile too, so you can run a longer shock up front (most run 90mm, some 100mm). The stock hoops and 70mm shocks don't offer much/any travel. The rest of the truck is very stout. Quote:
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http://rc4wd.com/Doc/Shafts.pdf Quote:
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I cover this in the TF2 guide on the RC4WD forum and also have a lot of suspension setup info in my 3 TF2 threads here. Quote:
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Are there any shocks, similar in diameter to the stock shocks, that are meant to hold oil and actually hold oil? I want oil shocks while retaining the scale appearance of the smaller diameter shocks. |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Your not going to find an oil filled shock that size that works properly. They hold oil just fine, but there isnt enough capacity to work. I ran 5k wt oil in mine, about 1/2 full to prevent hydrolocking. |
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I wish I had known I'd have this kit and need your skid plate when the free shipping promotion was still live at Shapeways. :lmao: EDIT: Well I was able to get the skid tacked onto my previous order so I did get free shipping. Cool. "thumbsup" So to start I'm doing the stainless steel hardware, Bowhouse skid plate, XVDs, Junfact driveshafts, and the GII front shock hoops. EDIT: Hoops are OOS everywhere so I guess I'm not getting those to start. Which size shims should I have on hand for the axles, etc. for this truck? |
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Just a heads up, I see Amazon has the G2 shock hoops on stock right now. That's where I ended getting them last week. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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I get that. No prob. Btw, I have an issue maybe you could help me with. Can you please look under the TF2 thread and see my "Steering linkage/suspension issue". I actually should have called it Panhard/suspension issue. I just cannot figure what the issue is. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
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I found the hoops and XVD on Horizon Hobby's website so I ordered from there instead. Now I'm going to size the Junfac driveshafts. |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Today is TF2 day. I won't begin the build today though. I'm waiting on parts and the Tamiya TA02T that is coming tomorrow will be built first. I ordered the Bowhouse low-profile skid plate, GII front shock hoops, Junfac Dingo driveshafts, and XVDs. |
Re: Jato The Trail Finder 2 - Leaf Spring Mafia Edition Well I wasn't that excited until it got here. I said I was going to wait. I couldn't resist. 4 quick questions before I forget. 1. Does the shackle dimple go inside (towards the other half of the shackle) or outside? See photo below. 2. Stock foams are soft. They seem too soft. Are they? I plan on running the stock single stage foams in my 1.55 Rock Beasts, but they seem too stiff. 3. Does anybody put silicone, RTV, etc between the front and rear of the axle halves? 4. I am using blue thread lock everywhere to this point while building the frame rails. Is this OK or do you put red Loc-Tite everywhere? https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5805ee228b.jpg https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...9bab5e30e6.jpg |
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