Tools????

[natep98]

I am new to the crawler world and have just ordered an RS10. I can't wait to get my hands on it. I am like a kid at Christmas. So to help control my anxiousness I have been looking up mods and such for my truck. One thing I either haven't seen yet or there isn't much on are tools.

I know there are other areas of the forum but I am looking for RS10 specific info. I am wondering if anyone can share some thoughts on a tool box for both home and in the field. Specifically what tools and spare parts are a must to have. Also any other tools or parts that aren't necessarily a must but I should think about having.

Any advice on this would be great.

Nate

[o-o]

#1 phillips screw driver

#2 phillips screw driver

A set of small pliers

a set of small allen wrenches (I think all the RS10 needs is a 1.5mm and 2.0mm wrench)

7mm socket and something to turn it with


These tool are all that's required to disassemble an RS10 completely. (unless I forgot something, these are the minimum tools needed for a complete tear down)



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[o-o]

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Spare parts? The only spare part I keep is a $6.50 towerpro servo in my box. Initially there are some upgrades that you will need to do to make the RS10 dependable. After I did the upgrades mine hasn't broken since.

I used the Towerpro MG996R servos from ebay for $6.50 each. Although not the strongest servo, it's quite a bit stronger than stock and I haven't broke either of them since putting them on.

Steel differential gears. Although not a necessity, for only $13.49 a set I put them in anyway to never have problems.

The drive cups on the differential are held on with small allen screw pins that WILL come loose and break. Drill the hole out and tap in a 3/32" roll pin.

The "locker" area has a drive pin made of a real soft metal. I cut the end off of a 5/64" drill bit and used it instead. The stock size pin is 2mm and 5/64" is 1.9844mm which is close enough since nothing on the RS10 is very precision anyway.


So for about $50 you can do all of the upgrades I consider to be mandatory for dependable operation.



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[o-o]

Also not sure if you have a lipo charger and batteries, but the RS10 is 2S lipo ready. I have an 800mah, 1300mah, and 2200mah I use regularly. Some guys run larger batteries like a 5000 mah and can run for a few hours.

I also bought a 2500mah life battery for in my transmitter for about $12 so I could stop buying AA batteries lol.


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[natep98]

Thanks for the info. I am on information overload from all the forums I have been reading. I appreciate the nice break down on some of the items I need.

Nate

[jsowens]

At the very bare minimum, invest in:
-a set of allen drivers. You can get basic allen keys if you want, but I have a 4 in 1 allen driver set that I love. They're also dirt cheap on hobbyking. Turnigy Hex Driver set 4 in 1 1.5~ 3.0
-screwdrivers as mentioned above
-a decent soldering iron
-small pack of zip ties
-small cross wrench
-small paid of needle nose pliers and side cutters (I use jeweler's versions because they're smaller and fit in my small field box)

Speaking of field boxes...I just use a simple plastic Plano tacklebox and put all my stuff in it. I basically use the same tool kit for home and field use.

Once you start doing custom mods you'll also wanna invest in a dremel and good drill if you don't already have them.

As for spares, I don't carry much really. I carry:
-rod ends
-various bolts and lock nuts
-a few axle nuts for the wheels
-and some other odds and ends depending on if I'm crawling or racing short course

[MountainStorm]

Servo will die until you spend some money on a good one so a spare servo is like gold when you are out and about. I've broken several servo horns and rod ends. So spares of those would have been right on time. I've never lost a screw or anything like that. I have had to super glue stuff that breaks...so a bottle of that would be pretty nice to carry with you.

+1 on the soldering iron...sooner or later the motor lead will snap off the motor and it can be reattached no problem...with a soldering iron of course.

On the more unusual things that break: just snapped a steering knuckle. Boy would I like a spare one of those. I've found complete axles less motor on eBay for $26. That's a gold mine of spares...steering links, knuckles, dogbones, gears, bearings...all the stuff that eventually wears out.

These are rugged vehicles IMO. I put at least an hour a day on mine and show no mercy. I can break stuff...but so far just a few small annoyances.

[cabron]

the 7mm nut driver is for the wheel nut
but I also recommend a 5.5mm nut driver and a 5.5mm open end wrench
these take care of the 3mm screws

I would also recommend changing out all the rod end balls to the 3mm balls like the steering uses
and change out all the 2.5mm screws for 3mm screws so they will all be the same. a 3mm tap
will come in useful eventually.

if you plan on making your own links you might also consider 4mm tap or even up to a 10-28 or 10-32 dies
aluminum tubing with a 1/4 in. hole can take a 4mm tap and 3/16 aluminum rod can take the 10-32 dies
and the large traxxas rod ends can be used with 4mm, 8-32, and 10-32 or 10-24 threads.

yes servos, many around 20.00 will be good, metal gears and plenty torque
tires are also a good thing, either white dot rovers, sedonas, or even the panther leopard tires will do you good

have fun