Just scored my first Tamiya CR-01 Toyota Land Cruiser 40

[disjaukifa]

Hey Guys,

New to rocking crawling, but I got to admit I've been interested for a while, especially since the release of the Tamiya CR-01 back in '08.

Well yesterday I scored a hell of a deal on craigslist, literally contacted the guy within 3 hours of him posted the ad!!! Here is what I got. Its a CR-01 that he built and the put on a shelf next to his Tamiya Toyota Tundra High Lift kit, it was run once on carpet !!!!







Can't wait to get the truck! Also thinking about going ahead and making it a 4WS vehicle as well

Let me know what you think!

Thanks
Disjaukifa

[860Crawler]

Nice score! Why did the previous owner not put on the grille and mirrors, or any of the window trim decals? Did he ship that stuff to you as well?

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by 860Crawler

Nice score! Why did the previous owner not put on the grille and mirrors, or any of the window trim decals? Did he ship that stuff to you as well?

I don't know, the truck will get here Monday. I know it comes with an unpainted Ford Bronco body as well, not sure I'm going to keep that might just sell it. I'm just happy with the price I paid, I still can't believe I was about to pay significantly more for a brand new one, when in all reality that one is brand new!!!!

I paid 175 shipped for that truck, and it comes with an AM radio system as well, I feel like that is an absolute steal for the CR-01 . . .

-Disjaukifa

[DRW-FJ40]

I like building them but... $175 with electronics essentially not run is a pretty sweet deal, you can't pass that up. You could buy a complete new body kit & still be way ahead. Looks like stock motor & dynamite ESC?

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by DRW-FJ40

I like building them but... $175 with electronics essentially not run is a pretty sweet deal, you can't pass that up. You could buy a complete new body kit & still be way ahead. Looks like stock motor & dynamite ESC?

Honestly I don't what ESC it had, but I have a Novak Havoc Brushless System that I'm thinking about just installing into its. Its a 17.5T 2200kV so it should be about the same as stock . . . I hope.

-Disjaukifa

[860Crawler]

Originally Posted by disjaukifa

Honestly I don't what ESC it had, but I have a Novak Havoc Brushless System that I'm thinking about just installing into its. Its a 17.5T 2200kV so it should be about the same as stock . . . I hope.

-Disjaukifa

That should be fine because I think the Novak Goat Crawler brushless system comes with an 18.5T motor. So you're pretty close.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by 860Crawler

That should be fine because I think the Novak Goat Crawler brushless system comes with an 18.5T motor. So you're pretty close.

I did a bit more investigating and it looks like the ESC is a Dynamite 15T ESC. I think I'm just going to leave it there and install a 45~55T brushed motor when I get the chance.

The only thing I'm going to do today is get rid of the AM radio system. Going Lipo and 2.4Ghz was the best two things I have ever done with this hobby.

-Disjaukifa

[disjaukifa]

Got my CR-01 today . . . and I have to say I'm impressed with the truck . . . but not the seller .

When I ship an RC Vehicle to someone I actually package it. This guy literally put the truck in a box and put a piece of tap to keep the lid shut!!! Thankfully the truck arrived completely intact . . . sort of.

Now this was not due to the less than standard shipping, I don't think this guy has ever built an RC before. None of the bolts were tight . . . at all, had to re-tighten just about every bolt on the truck but also the servo, which only has 46 ounces of torque was installed completely wrong to the point that you could even correct the alignment with subtrim on a radio and the ESC was wired complete backwards.

Also the guy cut the body posts really short so that if you have to use ANY flex in the suspension you are rubbing against the body.

That being said the CR-01 is AMAZING. It'll drive over just about anything.

I have the following parts coming in the mail:

Tamiya Part Bag F (Which ever part has the body studs) so I can use the Toyota Land Cruiser Body)
2x Aluminum Servos (4 Wheel Steering setup!!!!)
Alunimum Drive Shafts (I poped the front drive shaft out, which actually seems like a design flaw on Tamiya's part . . . I think.

Over all the truck is mint condition, however not built that well, I even had to adjust the motor to the transmission. The only other thing I noticed with this crawler is the turn radius is horrible hence why I'm going to a 4 Wheel Steering Setup that I will be able to switch through various modes on my 3PK: Front Steering, Rear Steering, 4 Wheel Steering, Crab Mode (Not completely sure how to set that up yet on my 3PK but I'll figure it out.)

I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance!

Thanks
Disjaukifa

[860Crawler]

At least you'll be able to fix it up right!

Reminds me of a link somone posted in the Chit Chat forum a few months back where some guy was selling a CR-01 which he claims was "professionally built." Yet just looking at the eBay pictures you could see about 10 things installed completely wrong or backwards or loose. The guy was charging more than you could buy the CR-01 plus all the cheap stuff he installed


BTW, look under the bumper that is in front of your steering servo. There are some nuts missing there, so I assume there are no screws going down through there as well. You're also missing two screws on the front upper spring perches. Supposed to be 3 holding the perch to the frame and I see just two in the pics.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by 860Crawler

At least you'll be able to fix it up right!

Reminds me of a link somone posted in the Chit Chat forum a few months back where some guy was selling a CR-01 which he claims was "professionally built." Yet just looking at the eBay pictures you could see about 10 things installed completely wrong or backwards or loose. The guy was charging more than you could buy the CR-01 plus all the cheap stuff he installed


BTW, look under the bumper that is in front of your steering servo. There are some nuts missing there, so I assume there are no screws going down through there as well. You're also missing two screws on the front upper spring perches. Supposed to be 3 holding the perch to the frame and I see just two in the pics.

Thanks for the advice! I'll check it tonight. The only problem is I didn't get any spare parts . Also I thought he was sending me a Bronco body as well, but again I paided nothing for this thing in mint condition, though missing some nuts and bolts it is mint . . . and with a little work will be working perfect.

I have a whole case of spare nuts and screws so hopefully I'll be able to find everything I need.

I think the funnest thing for me was the Futaba S3003 servo that provide 57oz of torque for the steering, it could barely turn the wheels.

I go with the cheap Tower Hobbies servos because I get 2 year warranties on them and they seem to work just as well. I put a TS-150 in the front which uped the torque from 57oz to 197oz of torque .

I did notice last night that the servo saver seems to really limit the turning ability of servo, does everyone just run them or do they take the servo saver off? I'm kind of inclined to take it out of the system and just mount a steering horn to the servo. Reason being is its a slow vehicle, its not like its going to be going so fast that I'll run into something.

Thanks
Disjaukifa

[DRW-FJ40]

I ran the 15T dynamite ESC with a Novak 55T. It was a decent combo for the money. I've since upgraded to a Rooster Crawler ESC. And yes, the turning radius is poor. That's the only thing I don't like about the CR01. Good luck fixin' her up right.

[disjaukifa]

Good to know I don't really need to upgrade my ESC any time soon!!! Yeah I'm hoping making the CR-01 4 Wheel Steering will drastically improve the steering radius, I don't see why it wouldn't . . . I know it makes a world of difference on my Clods and my Juggernaut!

-Disjaukifa

[ugly duck]

The 4ws makes a huge difference to the turning radius, but doesn't do much for the controllability on the rocks, unless you've got way stronger servos than I do. It also helps with turning because front and rear wheels travel in the same arc, at the same speeds, so nothing binds up. Ideally, that is...

But I got rid of mine in favour of a more realistic approach. I did improve my steering some by trimming the stock C-hub as much as possible, but the Ackermann geometry is still all wrong.

And replace the servo saver with an aluminium steering arm. Servo savers are great on the faster trucks, but are totally unnecessary on crawlers and the like.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by ugly duck

The 4ws makes a huge difference to the turning radius, but doesn't do much for the controllability on the rocks, unless you've got way stronger servos than I do. It also helps with turning because front and rear wheels travel in the same arc, at the same speeds, so nothing binds up. Ideally, that is...

But I got rid of mine in favour of a more realistic approach. I did improve my steering some by trimming the stock C-hub as much as possible, but the Ackermann geometry is still all wrong.

And replace the servo saver with an aluminium steering arm. Servo savers are great on the faster trucks, but are totally unnecessary on crawlers and the like.

Thank you! That is what I was hoping to hear! I still put servo savers on my Clods because well you can't really drive a Clod straight, you can just kind of point it in the general direction you want to go

I don't have an aluminum steering arm yet, so for now I will just pick one from the massive amount of servo horns I have gotten from getting my various RC Servos and trucks.

Has anyone tried these servos from RCUniverse?
http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/item.cfm?itemId=674794

The price is awesome at 28.99 and its 244oz of torque with a really fast tur speed as well.

I'm also looking at the Tower Hobbies TS-170 but its 89.99 for one servo, however it does provide 333oz of torque.

That being said the TS-150 seems to be doing alright for the moment, though I need to get rid of the servo saver desperately.

What servo/oz-torque do you guys run in ya'll CR-01?

-Disjaukifa

[rj_dio]

I don't have a CR01 (though I hope to sometime). I've been using the Tower Hobbies TS-150's also in a couple of my crawlers (non comp) and have been very pleased with the performance for the dollar. I used to run HiTec MG645's and like the TS-150's better. I don't run a servo saver and have had no problems. It would matter more if you hit walls hard or insist on steering bound-up tires. I'm running 5.5" tires with weight in the fronts. For affordable servo arms on the TS-150 I'm using:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXD668&P=K

I have had no problems with them stripping. They can also be cut to the exact length you need.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by rj_dio

I don't have a CR01 (though I hope to sometime). I've been using the Tower Hobbies TS-150's also in a couple of my crawlers (non comp) and have been very pleased with the performance for the dollar. I used to run HiTec MG645's and like the TS-150's better. I don't run a servo saver and have had no problems. It would matter more if you hit walls hard or insist on steering bound-up tires. I'm running 5.5" tires with weight in the fronts. For affordable servo arms on the TS-150 I'm using:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...5&I=LXD668&P=K

I have had no problems with them stripping. They can also be cut to the exact length you need.

Good to know I'm not the only TS-150 user out here . Yeah I have a bunch of servo horns in my garage from all the servos and I have bought in the past, I literally mean like maybe close to 40 ~ 50 horns that I can choose from, I just always end up using what comes with the kit I'm building.

I'll look through my stuff tonight to see what I can find and use. The servo saver really does reduce the steering capability of the CR-01.

-Disjaukifa

[rj_dio]

I realized it might not be obvious in the pic, but the servo arms above are very thick "fiber-filled" arms, MUCH more rigid than any "stock" arms I've seen.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by rj_dio

I realized it might not be obvious in the pic, but the servo arms above are very thick "fiber-filled" arms, MUCH more rigid than any "stock" arms I've seen.

Well regardless the stock arms I have are going to be better than the aweful servo saver now that prevents about 50% of the Servo's turn radius.

I'll upgrade to something more rigid later when I have a bit more funds .

-Disjaukifa

[860Crawler]

I've only used Hitec in mine since they are waterproof and pretty tough. First I used a HS-645MG which was 133oz and now I've got an HS-5645MG which I think is 168oz. The 645MG needs a new gear set. Nearly two years of hard use finally blew some teeth.

[norbyx]

Wow this rig didn't last you long... I see that you are looking to get rid of it on RCU now.... just a few days and you gave up on it ???