Cmbscx10 Tries a Traxxas TRX4

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by Schs2013

I have been looking at the lcg battery tray do they make a noticeable difference?

From the research i have done and the videos on YT seem to make a huge difference when you are talking about the top heavy Defender.

I was surprised that though heavy at 1.48lbs, in general the Tactical body is not really that bad weight wise. Not sure what the Defender weight is. The Tactical body F/R weight bias is right at the back post of the rear door so if that body was used you would need to take that in account for suspension tuning, tire/foam tuning etc.

My Cherokee with no paint, No Lightbar, Roof Rack and all the bits i have now with the plastic packaging and parts trees weighs 14.1oz. I would say just over 1.1lb when it is all ready to go.

I will be moving the Tactical inner fenders from the body to the frame so that will help bring the weight towards the center of the rig and just a hair lower helping the overall COG and central weight.

As far as the LCG Tray, is it needed? In my case probably not so much. It does allow you to run a smaller mah and size battery which helps in the COG. A few Oz here and there won't really make a huge impact so i would spend the $$ on other upgrades. When you can drop almost 200g changing a battery that will be a huge difference in how your RC performs not only in the rocks but on the trail.

Bottom line is that any change to lower the COG is helpful whether it be RC or 1:1.

If i am incorrect in any scenario please, please say something as i like to learn as well.

[Schs2013]

D110 body is weighting 1.9 pounds. Much heavier than the tactical body.

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[Schs2013]

The weight bias is more rearward on both tactical and defender bodies than the Bronco.

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[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

Gotta find those little ice cubes and beer bottles I see on some builds.


That was not fun. Cutting out this part for the grille will definitely be done on the weekend and not after a long work day. Will do much better on the next one since the first one usually sucks for me.

I agree cutting that out was a PITA. I got as close as I could than "borrowed" the wife's rough nail file. I was able to clean up the edges really nice with it but got busted so I owe 1 new file but at least I have my own now.

[Schs2013]

From Facebook. RC car action did a comparison of weight distribution between the Defender/Tactical/Bronco keep in mind that the 12.3 WB on bronco. Defender/tactical have 12.8 WB not sure how big of a difference that makes. Also the rear accessories probably don't help on tactical/defender bodies.

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[carpetfuzz17]

I pick these up at Wally World to use as ice

I think they look good

The freezer does a good job also



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[Summitonslingrs]

Originally Posted by Schs2013

I have been looking at the lcg battery tray do they make a noticeable difference?

The battery does sit lower and the tray weighs less than factory. Noticeable difference is hard to say for me.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by carpetfuzz17

I pick these up at Wally World to use as ice

It's the little things in life and these are freaking awesome!!! Great find on the ice cubes!

[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

It's the little things in life and these are freaking awesome!!! Great find on the ice cubes!

Best thing they are cheap. Who doesn't like cheap things? I know I do

[cmbscx10]

^^^^
Schs2013,
Great informative and educational information. Thanks for posting. I learned something new and appreciate that.

carpetfuzz17 & Jato,
As Jato said, the little things and those beads are perfect. Would have never thought of that. Thank you for the info and tip.


For those that don't know me from this or my other forum home RCG (Link Below) I can do or fab up just about anything given enough time. With that said i would rather spend the weekend with my EX than do electrical wiring. My Emeryworx Bomber stalled right at the point of wiring up the LED's, Rx etc. I have the tools and the knowledge but It is just not my thing and has held me back in a lot of my RC's. I made a goal this year to try harder. The first RC to hit the goal is my TRX4. I have never gone this far in LED wiring short of just plugging lightbars into battery balance ports.

So, i planned out the Cherokee body a little bit and so far so good. I decided to run the wires down one side of the chassis/body instead of having them go all over the place crossing over the chassis etc. I will NOT have a "Just plug it in and run it" LED set up. I don't do those types of upgrades or builds. I would rather do it 10x to get it right or not at all.

I also do not like spending $$ on things that can be made with cheaper parts and a little bit of labor. Most of the light kits out now suck IMO or are too $$ for what you get. I have run those $15 all in one LED kits and they last all of 5min and most only run on RX power. I want bright lights so 12v/3S has to be the capability. Cheap bundle of Ebay 5mm 12v White LED, 3mm Yellow LED and 100 cable mounts cost about $10-15.

Due to the way i am running my LED's on the grille down one side the passenger side came up short with the drivers side. Again, i hate wiring but did a simple splice to extend the wires so they are now all the same length to attach to a single connector which is in transit. Seems strange since to some wiring is like one of the easier things to do in this hobby but i am excited that i accomplished a small goal, it came out without me 2nd guessing myself and my OCD taking over and actually works. NS it actually works. I am glad cause i still have to do the Roof LED, Brake and Roof Rack LED's.


The RC Garage Forums

[Schs2013]

Youre very welcomed. Do my best to help others when I can.

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[cmbscx10]

Front Grille LED's all done. This is on 2S but once all hooked up will be on 3S so much brighter

** The Fog/Turn signal light comes clear from Axial. 2000 Jeep Cherokee were 50/50 depending on the model trim you chose whether they were clear or Orange. I thought Orange looked better (Not because of my Orange fetish) but didn't want to spend $7 for a can of paint even though i needed to do the back taillights as well. $7 to cover 1inch of lexan body just didn't fly with me. So, i broke out my $.80 Poormans Anodizing trick and combined with a Amber LED looks like it will pass the cmbscx10 inspection.

[carpetfuzz17]

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

Front Grille LED's all done. This is on 2S but once all hooked up will be on 3S so much brighter

** The Fog/Turn signal light comes clear from Axial. 2000 Jeep Cherokee were 50/50 depending on the model trim you chose whether they were clear or Orange. I thought Orange looked better (Not because of my Orange fetish) but didn't want to spend $7 for a can of paint even though i needed to do the back taillights as well. $7 to cover 1inch of lexan body just didn't fly with me. So, i broke out my $.80 Poormans Anodizing trick and combined with a Amber LED looks like it will pass the cmbscx10 inspection.

Really looking good. I was thinking of going with amber lights also but to avoid copy of your build I am going to remain clear. I have used that trick anodizing method before and works awesome. I was going to try it on my rear tail lights but not sure if it will work out. I have the Knights Customs lens and there is lots of detail and not sure if the anodize will fill in.

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by carpetfuzz17

Really looking good. I was thinking of going with amber lights also but to avoid copy of your build I am going to remain clear. I have used that trick anodizing method before and works awesome. I was going to try it on my rear tail lights but not sure if it will work out. I have the Knights Customs lens and there is lots of detail and not sure if the anodize will fill in.

Thanks I appreciate that. Slowly but surely as no rush for me.

Copy all you want. No trademarks here other than do what makes it fun.

I would try to make it a little different but not having a spare to test out would be a tough call. Either way i like the KC stuff even if it is a little $$.


I have ran VP Rigid lights 9/10 times on my other crawlers, 1/8 and 1/5 scale stuff as they are well built and bright as you know what. I have a pair of MadDogRC Light Pods and I literally could run them on my 1:1 as they are that bright. This build I decided to go with a MadDogRC Ultra-Bright 120mm LED Light Bar as i felt the VP Rigid 5in was a little out of proportion. I haven't weighed either but i can say the MDRC bar is easily 25% lighter keeping as much weight off the roof as possible.

The last two pics are for distance idea. The support poles are 8ft apart. I don't have the camera equipment to capture at night but the 3rd support pole is about 40% lite up to the naked eye so i'll call it 25 ft projection. Not bad for no reflector.

[cmbscx10]

Some more goodies for the roof rack. Never carried my water on the roof of my XJ or spare tire of my TJ. Water was always inside but since there is no inside, on the roof it goes. The Traxxas canisters are sammiched together and looks kinda weird/too big so i separated them and mounted them with Kydex scrap to the rails.

** I also got a SBC Rubbermaid tote for the top but not sure what scale he used as it is about the size of a shoebox scaled down. Way Way Way to small and out of scale for all the RM totes i used so in the parts box it goes.

Almost ready for paint.

[cmbscx10]

In the end i will run a spare tire on the rear bumper but haven't decided on which one to buy or make one. So, for now on the roof it goes. I put a spare 1.9 on the rack and it looked like a 44" tire up there so snagged my 1.55 off of my Thunder Tiger Kaiser mini instead to be a little more scale.

Took and old plastic tire mount, installed a 3mm set screw and a 10mm standoff to get past the support bars. Spare Kydex to the rescue and done. One more part in transit for final mock up of the body and will be ready for paint next unless i change my mind again on some other "Thing" i want on it.

[carpetfuzz17]

Looking good
I am stuck on the taillight son mine you might get yours painted way before me

[cmbscx10]

So on my 1:1 94' XJ the hood is flat without the cowl portion like on the 2k. The Black scoop I had on there was from an old drag car that had side draft carbs so it was a fairly small but functional scoop. After many weeks of searching I couldn't find one to stick on the hood. The ones I did were too tall or just the wrong shape entirely. Don't have the skills to reproduce so moved on in the search.

Every Jeep and EVERY XJ needs to vent the hood to allow the Hot Arse 4.0 cool and not crack the manifold. IMO before you even put it in 4WD this is your first Mod. Anyway, I took cues from the 1:1 aftermarket and decided to look for louvers. Low and behold the TRX4 Defender hood/fender scoops fit the bill.

Going to line them up, drill the holes and then I am done and ready for paint.

[cmbscx10]

No good updates but needed to get this out of the way for tuning.

I will be using the Castle Dual Link and there is ZERO room in the stock Rx box for it. So, i needed a place for it, possible future Castle BEC, light controller or ??. Looked at several areas and this was the best place i could see using. I know i will need to trim the fender wells for the Cherokee body so i sucked it in as far as i could keeping i mind where the antenna is. Took a piece of scrap Kydex and made a simple mount. Though i don't run in water i will seal up the stock mounting hole and antenna for dust proofing.

[cmbscx10]

Finished my Rear Tire Carrier. The RC4WD bumper does not have a provision for it so will take it to the drill press next. Used the Traxxas plastic Hi-Lift for now but will eventually get the RC4WD extreme Hi-Lift as that is the one i had on my XJ.