Traxxas TQi One-hand steering mod...

[high plains drifter]

Found a one-handed steering control on ebay for $12 and thought it might be a cool accessory. When I received it, I quickly realized that it wasn't going to work very well for my particular size/ shape hands so like any dedicated RC guy, I decided rather than return it, I would modify it. FWIW My hands are a bit on the short/ fat side so maybe this product works well as-is for others... dunno.

I had no issue with the way that the arm connects to the TX steering wheel but the length of the arm and the little plastic wheel needed to be addressed. First step was to get rid of the wheel and grind off the plastic stand-off that attached the wheel to the arm. A Dremel with cut-off disk and sanding drum made quick work of this.

Now I had a flat surface to "tie into" with something better suited for my taste. I decided to use a 2mm piece of aluminum but I had to mock-up some potential designs in order to figure out what would be the most comfortable, efficient, and user-friendly. After finalizing the best size and shape, it was time to fire-up the Dremel again. Now the aluminum extension was was done and ready to install onto the arm.

All that was left to do now was to drill a couple holes, line everything up, and attach the newly fabricated extension. Done and done! The result is a wheel that still feels very balanced during two-handed operation with no clearance issues regarding fingers, thumbs, or hands. One-handed operation is absolutely perfect... easily able to achieve full-lock in both directions with a minimal amount of strain. It's comfortable to use and IMHO looks pretty trick to boot!

FWIW I've seen a similar mod done to another transmitter that was simple ( a long screw, nut, and length of fuel-tubing attached via drilled hole in steering wheel) but it appeared weak, inefficient, uncomfortable, and prone to failure. The route that I went incurred a bit more money, time, and effort but I think that the result is much better in all aspects. Thanks for checking it out!

This is the unit as it comes:



These are the parts that I removed and threw away:



The arm stripped, sanded, and drilled for the new screws:



The mock-ups of potential extensions ( lots of redneck r&d here lol):



The chosen extension design, fabricated and fitted onto arm:



The final product ready for one-hand operation ( plenty of room for my thumb and for operation of H&L):

[JatoTheRipper]

Very nice! Good job.

[cmbscx10]

Awesome job and fab work. I can't drive with two hands, leaning like i am driving and my tongue out so this would be fun to see it in use.

[high plains drifter]

Thanks! I've only driven around the living-room so far but I already feel like it's going to be an asset on the trail. I don't see needing it most of the time but for occasions when I'm tooling along and fumbling with a camera, water-bottle, cell phone, etc.. this should come in handy.