OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco

[kincer]

Have fun, I may go do some scouting today, It's been a very wet year here in Pennsylvania!

[OSRC]

Got a bit of work done to the Bronco. Kinda.

Mytrick lights installed. Kit is pretty nice, though the directions were awful. Basically had to figure it out as I went. I'm still not sure it's hooked up right, but I have lights all around (except reverse lights) - good enough. All those little wiring holder loom thingies molded into the trim parts are super handy. Nice little feature.



Pretty! Headlights are on the lowest setting. Would have liked some light buckets, but the light seem to diffuse pretty well.


Totally forgot to paint the rear panel. Whoops! I'll shoot it white next time I have the paint out.


Just a few more details to go.

[JatoTheRipper]

What's with the airbrushed look under the body where the black seems to be only in certain spots?

I like that connector on the chassis for the light kit. Seems like a pretty heavy duty connector compared to what most kits include. What type of plug is it?

[83trekker83]

Nice looking Bronco!

[soze]

Body and lights turned out great. Maybe I should finally take mine out for some work.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by kincer

... I would strip it in some purple power cleaner and repaint in a aluminum paint since the real trim was aluminum anyhow, I think that's what I'm gonna do.

Looking great, agree on trim was kinda brushed aluminum looking trim not chrome.

[OSRC]

Finally done! Well, you're never really done, but calling this one done anyway. Brush guard (kinda cheesy), spare, and side mirrors all on, ready to go!





So pretty, I almost hate to go out and get it muddy. Almost... I need to get some outdoor shots, but I was in pajamas at 3 pm on a weekday and it was cold out.

[OSRC]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

What's with the airbrushed look under the body where the black seems to be only in certain spots?

I like that connector on the chassis for the light kit. Seems like a pretty heavy duty connector compared to what most kits include. What type of plug is it?

No idea. Odd effect of the lighting? I recently replaced my shop lights with LED's, they are WAY bright. And no idea what the connector is, but it is huge.

[Mattyice]

Awesome! Built 351 Windsor?


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[OSRC]

Still has the Traxxas motor, so let's say it's just a 302.

[Levi]

Great job on the Bronco. Looks great. It will be a shame to get it dirty and scratched up. But again that's just showing it love and sounds to show too.

[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by OSRC

Still has the Traxxas motor, so let's say it's just a 302.

It’s very cool man. Loved those full-sized Broncs.


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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by OSRC

No idea. Odd effect of the lighting? I recently replaced my shop lights with LED's, they are WAY bright. And no idea what the connector is, but it is huge.

Ah yeah it's probably lighting. I remember when I first started painting Lexan bodies and I thought the paint wasn't on thick enough because I could see light through it no matter how thick the paint was.

[Topher Builds]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

What's with the airbrushed look under the body where the black seems to be only in certain spots?

I like that connector on the chassis for the light kit. Seems like a pretty heavy duty connector compared to what most kits include. What type of plug is it?

I think that’s just because he only sprayed a black backer where the body lines are and not the whole underside.

Really digging the classic look of this bronco and the wheels are spot on. I think she’ll age well with some scratches. Nice work!

That mtrc connector is huge and has some weight to it, I remember it through off the preload balance when I first put those lights on the bronco. Cool kit though. The reverse lights took a little twiddling to get to work because their instructions aren’t the best. On that note, it looks like you may have your tailgate insert upside down, and the brake lights in the hole meant for the reverse lights.

[2mtech]

Sure looks awesome, OS! Paint choice is perfect and the SSD/TRL rolling stock are spot on.

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[Tmaxxed]

Very nice build. Love the color!


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[OSRC]

Originally Posted by Pant Danza

I think that’s just because he only sprayed a black backer where the body lines are and not the whole underside.

On that note, it looks like you may have your tailgate insert upside down, and the brake lights in the hole meant for the reverse lights.

Ah, not sure what you guys are referring to with the black, but I did spray black backer everywhere but the roof. Is that what you guys are kicking around?

I did not bother with the reverse lights yet. They are in there, but not hooked up to the receiver yet. Everything in in there the right way as far as I can tell. Holes were all drilled from the factory, 5 and 3mm LED's are in the right spots... it was kind of a no brainer. I do think that insert is eventually going to fall out. The tape holding it on is a little wonky.

I was tempted to take it out last weekend, but it was pure soup on the trail and it's too pretty to get muddy. Next run it's on though.

[Topher Builds]

Hmm maybe it’s just hard to see in the pictures, the reason I say that is because the little white square for the reverse lights doesn’t look like it’s on the bottom of your tailgate. Apparently this is the only pic I have of the rear of the bronco with mtrc lights installed, can’t really see the white box here either until the reverse lights are on so it may just be my eyes.

https://m.imgur.com/a/34GiTaa

Regarding the black yes I think that’s what Jato was talking about. Still looks great though!

[JatoTheRipper]

Ah I was seeing that you didn't paint the roof.

As far as the driveshafts, if there is an issue I'd contact SSD and they will take care of it if it is outside of their standard tolerances which are typically pretty tight. He may also want a heads up in case there is an issue that he needs to address with the design or manufacturing plant, etc.

[OSRC]

Finally broke down and got the Bronco muddy... I had it "On Display" over the holidays with some of my other cars and got a lot of compliments from family and friends. But enough of that, it was time to go play. Loaded up the truck, a bunch of my new batteries, and headed off to my usual playground. The last few clean shots...lol.


I almost thing the TRX4 has too much flex. I've gone back and forth on it with my Defender though I haven't changed anything yet. I really noticed it on the Bronco for whatever reason. Might limit the shocks a bit internally to calm it down.


Heading up over the mountain... Did a nice loop that starts out down at creekside, winds up and over the mountain with a very nice hill climb to start, and all kinds of places along the trail to play.


For the first run, I tried a 3S pack for the first time. I tend to poke around and drive in a scale manner, so I really didn't notice the extra volts that much. Definitely works better with the stock gearing than 2S. I grabbed a rather large hardcase pack I picked up on my last order not really thinking about it. Well, this truck wanted to flip back on it's roof any time I tried a serious uphill climb. It was awful, couldn't even get on my standard test rock. At first I chalked it up to the shorter WB, but eventually I clued in that that huge heavy pack is making a ton of difference....So along the way I swapped in my smaller 2S pack. Can see the size difference between the two


Field work station.


Boom, what a difference. This chassis is very sensitive to the battery weight since the battery is located kinda center-rear in the chassis. Swapping in the lighter battery completely changed the handling dynamics. Now it crawled like it should. Walked right up this rock, drama free. Much, much better.


Interesting thing I've noticed this year - it's been wet. Very wet. Usually, the leaves are pretty heavy and a nuisance this time of year. However, all the rain has kind of compacted them down and made a nice mat on the ground. I can drive on top of them to get to various areas I can't get to in the summer. Found this little spot just off the trail - a few challenging rocks were hiding off to the side. I spent a lot of time exploring off to the side of the trail, it was a ton of fun.


Of course, those leaves also hide holes too. Got completely wedged in here.


After swapping the battery and playing around with the spring preload a bit, I got the handling about where I wanted it and just relaxed and let the TRX do its thing. Noodled along the trail in 2nd gear where it was flat, downshifted to first when I got to obstacles and locked and unlocked the diffs as needed. Tried to do as much with the diffs unlocked as possible, only locking when I needed to. Such a fun trail truck.



First thing I'm doing when I get home is cutting off that hitch mount that hangs under the rear bumper. It was a straight up land anchor - if it caught something, it wasn't letting go. Wish my winch anchors grabbed this hard.


Coming down the backside of the mountain, the trail turns into a creek for a little while. Super Swamper territory! Running PL TSL XL's - great tires for the varied PA terrain. I've got 99 problems, but traction isn't one of them.


Hit my test rock on the way out - much better! Actually got up on it and got to the top. Damn hitch mount was getting in the way of course, but it pulled through.


Don't plan much in the way of changes other than that awful hitch mount. Stock electronics are staying until they fail, everything worked perfect. The steering servo felt much stronger than the stock on in the Defender for some reason. Can't say I even noticed it while driving.

I know this goes against the conventional wisdom, but I felt the Defender was a better runner out of the box - that longer wheelbase counts for a lot, even with the heavier body. Especially when climbing. Needed to lock the diffs a bit more too - the Bronco is lighter and doesn't put as much weight on the tires. Still, does pretty good even with open diffs. Might add a bit more weight down low, and maybe a set of UD gears out back. That's about it.