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Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Reading your latests posts on this thread and the Ram thread has be anxious to get out. A Bronco run would be very fun. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco It would be! In the words of the immortal Jerry Reed, "Time to dust off that radio son.." :) Been exploring a different loop at the top of St Pete's. Since the bottom has been so muddy, been looking for new areas at the top. It's been fun exploring, conditions have been great the past 2 weeks, and the TRX 4's are all but made to blaze through the woods. |
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That's a good idea and make sense since the water runs down hill and all. Good thinking. Maybe this weekend if the weather cooperates? |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Not so much. 33 and possibility of snow. (as of right now) Ground off the trailer mount last night. Gave me immense satisfaction cutting it off as it was driving me crazy on the trail. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Finally got out for some long awaited crawling yesterday! Finally above 40 degrees and sunny.... charged up both TRX-4's and hit the trail. The Bronco got a bit of a workout this morning. I've taken it on one trail run so far, but never really took it down for some testing on the rocks. So I spent the mornng hitting a few of my test rocks and seeing how it does. Turns out it does pretty good! https://i.postimg.cc/LsR2zqx9/20190317-100150sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/pdZxk2SD/20190317-100456sm.jpg Does a decent job with sidehilling. I always have in my head that TRX's are top heavy, but then I go and pull off some pretty tricky lines. This is a "test rock" that I hit with all my trucks. Pics don't show it but it's quite a slope on the side of a large rock, with a tricky step down in the middle. I had to take it slow and easy, but the Bronco handled it just fine. https://i.postimg.cc/T1ZXhhyX/20190317-100553sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/ZR5mMGkX/20190317-100612sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/xj7Q6p6F/20190317-100632sm.jpg Another test rock... great test of stability and climbing ability. Fairly steep climb with a heck of a cut in the middle. Can't just pin it and get to the top, you've got to slow at the cut and take your time. Many, many trucks have come off this rock backwards...:) The Bronco did ok a long as I took my time. On steep climbs, this truck wants to pull the front wheels up - much more so than my Defender. Also the spare catches quite a bit. If I was building a comp rig, it would be gone... but this truck is more for trails, and it looks awesome so it stays! https://i.postimg.cc/mkcsb7gw/20190317-101634sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/B6739m4b/20190317-102107sm.jpg Much more at home...having tested the rocks, let's roll down the trail. https://i.postimg.cc/J4kLv3g7/20190317-102302sm.jpg Every now and again, there's a perfect rock on the side of the trail - gotta stop and see if I can get to the top... :) https://i.postimg.cc/Dw3TTJkr/20190317-102444sm.jpg This is a pretty nice hill climb. About 40 feet or so of loose dirt, sunken rocks, and tree roots...then another 40 feet or so of steadily rising trail. One of my favorite areas to wheel. It's very steep and quite tricky! Pics don't do it justice. https://i.postimg.cc/Mp08K6qh/20190317-102806sm.jpg Once I got to the top of the hill climb, I meandered down the back side of the trail. Nice slowly descending trail...diffs unlocked and putting along in second gear. At the bottom, there are some rocks placed across the trail to keep the bikers off. Drop it into first, lock the diffs, and up and over we go. Still the beauty of the TRX chassis. https://i.postimg.cc/bvzfZ7vd/20190317-104243sm.jpg Back down to the parking lot, Parked the Bronco and swapped over to the Defender for a longer run. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco That truck looks great! Traxxas really nailed that body, and your paint scheme brings me back to the late 70s and early 80s. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco I agree, the body looks great. The proportions and overall stance are spot on! |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Welp, after last weekend trail run, decided to add a bit of weight up front to help keep the front wheels down on climbs. Really, the only thing I wanted to change after the last run. A set of steel or brass C's combined with OD gears up front would be perfect, but they are not in the budget at the moment since my new Sport is sucking all the funds out of my wallet. So, back to some old school problem solving. Took some lead car weights, stuck them together and zip tied them under the small tray up front as forward as possible. It's a ghetto mod for sure, and it's a little higher than I would like, but it should help. And it was free! My favorite F-word! About 2.25 ounces stuffed in there. Easily removed if it doesn't work out... will find out maybe this weekend. https://i.postimg.cc/FzJ3sDcV/20190318-104706.jpg For the life of me, can't get the zip ties lined up. Doesn't make a difference per se, it just annoys me. https://i.postimg.cc/hhWxJT1W/20190318-104852.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/FF2nb6Pm/20190318-104905.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Well, first TRX-4 failure. Took the Bronco on a trail run Sunday and lost reverse on the ESC. Lights on the ESC light up as they should, but no juice to the motor. Also, I lost drag brakes for about 5 minutes, then they strangely came back. Was kind of working intermittently throughout the run. Limped it down the trail and completed the run, but it was a bit frustrating. I had my Sport out earlier, I should have just ran back to the truck and swapped out, but we were already pretty far into the run. Oh, and the weight up front didn't make a difference at all imo. Maybe a little bit, but it's up too high in the chassis imo. Oh well, trial and error. Hell of a drop off!! Yikes! Thankfully reverse and drag brake were still working at this point https://i.postimg.cc/zXyFYF7d/20190324-105028sm.jpg We got up here, but getting down with no reverse was a bit tricky.. :) https://i.postimg.cc/nh7KCV6B/20190324-121949sm.jpg Too bad, but I've got a WP1080 ready to drop in so there is a nice silver lining! |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco The Bronco needed a bit of TLC after the last run... First off, the ESC needed to be either fixed or replaced. I had a WP 1080 ready to go, but I took a stab at the stock ESC first since I've go so much stuff soldered to it.. Did a re-bind from the receiver to the transmitter, then re-calibrated the ESC and it's now working perfectly. Hmmm... I'm not sure what happened to cause it to go out of calibration, but glad it's working. The 1080 is a step up for sure, but was going to be a bit of a headache to swap it all over. Also picked up a set of the standard length axles and swapped them over. 9 screws per axle to swap so it took a while, but well worth it. Now my SSD hubs fit flush on the wheels... funny how the open windows and no interior bother me not at all, but the long hubs poking out from the center of the wheels was driving me crazy! In retrospect, I could have just cut down the long axles in 5 minutes and saved myself $12. I have no idea why that never occurred to me until AFTER I purchased and spent 40 minutes installing the new axles. https://i.postimg.cc/prBJCpTn/20190329-093059sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/Wpm8Tfnb/20190329-093314sm.jpg Touched up a few rock rash areas and gave the body a good cleaning. Good to go for the next trail run! https://i.postimg.cc/sDVcX96P/20190331-102328sm.jpg ...and this has nothing whatsoever to do with this thread, but while I had all the Traxxas stuff out, decided to give my Slash a makeover. Found the unpainted buggy body on the shelf and used an old Dingo front window as a wing. A bit of paint later and Voila! It's so much lighter without the huge SC body on... the 3550 4-pole would pull the front wheels on occasion with the SC body - now it should be an absolute rocket! https://i.postimg.cc/zGvFwD1V/20190328-114011sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/RVXTn6yk/20190328-114018sm.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Found these Chinaloks on Ebay for $40 shipped. Love the look, almost a dead ringer for the AR62 Outlaws with the exception of the center section.. Came with some tiny hardware for the outer studs on the wheel, but I thought it looked cleaner without. Mounted easily onto a set of cut Axial Falkens. Fit and finish wise, they had a few nicks in the rim when they arrived. Not going to cry over it - for $40, it's fine. https://i.postimg.cc/tJZFTNNh/20190415-095649sm.jpg Painted the centers to match the Ford style and mounted them up! Love the look though it's a bit close to stock. Wanted something a little less aggressive for summer running. Tires have CI dual stage 4.5 medium up front and PL single stage out back. Never ran a combo like this, we'll see how it does. https://i.postimg.cc/HxLwGgJv/20190415-103628sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/PxFmTRYX/20190415-103644sm.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Those look just right on there! Do you have a link? |
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Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Had a guy message me though Rctech asking a few questions about crawlers... after a bit of back and forth, turns out he lives 10 minutes away (small world!) He ended up picking up a TRX-4 3 days later, and I met up with him over the weekend to show him around our local crawl spot. I ran the Bronco since it was the closest I have to what he was running. Didn't take too many pics, everyone knows what the Bronco looks like. He picked up the Orange defender - looks really nice actually. Clear windows make such a difference! A little flat clear on the black and it would look really sharp! https://i.postimg.cc/P5kBVpG9/20190526-091910sm.jpg First run out with "summer tires" - the cut Falkens have broken in nicely and get a surprising amount of grip. Traction was very good all day. First time I've run with dual stage foams up front and single stages out back. Definitely seemed to climb better, might do the same in my Defender. https://i.postimg.cc/rwC7BVMm/20190526-094944sm.jpg Thought this was a cool pic...tree is alive and fine, but has a huge hole in the middle of the trunk. Strange! https://i.postimg.cc/FHMQ4WJW/20190526-101341sm.jpg We had to make a few new lines since the heavy rains we've been having have washed some more boulders down the creek. Amazed at the sheer force of rushing water, some of those boulders were huge! The bumpers are taking a absolute beating.. Might have to look into something a bit stronger. Otherwise the stock driveline and electronics are holding up just fine. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Haven't been doing much with the Bronco, my other trucks have been keeping me busy. A friend of mine bought an Enduro and wasn't interested in the wheels and tires. So I picked them up, ditched the stock wheels and mounted them on the Bronco with some PL foams. I tried a set of CI 4.5's, but they were a bit too narrow for the tires, which are pretty wide. The PL foams fill them up and gave them a nice fat look. Love the look, I am trying to keep the Bronco stock "ish" so these tires fit the theme pretty well. Took them out to shake them down a bit and seem like they perform pretty good. They make an incredibly cool screeching sound when spinning on my ramps - very similar to a 1:1 tire. Looking forward to getting them out for a full run. https://i.postimg.cc/T3Q1cfwX/20190801-125313sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/vTRZmmP5/20190801-130034sm.jpg https://i.postimg.cc/HnQs8CKR/20190801-130331sm.jpg |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco I have a TRX4 Blazer coming in and in a way I wish I had gotten a Bronco. Your truck is so nice. This will be my first crawler and am looking forward to it. |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Those Generals do suit the Big Ol' Bronc pretty darn well... "thumbsup" |
Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco love the look of the Generals. |
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Re: OS's TRX4 #2 - Bronco Time for a trail journey! Come on along as we explore along the Delaware! Spent a few days camping on the Delaware river... (Campsite is called Driftstone - highly recommended - great staff, great people at the sites, very clean and spacious!) We had a site right on the river and I figure there'd be good crawling around the site. Decided to take the Bronco since I haven't really run it in a while. Still pretty much stock under the hood - all the electronics are still going without a hitch. Right next to our site was a path that led down to the river. There's an island just offshore, and there's a small channel of water that is perfect for rafting or for the kids to play in. It's also lined with river rock - perfect!! Let's head down... https://i.postimg.cc/8CDTcTxv/20190805-153454sm.jpg About a mile of river rock to crawl on... very nice! Plenty or rocks in all sizes, and a good amount of river mud/sand as well. https://i.postimg.cc/fbKD06hr/20190805-153736sm.jpg Great spot to wheel with the river burbling away right next to me....fish were jumping all over the place. Left the diffs open most of the time to keep it challenging. Rarely locked them at all - just concentrated on tire placement and weight distribution and it was very capable. Initially went up the river a bit, but the boat guys were working up here, so turned around and headed downstream. https://i.postimg.cc/vT1skTxJ/20190805-154036sm.jpg Found a few spots where there were mini hill climbs along the bank. Gotta say the tires really struggled here - the wet mud/sand combo was tough. Not sure any of my tires would have done much better. Diffs open or locked, really didn't matter. Traction was non-existent. https://i.postimg.cc/zB2NxKvw/20190805-154418sm.jpg Lots of little paths going up to the campsite, I followed every one. :) Sometimes I'd come up behind some campers - wave and head back down, or stop and chat... Lots of people had questions and were very curious about the Bronco... Great way to spread the word about RC. Pretty sure I sold a Blazer to an off road enthusiast who was camped nearby. I let him test drive and pretty sure he was hooked. https://i.postimg.cc/fT9sv3NX/20190805-155204sm.jpg Riverbank got narrow in some places...Never had to go in the river, but it got quite muddy! https://i.postimg.cc/4xRg2Jf0/20190805-160137sm.jpg Packed sand and silt. I think it's so cool leaving 1/10 tire tracks in the mud. This hobby amuses me in so many ways.. :) https://i.postimg.cc/kGkmmCxB/20190805-160332sm.jpg These are not mud tires....once it got a bit soupy, I had to lock the diffs and leave them locked. Never drove in river silt, but it was very challenging. https://i.postimg.cc/C1xYCmhL/20190805-160615sm.jpg End of the road.... There's a small creek joining the main river, and the rocks ended here. The riverbank pretty much ended here too. It was a peaceful spot to stop and take a break. Was picking my way down the river for nearly an hour by now...walking on river rocks is tiring! https://i.postimg.cc/DwQKttmw/20190805-161119sm.jpg Turning around, found this nice little staircase path back to the campsites. Perfect place to play, went up and down here a few times. https://i.postimg.cc/25zfm2BF/20190805-161204sm.jpg And found this nice little path that went up around the campsites and came out in the back. Followed the little creek for quite a ways. Lots of little hill climbs and plenty of roots to play on. Played here for a while, and then decided to head back to my site. https://i.postimg.cc/9fJHfZd3/20190805-161600sm.jpg Portals were perfect for this terrain....The amount of clearance under these trucks still amazes me. https://i.postimg.cc/W3zLqz8d/20190805-162547sm.jpg Heading back up the path to my site. Great little hill climb here, it's pretty steep actually. Had a choice of places to go - easier on the left, harder on the right. Tried both....and made both! Took some wheelspeed and beat the heck out of the bumpers going up the washed out areas on the right, but I got up there! https://i.postimg.cc/PJvgK7Bh/20190805-162956sm.jpg Not sure on these tires....they did ok on the trails, but really suffered in the silt/mud. Not sure if it was the conditions or the tire, I'll have a better idea once I get out on my normal trails that are somewhat benchmarked performance-wise. https://i.postimg.cc/xCZrvQpt/20190805-162851sm.jpg Bronco made it nearly 2.5 hours of solid wheeling - again, no failures or problems. Amazed that stock steering servo is still kicking. It got the hell beat out of it on the river rock, and is still going.... Motor and ESC were quite warm, bordering on hot but for a 92 degree day overall it's not bad. Thanks for following along!! |
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