A little bit TRX4, a bit more Crawler County

[DrIsotope]

Mid-January, during a bout of (at least possibly) caffeine-fueled insomnia, I picked a TRX-4 Defender up off of Amain. Thing of it is, I have a relatively sizable collection of R/Cs
that have been sitting dormant for about 7 years now, but nothing to get me back into the swing of it like buying a new one and pouring money into it.

But mods will run out, so I might as well set to moving tons of rock, concrete, mortar, logs... you name it. About a month in, and I've made some amount of progress at least.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_qJfojHhpI&t=5s

[Inspector86]

That looks nice, set in the lawn chair and climb all over the rocks. Sounds relaxing!

[MaX-D]

Is this your new Proving Grounds? Looks like great fun!

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[DrIsotope]

https://youtu.be/D-DxTCApwFM

[DrIsotope]

I've dubbed the area in the second pic in the first post Dry Bone Valley, and thanks to my neighbor, that section got a good bit bigger and taller today.
He was kind enough to drop three Bobcat buckets full of concrete chunks over the fence for me-- and he brings in two or three washout containers
a week, so I'm really gonna have to exercise some restraint.

[DrIsotope]

About a month since my last post, the course size has about doubled, and my number of crawlers also doubled, adding a two-speed Sport to run along with my Defender.
The intention was to have something light(er) weight, as the Defender is pushing 12lbs, so naturally I put a hardbody on it.

[MaX-D]

Nice! I like it. Nice body choice. Is that the Proline cage on the back? How are the modded Canyon Trail tires working for you?

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[SurlyBurly]

Originally Posted by DrIsotope

Does it actually fit through there?

[DrIsotope]

Originally Posted by MaX-D

Nice! I like it. Nice body choice. Is that the Proline cage on the back? How are the modded Canyon Trail tires working for you?

The cage is the Injora, which can be bought individually or with the cab. It looks very similar to the ProLine, but is maybe half the cost.

The modded tires are certainly an improvement over box-stock, but the Showdowns are just grippier all around, probably due to the carcass width and lug spacing. Still tinkering with foam selection on those, the Canyon Trails are committed to a set of XL hair buns, which work far better than I would have expected.

Originally Posted by SurlyBurly

Does it actually fit through there?

The camera angle is deceptive, the "tunnel" under the bridge is exactly as wide as the Defender is long-- I know this because a buddy rolled his off the hill, and got the truck perfectly Austin-Powers'd sideways in the tunnel.

[SurlyBurly]

Originally Posted by DrIsotope

The camera angle is deceptive, the "tunnel" under the bridge is exactly as wide as the Defender is long-- I know this because a buddy rolled his off the hill, and got the truck perfectly Austin-Powers'd sideways in the tunnel.

I meant the bridge itself, rig looks too tall to cross the bridge.

[Cyclist]

Your course looks awesome. I want to build one like that

[DrIsotope]

Building up my second TRX-4, mostly a 2-speed Sport. Still a long way to go.

[DrIsotope]

Well, since the last post the Sport has... changed. A couple of upgrades and even more parts swaps for the Sport. Finally got some decent foams for the Showdowns (Crazy Crawler) so I tossed those on the Defender, and they are EXCELLENT. Stock foams just not up to the task. Swapped the Pitbull Growlers over to the Sport, as it's like half the weight, and it likes that better as well.

Also popped on some Samix high-clearance links, and oh, out with the bulk of the Hardbody (we hardly knew ye!) and in with the definitively non-heft of the JC Creep. All black, magnet mounts (so much fabrication!) and I think I love it. JC should not just say the Creep fits the TRX-4, unless you intend on having the bottom of the body 2" above the frame rails. I have it sitting as absolutely low as I could without changing out or significantly modifying parts. Kinda hard to see in the pics, but the rear shocks are even with the top of the bed rails. Some decent sized cutouts to get that to happen. No chance of using the stock rear body mount position as a result.

Does it drive great? Boy howdy does it. Gonna try a winch controller on this one, it's in the mail as of this post.

[Benp]

Originally Posted by DrIsotope

Well, since the last post the Sport has... changed. A couple of upgrades and even more parts swaps for the Sport. Finally got some decent foams for the Showdowns (Crazy Crawler) so I tossed those on the Defender, and they are EXCELLENT. Stock foams just not up to the task. Swapped the Pitbull Growlers over to the Sport, as it's like half the weight, and it likes that better as well.

Also popped on some Samix high-clearance links, and oh, out with the bulk of the Hardbody (we hardly knew ye!) and in with the definitively non-heft of the JC Creep. All black, magnet mounts (so much fabrication!) and I think I love it. JC should not just say the Creep fits the TRX-4, unless you intend on having the bottom of the body 2" above the frame rails. I have it sitting as absolutely low as I could without changing out or significantly modifying parts. Kinda hard to see in the pics, but the rear shocks are even with the top of the bed rails. Some decent sized cutouts to get that to happen. No chance of using the stock rear body mount position as a result.

Does it drive great? Boy howdy does it. Gonna try a winch controller on this one, it's in the mail as of this post.

Very nice!!!!

Excellent!!!

[DrIsotope]

[mash914]

Originally Posted by DrIsotope

Great picture of a cool truck

[durok]

Damn, the Creep looks fantastic in that black - gives me hope for my Enduro re-do with that body.

Great photography, too!

[Benp]

Originally Posted by DrIsotope

Your rig looks awesome!!!!!!

[DrIsotope]

Another day, another addition. Warning: Non TRX-4 content. The Capra 1.9 Builder's Kit, finished with an MKS 550 servo, HW 1080WP + HH 13T Crawlmaster 540, and a set of PitBull Mad Beasts that have been bouncing from truck to truck trying to find a home-- and I think they finally have.
Dropped to an 11T pinion, as the included 14T just felt like... too much. I really will climb most anything. Working on it is decidedly NOT Traxxas. The simple action of changing the pinion gear is like performing origami with plastic and metal.

[Benp]

Holy cow I like that!