Wrangler TJ Locked & Loaded 1:1 (Build)

[Natedog]

Traxxas Titan 21T 550, 3S wiht the Hobbywing WP1080.

[Browneye]

Ya, the 550 motor won't fit with the stock battery tray. :(

I was thinking about trying a 15 or 16t pinion - would I lose too much crawl? Do you think it would make much difference? Worth a shot with 3s power?
I found the gear ratios chart here for Ascender, but they don't mean much to me without something to compare to other than what's stock. Like, how much difference in speed does one tooth on the pinion make? Will it affect crawl speed too?

[Browneye]

Another interesting discovery is the wheel offset on the china-alloys - much more negative offset than stock, or with the axial wheels. When I tried the body on the K10 chassis the fenders covered the tires - now they stick out almost half the tread. And even though the front bumper clears pretty similar to the K10 the tires will rub on it full lock and full compression. I dunno, I may have to go to a different wheel - will see how it runs. If it snags the bumper I may be able to trim off the bottom of it for more clearance.

So something to note here on wheel offset.

I also took the Pitbull tires off the axial wheels from my k10 and installed them on the new wheels for the Wrangler - put the new TSL's out of the kit on the old K10 rig. The TSL's are a little taller and actually work well on the K10. I roughed them up well and cleaned then with prep-sol, and drilled the wheel to vent air. It crawls as well with them as it did with the Pitbulls, but these work better with the Wrangler body - the increased diameter would make fitting even more of a problem with these wheels. The narrower wheel stance allowed the tires to tuck up into the body whereas now they won't.

Learning a lot about setup!!

[Shinchu]

sounds like a nice set of GCM wheels are in your future... heck even gear heads are decent for the price.

build is coming along REALLY nice!!! body looks great so far and like everyone else, cant wait to see it painted!

and with the holidays behind us, my build thread will get some updates soon also. TIS THE SEASON! lol weather here in socal has been EXCELLENT hasn't it?! its unfair we don't get a "build season" hahaha

[Browneye]

GCM? Oh, 'tiny trucks' ...
They have exactly the wheel I need, but are 'sold out'.

Gee, something to shoot for here:

[Shinchu]

I might be able put you in touch with somebody who has those wheels... no promise but give me a few days.

[Shinchu]

Ok got an answer on those gcm wheels!

Send a pm to bigchimp he is asking $115 shipped.
Yeah its not cheap but you cant get these anymore. Supply vs. Demand. He also has the REC wheels i want but im willing to bet they would cost me double what hes asking for these gcm wheels.

Merry christmas, and happy new year ;)

[Browneye]

Teaser pic...

[Browneye]

[Browneye]

[Browneye]

So I've been told the Ascender RTR will run on 3s, tried that today and pretty surprised at how much better it runs. Still crawls but now gets up and hauls. Installed a 15 tooth drive pinion too, so now I have all the speed I could want. Problem now is that the drag brake will make it almost stand on end...and with full reverse it can be hard to control in tight quarters.

The HobbyWing ESC is lightyears better - in the new build I put a 16T pinion and set the throttle start at full soft (1) and the drag brake at full soft to start and then max 80%. It stops and starts just beautifully, reverse is set for 25% which makes it really easy to maneuver in tight quarters. And it gets up and hauls ass if you want, even in park grass. Never heats up either. Ran it today for 72 minutes - the timer on the new radio is fantastic, as are the ergos and the whole way it runs. I could not be happier.

I guess I gotta pony up for a HW ESC for the K10 too because once you experience it the cheapo ESC is just too toy-like.

Oh, and went out to Mile square Park and walked a couple of miles but never found much for crawling - a few drainage ditches and some trails, and lots of running. We walked and walked, for almost two hours, and the 3600 3S battery still had almost 4V per cell. I project easy 90 - 120 minutes run time, maybe longer.

A few more pics here from the better camera...a Sony RX100...
I'm happy with proportions and how the body matches up to the Ascender chassis:




K10 RTR on top, the Wrangler on WB3 below - there's just a half inch difference in wheelbase but virtually the same length overall. Everything fits better on the one I built.



Happy with how all this works too. I would like to try a set of 4.19 tires and run it in Class1 - we have a local SORRCA meet this coming weekend. I may be able to run Jeep in Class1 and the K10 in Class2:







Two Vaterra Ascenders, very different flavors, both run about the same though. The slightly taller tires and shorter WB on the K10 more than makes up for the better traction of the Pitbulls on the Wrangler, but it hangs up easier cuz less ground clearance. Both very fun to drive now.

[durok]

Whatta pair!

Man, the Jeep looks especially spot-on, so nice that you can make an Ascender into a scaler of your 1:1!

(Now, after all that praise, could I ask a favor? Could you post a pic of your steering from underneath on the Wrangler? Not from top down, but from bottom up? I think my servo is in need of 180deg rotation...)

[Shinchu]

durok just FYI, my servo is in the same spot as chris' wrangler. pivot in the back, horn facing forward. i have pics but haven't uploaded yet. er... might have it earlier in my build thread. stand by for edit...

Chris! looks amazing! just needs a winch and lights and its pretty much spot-on! oh and that spare carrier you are tracking down.
oh i had a question about that paint you had the shop mix up for you... could they put it in a spray can? i don't have an air brush so that would be my only shot at accurate 1:1 paints.
bummer about mile square park, thanks for scouting it though.
i remember back in the 80's that was THE spot for RC! anything! dirt racing, bashing, PLANES! i don't know what happened but its a shame. i used to love going to that park. its what inspired my Pop to buy me a blackfoot.

so yeah I'm glad the electronics worked out, and i will most likely get the same HH motor soon, as i think running my little Tamiya sport tuned 25T on 3s with a 12 tooth will be the end of it lol
clean job on the wiring, too. you look into getting those GCM wheels? not sure if he would budge on price or not. worth a shot?

great looking jeep, well done sir. i need to show my son, he wants to put a Tamiya jeep on his barrage. he said he wants a "stock jeep", so i figure he just means clean with no knight customs accessories. yours is a great example.

[Browneye]

Thanks guys, it's been really fun. Now I need a new project.

I'm trying to decide what to do for a spare, maybe a swing bumper and rack or something, I dunno. I'm not really too keen to weight it down a bunch, it drives and crawls so well now. A front winch would be nice...we'll see. Going to my first comp this weekend so I'm sure I'll come away with a different view on setting up, equipment, technique, etc.

Shinshu - you're welcome to borrow my air brush - PM me an address and I'll ship it to you. You do need an air source though - you could borrow my compressor too but you would have to come get it.

And yes, they will package it into an aerosol can so that might be an option, although fine control goes out the window then, and I think they're pretty expensive - I can check, or you could call them - L&P Auto Paint, Anaheim.

This paint was Nason polyurethane base coat. I figured with good scuffing with a scotchbrite pad and dish soap inside the body I would be in good shape. It seems to be holding on okay now that it's cured/dried. But when I went to peel off the taillight masks (wanted them clear for potential lighting) it started to peel away the paint too. It was fresh on there and I still had some paint in a airbrush jar so I was able to patch it, but it sure wasn't sticking on there very well. A day of wheeling it pretty hard resulted in no peeling so I'm hoping it will at least hold up for awhile. It sure looks nice, just not sure how well it will stick long term to the lexan. Got some good pics with it fresh in case it goes to shit. LOL

I haven't inquired on the wheels - $115 for some 1.5's just doesn't calc for me - the wheels on it work well and look the part. I might have been motivated for about half of that, but I understand they are unobtanium any longer. Oh well. Wait and see...


The steering servo horn barely clears the panhard rod on full compression. On the RTR - the short wheelbase, it hits on top of the horn so you lose some suspension travel. But normally it's tilted over one way or the other so not a huge issue. On this build it really does work out well.

I have a plastic horn on there and was going to get a clamping alloy one but then the panhard wouldn't clear it. I did find a low profile alloy one that doesn't clamp, and should still be better than plastic. I'll try to get a pic tonight.


Many years ago the county took out the flying field at Mile Square Park and put in a golf course. I remember when the big fight was on - it was a premier RC aircraft field for so many years, comps and clubs, and general flying, really a neat place. Evidently 'golf money' has more pull, or there is more of it, cuz no matter what anyone said or did they weren't buying it, they were determined to put a golf course in. Bastidges.

Wife and I walked the entire east half of the park looking for something good to crawl. It was a nice day for a walk - New Years Day, so we didn't mind, and there were some fun little areas to crawl around in, drainage ditches, tree roots, bike trails, etc. The Jeep got a LOT of looks. Especially the little kids - what the hell is this old man doing with a cool RC tiny-truck????

Maybe there are some rock gardens or something somewhere in the west half of the park. Ah, a walk for another day. The nice lady at the parking kiosk suggested 'Fairview Park' in Costa Mesa...will have to check that out.

We are walking all the wilderness parks around us and finding some cool spots. One day when I have some routes we'll have a crawl meet here, invite everybody for a day of it.

[Browneye]

Here's a face to the name...I'm 60 and started building models when I was about 7 years old. Got into RC aircraft when I was in my late 20's - I realized then I needed prescription glasses as I couldn't tell which way the plane was going. LOL Did giant-scale aircraft and aerobatics for about 8 years - got out of it when I started riding dirtbikes again.

Browneye is a nickname from a buddy that stuck...I didn't even know what it was 'till about a year later, and it was just funny. So it's my online handle for dozens of forums all over the www.

My other hobbies are adventure motorcycle touring, brewing craft beer, marine reef aquaria, camping and boating - even built a couple of boats from scratch, and I've been a semi-professional photographer since I was a youngster. Certified scuba diver in 1972, and some time as a private pilot in training. Was an avid flyfisherman when we lived in the PNW, moved to southern CA in 1992. Married to my second wife - coming up on 25 years in March. Have 3 grown children, 23, 26, 30.

As I like to say, 'BTDT got the t-shirt'.

Christmas Day here, very nearby, a wonderful park we never knew about 'till last year. Some fun crawling too. Wife walks the dog and I drive the truck.

[M1tch]

Well I'm 60 in 6 months so guess we could run an old farts club or something :P. It's not uncommon for older guys to get into hobbies like this, as spare cash and time is sometimes easier to find. I'm also interested in photography, plus do some camping and hill walking, cycling and have a couple of motorcycles, but they get ridden less very year.

[Shinchu]

awesome!
i lived in Garden Grove from 79 to about 91. funny you mention scuba, my dad actually worked at US Divers (later became a branch of survive-air) and tested a LOT of their stuff when it was in prototype phase. i think he even met Jacques Cousteau once?
he's gone now, lost him in 2015 way too early. doctors said it was chemicals in the survive-air factory. i smell BS but i was too emotionally drained to deal.
so, that's why i am doing this tribute build of his old F-150. we did TONS of camping with that rig, and his was only rwd. up in the high desert near Joshua tree, up in the mountains near lake hemet. that thing took us everywhere.

i recently got back into RC when my mother in law re-married a guy about your age, and he got himself a Yeti Kit. he let me take it for a spin in his backyard (mid-remodel and current crawler/basher's DREAM) and i was HOOKED. got myself a used RTR Yeti like 2 weeks later lol and discovered this site around the same time. obviously, i have gravitated more towards the scale/crawling niche. much more peaceful and relaxing, still gets me outside (durok and i share benefits from this) and breaks way less than the 40mph cat-fight-on-wheels known as the yeti lol
im sort of an old soul, and always got along better with people older than me. with that said, i will let you know when this tribute truck is ready, and i will see if i can convince my now retired father in law to come with, and maybe my son too. as SHOme has displayed, its awesome to have 3 generations of crawlers out on the trails!
and if you are able, san diego has some incredible terrain as well!

[Natedog]

Jeep turned out great, current wheels fit the bill and look great, that paint color is awesome too! Happy birthday, thanks for the full introduction and glad that you're enjoying RC so much! RC Flying field would take less water than a gold course lol.

[Browneye]

Thanks guys.
Ya, the best part is getting out for a walk!

Planning to go out for the 'Renegade Rock Runners' club sorrca comp this Saturday at the opposite end of the LA basin - over a hundred miles away.
Unless it gets rained out. LOL

Event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1130...14916532247745

[Browneye]

Ordered another HW 1080 ESC - the K10 on 3S is way too jerky, it's gonna break something. If you let off the throttle it STOPS instantly.

And 100% reverse is just ridiculous.