Twin Hammers build quality and upgrade parts?

[dave m]

Considering selling my scale Unimog and moving on to something a little faster and more 'fun'. I like the idea of a a Rock Racer and the Twin Hammers keeps popping up as I look around. But going from an almost all metal truck to one that's almost all plastic has me concerned so I have a few questions for VTH owners about build quality and parts availability:

1) How well does the stock TH stand up to regular use? What parts seem to be most break prone etc.?

2) How is the aftermarket supply for these kits? For models like this I usually like to swap out as many plastic parts as possible with metal upgrades, but most of the parts I can find online seem to be out-of-stock. Wondering if the model is old enough now that no one is making hp-ups for it anymore?

Thanks all,
- d

[Di_Spencer]

1) it hold up good the steering is bad and should be swapped out and the front shocks should be stood up but Sr. Iries kit fixes both. Cvds are also a weak spot but Sr. Irie has some stronger ones.

2)look at Asiatees they have a lot of aluminum upgrades but I would just upgrade as you brake things.

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[dave m]

Awesome, thanks for those links. I also found GMC which seems to have a few parts still available as well. There seems to be a few people making aluminum body panels, but most are out of stock, at least one seller on Amazon has a few left.

[wblteen]

Aluminum panels
GCM upright
Gmade piggybacks
Warn winch
IRIE steering
Boom racing wheels
Longer cvd's
Hot Racing trailing arms


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[Dick Dragon]

I'm building a TH scaler now. And the car itself seems to be a pretty good quality, except as noted. The steering leaves a lot to be desired as well as the front shock design. But parts are abundant all over the place.... you can even go on eBay and look up k949 and there are a ton of parts that fit both vehicles that are relatively cheap.

Good luck on your build and be sure to post a thread..... always interested in new ideas and builds!

[lonleycreeper]

In my opinion go fast rigs, aka Twin hammers should remain mostly plastic. The plastic is well engineered to flex where it needs to and be firm and stiff elsewhere. This particular rig is just that well engineered, except for the steering. The shocks and cantilever system work when built properly. Aluminum parts are unnecessary weight and move the failure point to the chassis or diff, not really where you want it.
I would much rather break a a arm than a chassis or diff housing.

[Sr.Irie]

The Twin Hammer stands up very well, do not worry about the plastic it is some of the strongest in the industry I feel, it is pretty impressive. Yes I have broke a few things but I put my truck through he77. Also I purchased one for my, at the time 4 almost 5 year old son. He is now 6 and he is probably not as hard on it as I, or run it as much. But he runs into stuff, and for some reason usually at full speed and he has not broken anything. He has wore out the stock motor and a few sets of brushes in the motor we replaced it with and that is it. His truck of course has my steering and front axles the two week points I have found, but that is the only upgrades. The factory steering servo is junk at best and has a ton of play and makes funny noises at times. But until it lets out the mystery smoke or just stops working I am going to run it. When I purchased it I told myself I was just going to let him run it until something broke then upgrade. I may have to go back on this it will not break and he wants upgrades.

[dave m]

That's good to know. Part of why I'm trading in my custom scale RC for a kit like the TH is so my 7 (and even 3 year old) can have some fun playing with it as well. I fully expect both to nail this thing full speed into various objects in the back yard!

[y2kmxz]

The only plastic that I've broken on mine is the battery box....where the box connects to the chassis under the number plates. I ve broke that 3 times but they were fairly brutal end over end flips and the spare tire dug. I was bending stocker tie rods often. Went to titanium and the problem has ceased.

Have some extra front axles on hand. My 4 year old son (almost 5) uses it and loves to hold the throttle and rip donuts for what seems like eternity......it's tough on CVD's . He doesn't know it yet, but I purchased him a Yeti Score Trophy Truck for his birthday in a few weeks to take the stress of the TH.

[meatmonkey]

The build quality of the Twin Hammers is excellent. Every piece precisely fits into place with virtually no slop or trimming required to get that snug, but free moving, fitment we all desire. Don't be concerned about the plastic, it is much better than Tamiya or Axials. Meaning it actually holds threads (My wrists hurt after the initial build from tapping all the plastic) and has better memory, or ductility or something. I mean you can put it through many more impact/flex cycles before it permanently bends or breaks compared to other companies.

You say "regular" use, I put mine through "exceptionally abusive" use and it holds up remarkably well. I constantly amazed at impacts that don't break anything, and how long I get between bearing replacements. For a fairly sophisticated crawler it is low maintenance.

I would hold off on aluminum upgrades. The truck is all designed to flex together upon impacts. This is especially true of the front suspension. I kept mine all stock thinking I would upgrade as I broke, well in a year I only wore out the kingpin holes in the stock knuckles/C-hubs, causing some slop. Considering the cost, I replaced them with stock to snug the front end back up. I also wore out the rear driveshaft joint, which was easily replaced with stock as well.

As noted, the stock steering setup seems like an afterthought. The St. Erie bellcrank is worth every penny and is, IMO, the only necessary upgrade over stock.

The aftermarket parts availability is not the same as, say, an SCX. But the Twin Hammers doesn't require the plethora of upgrade parts to hold together that the SCX does.

[steenroller]

Originally Posted by wblteen

Aluminum panels
GCM upright
Gmade piggybacks
Warn winch
IRIE steering
Boom racing wheels
Longer cvd's
Hot Racing trailing arms


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Hey Wblteen what light kit did you use and how did you install it? Oh is there a way to get it to switch on and off either remotely or with a switch?

[wblteen]

I have two light kits. One was a proline 4 bucket kit. The other came with the roof rack. I just have them connected to my shifter channel with a y connector. You can hook up a switch if you splice one into the harness. My lights just come on with the truck.

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[steenroller]

Thanks! I will have to find a waterproof switch of some sort when I add some lights. I would like to be able to turn them off during day use to save power.