Am I missing the boat??

[FrankyRizzo]

I joined this page and bought a TXT and built it up. I like the realism of the shafty and I have built it to be a pretty competant crawler.

After further reading and numerous posts on how the clod is superior, I think I caught one quote stating that a shafty has never won a comp, I found a really nice clod with a V Prime chassis and all the goodies.(ie. Twin Lathes, 9 tooths, 645's, very well built).

This is my dilema, I can't find what is the really overwealming about the Clod. I know the TXT has it's limitations with torque twist and a hard time with low cg. The Clod has axle stall. I think that the V Prime is very well built and sturdy. I have Moabs on both so I think the field is even as far as traction goes. I know the standover height is not as great with the V Prime, I guess if I wanted the most I would go to a stick.

Am I missing the boat here or will I be shocked soon? I like having both of them. They are fun to drive for sure. Well I guess I answered my own question.

Any input?

 

[EeePee]

Put the TXT in a spot that it can't make. Then try it with the Clod.

That's why I switched.

 

[FrankyRizzo]

This weekend I will be puting them both to a very harsh test. I will take your advice and see who prevails.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

drivers win comps, not vehicles.

the axle stall can be an advantage, as well the low cg and no torque twist.

for just bashing, the clod is easier on most objects. shafties are fun too though.

 

[MUD4FUN]

I found it more interesting and enjoyable trying to get a shaft driven truck to work well than simply running a Clod based one. The engineering involved in shafties makes them more tricky to crawl well. Their natural high CoG due to central motor and gearbox, their torque twist, lack of space for battery placement etc are all great for making you think and develop your own solutions. I also prefer the scale 'feel' of shaft driven trucks.

At the end of the day if you aren't interested in winning competitions but instead just want fun then stick with the TXT.

I recently watched a movie from the US showing some highly modified TLT's and some of the climbs they achieved was very impressive especially considering their CoG and shaft driven limitations. Certainly far superior to many Clods.

I simply accept that my truck runs a high CoG and won't make some climbs that a Clod would but I think my truck looks far more to scale than a Clod and going by scale it is certainly able to climb anything a 1:1 could.

I also run just one cordless drill motor and reduction unit in my crawler as against the two required in a Clod. I get an hours runtime from a 2000NiCD pack while crawling. A clod would get less than half that. This is great for me because we don't have rock crawling terrain near us and we often have to treck a mile or so on foot to get there. The fewer battery packs we have to carry the better! I can usualy get away with taking no spare battery at all and just run off the one pack mounted in the truck.

 

[FrankyRizzo]

Runtime has never been a issue. I get over and hour and a half runtime each with both trucks. That is one of many aspects of Rock Crawling I really like. Most electric vehicles it was such a downer not to be able to run long. That is why I went nitro years ago.

The other thing also is that the Clod is too quiet. I like the Dewalt screw gun sound that the GD-600 helps produce.

 

[rbgerrish]

I was always a firm believer in shafties. I actually still prefer they way they feel when crawled, but after seeing many crawlers in many competitions, Clods are better overall. Shafties have won comps against clods, but that's all driver...

If I were going to build a big crawler today with unlimited budget to bash with, I'd build a shafty. More fun in my opinion.

The only thing we're noting that consistently out performs Clods on the same courses are Bulu TLT's.

 

[TwistedCreations]

well JK just won a comp in AU with a Maxx and beat a clod.. so that just shows you it is the driver and not the rig. I will stick with a shafted truck though ;-)

 

[FrankyRizzo]

Would anyone like to buy a tricked out clod?

Trade for another shafty.

 

[fullmodtxt]

Twisted, JK not only beat a few Clods with his Maxx based shafty, but they were MudCow clones at that!!!!!!!!!! Gotta be some of the most capable Clods around, and I'd bet them Australians can drive, too!

 

[Gimbal]

drivers win comps, not vehicles.

Amen to that! However, I drive a Clod because it's easier to be a good driver :lol:

 

[DirkDigler]

on the other hand...i still try certain obsticles and my clods can't make it......and I think, "My shafties could have done that easily." There are pros and cons to both but in the end, the Clod has a slight advantage overall.