Power Wagon TRX-4M comp-ish build

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Had a nice afternoon run in the woods with this build I just got together. More pics and details to follow, but here are the basic specs:

-Atlas 6x6 lexan cab
-DBRC Gila Monster chassis
-Traxxas skid and transmission case
-40:1 transmission gears
-Furitek Unity pro on 3s
-Meus Isokinetic axles
-Meus 8.5kg servo 8.4v
-25% total OD, 9% front OD, 16% rear UD
-DJ Crawler 70x26mm 1.3 tires, cut lugs
-Injora Aluminum 1.3 wheels with brass rings in front.
-Yellow silicone inserts with the outer rings trimmed off
-52mm proline front shocks, 59mm globact rear shocks
-Custom links, 170mm wheelbase

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Just in from another run. The tires are working nicely with the cut lugs, might do a little more. It's wet right now, but when I was testing them on some dry rocks earlier, it seemed promising. The front end seems to have more bite when my steering is hard over, so I need to figure out how to get more of that with the wheels straight.

It'll get a bed or cage or something to finish the rear eventually. Got a couple ideas cooking.

Really liking this DBRC gila monster chassis. Picked it up on a "scratch n dent" sale for like $35. The plates had a few rough corners, that's all.

The unity pro 2 in 1 is a tight fit, but it's about as low and forward as you could hope to get that weight.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Took the wagon out for a morning drive. They're doing construction at a park near my neighborhood, and this dirt pile looked tempting.

Didn't make it to the top. For how severely this wet dirt/clay mixture sticks to everything it sure doesn't provide much traction.

I mean it's REALLY sticky.

You might be wondering, what's the logic behind building a rig specifically for technical rock crawling based on an angled skid low CG chassis, with low gearing, a pricey brushless setup, maximum overdrive, and mostly droop suspension setup, and then trail driving it in a bunch of wet muddy crap?

When I figure that out I'll let you know!

 

[89Industries]

Why not? Better to use it then let it sit if you're ok with the cleaning.

Clay mud is amazingly sticky with zero traction. Learned that growing up riding mountain bikes in the Ohio River valley.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Why not? Better to use it then let it sit if you're ok with the cleaning.

Clay mud is amazingly sticky with zero traction. Learned that growing up riding mountain bikes in the Ohio River valley.

Cleaning mud out of every nook and cranny isn't my favorite, but it sure beats not finding out if I could climb that dirt pile.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Why not? Better to use it then let it sit if you're ok with the cleaning.

Clay mud is amazingly sticky with zero traction. Learned that growing up riding mountain bikes in the Ohio River valley.

I was just in Ohio a week ago, took my son to visit the USAF museum. Very cool place!

Checked out a few hobby stores too, almost picked up a couple of park flyer sized rtr warbirds while we were there. Would've been a hassle to fly back home with them so we bought online instead. Went with a Corsair and a Thunderbolt.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Latest endeavor: shaving/smoothing the axle housings. These Meus Isokinetic axles are pretty great, the diamond shaped center sections get hung up less than the stock ones. Still, could be better.

Basically just taking down and blending the hard edges, done mostly with diamond files.

This thing mostly lives on the rocks, and the pumpkins obviously take a bit of a beating. It does feel like an improvement, not game changing, but noticeable.

When I have some down time I plan to tear down the axles and paint the housings, with the goal of having a finish that'll be lower friction than the bare aluminum. Not sure what would be a good choice (epoxy paint like for suspension parts, a hard enamel, other?), any suggestions would be appreciated.

And let's finish this post with a beauty shot:

 

[89Industries]

Ever tried Cerakote?

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Ever tried Cerakote?

I haven't tried cerakoting anything myself, but I do own some things that are cerakoted and yeah they've held up to wear and tear very well. Didn't even think of that as an option here! Time to do some research.

Have you ever done diy cerakote?

 

[89Industries]

I have not done diy cerakote either but hope you do and tell me the tricks and if it is worth it.

I've done a little research and know there's a few different kinds and some are pretty simple (close to regular spray paint process) and some are more involved (involving baking ,etc to cure). Not a rabbit hole I washed to go down yet.

It got popular with some bike stuff but I didn't own anything with it as a coating.

Also popular with the gun people of which I am not one.

Currently my go to for more durable paint is truck bed coating for bumpers and sliders, but honestly I'm not sure it's really any more durable than paint and likely only easily available in black if you want a spray can.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Alternate body time! This cage is from the "adventure force metal racer" toy RC at Walmart. It was like $15-$20 when I bought it several years ago. Ran it on my SCX24 for a while, and its a decent fit for this truck.

Cut the front lower bars off, custom panels, ect.

Here's one of it on my old scx build

The actual rc it came on is junk, but for $20 I've definitely gotten my money's worth.

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Time for some body work on the 'wagon.

When I got the hood vents for it, I planned to cut holes in the hood and mount them from underneath. That was a couple years ago, finally got it done.

A little re-do of the paint is in order, thinking about the top of the hood being more red to help the vents kinda pop, and bringing in the black more so down the sides.

The hole in the hood was for a body mount when I ran this on my fcx24. Future hood ornament goes there, probably just a small nut and bolt i guess.

I'm going to give it a mild refresh before the summer completely kicks off. To-do list so far:

-Windshield glass
-Maybe a visor
-Grille and headlamps (from fcx24 power wagon)

 

[Whats_a_dickfer]

The new paintjob on the power wagon body did not turn out at all. Gotta strip it down and do-over. In the meantime, I made some new panels for the cage body using the plastic cover for a sketch book.

The old set of panels still used the metal hood from the Walmart toy. Didn't weight these, but the old hood itself was 16 grams, so a nice reduction in weight up high. Also brought the sides all the way back to the rear of the cage.

I think the proportions are still a little off. The 170mm wheelbase seems to work perfectly for this build, so I won't mess with that. Need to either move the whole cage back a little, or maybe extend the rear bodywork. Going to a smaller tire would kind of help the look, but most places I drive are more appropriate for a 1/10, so the big tires help a lot.

It's always hard to get an impression of how steep a grade is just from a pic, but believe me this rocky hill (part of a mountain bike trail) is hard to even walk up. Took multiple attempts to find the right line up there but I made it. See the rock with the small hole below the ledge? I went up the gap between the rock below it and the one to the left, took a right, and the up the triangular smooth rock (actually concrete) at the right end of the ledge.

Next time I'll shoot a video haha. Also swapped out the 40:1 crawler gears, went with the 24.4:1 ratio Injora gears on this run. It's a trade off, but there are a lot of cool trails around this area and I think I'll end up using this as more of an all purpose truck rather than a dedicated comp rig.