Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Hey y’all,
I’m about to embark on my next build and I think it may be my most involved yet….not that that says much.
There’s a few motivating factors behind this build. First, is the fact that our club in central Texas has two classes: Daily Driver class for more moderate trucks and a Trail class for the more radically modified rigs. These are based on modified Montana Scale rules. My Jeep fits pretty well in the Daily Driver class, but I’d like to have something for the Trail class, too. For the second reason, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Oregon (ORCRC) and Canadian folks. I saw your Top Truck Challenge (TTC) builds and videos and they inspired me. They inspired me to organize a local TTC styled event which I’m in the process of doing now. They also inspired me to build my Trail class rig to look like a TTC competitor.
Our local scale rules don’t yet allow 2.2 wheels/tires, but that may change at some point. In addition, I envision 2.2’s being allowed into the TTC event(s) and I'd like the option to run them, too. In my opinion, most rigs need to be at least 1/9th scale to look reasonable scale with 2.2’s. That means no small bodies like my F-350. I need to go larger….
I’m shooting for the look of a heavily modified truck that did not start as a tube buggy, but ended up being a buggy/truggy. It will resemble its original “truck” profile, but will bare little resemblance otherwise to it’s original form. There were several rigs which inspired me. At the top are War Pig's TTC truck and Grizzly4x4's Guido. Just Zach's Tube Bronco and Saydee1800's Pirate builds were also heavy influences. They resemble early Broncos, but it’s clear they’re now hardcore, purpose built trail rigs.
Of course, there’s no point in having a rig look like a TTC competitor if it only has the performance of a stocker. This means it needs big power for a sled pull, wheel speed for mud bogs, torque for crawling, and a suspension that's flexible and stable for all this, in addition to rock races and time trials. That means high speed capability to some extent.
After lots of thought and calculations I thought it best to start with a Honcho SCX10 from Axial. I’ll definitely use the chassis and axles. I’ll likely keep the transmission for now, too. Not so sure about the rest of the suspension. Definitely selling the entire body/cage and will be fabbing my own. It may retain the Honcho suspension bits since it has the wheelbase I want (~12.5”), but I’m thinking of doing something different. Battery will definitely be 3s LiPo. Servo will be high torque. I’m still undecided on the motor. Holmes puller? Handwound? Brushless? ESC will be something that hopefully can handle 4s…..just in case!
As of today, the Honcho has arrived and is built as far as I can go while I await more parts so there's not much to see. Suspension bits, body, and some other upgrades are all purchased and on the way. I’ll be updating when I have something worthy of sharing.
I’m about to embark on my next build and I think it may be my most involved yet….not that that says much.
There’s a few motivating factors behind this build. First, is the fact that our club in central Texas has two classes: Daily Driver class for more moderate trucks and a Trail class for the more radically modified rigs. These are based on modified Montana Scale rules. My Jeep fits pretty well in the Daily Driver class, but I’d like to have something for the Trail class, too. For the second reason, I owe a debt of gratitude to the Oregon (ORCRC) and Canadian folks. I saw your Top Truck Challenge (TTC) builds and videos and they inspired me. They inspired me to organize a local TTC styled event which I’m in the process of doing now. They also inspired me to build my Trail class rig to look like a TTC competitor.Our local scale rules don’t yet allow 2.2 wheels/tires, but that may change at some point. In addition, I envision 2.2’s being allowed into the TTC event(s) and I'd like the option to run them, too. In my opinion, most rigs need to be at least 1/9th scale to look reasonable scale with 2.2’s. That means no small bodies like my F-350. I need to go larger….
I’m shooting for the look of a heavily modified truck that did not start as a tube buggy, but ended up being a buggy/truggy. It will resemble its original “truck” profile, but will bare little resemblance otherwise to it’s original form. There were several rigs which inspired me. At the top are War Pig's TTC truck and Grizzly4x4's Guido. Just Zach's Tube Bronco and Saydee1800's Pirate builds were also heavy influences. They resemble early Broncos, but it’s clear they’re now hardcore, purpose built trail rigs.
Of course, there’s no point in having a rig look like a TTC competitor if it only has the performance of a stocker. This means it needs big power for a sled pull, wheel speed for mud bogs, torque for crawling, and a suspension that's flexible and stable for all this, in addition to rock races and time trials. That means high speed capability to some extent.
After lots of thought and calculations I thought it best to start with a Honcho SCX10 from Axial. I’ll definitely use the chassis and axles. I’ll likely keep the transmission for now, too. Not so sure about the rest of the suspension. Definitely selling the entire body/cage and will be fabbing my own. It may retain the Honcho suspension bits since it has the wheelbase I want (~12.5”), but I’m thinking of doing something different. Battery will definitely be 3s LiPo. Servo will be high torque. I’m still undecided on the motor. Holmes puller? Handwound? Brushless? ESC will be something that hopefully can handle 4s…..just in case!
As of today, the Honcho has arrived and is built as far as I can go while I await more parts so there's not much to see. Suspension bits, body, and some other upgrades are all purchased and on the way. I’ll be updating when I have something worthy of sharing.
