Tommy R
I wanna be Dave
Top Truck Challenge Experience
First of all, I want to offer my sincere thanks to each of you who voted for me to run in the TTC in Montana this year! I did my best to prep the truck to be as reliable as possible. I rebuilt the entire truck loc-titing screws, using nylocks, waterproofing, etc. to ensure it would stay together and run well. I knew I was up against some stiff competition and wanted to give a good showing! :mrgreen: I'd been having motor overheating issues the previous weeks leading up to MSD and it was really concerning me and caused quite a bit of stress! :shock: But I did everything in my power to resolve it.
During the Class 3 runs, the truck performed really well. I did fairly well on one of the courses, though I took the hardest, nastiest tumble I saw the whole weekend.
I did really well on the water course, which was reassuring. But on the third course I broke in catastrophic fashion. I was really bound up and ended up breaking a rear dogbone. After I removed it, I saw it had twisted 360 degrees and splintered down the middle! I had it on display on the hood of the truck during the Concours, but left it in Ben's shop. It was definitely photo worthy, but I didn't get any. :roll: Maybe I'll ask Ben if he still has it somewhere....
So in the end, I'm not sure where I finished, but considering I had penalties AND didn't even finish the last course, it's safe to say I didn't make the Finals. That's okay, though. The truck performed really well and the motor held together great....and that's what I was most concerned about! "thumbsup"
Now on to TTC. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Patrick (Locked Up), because he offered to let me borrow a set of his Super 300s for the rear of Oly so I wouldn't suffer a failure similar to what happened on my last Class 3 run! Thanks, P! Here's a chronological progression of how my day went....
The pics are mix from Justin, Steve, Larry, Patrick, and me. Thanks, guys!! "thumbsup"
Frame Twister:
I struggled through a rocky section, but managed to make it through without any winching. The log section slowed me down a bit, but not too much. I ended up finishing mid-pack, if I recall. The problem is that as I was exiting the log section, I only had rear wheel drive! So after the run was complete, Patrick and I tore into the truck to repair it. My front Punisher drive shaft was too short so I run an RC4WD extension. Well, the set screw in the extension backed out. We Loctited it again and put it back together, hoping for the best. No time to put the interior back in, though.
Mud Pit:
Much to my surprise, some of the high powered guys were struggling making it through! The last hole was really deep. Going through the middle would be pointless for me because of the depth, but I didn't know if the sides would be any better. But I talked it over with Matt (Crawln Coles) and we decided I should try the left side of the pit. Well, it worked! Not only did I make it through the pit, but I ended up having the best time of everyone, finishing first!! :shock: I ended up winning the event that I thought I would finish dead last in. Go figure!
But while testing afterward, I noticed the front shaft wasn't spinning....again! It turns out the extension was stripped out, but I had a spare so I installed it.
Obstacle Course:
I took off from the start of the obstacle course and promptly found myself without FWD AGAIN! This time it was the brand new extension that was stripped!! I only made it about 10' before calling it. Fortunately, Dan (Difuser) had an MIP driveshaft he let me use. Thanks, Dan!
Mini Rubicon:
I was really stoked about this course because it looked like the rear steer was really going to help me a ton. Plus, it's the kind of course I enjoy most...rocks! Well, I made it about 2' into the first obstacle and something in the front end stripped.....again! This time it turns out the output of my Robinson Racing output sheared. Yes, I'm talking about the large, one piece large gear that goes in the Axial trans. Turns out a pin backed out of my driveshaft from the trans to the t-case. When it did, it hit a mounting plate and bound up. It then sheared the output off the RR gear!
It was pretty incredible carnage and I'll get a picture of it soon. But my run on the Rubicon was out. Once again, a panic tear down to swap out the RR gear ensued and was done just before the next event! Matt (Crawln Coles) also lent me some parts so I could continue competing. Thanks, Matt! At this point, I'm exhausted!!
Truck Pull:
I figured this was the best chance I had at winning an event. Oly is heavy and torquey so I really wanted to do well. I launched and was soon into WOT. The run was going really, really well until the entire sled lurched up into the air and brought the whole rig to a stand still!! Turns out the leading edge of the sled caught the tip of a submerged rock and unearthed the entire thing! Needless it say, it stopped my run prematurely early. Despite this freak accident, I still managed to come away with third place.
The rear tires are typically on the ground when pulling a heavy sled, right? :shock: Larry caught this pic just as I hit the rock.
Hill Climb:
I started off the Hill Climb great and even made a sweet jump on my way to the first chicane. Unfortunately, I got careless trying to make up time and ended up flopping on my way up the hill. It stopped forward progress, which ended my run. Really disappointing run...
Tank Trap:
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised how well the truck did in the Tank Trap, but I did suffer some careless time penalties for hitting a couple gate markers. And I only needed to pull cable on the last climb. Unfortunately, the winching on the last two gates really ate into the clock and I think I finished at nearly 9 minutes, plus my penalties. Nonetheless, I made it through and I was happy for that!!
Overall, I finished 8th out of 11 rigs. I certainly had hopes of finishing better than that, but I had a lot of bad luck from components that had been trouble-free until now. But the experience was priceless and I really hope to make it again next year! Again, thanks to EVERYONE who voted for me! I really do appreciate it.
I also have to offer my thanks to several guys who really busted their butts helping me keep Oly in the TTC as parts were failing: Patrick (Locked Up), Dan (Difuser), Steve (edge540), Matt (Crawln Coles), and anyone else who may have helped, but I was too focused on repairing to realize who! I really appreciate the help, guys. Thank you!
Oh, and here's a little video I put together of the TTC. Sorry for the lack of quality. Obviously, I'm due for a nicer camera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZtk3YvvWuchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZtk3YvvWuc
First of all, I want to offer my sincere thanks to each of you who voted for me to run in the TTC in Montana this year! I did my best to prep the truck to be as reliable as possible. I rebuilt the entire truck loc-titing screws, using nylocks, waterproofing, etc. to ensure it would stay together and run well. I knew I was up against some stiff competition and wanted to give a good showing! :mrgreen: I'd been having motor overheating issues the previous weeks leading up to MSD and it was really concerning me and caused quite a bit of stress! :shock: But I did everything in my power to resolve it.
During the Class 3 runs, the truck performed really well. I did fairly well on one of the courses, though I took the hardest, nastiest tumble I saw the whole weekend.
I did really well on the water course, which was reassuring. But on the third course I broke in catastrophic fashion. I was really bound up and ended up breaking a rear dogbone. After I removed it, I saw it had twisted 360 degrees and splintered down the middle! I had it on display on the hood of the truck during the Concours, but left it in Ben's shop. It was definitely photo worthy, but I didn't get any. :roll: Maybe I'll ask Ben if he still has it somewhere....So in the end, I'm not sure where I finished, but considering I had penalties AND didn't even finish the last course, it's safe to say I didn't make the Finals. That's okay, though. The truck performed really well and the motor held together great....and that's what I was most concerned about! "thumbsup"
Now on to TTC. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Patrick (Locked Up), because he offered to let me borrow a set of his Super 300s for the rear of Oly so I wouldn't suffer a failure similar to what happened on my last Class 3 run! Thanks, P! Here's a chronological progression of how my day went....
The pics are mix from Justin, Steve, Larry, Patrick, and me. Thanks, guys!! "thumbsup"
Frame Twister:
I struggled through a rocky section, but managed to make it through without any winching. The log section slowed me down a bit, but not too much. I ended up finishing mid-pack, if I recall. The problem is that as I was exiting the log section, I only had rear wheel drive! So after the run was complete, Patrick and I tore into the truck to repair it. My front Punisher drive shaft was too short so I run an RC4WD extension. Well, the set screw in the extension backed out. We Loctited it again and put it back together, hoping for the best. No time to put the interior back in, though.
Mud Pit:
Much to my surprise, some of the high powered guys were struggling making it through! The last hole was really deep. Going through the middle would be pointless for me because of the depth, but I didn't know if the sides would be any better. But I talked it over with Matt (Crawln Coles) and we decided I should try the left side of the pit. Well, it worked! Not only did I make it through the pit, but I ended up having the best time of everyone, finishing first!! :shock: I ended up winning the event that I thought I would finish dead last in. Go figure!
But while testing afterward, I noticed the front shaft wasn't spinning....again! It turns out the extension was stripped out, but I had a spare so I installed it.
Obstacle Course:
I took off from the start of the obstacle course and promptly found myself without FWD AGAIN!
This time it was the brand new extension that was stripped!! I only made it about 10' before calling it. Fortunately, Dan (Difuser) had an MIP driveshaft he let me use. Thanks, Dan!
Mini Rubicon:
I was really stoked about this course because it looked like the rear steer was really going to help me a ton. Plus, it's the kind of course I enjoy most...rocks! Well, I made it about 2' into the first obstacle and something in the front end stripped.....again! This time it turns out the output of my Robinson Racing output sheared. Yes, I'm talking about the large, one piece large gear that goes in the Axial trans. Turns out a pin backed out of my driveshaft from the trans to the t-case. When it did, it hit a mounting plate and bound up. It then sheared the output off the RR gear!
It was pretty incredible carnage and I'll get a picture of it soon. But my run on the Rubicon was out. Once again, a panic tear down to swap out the RR gear ensued and was done just before the next event! Matt (Crawln Coles) also lent me some parts so I could continue competing. Thanks, Matt! At this point, I'm exhausted!!
Truck Pull:
I figured this was the best chance I had at winning an event. Oly is heavy and torquey so I really wanted to do well. I launched and was soon into WOT. The run was going really, really well until the entire sled lurched up into the air and brought the whole rig to a stand still!! Turns out the leading edge of the sled caught the tip of a submerged rock and unearthed the entire thing! Needless it say, it stopped my run prematurely early. Despite this freak accident, I still managed to come away with third place.
The rear tires are typically on the ground when pulling a heavy sled, right? :shock: Larry caught this pic just as I hit the rock.
Hill Climb:
I started off the Hill Climb great and even made a sweet jump on my way to the first chicane. Unfortunately, I got careless trying to make up time and ended up flopping on my way up the hill. It stopped forward progress, which ended my run. Really disappointing run...
Tank Trap:
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised how well the truck did in the Tank Trap, but I did suffer some careless time penalties for hitting a couple gate markers. And I only needed to pull cable on the last climb. Unfortunately, the winching on the last two gates really ate into the clock and I think I finished at nearly 9 minutes, plus my penalties. Nonetheless, I made it through and I was happy for that!!
Overall, I finished 8th out of 11 rigs. I certainly had hopes of finishing better than that, but I had a lot of bad luck from components that had been trouble-free until now. But the experience was priceless and I really hope to make it again next year! Again, thanks to EVERYONE who voted for me! I really do appreciate it.
I also have to offer my thanks to several guys who really busted their butts helping me keep Oly in the TTC as parts were failing: Patrick (Locked Up), Dan (Difuser), Steve (edge540), Matt (Crawln Coles), and anyone else who may have helped, but I was too focused on repairing to realize who! I really appreciate the help, guys. Thank you!
Oh, and here's a little video I put together of the TTC. Sorry for the lack of quality. Obviously, I'm due for a nicer camera!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZtk3YvvWuchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZtk3YvvWuc
:ror:
