Been wanting a crawler any suggestions...

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Looks great, definitely a few nice up grades from the v1, like better shocks, rock sliders, better servo, nice wheels/tires, improved steering angle, better bumpers, nicer body...
good luck with it.
Maybe you guys have room for a good crawler course at your place.
jim
 
Looks great, definitely a few nice up grades from the v1, like better shocks, rock sliders, better servo, nice wheels/tires, improved steering angle, better bumpers, nicer body...
good luck with it.
Maybe you guys have room for a good crawler course at your place.
jim
Lol I already told my son we'll have to build a course as we have a nice steeper hill on part of the property. Definitely seemed a lot better over the videos of the v1 I'd have to agree. Tires are nice and soft and turning radius is a lot tighter on this version for sure. Thanks look forward to learning and having more fun at low speed😂
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The TRX-4 kit build is going well. The instruction manual is fantastic! Traxxas must have hired someone from Lego to design the manual. ;)

Question about the electronics placement. I have decided to not use the stock battery tray. I have a small 1500 3s battery pack that I will either put up front or in the stock esc location. If the former, I will mount the esc and receiver as designed with the battery strapped to the frame behind the bumper. If the latter, I will mount the esc (HW 1080) on top of the receiver box with the switch in the recessed area (taking inspiration from the Arrma BLX electronics module). The battery would be on the floor of the chassis on the left (balancing the weight of the electronics). Which would be more advantageous- weight forward but higher, or weight as low as possible?
 
The TRX-4 kit build is going well. The instruction manual is fantastic! Traxxas must have hired someone from Lego to design the manual. ;)

Question about the electronics placement. I have decided to not use the stock battery tray. I have a small 1500 3s battery pack that I will either put up front or in the stock esc location. If the former, I will mount the esc and receiver as designed with the battery strapped to the frame behind the bumper. If the latter, I will mount the esc (HW 1080) on top of the receiver box with the switch in the recessed area (taking inspiration from the Arrma BLX electronics module). The battery would be on the floor of the chassis on the left (balancing the weight of the electronics). Which would be more advantageous- weight forward but higher, or weight as low as possible?
I've come to think that skid mounting is best for batteries- at least on 4wd rigs. My 6x6 needs heavy, centrally located weight, but they play by different rules if you ask me. Having my batt up front between the shock towers caused me to flip more on steep technical climbs. I like the way my rigs climb with their weight shifted as low as possible. I tend to like batt on one side, esc on the other- maybe put the rx up in the front (further away from water).
The one stipulation is that you gotta have close to 60/40 front weight bias no matter what. Brass knuckles, portal covers, diff covers, etc will get you there pretty easily, though.
 
The TRX-4 kit build is going well. The instruction manual is fantastic! Traxxas must have hired someone from Lego to design the manual. ;)

Question about the electronics placement. I have decided to not use the stock battery tray. I have a small 1500 3s battery pack that I will either put up front or in the stock esc location. If the former, I will mount the esc and receiver as designed with the battery strapped to the frame behind the bumper. If the latter, I will mount the esc (HW 1080) on top of the receiver box with the switch in the recessed area (taking inspiration from the Arrma BLX electronics module). The battery would be on the floor of the chassis on the left (balancing the weight of the electronics). Which would be more advantageous- weight forward but higher, or weight as low as possible?

If you use the sport kit body with the cage and accessories you might want to try the battery up front. The rtr sport body is really light so then maybe back to the original local. I just use a little kydex and bent it around the battery for a tray and mount it up front to the frame. Try it both ways.
Depending on what kind of performance you like will depend on how you build. I tend to like weight forward, some like it equal, I like my rig light, some weigh down with brass. Probably raising the sliders, trimming up the sides of the body, and reversing the mounts and getting rid of the ridiculous bumpers is where my biggest improvements came. The bumpers don’t really protect anything and get caught on everything. The body keys nicely just on the mounts and they offer plenty of protection. You couldn’t compete that way but who’s competing, I just want to get on top of the next rock...
 
I know that the expedition rack and bumpers hurt the capabilities of the truck, but this is my first crawler and I'm kind of geeking out over the looks part of it.
I'm going to start with all of the assessories and bumpers installed. I'll probably remove them at some point when I start modifying for performance.

I'll experiment with the battery in both locations prior to mounting the esc. I can simply wire tie it down for temporary mounting while I figure it out.
 
I know that the expedition rack and bumpers hurt the capabilities of the truck, but this is my first crawler and I'm kind of geeking out over the looks part of it.
I'm going to start with all of the assessories and bumpers installed. I'll probably remove them at some point when I start modifying for performance.

I'll experiment with the battery in both locations prior to mounting the esc. I can simply wire tie it down for temporary mounting while I figure it out.
Scale crawlers will general have a heavier body with an interior, drivers, accessories...The heavy body tilts with the terrain and works the suspension. Much less capable when the going gets nasty but looks far more realistic and super cool. The sport rtr looks like a toy bouncing around on the trail with its thin lean body but will do better in the nasty stuff. The trx sport kit is somewhere in between these two. It has a medium weight body but still does very well. When you get yours together and get to a climb or side hill you just can’t do, take the body off and see what it does.
 
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Made first few adjustments to shock positioning and added some weight at the center and in front to see if it helps with rollover. Truck is amazing and I think with a few upgrades will be just as good performance wise as any of the higher end 1/10 crawlers or very close to. So far I have no complaints what so ever besides touchiness of the transmitter which is not a big deal and just takes more throttle control. Already noticed an improvement adjusting the shocks so wouldn't be surprised if the weight I added also shows a difference. For weight I just used some 1oz fishing weights pounded flat and drilled a hole to attach them to the front bumper posts, also just used a few 3/4oz and hot glued them in the center by the frame and side rails. Not the prettiest but also if I don't like it the hot glue will peel right off and can get weights off no problem.also have been mounting my lipo in front on top of receiver box and also leaving the Nihm it came with in the rear battery tray for added weight and if my lipo dies already have another battery ready to rock. Of course added some decals to make it my own and going to add the door handles and wipers to the body as well. Other than that might paint the rims a different color. Overall I'm very happy with it and glad I decided to join the crawler world as man over an hour of fun on a 2000mAh lipo is absolutely amazing😬
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Made first few adjustments to shock positioning and added some weight at the center and in front to see if it helps with rollover. Truck is amazing and I think with a few upgrades will be just as good performance wise as any of the higher end 1/10 crawlers or very close to. So far I have no complaints what so ever besides touchiness of the transmitter which is not a big deal and just takes more throttle control. Already noticed an improvement adjusting the shocks so wouldn't be surprised if the weight I added also shows a difference. For weight I just used some 1oz fishing weights pounded flat and drilled a hole to attach them to the front bumper posts, also just used a few 3/4oz and hot glued them in the center by the frame and side rails. Not the prettiest but also if I don't like it the hot glue will peel right off and can get weights off no problem.also have been mounting my lipo in front on top of receiver box and also leaving the Nihm it came with in the rear battery tray for added weight and if my lipo dies already have another battery ready to rock. Of course added some decals to make it my own and going to add the door handles and wipers to the body as well. Other than that might paint the rims a different color. Overall I'm very happy with it and glad I decided to join the crawler world as man over an hour of fun on a 2000mAh lipo is absolutely amazing😬View attachment 167251View attachment 167252View attachment 167267View attachment 167253View attachment 167254

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Can't wait to see vids of this thing slaying rockpiles!
 
Quick question... Adding weights to the inner side of wheel or weights to the axle ??
Which is best, I know that both of them are are going to help lower the center of gravity but are the ones that bolt to the wheels any good as I've seen quite a few recently that look like disc rotors which I think are pretty cool 😎

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Definitely been enjoying the new crawler really glad I picked it up for sure. Also nice with all the smoke lately I can grab some wood and make a fun little obstacle coarse in my garage or the house and not have to go outside in the smoke. Added some more weight to the front quite a bit actually and now this things crawling amazing!
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Been looking at a few metal upgrades and some metal rims to help also but man very impressed so far!
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@BashingBrian I have wheel weights in mine, and I like them. I have heard it's better to add the weight to the axle, knuckles etc. Because the wheel weights put more strain on the drive train. So far I haven't had any problems. I will say the wheel weight are way easier to install.

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When mounting components, consider how heavy they are, how much mass in size and mount them in the lowest areas. Lower CG is your friend. Even 10-15 grams translates in a Crawlers ability.. Side hilling etc.
I've tried wrapping solder inside my front wheels only. I like firmer foam inserts at the rear wheels. Crawler Innovations tuned foams and tuning discs placed on the outer side of the wheels works great also.
 
@BashingBrian I have wheel weights in mine, and I like them. I have heard it's better to add the weight to the axle, knuckles etc. Because the wheel weights put more strain on the drive train. So far I haven't had any problems. I will say the wheel weight are way easier to install.

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One thing though 🤔 do they change your wheel offset ?? I'm not too fussed about a little more width stance..
 
^^^ they don't change the track width. Not supposed at least. The one I had did not.There are many ways to set up a Crawler. You can make them very wide. But then you have to understand that Scale Crawlers may have a spec, that shoudn't be deviated from. Depends how much of a Scale purist you are and how serious you are about RC Crawlers and the way they were designed originally. Most Crawler guys will never comp their rigs and this doesn't matter. But there are strict rules governing many Crawler classes with comping. To drive 4 hours more or so to a comp event only to find that your rig is too wide or too long, body was trimmed incorrectly, or has incorrect wheels or tires, sucks. I have one rig that will comp in Class 2. My other rigs are just for playing around and follow no rules. But 99% of Crawlers are never comped. Do what ever you want to them. No one to judge you except yourself.
 
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^^^ they don't change the track width. Not supposed at least. The one I had did not.There are many ways to set up a Crawler. You can make them very wide. But then you have to understand that Scale Crawlers may have a spec, that shoudn't be deviated from. Depends how much of a Scale purist you are and how serious you are about RC Crawlers and the way they were designed originally. Most Crawler guys will never comp ther rigs and this doesn't matter. But there are strict rules governing many Crawler classes with comping. To drive 4 hours more or so to a comp event only to find that your rig is too wide of too long, or has incorrect wheels or tires, sucks.
Also, wider rigs don't turn as well in general.
 
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