Kraton Running your Kraton in snow

[turn2burn]

So I had my maiden drive with my Kraton in the snow today. Im hooked. It was soooo much fun. 4s hard case 5200mah (two 2s) only lasted a short time.
I'v noticed my batteries have water inside the shrink wrap to the hard case, Im thinking of tear off shrink wrap. My whole car inside was covered in snow, motor with exposed contacts, esc, everything. I blew it all off with compressor and its sitting up against the wall next to heater.

How much fun is it to drive in the snow, what do you all do about snow getting inside every thing. Were hard case packs a bad idea?

 

[Tyistheguy69]

So I had my maiden drive with my Kraton in the snow today. Im hooked. It was soooo much fun. 4s hard case 5200mah (two 2s) only lasted a short time.
I'v noticed my batteries have water inside the shrink wrap to the hard case, Im thinking of tear off shrink wrap. My whole car inside was covered in snow, motor with exposed contacts, esc, everything. I blew it all off with compressor and its sitting up against the wall next to heater.

How much fun is it to drive in the snow, what do you all do about snow getting inside every thing. Were hard case packs a bad idea?

Please do not tear apart your batteries. Hard case packs are great for bashing because of durability. One thing you could do to help when driving in snow is to get a dirt guard!

 

[GraniteFox]

Pick up a set of paddle tires and it gets real fun. Lighter rigs tend to do better. Like the 3s line. Make sure to remove the wheels as moisture and snow packs in those hubs and will create rust and bearing failure. Might want to just duct tape the pack prior to running.

 

[Johnny b]

What about just putting your battery pack in a sandwich bag. Anything to keep it dry.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Please do not tear apart your batteries. Hard case packs are great for bashing because of durability. One thing you could do to help when driving in snow is to get a dirt guard!

If by a dirt guard you're referring to the tight-mesh-style, zippered "chassis guard" that I bought, that makes sense to me. I've only gotten to use it a few times so far, but it definitely seems to help reduce the amount of stuff getting on the ESC, servo, battery, etc. And I'd imagine it would help repel snow, as well. It's not waterproof, of course, so the heat might melt snow through the mesh. But big clumps of snow could likely be "shed".

One example: https://www.amazon.com/Raidenracing-Chassis-Resist-Outcast-Monster/dp/B07815G6KS

 

[turn2burn]

I do have paddle tires, didnt use them but I will. I need to RTV my contacts on my motor. I like the dust bag idea thats perfect except the Velcro wont stick.
Sandwich bag, yes I love it and not as much stigma as the condom.

When I used to drive back in the day Kyosho or one of those manufacturers made these heavy duty rubber balloon sacks for servos, rx etc. Im not too sure if I silicone or goo the openings to the pack at the leads if it would work.Winter is almost over too. I just tried surgical glove and it covers it but not a lot of room to zip tie it. Does the rest of the car really matter, its water proof really, except front and rear diffs. Also glad I converted to open diff in rear, really straight acceleration.

Does snow create a lot of friction, decreased run time? Oh I can't wait to get on it again tomorrow...

 

[Tyistheguy69]

I do have paddle tires, didnt use them but I will. I need to RTV my contacts on my motor. I like the dust bag idea thats perfect except the Velcro wont stick.
Sandwich bag, yes I love it and not as much stigma as the condom.

When I used to drive back in the day Kyosho or one of those manufacturers made these heavy duty rubber balloon sacks for servos, rx etc. Im not too sure if I silicone or goo the openings to the pack at the leads if it would work.Winter is almost over too. I just tried surgical glove and it covers it but not a lot of room to zip tie it. Does the rest of the car really matter, its water proof really, except front and rear diffs. Also glad I converted to open diff in rear, really straight acceleration.

Does snow create a lot of friction, decreased run time? Oh I can't wait to get on it again tomorrow...

temperature will affect your battery life a lot. I would imagine paddle tires also put more strain on your electronics because of the scooping of material.

 

[turn2burn]

Ah why didn't I think of that. I did think the discharge would keep them warm enough with hard case but snow got in so much.

 

[Steve6S]

Good times! Just blew it off with a compressor and rinsed with warm water. Another blow with the compressor and it’s good to go!

 

[fozzy71]

View attachment 279248

Good times! Just blew it off with a compressor and rinsed with warm water. Another blow with the compressor and it’s good to go!

This was the one and only time I took a rig in the snow. Thankfully the FT body kept most of the snow out of the inside of the chassis but now I am using a Kraton body on it so no more snow or rain or mud or grass or dust.....

 

[N.Mango]

Nothing wrong with a little snow.

 

[turn2burn]

Cool shots. I know Im not the only one with snow build up. They sell teflon spray Im kinda interested in.
I do wish castle made a waterproof switch that worked.

 

[RedOctobyr]

Playing in the snow DOES sound fun. But I got my truck in early January. My first play session with it was in slightly-snow grass, that was a heck of a mess, and quite a cleanup

I've recently added a chassis guard (screen cover), and attempted to close up some of the remaining holes. Yesterday, with the chassis guard, was in dry grass. Ahh, the difference, vs the first time, was wonderful! Unzipped the cover, shook out some grass, went over it with a can of air, and it was all set.

Getting it all filled with snow is something I'm trying to avoid, at least for now

 

[joshludden]

The Baja body really accumulates the snow! Air compressor & LOTS of bearings!!

 

[turn2burn]

Those look like some fun pictures of driving, yea when I pulled the body off mine looked like that, ha. Thats the perfect depth of snow. I might get a 2nd portable air tank hanging around if it could hold pressure, fill it from main one. I was amazed at how my bearing housings were rusting. At least they are pretty cheap, for the cheap ones.
I am thinking of those body guards, just heard the velcro doesn't stick. The best thing about driving in the snow is no wheelie bar.

 

[joshludden]

Those look like some fun pictures of driving, yea when I pulled the body off mine looked like that, ha. Thats the perfect depth of snow. I might get a 2nd portable air tank hanging around if it could hold pressure, fill it from main one. I was amazed at how my bearing housings were rusting. At least they are pretty cheap, for the cheap ones.
I am thinking of those body guards, just heard the velcro doesn't stick. The best thing about driving in the snow is no wheelie bar.

I still run the wheelie bar just because of my poor landings. Thought about trying some panty hose, those chassis protectors are expensive.

 

[RedOctobyr]

My chassis guard was $16. The first listings I saw were $30+, which struck me as excessive. But I was OK with $16.

I unzip the guard when not in use, which takes the tension off the velcro, everywhere except the very back. That's also where, on my chassis, it has less surface area to stick to. I added a pair of zip-ties to try and secure it at an existing opening, I'll see if that works. Worst-case, I could drill a little hole, and put a bolt through the velcro. Some people also mentioned supergluing the velcro to the chassis. I guess I could also just separate the velcro at the back, so the elastic isn't pulling on the adhesive velcro when it's just sitting around.

I like the idea of a second air tank, I'd like to find a cheap used one. My compressor makes a heck of a racket, and I don't feel like filling that (comparatively) big tank each time I want to blow it off. But keeping a smaller tank filled could be an easy & quiet way to clean it off, which would be nice. I've also seen people talk about motorized dust-off guns, but the ones I've seen are around $50+, which seems like kind of a lot, when I don't know how strong the air blast would actually be.

 

[turn2burn]

Well after the outcast tall side guards I might get that brush guard. Im mixed about compressed air as it might drive water into bearings.
I saw those guns on amazon, maybe a little too gimmicky don't know. At that point I might consider a mini vac.

So this is cheap, https://www.harborfreight.com/air-t...r-tanks/5-gallon-portable-air-tank-65594.html
If you didnt have a compressor you could just fill it at the gas station (not the ones you pay) to the field. It does seem like a lot of wear and tear on a compressor just to blast off a small beast such as the kraton. Compressed air seems safer/better for the summer.

I took mine out on our little lake with a little less then an inch of snow. It was so much fun, just the way it grips, and then doesn't. These huge drifts you can do.