Anyone else into RC rock crawling?
- Thread starter oldschoolsdime92
- Start date
Thanks guys.... Christmas just went over budget for my son. Trying a SCX24 with the C10 body!
Terry
Terry
I was trying to get my kid interested in an scx24 for Christmas and he does want one, but it was like #3 on the list and at it's price point it needs to be #1.
Axial just came out with a scx10 III as a CJ7....a model I'd have bought if it had existed in August. Good to see the OG Jeeps getting some love, finally, rather than the JLs they seem to favor.
I'll wait until people are parting them out on eBay and grab a body. Not sure my motor will fit under the floor but that's a bridge I'll cross when I get there.
I'll wait until people are parting them out on eBay and grab a body. Not sure my motor will fit under the floor but that's a bridge I'll cross when I get there.
Couple guys in my jeep club got me into RC crawlers a few years ago. I dove in a little hard. I've got an axial capra, FMS Mashigan, Axial SCX10.2 kit with comanchee body, SCX24 gladiator, scx24 c10 on gecko chassis, LGRP ripper, LGRP Ultra4, and an FMS Fcx24 blazer. I also picked up an X-maxx after trying out my buddys last year. wicked fun car. I might try and offload the 10.2 to get the new 10.3 CJ which looks awesome. I am also working on a RC4WD TF2 stretched to be a 4 door square body. That's a project that's going to take me way too long to finish. I've got the most money sunk into the capra. Very fun buggy, just tough to find challenging obstacles for it now. Built a 1/24 course in my basement last spring. Although i keep making changes so don't know when I'll ever get to painting it.
Sure glad those are $500 so I wont talk myself into needing one
that's before upgrades....
Did I really need this? Absolutely not but ... 
Was in South Lake Tahoe last week goofing off with my daughter at a Goodwill.
I thought to myself "no way is that a cherry SCX24" on one of the toy shelves.
Looks to be un driven, 100% complete, and perfect other than the tweaked roll bar.
Couldn't find the control. But who cares for $3.99
Was in South Lake Tahoe last week goofing off with my daughter at a Goodwill.
I thought to myself "no way is that a cherry SCX24" on one of the toy shelves.
Looks to be un driven, 100% complete, and perfect other than the tweaked roll bar.
Couldn't find the control. But who cares for $3.99
My daughter got me this for Christmas. I've since upgraded most of it. Just added the Injora Ground Hawgs right before getting the LJ.
Did I really need this? Absolutely not but ...
Was in South Lake Tahoe last week goofing off with my daughter at a Goodwill.
I thought to myself "no way is that a cherry SCX24" on one of the toy shelves.
Looks to be un driven, 100% complete, and perfect other than the tweaked roll bar.
Couldn't find the control. But who cares for $3.99
View attachment 535103
Some kid or husband some where is probably cursing an ignorant or vindictive woman for this....
It lives
Replacement control, some brass bits, and a an 1100mah 2s lipo pack. And did a little trimming to the front wheel openings with some body scissors.
The starting weight with no battery was 6.9oz.
Its now 10.4oz with 1.9oz of brass wheel weights, dif covers, and front knuckles. And 1.6oz of battery
Works really well for what it is.
Replacement control, some brass bits, and a an 1100mah 2s lipo pack. And did a little trimming to the front wheel openings with some body scissors.
The starting weight with no battery was 6.9oz.
Its now 10.4oz with 1.9oz of brass wheel weights, dif covers, and front knuckles. And 1.6oz of battery
Works really well for what it is.
Lately I've been looking into this hobby after seeing some of the realistic scale stuff like the Trophy Land Rovers. Anyway, not looking to spend a fortune but not sure which way to go; used "name brand" like axial or traxxis or a "budget friendly" RTR? Pros and cons with both as with everything, I'm more of a used Warn winch than a new HF winch guy. Does this logic apply to RC crawlers as well. Haven't had time to dive into more than cursory research and this thread seems a good place to start.
Axial and Traxxas are what I would stick to. New or used.
Factory and aftermarket support is really good. And you can have a lot of fun with the stock out of the box RTRs.
Factory and aftermarket support is really good. And you can have a lot of fun with the stock out of the box RTRs.
I said the same initially, I now have 3 trx4’s, axial wraith, axial Capra, and a reccat ascent. My favorite currently is a trx4 I put an injora lcg chassis on.
For a first crawler I’d go trx4 because parts are literally everywhere in every hobby store and they’re the easiest to work on.
Regardless of what you buy, buy a set of mip Allen heads and the oscillating dewalt screw driver
I see a lot more traxxas at the local stores, which would be nice because if you need something OEM, Horizon Hobby kinda sucks to deal with when it comes to lead times, giving you any idea when something will ship, and doing returns (6-8 weeks for a refund, in 2024!).
Not a fault of the product I don't think, but one of my back tires got caught in some exposed sod mesh in my yard and stopped cold while at speed, and after that started binding up and clicking past the bind about once every revolution of the wheel. Took the diff cover off, looked good, so I checked the portal and sure enough found a gear with half the teeth stripped off, and one of the teeth had wedged itself in between two teeth on the mating gear, hence the bind and the click.
Bought some "hardened" third party replacement portal gears on Amazon and got it going again. I mind this type of carnage a lot less when it costs $30 to fix...not exactly the case with the Jeep.
Not a fault of the product I don't think, but one of my back tires got caught in some exposed sod mesh in my yard and stopped cold while at speed, and after that started binding up and clicking past the bind about once every revolution of the wheel. Took the diff cover off, looked good, so I checked the portal and sure enough found a gear with half the teeth stripped off, and one of the teeth had wedged itself in between two teeth on the mating gear, hence the bind and the click.
Bought some "hardened" third party replacement portal gears on Amazon and got it going again. I mind this type of carnage a lot less when it costs $30 to fix...not exactly the case with the Jeep.
Thank y’all for the good advice, I’m not in any hurry so I’m looking for a semi-unicorn deal on marketplace. There’s one on there now but it’s too far away if it ends up being a POS and I not sure what to look for. I have a buddy that knows enough to spot a POS and I can bring along on the closer ones.
I see a lot more traxxas at the local stores, which would be nice because if you need something OEM, Horizon Hobby kinda sucks to deal with when it comes to lead times, giving you any idea when something will ship, and doing returns (6-8 weeks for a refund, in 2024!).
Not a fault of the product I don't think, but one of my back tires got caught in some exposed sod mesh in my yard and stopped cold while at speed, and after that started binding up and clicking past the bind about once every revolution of the wheel. Took the diff cover off, looked good, so I checked the portal and sure enough found a gear with half the teeth stripped off, and one of the teeth had wedged itself in between two teeth on the mating gear, hence the bind and the click.
View attachment 552523
View attachment 552524
Bought some "hardened" third party replacement portal gears on Amazon and got it going again. I mind this type of carnage a lot less when it costs $30 to fix...not exactly the case with the Jeep.
I’ve had a few issues with portal gears, obviously when it binds up like that they’ll snap but I’ve had issues with the housing flexing in tight spots. I switched the portal housings to aluminum and haven’t had an issue with portal gears since
Buy you atrx4 sport, they’re super capable out of the box but a great base jf you decide to upgrade them later.
I think they’re like 300 bucks?
I have a traxxas maxx, axial capra, axial scx10.3 kit, and RocHobby Mashigan for 1/24 size rigs.
The local hobby shops definitely carry more traxxas stuff and the traxxas crawler rigs have some cool features. I would just stay away from investing in traxxas batteries. I've never had issues but a traxxas battery won't work with other rigs or non traxxas chargers as it has the smart connect stuff instead of a balance charge plug. The smart connect makes it much more user friendly but it realy isn't that hard to learn how to adjust a normal charger to properly charge the batteries and you should be doing a good amount of research on LIPO batteries anyways before diving in as they will burn your house/car/garage down if you don't store them properly. I bought a traxxas battery and charger but ended just switching the maxx over to a deans plug connector. Also, if the elctronics in the crawlers are like the maxx, they wont last long and you'll be replacing them through warranty over and over until you just convert to newer electronics and other batteries.
The local hobby shops definitely carry more traxxas stuff and the traxxas crawler rigs have some cool features. I would just stay away from investing in traxxas batteries. I've never had issues but a traxxas battery won't work with other rigs or non traxxas chargers as it has the smart connect stuff instead of a balance charge plug. The smart connect makes it much more user friendly but it realy isn't that hard to learn how to adjust a normal charger to properly charge the batteries and you should be doing a good amount of research on LIPO batteries anyways before diving in as they will burn your house/car/garage down if you don't store them properly. I bought a traxxas battery and charger but ended just switching the maxx over to a deans plug connector. Also, if the elctronics in the crawlers are like the maxx, they wont last long and you'll be replacing them through warranty over and over until you just convert to newer electronics and other batteries.