My version of the TF2

[tcanin00]

This will be my first build thread on rccrawlers, although I have been a member since early April of this year. I have started a few discussions on build projects, and I have been reading other builds in order to get ideas and information from members of this forum.
I bought the TF2 kit just after I joined this forum. I had also just started an Active Duty job with the Pennsylvania National Guard so I had a consistent income and the time to build projects the way I wanted them to be, or so I thought. More on that later.
Onto to the build. Admittedly, I didn't take as many pictures as I should have to capture the build. With that said, here are the pics I did take.
First and foremost, the box:

Its amazing how many "unboxing" videos there are on youtube. I didn't film mine, just a picture:

I did watch videos of this truck in action, and decided to change the leaf springs before assembling the chassis. I used two sets of RC4WD 4 link kits for the front and rear.
Here are the upper link trusses on the axles:

The frame rails were already notched in front of and behind the crossmember for the hinge points of the 4 links. This made things much easier as I was ready to fabricate some form of bracket.
Here are the 4 links installed:

It was at this point I discovered why RC4WD only had a rear 4 link kit available. The upper links of the front hit the bottom of the transmission, severally limiting suspension up-travel. Rather than try to adapt the stock trans, or relocate it, I decided to cannibalize a different one that was intended for another build.
And it would be this one, an RC4WD R2 two speed with the ability to shift from 2WD to 4WD combined with a hand wound Tekin 35T motor:

The problem with this trans is that even though it has threaded holes that line up with the chassis of the TF2 and RC4WD does make a crossmember for it fit in the TF2, but it would not clear the hinge point brackets of the 4 links. Time to fabricate.
I made a crossmember that allowed me to mount the R2 vertically and clear the end links:

This solved the issue with suspension clearance. I wasn't able to use the kit supplied electronics plate or servo mounts, so I made my own:

The driveline angles are a bit steep coming out of the trans, but everything spins freely.
While changing things, I felt a set steel 1.9 beadlocks and Pro Line Flat Iron tires would work well for this truck:

Size comparison of the Flat Irons versus the 1.55 and Mud Slingers:

And the moment of truth, articulation:

Now to start the body work. I decided to drown out the molded yellow with primer:

After which I coated the body in import truck red. Then, after getting the idea from n00b's "Breaker-Breaker" I decided to cut out the hood and make hinges. It seemed like the best way to access the electronics and battery connection, rather than remove the body:

Here are the hinges being cut out of sheet styrene after many attempts:

Glued in place:

I then glued strips of styrene to the fenders and cowling to seal up the gaps:

Another articulation shot with the cab on:

The new hinges work perfectly:

I then painted the panel lines, cowling, and window trim:

After this, I clear coated everything:

Then I could start final assembly:

I also fitted a set of fender flares to match the added width of the new tires:

Here are how the electronics are situated under the hood. I was able to stand the 2S hard case Dynamite LiPo up vertically against the steering servo and use it to mount the ESC:

I swapped the kit front bumper for an SCX-10 Trail Honcho one:

Here is the rear view with Hilux decals and detail parts installed:

I decided to take some better pictures with my new phone which show some of the more recent changes.
Here it is with a Dingo bumper:

Top view:

More pics from different angles:

This one shows the Pro Line tool box and tool kit, and the Trail Honcho spare tire carrier:

Rear view:

This is where it stands as of now. Earlier I had mentioned thinking I had more time to work on this truck. What changed were my deployment orders to Kuwait. This will be my second tour, I was in Iraq in 2008. I do not plan to not take this truck with as shipping it with Army gear may a bit too much for it. I'll pick up on this project when I return.

 

[Jeepfixer1]

Awesome job bro! Thanks for your service to our country I know you will be eagerly anticipating giving this thing a good run when you get back! So make it back safe. I shipped some tf2 parts to one of our overseas troops so maybe one of the guys over there will let you get your hands on theirs, that is if you don't get someone to send yours over later

 

[tcanin00]

Awesome job bro! Thanks for your service to our country I know you will be eagerly anticipating giving this thing a good run when you get back! So make it back safe. I shipped some tf2 parts to one of our overseas troops so maybe one of the guys over there will let you get your hands on theirs, that is if you don't get someone to send yours over later

Thanks, Jeepfixer! I know, its been killing me that its been sitting on a shelf even while I have been home. I have been working on two other trucks that I am taking with, a Team Losi XXX-SCT:

and an Axial SCX-10/Wraith hybrid:

I honestly plan on keeping it to a minimal, and try to limit my addiction to these two trucks. That being said, I am already scheming a 1/8th top speed car if I have access to a runway and I would like to order a large scale tank. Some the guys I have trained with became interested in tank battles after I told them about mine. While in Iraq I ordered a cheap Abrams A1 from Hobbytron and started to mod it. With the amount of work I want to do to it, it might be cheaper and easier to order a weapons grade tank and start from there.

 

[CRAWLERJOE]

That looks really good! Now I'm gonna have to take the front bumper off my sons dingo and see how it looks on my trail finder!"thumbsup"

 

[tcanin00]

That looks really good! Now I'm gonna have to take the front bumper off my sons dingo and see how it looks on my trail finder!"thumbsup"

Thanks, CRAWLERJOE! Its a direct fit in the TF2 bumper mounts. I mounted it above the bracket with longer screws so that it would come out high enough to be in the place of the stock bumper.

 

[tcanin00]

It is time to update this old thread with some recent pics. While I was in Kuwait I thought about this truck almost every day. As it turned out, there were some really good crawling spots in the desert and I built three crawlers while I was there.
Once I was home I was able to take the TF2 off the shelf and go wheeling. To my surprise, it was still charged. The Speedpack Dynamite LiPo held a charge for over a year. My initial thoughts on driving it was that it was set up completely wrong and the tires and fender flares were out of proportion. That meant some changes had to be made. The first of which was replace the two speed r2 with a one speed heavy duty trans:


This simplified the drivetrain and reduced the COG. It also will clear an interior.
I then replaced the rear shocks with Pro Line scalers and mounted them to the original crossmemeber:



I used the stock front shocks to lower the ride height by fitting them to the lower link mount point on the axle truss, instead of mounting them directly to the axle:


I also fitted the stock 1.55 Mud Thrashers to a set of Landies steel 1.55 wheels:


The lower ride height and scale dimension wheels made the truck look and perform much better:

 

[tcanin00]

Here are some shots of it in action in my backyard test course. I had also swapped out the axles for K44's:

 

[tcanin00]

After this, I decided it was time for an interior. I cut up a Dinky RC interior for the SCX 10 and made it fit. I also used my Ra's al Ghul figure from another truck since it is going to be awhile until I start on that project again:


Side view of Liam Neeson in his Hilux of Doom:


I am thinking about running a set of 1.55 Rock Stompers on 1.7 steel wheels:

 

[tcanin00]

I decided to try out the Rock Stompers. I had to raise the truck up to clear them by changing the front shocks out with Pro Line scalers and moving the rear shocks out one position on the crossmember:




I eventually want to make a stinger for the front, and either use Delrin or aluminum for the skid plates.

 

[CreepyCrawler420]

This TF2 is awesome. I really like the look of it With the fender flairs but maybe with the rock stompers instead. Where did you get the fender flairs from? Also do you like the performance better with te 2 speed or 1 speed tranny?

 

[tcanin00]

This TF2 is awesome. I really like the look of it With the fender flairs but maybe with the rock stompers instead. Where did you get the fender flairs from? Also do you like the performance better with te 2 speed or 1 speed tranny?

Thanks CreepyCrawler420! The fender flares are from RC4WD and there are for the this truck, and not cheap either at $49. I think they were a bit too wide and they actually reduce the size of the fender opening. I might go with a set of Scale Design International cut out flares since they're on sale:
ROUND FENDER (set of 4, DEFECTIVE 50%OFF) - Scale Designs International

I'm sort of undecided about the Rock Stompers. I think since I had to raise it back up to clear them it effected the COG. It seemed like the Mud Thrashers had more grip. I need to run it more, not just 5 minutes at a time on the backyard test course.
As far as going to the one speed over the two, I like the weight reduction, better COG and better driveline angles along with the simplicity of the chassis without two additional servos to operate the shift and front axle disconnect. To be honest, I could see no improvement in turning radius with disengaging the front axle compared to leaving it in 4x4. I do miss being able to shift into high range, though. I might experiment with some higher turn motors that I have (27,19, and 15) to see which gives it good wheel speed without sacrificing torque.

 

[CreepyCrawler420]

I look forward to seeing what you do next, keep posting the updates so I can get ideas from you . I think this thread has me leaning towards the TF2 over the SCX10 for sure. I was thinking about checking out the new G-made sawback before making a final decision, it looks pretty sweet too.

 

[tcanin00]

I look forward to seeing what you do next, keep posting the updates so I can get ideas from you . I think this thread has me leaning towards the TF2 over the SCX10 for sure. I was thinking about checking out the new G-made sawback before making a final decision, it looks pretty sweet too.

No problem, CreepyCrawler420. To be honest, I don't feel I have anything earth-shaking to do to this truck yet. A HeyOK light system, sorting out which motor/ESC I want to use and possibly a set of SDI flares. I would like to make a bumper that actually fits the truck out of steel rod, instead of using SCX 10 take offs.
I never ran the truck in stock form, which I HIGHLY recommend unless you want to reverse-engineer it like what I am doing. From what I have read, being a heavier leaf spring truck makes a bit more challenging than an SCX 10 but can be just as capable as long as you plan out your lines and focus on your driving style. I have an SCX 10 (for comparison purposes) and still think it is one of the best scale wheelers you can get, not just for the price but for its capabilities.
The Sawback looks cool. I started reading Willys' forums on here and always liked the look of them. I need another crawler like I need a hole in the head. I have 15 cars on my shelves, I think I have enough.

 

[Natedog]

Thanks CreepyCrawler420! The fender flares are from RC4WD and there are for the this truck, and not cheap either at $49. I think they were a bit too wide and they actually reduce the size of the fender opening. I might go with a set of Scale Design International cut out flares since they're on sale:
ROUND FENDER (set of 4, DEFECTIVE 50%OFF) - Scale Designs International

I'm sort of undecided about the Rock Stompers. I think since I had to raise it back up to clear them it effected the COG. It seemed like the Mud Thrashers had more grip. I need to run it more, not just 5 minutes at a time on the backyard test course.
As far as going to the one speed over the two, I like the weight reduction, better COG and better driveline angles along with the simplicity of the chassis without two additional servos to operate the shift and front axle disconnect. To be honest, I could see no improvement in turning radius with disengaging the front axle compared to leaving it in 4x4. I do miss being able to shift into high range, though. I might experiment with some higher turn motors that I have (27,19, and 15) to see which gives it good wheel speed without sacrificing torque.

Looking good, the Rock Stompers are not going to be as good on rocks as your other tires and the higher cog is not as good as you have noted. A Traxxas Titan 21T motor or Brood 550 can motor would meet your speed and torque needs. "thumbsup"

 

[tcanin00]

Looking good, the Rock Stompers are not going to be as good on rocks as your other tires and the higher cog is not as good as you have noted. A Traxxas Titan 21T motor or Brood 550 can motor would meet your speed and torque needs. "thumbsup"

Thanks, Natedog. Yeah, they just don't seem to have as much grip as the Mud Thrashers even though they have larger voids in the tread pattern and feel like a softer compound. I might go with some 1.7 Interco's, since I know they have decent grip. Too bad I glued my other set of Interco's to the wheels they are on currently.
I tried the 15T Dynamite motor out, along with a drivetrain revision. I'll post the pics soon, but I moved the R2 trans up to where the original trans would mount and installed the stock transfer case. This improved driveline angles and moved some weight up front. I will try reducing the tooth count on the pinion on the motor before i rule it out. It has the wheel speed I'm after, but stalls out a bit whenever its in a bind. I might go with a Traxxas Titan in the future since I've seen them used on the forums here. Never heard of Brood motors, I might look into them since I am working on a Wraith as well. Not like I would work on one project at a time.

 

[Natedog]

Brood 550 can, but it's a 12T: Team Brood Racing :: Crawler Motors :: Machine Wound Motors :: Stump Humper 550

Old Kyosho Magnetic Mayhem 550 can motors....I still have a couple and they are badass! Mag Mayhem Motors

Easier to make powerful motor fast or slow by gear up/down than a RPM motor do both.

 

[tcanin00]

Brood 550 can, but it's a 12T: Team Brood Racing :: Crawler Motors :: Machine Wound Motors :: Stump Humper 550

Old Kyosho Magnetic Mayhem 550 can motors....I still have a couple and they are badass! Mag Mayhem Motors

Easier to make powerful motor fast or slow by gear up/down than a RPM motor do both.

Thanks for the information, Natedog. I was impressed by how many options Brood offer for their motors and their prices are not too far off from some the higher end motors. I might look into into getting one in the future.

 

[tcanin00]

Bringing this one back from the dead after nearly 3 years. In that time the truck is pretty much stock now, with leaf springs and the original transfer case. I am using an RC$WD R2 single speed transmission though. The stock 2 speed had too much free play in the gears, and it was much heavier than the current set up. I can post pics if anyone wants to see how it's mounted, but it's up front. There are 2 sets of holes on the frame, between the shock hoops, that are the same distance as the holes in the side of an R2 case. Bolt in swap, run a third drive shaft to the transfer, go wheeling. Speaking of shock hoops, it was mentioned on here to run SCX 10 hoops and longer shocks. That allows for 100mm shocks to be used and it works awesome. Better up and down travel, for sure.
Anyway, thanks to my future mother-in-law for letting me use her yard as a proving ground for toy trucks:











Leaf spring trucks are way better than multi-link coil-spring trucks, in my opinion. They just look more realistic. Well, that's it for now. I still have to hook up incandescent lights and put the inner fenders in, but these things are never really "complete".

 

[rngrchad]

^that is looking really good tcanin! I like your setup with the leafs and stompers in the above pic most! Very realistic. Rock on!!
Kinda interesting you went with Dana axles under a yota; but it adds a change up that most finders don't have! Like it.

 

[tcanin00]

Thanks rngrchad! I went with the Dana's since they are pretty close to being the right width. Tires sticking way out from fenders drives me up the wall. Since the swap, I have read about narrowing axles and have successfully narrowed plastic Wraith axles. The original Yota's are in use on another project. I might order a set of Yota 2's to narrow in the future, who knows?

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