Newbie, posting as requested.
Howdy all.
I'm a fan of forums vs just Fakebook, however, they seem to be going the way of the Dodo.
I got started in RC cars in the late 80s in Colorado. At that time we had 6 great indoor dirt tracks to choose from. 2wd dirt tracks for the most part. Only 1 of those remains today, (MHOR RC Raceway).
Started off by building an Ultima Pro and racing it and getting embarrassed by the kids kicking my butt.
When I changed jobs that stuff got placed in a box and was moved 4 times and went untouched, until March 23rd of this year. It was at that time a friend gave me an RGT 1/10 Bronco bodied 4wd crawler type rig. I immediately started having fun with that thing. Crawling the rocks around the house and playing in the snow on my deck which was also surprisingly fun.
It was the snow wheeling that did in my front axle. Being impatient I wanted to try to find someone with the part I needed. My net search pointed me at an RC shop just 35 minutes from the house. I went there to see exactly what they were about. Holy crap, tons of RC specific crawler stuff on hand, aside from the part I needed. I had them order my axle and then bought an Axial SCX 10 II RTR, (Gray Cherokee body) and started learning all about that rig.
Going to the comps at the shop (they have an indoor rock pile that is quite fun) started to show me what these rigs (set up properly) were truly capable of.
I started off doing all the free upgrade stuff I could find in my net searches. Then the real money started to flow. Tires was pretty much first and made a noticeable difference. Then it was adding weight, in particular to the tires and axles. That really stepped it up. Got the suspension flexing fairly well (proper spring rates was important).
Then guess what, the the servo went bad! Not a surprise at all, all my research told me to expect that especially after adding weight. It took out the rcvr as well. I mistakenly thought it was the speed controller so that was my first attempt, bought a 1080 but it did not fix the problem. So I did what I should have, and robbed the rcvr and servo from the RGT for testing purposes. So a new rcvr, a 45kg servo, BEC, and Holmes motor (because, why not?). I then was looking a shock upgrades as well as shock tower upgrades. I was presented with the option of swapping out the frame rails with a type that has built in shock towers (Game Changer 4 Black). I figured it would be a fun thing to tackle and went to town with the transfer of parts. The only remaining 10.2 parts on the rig are [ Trans, axle shafts, c hubs, drive shafts, all bearings, suspension links, skid and frame cross braces, a few nuts and bolts].
I really enjoyed experiencing the difference each and every change has made in it's ability to crawl. I believe there is not much more I can change and see the big steps I have seen up to this point, more cost and less noticeable improvements from here on out I imagine. It's mostly a matter of improving my driving skills driving on the rock pile comps at the local shop. That very technical aspect of this hobby is grabbing me hard. I do very much like to drive at the house, I have a ditch full of great crawling rocks as well as a mostly dry drainage that is much fun. Also a few "trails" around the hill on my property. So I have lots of opportunity to test and just have fun.
My grandson is more interested in helping build a "shelf trail" on a steep hill side which is taking shape nicely.
My wife is less enamored and not liking the time I have given to my new passion. I believe she will get used to it an I will likely taper off a bit but for now, if I'm home I'm most likely sitting at my table working on my rc or out driving it.
I started thinking about my old days of RC cars and decided to find that box of crap I had been lugging around for all these years. It took a while but I did find it. Chock full of tools I can still use and that old Ultima Pro albeit in non running condition (I may try to get that thing going again as just a fun project.)
Gotta get at least 2 rock crawlers working and almost have enough parts to put together a third. Turns out my granddaughter is quite a fan of these things as well, she loves doing doughnuts and holding the trigger without watching where it's going. Whatever, they both love it and I want it to be something we all have fun with. (Haven't convinced their parents to buy the kids their own as yet.)
Lots more fun to come, enjoying the heck out of my new obsession.
names Brock and I live in central Indiana and I'm not new to r/c just the crawler world.Got a Everest 10 on the way and i'm not afraid of modding it.
