Well I figured my list of upgrades and add-ons to this rig warrants a build thread to capture what I've done with my Axial Power Wagon. Maybe it'll help others with ideas, trouble shooting or just be a catalog of yet another SCX10 build.
Obviously this rig started off as the stock RTR Power Wagon. I don't think we need any pics of that, but initially I noticed there were some severe limitations to the suspension, body (tire clearance) and weight distribution. So I went on to make this vehicle more capable and compatible with how I drive it. I noted how the bed was getting hung up on everything so I swapped in the honcho bed. Definitely allowed a much better descent angle. I also removed the stock sliders and drove without sliders for a while because it was performing better allowing the body to bend and flex on the rocks.
First real mod I did after the bed swap was with the shocks. I removed the little rubber bump stops on the shock shafts because I noticed it would force the vehicle over with the weight of the battery up high. This helped by allowing the vehicle to articulate a bit more and I was able to set the static height a little lower allowing more droop. I saw an immediate result on my cheap RTI ramp going from just shy of 4" to almost 4.75".
I of course then wheeled the rig like this for a while.
After enjoying the major performance difference with the shocks modded, I moved the battery and electronics to help lower the COG. I used the stock aluminum plate and the spare parts servo mounts to attach it across the frame rails just in front of the motor as low as possible. I also bought and installed the Axial metal links and did the four link in the front. This made the truck respond so much better during articulation and throttle. I noticed the upper links would flex a little under hard circumstances...big improvement.
This change made the vehicle handle much more appropriately. I was enthralled at how it performed with just these few mods. But, as all of these projects go, I started to throw some money into it. I bought the 100mm scale Kings and loved that I could tune them to my specifications more easily than the Axial counterparts. Not to mention they added the cool blue bling effect!
Not to mention the fine tuning of these allowed me to gain substantially on the RTI ramp...
At that time I also added the rear tire which was weighted to help with the already overly light rear end. This helped with balance of the rig and kept the vehicle from flipping over on steep step downs and downhill stairs.
I wheeled it like this for a while and was really pleased. Then I had the itch to wheel in the dark....because well it's always more challenging and everything seems bigger in the dark. So I added some LED lights in the wheel wells for both scale look and night functionality.
I got around to noticing the cracks and tears in the body from running them over the rocks and figured some sliders would be beneficial. So I ordered the R2J sliders and this gave me more weight down low and more real estate to mount my electronics and stuff. Huge benefit for sure because now I could pivot on rocks instead of having the body grab ahold and dig into the rocks.
Here is the top side with my chaotic wiring mess that I didn't feel like cleaning up quite yet.
After beating on the body for a while and wheeling I wanted something different. So I cut the old bed up and fit it around the Honcho bed to give a different appearance at the same time going black with the body.
It looked great, but then I came back to the issue of having the rear bumper hanging up on everything and it became a pain so I removed it again. I ordered the Vaterra Slickrock light bar and used them for the rocker panel lights...which I wish I had just gotten four so I could put one under the front and rear as well.
These things are bright. Absolutely worth every penny and some. Having these sliders gave them a perfect place to mount to and kept them protected from the rocks. I then received my new sticker sheet from Axial and applied new headlights and what not...made the truck look real nice with the fresh paint on it. Only to find out later that plastidip isn't a good choice for an RC Crawler...
Wheeling was fun and my truck was performing way better than I expected.
With the addition of all the lights I made a little power splitter for the lights to hook up to and removed all the unnecessary wiring and cleaned up the chassis with this.
I then dove into the realm of 2S lipo and it was interesting. I realized how the stock Ripsaws were not quite up to snuff with traction and ordered the BFGs R35 because I heard they were great tires for what they were. Along with them a few more scale items like these scale hubs...
These tires performed great, but were certainly too soft. You can see here why plastidip isn't a good choice as well.
Off came the plastidip paint and I added a new layer of flat black with a matte finish clear coat. This seems to be holding up much better!
Because of these tires being softer the motor was running a little warmer because it would grip more on the rocks and was harder on the drivetrain. Due to this I swapped in a 9t pinion and never looked back...the truck was alive and well now. That is until I stripped the intermediate/idler gear in the transmission.
So along with the metal transmission gears I also ordered some other goodies...underdrive gears, HD gear set, BEC, etc....the new rims and foams were also in this package deal.
After installing all these components I am very happy with the truck...and again it's performance is far beyond my expectations...and my wallet is a little lighter too.
So there you have it...my build process to the best of my knowledge along the way to what I wheel today.
