Dabbler's Backyard Crawler Course

[johnnyluv]

I got into scale trucks back in 2014, while living in an apartment with a small patch of yard to wheel around. I generally had to drive an hour or longer to get out to a decent technical crawling spot. As it turned out, things changed for the better in 2018 and I was able to buy a home out in the country, closer to the mountains. I also got something I had desired for a long time, which was a real yard, with a patch of woods as a bonus(although it's mostly overrun with brambles).
Well, on a more negative note I simply haven't had time to mess with my RC's, because we're in the trenches of child raising, having three girls, with the youngest still a toddler. I'm closer to some good crawling & trailing areas, but the opportunities are just not there, so I really need to make a backyard crawler course, for those short breaks I sometimes get (mostly at night when the kids are in bed). I've picked out a nice spot, just below our parking area, but it's riddled with trash, like broken glass and old rusty screws and bolts, left by the previous owner. Each week, before garbage day, I try to shovel up small loads of it and dump into the remaining space of the trash can. There are also many weeds that need to be cleared, as well. It's been slow-going, but I'm getting impatient and bored from driving around on grass, so I'm going to try and get a few feet of trail started this week. I've got a collection of rocks to get started with, and as I dig around in the soil I'm finding that I won't have to look far, because there are some hefty stones beneath the surface.

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[JC3]

Cool project!

 

[turboturro88]

man this is awesome! ill be doing the same thing here in a month or so when we close on the house, its on an acre and backs up to a preserve. I finally get my crawl spot .

 

[johnnyluv]

Cool project!

Thanks!

man this is awesome! ill be doing the same thing here in a month or so when we close on the house, its on an acre and backs up to a preserve. I finally get my crawl spot .

That’s exactly what we have, one acre, and I think our little patch of woods accounts for about 1/5 of that. I wanted to make a course down there, and tried doing some clearing back in the winter(Ref pics below), but I think I’d have to rent some sort of heavy duty bushwhacker to clear all the bramble and get down to usable ground. The soil down there is too moist to bother with, as is. Good luck on closing your next home. Sounds like something to really look forward to!

 

[johnnyluv]

Progress!

Making decent progress, but it's dirty and tedious work. You grab a deep root, pull it out, then dirt spews out all over your arms and legs. The soil in this area is very soft and loose. I was thinking I would have to shovel up the top layer and cart it down the hill and dump it, but there's too much, so I think I'll just rely on compression. Over time, if I walk around it enough, it'll pack down.

Well, little by little I've been getting out and sifting through the dirt and picking out broken glass, nails, and scrap metal, and yesterday I worked until it got dark, and managed to finally lay some rock! Two major rock pieces were concrete fence post bases that we had to dig up because the wood had rotted. I planted those down in a low trench-like area, by the border fence, thinking they'd firm up the ground there. One piece I re-buried, with the root downward, but the other one I turned upside down, as it had more of a rounded bottom, so it can be crawled over.

So far, this has been very rewarding, and it'll be terrific being able to walk outside, just a few yards away, and do some crawling. It's something I've dreamed of for many years.

 

[ferp420]

nothing changes your life like owning your own house congradulations next big life changer is grandkids i cant wait to get mine his first crawler

 

[johnnyluv]

Making some progress on the course. Still picking out broken glass, rusty nails, scrap metal, and trash, but also getting more rock laid. What's great is that most of the rocks are coming from my property, as they're apparently commonplace. [emoji4]

 

[bougti]

There's nothing wrong with thoses days just crawling in your back yard if you can make it happen. Good for you greatscott, good little rc playground. For thoses days I just want to be at home we hit the roundabout next to our house, its ok for what it is. I've had the itch one day to bike a small rock section off the side of my house that don't get used.









emi calculator

 

[johnnyluv]

Might be changing my backyard crawler course plans and carving out a section of my little woods, after all. Thought I'd make a full video, since I was kind of excited about the idea. :ror: I'm actually more excited to have property to play with. My RC interest levels have slowed down greatly, but maybe this project will reignite them a little.


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