Drive Them All! A Year Long Project

[OSRC]

Every now and again a build comes along that makes me question everything I know about crawling. This is one.

It's a nearly 20 year old Tamiya TL01. I'm using a Tamiya mini motor/2S on a 3:1 reduction, comical series arms and dogbones for a but extra width, locked diffs and portals on all 4 corners, slightly longer Tamiya CVA's, pitbull tires, and SSD wheels with brass rings up front to balance out the rear motor.

It's been built forever, but this is the first time out. The gearing worked out spot on for crawling and trail duty. The mini motors make RPM but not torque, so they have to be geared down a bit but they make nice smooth power once you find the gearing sweet spot.

I only have a little over an inch of travel at each wheel do there's not a lot of flex. The CG is rediculously low, and it turned out to be super predictable. It teetered a few times, but was always able to drive out of it no problem.

Sitting at the bottom of the hard line on my test rock..

Where it proceeded to walk right up it. I was absolutely stunned...only 2 trucks this year have made it up this line, even some of my best trucks won't do it. I actually turned around and drove back down which I have never been able to do - I always get a nosedive off that top lip. The CG here is so low, this build just sticks to the rock. It looses grip way before it wants to flip, so it was super stable. Floored.

Straight up, sidehill, no problem. Might lift a tire here and there, but the stability was unreal.

"Flex shot"... lol. Such as it is.

Down on test rock #2 - down and up, drama free.

The open body lets the tires grab pretty easily and I made some decent gaps.

Creek crossing?? Well...stream crossing. Wasn't going any deeper, the non waterprrof receiver is just taped to the bottom of the chassis under the ESC.

Was working my way up some pretty rough terrain and one of the ball links came loose. A quick field repair and I was back on it for about 30 seconds and LVC kicked off.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 10: Gotta give it a 10. Literally walked up some of my hardest climbs. Freaking Tamiya touring car.
Trailability - 7: Very good! Clearance was a concern, but with the portals it wasn't really an issue. Just had to pick the lines carefully, but had no trouble going where I wanted to go. Does need a bit more suspension travel though.
Steering - 7: Not terrible. Uses dogbones up front but with such a short WB it was penty nimble. It's light, so the servo had no trouble at all.
Sexy factor - 8: I like it. I'm thinking of scaling it up a bit, but overall it's a cool looking build.
Uniqueability - 10: What moron takes a TL01 crawling?

Total 8.4

 

[OSRC]

First run for the Brodozer as well... I know I built it this year, but I stole the axles off my Wraith which was ready to go - figured I had to drive one of them to complete the list.

After driving the TL01, this thing felt like a giant marshmallow. Big soft tires, gobs of suspension travel, and 4WS.

My wraith axles have OD/UD and a decent amount of weight, so the "Bro" seemed to defy gravity at times. It's tall and floppy but manages to crawl decently well.

Loads of grip, those RC4WD tires work well with PL's 2.2 foams.

4WS on this thing is insane, it will nearly pivot 180 degrees from a standstill. Definitely the most agile truck I've run this season.

Climbed both of my test rocks fairly easily, though would not make the hard climb that the TL just walked right up. I'm sure I could tune out the soft suspension for better performance, but I kinda liked it bobbing and weaving - it's a fun drive.

Big tires had no issues on the leaves and trail.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 7: Big, tall, and soft - having weight down low saves this truck - it crawls pretty decent for how tall it is. Sidehilling is not its forte though.
Trailability - 7: Lots of flex and big tires, it rolls down the trail just fine. Almost drama free.
Steering - 10: Almost 90 degrees of steering (and OD/UD) - it's crazy how this truck pivots on a dime.
Sexy factor - 4: It's kind of ugly. Recognizable for what it is I guess, but there's nothing scale about it.
Uniqueability - 6: Wraith axles and SCX10 chassis is nothing new - but a big tall dropped trans combo is kinda unique. I guess.

Total 6.8

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Awesome thread! Lots to read and I have to go back. Please excuse my questions. You may have answered these in the thread, but I do not have time at the moment to read all of it.

I have to say I love that coupe. It's just so bad ass and different! What electronics are in it?

What wheels do you have on the VS4?

 

[OSRC]

Just wait until next year, I need an "everything else" thread. it's only about 1/3 of the collection. Touring, drift, buggies, etc. All collecting dust!

The TL01 just has a 1080, Tamiya mini motor, and a cheap Hobbyking 180oz servo which seemed to be plenty.

The VS4 has some cheap Ebay beadlocks on it - I love them, great wheels. Very American Racing-ish.. I have them in matte and polished. I left off most of the screws, I think they look better.

Matte:

Polished:

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Wheels look great. I kind of remember the polished versions now that I see this photo. I may have to pick some up. Wheels and, to a lesser extent, tires were always my cryptonite.

Yes, your collection is a mult-year affair. :lmao:

 

[OSRC]

Well, it's coming to the end of the year and I didn't quite make the resolution. I was down to 2 trucks to drive yet, but the last 2 weekends have been complete washouts (combined 7+ inches of rain) and the next 2 weekends don't look good due to all the merriment so I'm throwing in the towel. I might be able to sneak out the week of X-mas, but who knows.

In any case, here are the last 2 rigs I had on my list.

First up is The Beast. This started out back in the 90's as an XC-01 Wrangler and it's still kicking although I think I've replaced or modified almost every part on it. I think it's on it's third chassis tub now, but the spirit lives on. It's stretched a bit with a Vaterra rear axle for underdrive and TL01B arms up front. Rocking some old school Moabs though I just recently swapped out the wheels. I needed something with adjustable offsets as the rear is much narrower than the front.

Brass cage in back - it's pretty light and has held up well over the years.

It's so old, it still has the Integy Lathe motor. Still runs fine. An old 546MG - which was a great servo back then - is still doing steering duties.

Divorced driveshaft and an otherwise smooth skid underneath.

I wish I could have gotten it out, it's a very good performer. COG is pretty low and it's got a good weight bias. The Moabs were still doing well last time I had it out, though they are old as the hills. Still feel good though - soft and no cracks. Amazing. The steering sucks - not the angles so much as the slop in the old GPM rack. I do plan to replace it with an HR setup eventually....and maybe a stronger servo.

Last truck on the list is my "try me" truck - it's on its own radio and I lend it out when someone wants to try out crawling, or my kids drive it when they come out with me. It's an old CR01 and it's been jumped, bounced, drowned, and crawled faithfully for years. Custom TVP chassis to fit the body, a recently added Element transmission for a bit of front OD (sorely needed for steering purposes) and standard rear shocks with front cantilevers. Steering aside, it's a decent performer. Front wheels are weighted and that's all it needs.

And a few honorable mentions:

My CC02 - it's not really a crawler anymore, so I didn't include it. Open diffs, geared for a bit of speed, somewhat monsterized and all sealed up - I planned on a winter basher last year but we got 0.0" of snow, so I've only ever test run it.

My poor BGR Wraith..It was good to go last January, but I stole the axles for the BroGozer so it was sitting as a frame for a while. I put some Element axles under there and some 2.2's but I'm not sold on it, and never really finished it. I'll go back to AR60's eventually.

My 1/6 Ram....wasn't on the list, I tore it down for chassis 6.0 or whatever, and never got it re-assembled. It sits in a pile of shame in the corner.

And my Ryft - just picked it up in January, so it wasn't on the list either. Geared to crawl, and I put front links out back to shorten it up. Still need to paint the body panels yet, but it's ready to go otherwise.

 

[OSRC]

Well, here's the final list which means nothing really other than it was a good year for crawling!

Final 2023 Totals:

Tamiya Dynahead: 8.4
Tamiya TL01: 8.4
Traxxas Semi sport 8.2
Traxxas TRX4 Defender 8.0
Axial UMG: 7.8
CR01 "Bug": 7.6
Redcat Wendigo: 7.6
Trail Telly: 7.2
Vaterra Ascender: 7.0
Aluminator: 7.0
Vanquish VS4: 7.0
Carbon TRX Sport: 7.0
Brodozer: 6.8
Traxxas Summit: 6.8
Element Sport: 6.8
CC01 Mu: 6.8
Trail Yeti: 6.6
Portalled CC01: 6.6
CMX: 6.6
SCX10 Yota: 6.4
SCX10 6x6: 6.4
Sawback: 6.4
CR01 "Jato's leftovers": 6.4
TRX6: 6.4
EctoKeeper: 6.2
Crawler Telly: 6.2
Element Enduro: 6.2
C-Maxx: 5.8
SCX6: 5.8
Axial SCX10 III JLU - 5.6
TRX4M Defender: 5.0
Axial SCX24: 4.2
Tamiya CC01 Beast - DNR
Tamiya CR01 #3 - DNR

Interesting my top two score-wise... they are there mostly because of the 10 in unique category, but they put on a pretty good show too. They were some interesting drives for sure - that TL01 still amazes me with how well it performed. Who knew? Other than that, I'd say it's pretty reflective of some of the favorites on my shelf. It was great to blow the dust off and take some old favorites back out, as well as build a few new projects along the way.

As far as solid axle trucks, I think they all did pretty well. TRX is the platform of choice for me, I find them to be the most fun out on the trail, and each of mine is different. I could sell everything else, keep my fleet of TRX's and be happy. Someday I will I guess. But not anytime soon...

2023 was the year of IS crawlers for me. They are very different to drive, but can be way more capable than I expected. The C-Maxx, Telluride, Slash 4x4, Summit, and TL01 have all been fun to experiment with and proved every bit as capable as my solid axles rigs in most regards. Definitely ignited some of that OG crawler feel from back in the day when we were taping weights to TLT axles, cramming in buggy transmissions, and figuring out better and better ways to crawl. I plan more IS shenanigans in 2024 as I have 3 more awaiting conversion.

Speaking of next year, 2024's goals are to rebuild my workbench - I need to move that damn TV so my ugly mug isn't in every workbench pic I take. I plan to add another 3x8 section, maybe a scale garage or a place for pics, not sure yet. Needs to be done though, I'm just flat out of space.

....and maybe next year I'll do touring/on-road cars. I've got 22 at last count, some of them super dusty. About 1/2 have never even been run. Hell, 6 are still waiting for paint!

 

[xwaz]

What an awesome year! I have really enjoyed following along on the updates and seeing how each truck compares to the last or the next. Can't wait to see that ryft out there! Its one of my favorites and almost the same color as mine!

 

[King Dork]

This has been an incredible thread to follow! I recognised almost every vehicle mentioned. Really makes me miss my Losi Comp Crawler Pro that I sold thinking the Capra is new (when they first came out) and is somewhat similar, but easier to get parts for. Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE my Capra and have often been very surprised at how capable it is, but just the overall driving experience with the Losi amazed me more. Love the old head rigs my friend! Well done!

 

[B-MOW71]

This has been fun to follow this past year. A ton of great info and great pics of beautiful rigs to drool over! Your idea of driving them all gave me the idea of getting most of mine out this year. Well, I failed at that, but there is always next year!:lmao:

Anyways, I'm looking forward to re-reading this thread to catch what I missed the first time around!

 

[RiZZa]

Well, it's coming to the end of the year and I didn't quite make the resolution. I was down to 2 trucks to drive yet, but the last 2 weekends have been complete washouts (combined 7+ inches of rain) and the next 2 weekends don't look good due to all the merriment so I'm throwing in the towel. I might be able to sneak out the week of X-mas, but who knows.

In any case, here are the last 2 rigs I had on my list.

First up is The Beast. This started out back in the 90's as an XC-01 Wrangler and it's still kicking although I think I've replaced or modified almost every part on it. I think it's on it's third chassis tub now, but the spirit lives on. It's stretched a bit with a Vaterra rear axle for underdrive and TL01B arms up front. Rocking some old school Moabs though I just recently swapped out the wheels. I needed something with adjustable offsets as the rear is much narrower than the front.

Brass cage in back - it's pretty light and has held up well over the years.

It's so old, it still has the Integy Lathe motor. Still runs fine. An old 546MG - which was a great servo back then - is still doing steering duties.

Divorced driveshaft and an otherwise smooth skid underneath.

I wish I could have gotten it out, it's a very good performer. COG is pretty low and it's got a good weight bias. The Moabs were still doing well last time I had it out, though they are old as the hills. Still feel good though - soft and no cracks. Amazing. The steering sucks - not the angles so much as the slop in the old GPM rack. I do plan to replace it with an HR setup eventually....and maybe a stronger servo.

Last truck on the list is my "try me" truck - it's on its own radio and I lend it out when someone wants to try out crawling, or my kids drive it when they come out with me. It's an old CR01 and it's been jumped, bounced, drowned, and crawled faithfully for years. Custom TVP chassis to fit the body, a recently added Element transmission for a bit of front OD (sorely needed for steering purposes) and standard rear shocks with front cantilevers. Steering aside, it's a decent performer. Front wheels are weighted and that's all it needs.

And a few honorable mentions:

My CC02 - it's not really a crawler anymore, so I didn't include it. Open diffs, geared for a bit of speed, somewhat monsterized and all sealed up - I planned on a winter basher last year but we got 0.0" of snow, so I've only ever test run it.

My poor BGR Wraith..It was good to go last January, but I stole the axles for the BroGozer so it was sitting as a frame for a while. I put some Element axles under there and some 2.2's but I'm not sold on it, and never really finished it. I'll go back to AR60's eventually.

My 1/6 Ram....wasn't on the list, I tore it down for chassis 6.0 or whatever, and never got it re-assembled. It sits in a pile of shame in the corner.

And my Ryft - just picked it up in January, so it wasn't on the list either. Geared to crawl, and I put front links out back to shorten it up. Still need to paint the body panels yet, but it's ready to go otherwise.

What's the details of your CC-02 ?

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

[OSRC]

Nothing fancy, all stock. Has the high speed gears in the transmission, open diffs, silvercan and the monster Tamiya GF01 tires. With the battery in back, I thought it would make a nice little monster truck and so far, so good! Only drove it once, but it's a decent setup for a mini monster.

I was originally planning a mini Blackfoot, but I didn't want to bash the Blackfoot body, so went with the lighter Bronco.