Gatekeeper kit + Knightrunner Tacoma body Build

[Goro Majima]

I figured this would deserve it's own build thread since this is my very first builder's kit, but at least have experience with building a Gspeed chassis and tearing apart my RTR Venture for maintenance. Progression will come soon.

So big ups to Phyro on here with the suggestion for this combination. It will be a pretty simple build, not much or if any drastic altercations will happen to it as the body is just too clean. But it's another addition to my Toyota crawler fleet (FJ Cruiser, FJ40, '85 Hilux).

Parts list:
- HW 1080 ESC w/ HH Crawlmaster Sport brushed 12T motor
- 35kg Amazon servo
- Radiolink R6FG receiver
- Injora 1.9 beadlocks (TE37 reps lol) w/ BFG Mud Terrains 4.19
- SSD front locking hub conversion
- TRD Pro grill via 360pds on Ebay
- Club5 foldable side mirror & tailgate handle
- SOR RC Tacoma TRD decal set

 

[Phyro]

Have fun with the build!

Got any ideas on what you are going to do for bumpers? Or is that too early?


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[Goro Majima]

Have fun with the build!

Got any ideas on what you are going to do for bumpers? Or is that too early?


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Really wished this was like the Trailrunner and had the OE bumpers as an option, but with that said I've just went with the DD bumpers. I'll shave the bumper hoop to tone down the look a bit.

As far as the build goes, it was very fun and wish I had more kits to do lol. I did accidentally overtighten the C hubs, so I said screw it and bought not only brass C hubs but also knuckles and rears. It wasn't intended to to add brass to this thing but now it's more to experiment with. Also the charcoal/gunmetal-looking SSD brass options will mesh well with the hard gray plastic I think.

 

[Phyro]

Really wished this was like the Trailrunner and had the OE bumpers as an option, but with that said I've just went with the DD bumpers. I'll shave the bumper hoop to tone down the look a bit.

As far as the build goes, it was very fun and wish I had more kits to do lol. I did accidentally overtighten the C hubs, so I said screw it and bought not only brass C hubs but also knuckles and rears. It wasn't intended to to add brass to this thing but now it's more to experiment with. Also the charcoal/gunmetal-looking SSD brass options will mesh well with the hard gray plastic I think.

You’ll love the knuckles, made a difference on my truck’s handling. The gunmetal does mesh really well with the grey plastics.


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[B-MOW71]

Can't ever have too many Yota's!

I thought about building this same rig using the GK kit!

Looking forward to watching this build!!

 

[twade984]

Missed the thread until now, looks like a good project, can’t wait to see more


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[AK KRAWLER]

I’m not a Yota guy, but that’s a great looking body!!!
Can’t wait to see this one finished up and running.

 

[Goro Majima]

Thanks for following along guys.

TL;DR version - Look at pics and skim if need detail.

I wasn't gonna update, but an order (pretty much the parts I've listed in the initial post) that makes this a running and proportional looking vehicle is delayed via Fedex. Amongst friends I hear they are having the most delays out of the other delivery companies so I wouldn't be surprised if you all ever had issues with them the past 6 months.

I accidentally overtightened the C hubs, and instead of going with another set of brass, I went with aluminum since I couldn't find gunmetal brass ones. Also went with aluminum gunmetal rear link mounts to match the front SSD gunmetal brass ones.

Anyway, I've done some tinkering and played with positioning the body. The front mounting, like probably a lot of you already know, lines up perfectly as the front wheels are centered with the wheel arches. The rears, since I'm currently waiting on the Enduro rear shock towers, I tinkered with the random body posts I have. I used the 10.2 angled posts, spaced out 5mm from the rails, mounted in the front-inner hole setting for mounting the Enduro shock towers. Taking proper measurements, it all lines up pretty damn good with the rear arches and wheels. Trimmed the excess lexan inside for the GK shock tower clearance. But this rear mounting is very temporary, as it's not as stable as I'd like it, but also the sway bar upper arms bottom out on them about half way up. I really like this positioning of the shocks though. Need those shock towers for further tinkering.

But this week I received Enduro sliders for protection (I prefer the slider-less look on this though and purchased for experimenting), bumper mounts, SSD gunmetal brass diff cover and same style link mounts for front, folding mirror and tailgate handle, TRD Pro grill and the decal sheet. The Pro grill really makes me want to remove those headlight and taillight stickers and do the Knight Customs kit, with the way this is all turning out... But I won't install some of these things until I get the rest of the parts so here's some pics of what I've done in the meantime. As for how it sits in these pics, it's got the ESC/servo/receiver/5000mah battery in it. I think with the motor and both bumpers installed, it should sit pretty neutral. The bottom body line is lined up with the GK sliders, so I may preload the fronts a bit to even out the wheel gaps between front and rear.

I also threw on a TRD front skid plate that I have laying around for my HPI Venture for fun. The skid clears the front diff as you can see. Although it looks cool, it just doesn't belong since there's no real function in it.

 

[Goro Majima]

Might stay up and finish.

 

[Goro Majima]

Running video!

https://youtu.be/vH_8hL0MNFg

Some additions and tweaks. First, made the front stock bumper look more simple by hacking off the grill gaurd and molded short skid plate.

Axle looking pretty!

Did the battery tray mod, flipping the tray mount upside down and trimming the tray to make slots for the frame rails. The added Club5 Sendero fender liners still prevented the tray from sitting lower so I hacked those up as well. I wish I didn't do so since the tray is now acting as part of the liner but it's not like this truck will see water anyway. Also, a pretty aggressive shave was done to the tray to clearance the driveshaft since it's sitting lower now. I worried I might touch the actual battery case but it clears barely.

Got rid of the chrome links to Factory Team ones. Tie rod link got Traxxas offset rod ends for a tiny bit more angle before they bottom out on hitting the shocks.

Trimmed the rear bumper mount to make space for the sway bar. For now I'm keeping the sway on but I have a feeling I'll remove it again for that flex lol. Removed the rear plastic X brace for the shock towers and installed 65mm standoffs front & rear.

As for future purchases for this, I may go with the Knight Customs light kit for the scale aspect but not leaning towards lighting on this. I'm 50/50 on the idea, we'll see.

Also I think I forgot to mention I'm running a 12T pinion, have the trans set to the 6% overdrive, 50wt oil all around and stock foams.

 

[Goro Majima]

Installed the metal Artful Dodgers floor/rock slider combo. Hacked the stock Gatekeeper sliders to retain the upper trailing arm mounts and trimmed the new pieces like so to make room for the arms. I absolutely love these as they're a nice addition in both functionality and appeal.

 

[smog]

That thars a good lookin yota!

You chose a very nice bumper, the fit is impeccable. Personally, I prefer the solid front axle. The bulkhead on that IFS has too much dangling mass for my sensibilities. The double shock hoop setup for the body mounting confused my eyes for a few seconds, it’s the first I have seen that....lol

How are you for tire clearance on the fenders?

Again, sexy build Goro. Double thumbs up

 

[Goro Majima]

That thars a good lookin yota!

You chose a very nice bumper, the fit is impeccable. Personally, I prefer the solid front axle. The bulkhead on that IFS has too much dangling mass for my sensibilities. The double shock hoop setup for the body mounting confused my eyes for a few seconds, it’s the first I have seen that....lol

How are you for tire clearance on the fenders?

Again, sexy build Goro. Double thumbs up

Appreciate it!

Tires rub on the bottom/back of each of the rear arches, but not terribly enough to want or need to modify those areas because I really don't want to do that.

With the lowest setting on the rear shock towers, the tire clears the underside of the bed's wheel well by a few mm or so. Looks really sweet with the wheel tucked in. Also same setting in the front, at full lock it barely rubs the inner liner.

Overall I'm happy with how the wheels sit, with the 4.19's and the offset. I'll get more running footage when I get the chance along with my other rigs. Fixin' to do a lil compilation of them doing lines one at a time.

 

[tigris99]

This looks.sweet, has my gears turning now!!!

I have a knightrunner right now, was trying to decide on a second base for a tacoma build as I'm getting a printed body made to better match my 1:1. For a "beat the hell outta" trail rig, using a GK base would be perfect, move all my stuff from my KR over. Save $100 or more too vs another IFS set up.

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[tigris99]

That thars a good lookin yota!

You chose a very nice bumper, the fit is impeccable. Personally, I prefer the solid front axle. The bulkhead on that IFS has too much dangling mass for my sensibilities. The double shock hoop setup for the body mounting confused my eyes for a few seconds, it’s the first I have seen that....lol

How are you for tire clearance on the fenders?

Again, sexy build Goro. Double thumbs up

That's the stock knightrunner tacoma bumper. Club5racing also makes one that fits nice but won't hold up to heavy abuse.

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[Goro Majima]

This looks.sweet, has my gears turning now!!!

I have a knightrunner right now, was trying to decide on a second base for a tacoma build as I'm getting a printed body made to better match my 1:1. For a "beat the hell outta" trail rig, using a GK base would be perfect, move all my stuff from my KR over. Save $100 or more too vs another IFS set up.

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This is exactly why I went with the GK! I really do love the IFS but I'll save having a IFS rig for the Trailrunner when I get one. I already have a white Toyota for my Toyota builds so I'll look to get the Fire color.

 

[tigris99]

This is exactly why I went with the GK! I really do love the IFS but I'll save having a IFS rig for the Trailrunner when I get one. I already have a white Toyota for my Toyota builds so I'll look to get the Fire color.

I have an Army Green 1:1. My KR was xmas gift from wife. But body doesn't allow close enough (no factory style front bumper) for what I really want, but now I remember why I loved scale rigs. Now need 2 though so I don't destroy hard body when it's done.

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[Goro Majima]

Not much of an update but more of what's to soon come about.

- I bought the recently released SSD Enduro diamond axle housings for the front and rear. What's cool is I was unaware of having the option for either high or standard pinion (standard is brass, high is plastic). Also the axle housings themselves are aluminum while the diamond pumpkin is plastic. I think that combination is nice. I'll update once I install front and rear.

- Club5 folding bed cover is on the way. My father has a folding bed cover so I'm surprised I only discovered this piece just now as it's perfect.

- Knight Customs head and taillight housings will be here next month. BMOW inspired. Also gotta remember to grab some clear red paint.

- Just thinking out loud here. I think I want to get the interior for this since it's getting more and more scale.

Something new since the previous post is I've gone the magnetic body mount way via Club5 with the roof scoop setup. I love everything about the setup and the magnets are strong, besides the way the roof scoop looks. Since there's an excessive amount of slits and gills (Urban Dictionary term; ricey), I plan to shave off the gills on the sides, and shave the rearward vents flat. Then add a piece of styrene to totally delete those holes. Once it's all done, I'll prep it for gunmetal paint and hopefully it'll look a lot better and at least closer to an actual TRD Tacoma.

 

[Goro Majima]

So I got the front axle on. Last picture shows it swapped on completely, but on jack stands still... That picture also shows the axle bearings I forgot to install. Good night all lol. I'll take more pictures tomorrow when I install the rears.

Btw these aluminum C hubs were a pain in the d**k to remove from these plastic housings. Had to hit em with my purse for removal.

 

[B-MOW71]

Looking good!"thumbsup" I'm liking them new SSD axles!

The more I see them wheels, the more I'm lovin' them! The look so good on there!

This body screams for the Knight Customs headlight and tailights! Once you get them installed, it'll take the body to the next level!

Just noticed that huge little LEGO man watching the repair! Love me some LEGO's!