Johnnyluv's RC4WD Gelande II RTR Cruiser

[johnnyluv]

I seem to be repeating a pattern from 2014, when I got into scale trucks. In the early spring of 2014 I bought an Axial SCX10 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Kit, but didn't get around to building it, so in the mid summer of that year I bought an RTR SCX10 Deadbolt, so I get out on the trails and gain some scale/crawling experience. At the end of 2014 I finally began building the SCX10 kit, although it was a custom build, using the STRC SWB conversion kit. Anyways, skipping forward to 2015, again, in the early spring, I bought a Gelande II D90 kit, but didn't get around to building it right away. I did start on it 3-6 months later, but life happened and I didn't do much to it for the entire year of 2016. Now, here it is, near the end of the first qtr of 2017, and I sprang for the RTR Gelande II FJ40, and most likely, after a few months I will complete my D90 body kit (which is mostly all that remains, because the chassis was done in a matter of weeks). I also think, now, what I will end up doing is sharing the G2 chassis from the RTR for both the Cruiser & D90 bodies, and will use the kit-built G2 chassis for a custom Euro Trial Truck, with a Bruder Toys semi-truck cab. I was going to use a TF2 SWB chassis, but the G2 just looks better to me, with the truck cab setting on it. Enough of the history!

The FJ40 had been growing on me, I guess, but I didn't think I'd ever get around to doing a kit build, and when the new RTR came out, in that retro mustard yellow version, I figured it'd be just right.

This thread will be a log of changes I make, and will hopefully help others who are looking to buy one.

Pics from Dabbler's RC4WD Gelande II Cruiser album , on Flickr:

Those wheels really are undersized for that big FJ40 body. They make it look more like a USPS Jeep DJ (Dispatcher Jeep)

I started preparing upgrades for this truck, a few days beforehand:

RC4WD Atturo Trail Blade M/T 1.9's + C.I. Deuces Wild single stage foams.

Symmetrical vent holes.

Got these Landy style aluminum/steel beadlocks off eBay. Each complete piece weighs about 3.5 oz. The outer pieces are aluminum, while the center ring is steel, and it has no vent holes to seal up, which I prefer, since I vent my tires.

They all went together pretty easy, despite some fingertip mashing.

That's about all, for now. I still have the Rhino front bumper and metal tire holder+spare tire to install, but that'll come later. Yesterday I ordered some RC4WD Ultra Scale Hardened Steel Driveshafts "Ver 2" and those will arrive next week. Tonight, I plan to get the newly assembled wheels swapped in, and will then work on getting it setup and ready for tomorrow, when I plan to get it out for a maiden run. I'm taking a half day off work so I can get some run time in, while driving north to my in-laws, to rejoin my family for the weekend.

 

[Natedog]

Off to a great start with your mustard yellow RTR! Those tires/wheels do look small under the Cruiser body (DJ lol), new ones look more appropriate. 8)

Edit; glad to see it running in the wild so soon too.

 

[johnnyluv]

Off to a great start with your mustard yellow RTR! Those tires/wheels do look small under the Cruiser body (DJ lol), new ones look more appropriate. 8)

Edit; glad to see it running in the wild so soon too.

Thanks, man! The wheels are the first to go. I'll either save them for a smaller scale build, or just resell them. The Dirt Grabber tires are decent, just not the right size for my purposes. I got the new wheels mounted on last night, and am much more pleased with the overall look. It looks ready to handle more challenging terrain. I about lost it when I first removed the stock wheels, because there were no hex hubs to mount my new wheels to. The RC4WD beadlocks just mounted directly over the drive pin. I found the hex hubs in a separate bag, though, and got it together. :mrgreen:

The only thing remaining, keeping me from running it, is replacing that lousy Tamiya battery plug that the ESC came with. I'm going to splice in some 5.5mm connectors to match the Zippy 3000mah 2S LiPo batteries I plan to use. I might try and get a scale driver in it, too, before I take off this afternoon.

 

[raceeng18]

I just built the kit version and had to do some glass trimming (a lot of trimming) at the area where the door meets the roof portion so the door would close at the top. Looks like they took care of that problem with the RTR.

 

[johnnyluv]

I just built the kit version and had to do some glass trimming (a lot of trimming) at the area where the door meets the roof portion so the door would close at the top. Looks like they took care of that problem with the RTR.

Yeah, I think I saw that issue mentioned in another thread or YT video, and was wondering how the RTR would be, but I assumed it would be in proper order, and it does appear to be.

 

[johnnyluv]

Has anyone tried the Tough Armor Tube Roll Bar for G2 Cruiser? It looks great, but it's also nearly 1 lb, which would raise the c.o.g. a bit. Still, it could make for a cool summertime setup, running without the hardtop.