gforce13
Newbie
So how do you like it so far honchojoe? I'm thinking about getting this as my first rig.
Hey mate. Sorry for the late reply. I've just bought a business selling rc crawler gear and have been snowed under. With the limited abount of time I've spent on this I've loved it. So light and it just goes anywhere once you have good tyres. Just needs a bit of weight over the front axle.So how do you like it so far honchojoe? I'm thinking about getting this as my first rig.
Mine came with this radio. It's also has a 3 position switch for the 3rd ch that might be ok for a winch with the heyok controller.So I've had mine for a few weeks now and I gotta say - I love this goofy little truck. I replaced the servo with the same one HonchoJoe used and found I had to get a cord extender to reach the receiver, but other than that is is bone stock.
I made a few suspension tweaks that I feel enhance its ability right out of the box: I moved the upper ball studs that the shocks mount to the chassis with down one hole, and found that stops the body from rubbing the tires at full lock. I also removed the spring seat/preload ring to soften up the suspension a bit to gain some sag. The rear is still a little stiff but rather than replace the springs I may just add a little weight to the back of the chassis.
Steering setup on mine is a little funky with only trim and dual rate adjustments. Seems no matter how I try, I cant get the trim centered and have equal throw in both directions. Part of the problem appears to be a steering link that is too long, so I've trimmed the length of the screw-on ball ends just a smidge. This helped a bit but not totally solved the problem. The other thing I noticed was that the front tires appear to be set in a toe-out position. Again, a fixed length link prevents any adjustment, so I again trimmed the ends of the ball joints to effectively shorten the length of the link. It makes more sense to me to have end point adjustments on the steering channel, not the throttle channel. Or EPA's on both channels. I think I'll be upgrading to a FlySky FS-GT3C to accomplish just that.
Being a total newb to crawlers (but not RC - I still have my old Kyosho Optima from 1988!) I have to say that I'm very impressed with what you get for your money these days. I got mine for US $175 delivered and it was here in a week. I use it for trail running - that is, the local hiking and mountain biking trails and am very well pleased with its performance in that capacity. It will take any trail I'm willing to hike with aplomb and I am quite amazed at how capable it is in off-trail side adventures as well!
I do wish it came with a 540 size motor rather than the stock 390, but thats not a deal breaker for me. I don't know how good of quality the battery is but at 2200mah it seems to have sufficient capacity to run longer that I want to hike around behind the truck. Just today I spent an hour and 18 minutes driving and climbing rocks with this thing and still had battery life to go! I'm charging with my Thunder Dual Power AC680 charger so I expect the battery to be well taken care of....
At any rate, if anybody is on the fence about whether or not to spring for this little truck I would say it's definitely money well spent! I'm having a ball and expect to do so for quite a long time to come!
That's some great steering angle! Will you use a longer servo arm to attain full throw?Pics show unis and max theoretical steering angle. The stock setup (servo and horn etc) can't manage it though. But with some tweaking it will. Also took it for a drive today with smaller wheels. The servo handled that much better.
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Unfortunately the unis don't allow for that much steering but it's not bad. There is a lot of play in the links etc so I'll add a panhard bar and redo the steering links. The lockers are a HSP part (also redcat) and I found them at a local hobby shop in Australia. They seem to be very hard to find so I've been talking to a guy to see if he can make some. The stock part comes with the gear as well but it will be easy enough to just make the centre spool. It's held on by 3 screws. I run a small online business here in Melbourne and hope to sell the spools. But I think it's a while off yet.That's some great steering angle! Will you use a longer servo arm to attain full throw?
Any plans to configure the existing panhard? You just need a bar the proper length, right? I'm assuming it's not included in the kit. Do they at least tell you what that is eye to eye?
Update: Where'd you find the metal lockers p/n 680010? I couldn't find them on eBay.
Steering setup on mine is a little funky with only trim and dual rate adjustments. Seems no matter how I try, I cant get the trim centered and have equal throw in both directions. Part of the problem appears to be a steering link that is too long, so I've trimmed the length of the screw-on ball ends just a smidge. This helped a bit but not totally solved the problem. The other thing I noticed was that the front tires appear to be set in a toe-out position. Again, a fixed length link prevents any adjustment, so I again trimmed the ends of the ball joints to effectively shorten the length of the link. It makes more sense to me to have end point adjustments on the steering channel, not the throttle channel. Or EPA's on both channels. I think I'll be upgrading to a FlySky FS-GT3C to accomplish just that.
I just received mine and began accessorizing it .
Of course after a test run.
It out climbed my other crawlers in my small back yard test .
It's larger than my Barrage and in every way better.
Oddly his crawler is clearly stated RGT Bowler on the box it comes in.
I don't know why any US retailer is calling it the Bowler. Maybe because it's a ridiculous name.
Still in my opinion it's probably one of the best $ to Quality crawlers available. Fortunately it doesn't say Bowler anywhere on the truck.
It's an Incredibly capable crawler and so well built it continually surprises me in spite of it's low cost and cheap looking but efficient radio.
I don't know why it climbs so well, maybe it's width, wheelbase, awesome tires, well controlled slow speed gearing? I'm not sure, perhaps it's a combination of all of these fine points.
I did also find the easily serviceable front and rear end gears lacking grease but 4 screws, grease and a few minuets took care of that.
Yes it can be found cheaper $169, without Amazons $219 quick delivery and return policy if you want to take a chance for a few dollars less, but even at Amazons prices this rig is a steal in my opinion.
Buy it before they start asking Axial prices.
Accessories are endless too. A lot of comparative research but they're out there.
before personalizing.
painted shackles, winch, painted fender flairs, vent side windows, rear view mirrors, etc
280mm wheelbase. 180mm hex to hex. I replaced the plastic spools with the alloy version. It came with knockoff TSL Super Swampers. Pic shows genuine swampers on left. Knockoffs on right.
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They seem hard to find. Just try googling the part number. 680010.Hi guys,
Does anyone have a link to share for where I MIGHT FIND THIS HSP METAL GEAR??
Thanks,
MP
I think they surfaced down here first then started popping up in Europe then a few in the USA.I saw some of fleaBay last night but they’d come from Australia. These must be popular down under.