What's up fellow tiny truckers and builders!!!
It’s been a few years since I got started in the hobby and joined a couple of forums, since I have been slowly fallen down the rabbit hole and building a collection. By nature, I have always love tinkering and wrenching on things I am an CAD/Electrical engineer by profession and taking apart things and learning how they work is always been a passion.
This place has been great source of information and entertainment for the hobby, and since I try to participate and post frequently. However, I have never started a build thread of my own until now.
My journey with the tiny trucks started in late 2019... I took a break from riding and wrenching on motorcycles to spend time with my boys in the garage and teach them how to take apart, fix, wrench and learn motor controls. RC is perfect for it... it has the mechanical aspect and the electronics to get them started in STEM activities at a manageable scale, plus as I mentioned I get enjoy both their companion as well as joy for building.
The collection includes rigs from SSD, Vanquish, Axial, Losi, Kyosho, FMS, RC4WD, Traxxas, MST, Boom Racing and the most recent acquisition from ELEMENT.
As many of you already know it’s not hard to fall down the Rabbit hole within this hobby and the market for them has been blowing up in the past few years with so many different options and set ups available the temptation is obvious.
The latest addition to the stable is the Recently introduced Element Utron. I have yet to see any builds with this platform so I thought it be a good start for a build thread. I know this truck has varying opinions for what it is, entry level package with bushings and all mostly plastic, unlicensed and questionable looking body, however the price is right on point for an RTR with ok electronics and a very light and capable. I really mean light and capable with emphasis. I was very surprised at the weight, granted I did not have any experience with Elements Rigs so I was not expecting it to feel and act so well out of the box.
The main reason this rig was added to the stable was the IFS-2, I have plenty of straight axle trucks for crawling and try to keep different set ups in the collection to give it some different flavors. Stashed away still have the gatekeeper and IFS-1 set up for a Tacoma build that should be coming soon, but too many projects on the backburner. I personally look more for scale over performance as I like the challenge rather than walking all over the terrain with ease.
The plan is to slowly built this rig with upgrades while trying to keep it scale and a fun challenge on the rocks. The Utron body is let’s say a bit of an acquired taste ... who are we lying is ugly ... or most accurate FUGLY. It has big hips and flat faced, it seems to give me that RIVIAN & Tesla Truck look. In all honestly, I seen some improvements with the printed parts and accessories that help the look but still far from appealing. So, the Utron body will be making its way out of the build.
Many years ago, I had a second gen 4runner that I really enjoyed driving and wheeling so before the Utron Acquisition a proline 4runner had made its way to the shop for some paint and details without even having any ideas for the chassis. Well, the Utron has the correct drivetrain for a second get 4runner ... I know that the SAS runners are far more capable but this is a scale build and we are keeping the IFS. :mrgreen:
Before the changes I could not hold myself to drive it the way it comes and let me tell you I was impress on how well it drives and how nimble and planted it is, most likely due to its weight. The included electronics seem to be up to par for the truck in stock configuration - we will be changing things out and they will surely be truly tested and give a good shakedown. ESC has nice modulation and hold brake, it does get pretty hot in comparison to other ESC's in the stable (HW's 1060's. 1080's, Traxxas and Axials). I would not say that my backyard trails are long but there are some challenging areas and I sure put the rigs throughout their pace without overly abusing them. No WOT on the rocks for me but I can’t say the same for my 3- and 5-year-olds as they love to see the dirt and pebbles fly off the tires as they full throttle their way throughout the backyard. :roll: :shock:.
Ultimately the drivetrain is what I was looking after as I wanted to try the IFS-2. The front end is nice and robust and has good geometry while looking fairly similar to a 1:1 IFS set up. The shocks are nice and so far, leak free but could use a little softer spring up front, something we will be playing with as we add more weight and details to this build. Moving back to the rear axle I noticed a bit of clicking, so this will probably will be one of the first changes. Open up the rear axle and perhaps do some shimming as it seems to be the weak point for the Element rigs, from my reads and lurking of the forum it seems to be a common point of failure. So that would be one of the first areas to check.
Well, that should be enough introduction to the build, the goal is to document the improvements while having some fun changing stuff around and will be doing some CAD to create inner fenders and hidden body mounts for this Rig. Some stock pictures to come before the changes. See you soon with updates!!!
"thumbsup"
It’s been a few years since I got started in the hobby and joined a couple of forums, since I have been slowly fallen down the rabbit hole and building a collection. By nature, I have always love tinkering and wrenching on things I am an CAD/Electrical engineer by profession and taking apart things and learning how they work is always been a passion.
This place has been great source of information and entertainment for the hobby, and since I try to participate and post frequently. However, I have never started a build thread of my own until now.
My journey with the tiny trucks started in late 2019... I took a break from riding and wrenching on motorcycles to spend time with my boys in the garage and teach them how to take apart, fix, wrench and learn motor controls. RC is perfect for it... it has the mechanical aspect and the electronics to get them started in STEM activities at a manageable scale, plus as I mentioned I get enjoy both their companion as well as joy for building.
The collection includes rigs from SSD, Vanquish, Axial, Losi, Kyosho, FMS, RC4WD, Traxxas, MST, Boom Racing and the most recent acquisition from ELEMENT.
As many of you already know it’s not hard to fall down the Rabbit hole within this hobby and the market for them has been blowing up in the past few years with so many different options and set ups available the temptation is obvious.
The latest addition to the stable is the Recently introduced Element Utron. I have yet to see any builds with this platform so I thought it be a good start for a build thread. I know this truck has varying opinions for what it is, entry level package with bushings and all mostly plastic, unlicensed and questionable looking body, however the price is right on point for an RTR with ok electronics and a very light and capable. I really mean light and capable with emphasis. I was very surprised at the weight, granted I did not have any experience with Elements Rigs so I was not expecting it to feel and act so well out of the box.
The main reason this rig was added to the stable was the IFS-2, I have plenty of straight axle trucks for crawling and try to keep different set ups in the collection to give it some different flavors. Stashed away still have the gatekeeper and IFS-1 set up for a Tacoma build that should be coming soon, but too many projects on the backburner. I personally look more for scale over performance as I like the challenge rather than walking all over the terrain with ease.
The plan is to slowly built this rig with upgrades while trying to keep it scale and a fun challenge on the rocks. The Utron body is let’s say a bit of an acquired taste ... who are we lying is ugly ... or most accurate FUGLY. It has big hips and flat faced, it seems to give me that RIVIAN & Tesla Truck look. In all honestly, I seen some improvements with the printed parts and accessories that help the look but still far from appealing. So, the Utron body will be making its way out of the build.
Many years ago, I had a second gen 4runner that I really enjoyed driving and wheeling so before the Utron Acquisition a proline 4runner had made its way to the shop for some paint and details without even having any ideas for the chassis. Well, the Utron has the correct drivetrain for a second get 4runner ... I know that the SAS runners are far more capable but this is a scale build and we are keeping the IFS. :mrgreen:
Before the changes I could not hold myself to drive it the way it comes and let me tell you I was impress on how well it drives and how nimble and planted it is, most likely due to its weight. The included electronics seem to be up to par for the truck in stock configuration - we will be changing things out and they will surely be truly tested and give a good shakedown. ESC has nice modulation and hold brake, it does get pretty hot in comparison to other ESC's in the stable (HW's 1060's. 1080's, Traxxas and Axials). I would not say that my backyard trails are long but there are some challenging areas and I sure put the rigs throughout their pace without overly abusing them. No WOT on the rocks for me but I can’t say the same for my 3- and 5-year-olds as they love to see the dirt and pebbles fly off the tires as they full throttle their way throughout the backyard. :roll: :shock:.
Ultimately the drivetrain is what I was looking after as I wanted to try the IFS-2. The front end is nice and robust and has good geometry while looking fairly similar to a 1:1 IFS set up. The shocks are nice and so far, leak free but could use a little softer spring up front, something we will be playing with as we add more weight and details to this build. Moving back to the rear axle I noticed a bit of clicking, so this will probably will be one of the first changes. Open up the rear axle and perhaps do some shimming as it seems to be the weak point for the Element rigs, from my reads and lurking of the forum it seems to be a common point of failure. So that would be one of the first areas to check.
Well, that should be enough introduction to the build, the goal is to document the improvements while having some fun changing stuff around and will be doing some CAD to create inner fenders and hidden body mounts for this Rig. Some stock pictures to come before the changes. See you soon with updates!!!
"thumbsup"