RC Rock Crawlers

[Riff Raff]

Holy Cow, the hobby of RC-Toys can get frickin' outa-hand really quick!!! Just like Little Beast said-- a damn money pit to throw away wasted money. As a grown man, I've got better things to spend my money on. No thanx.

[VX-157]

I fly RC planes...or i should say i attached my credit card to a electric motor and then crash it into the ground from a very high altitude

i would love to get a good rc car to play in the park at the back of my house!

[don moore]

i have 4 planes ..all electric.. and 3 1/6th scale r/c tanks..had one used in the movie that im in ..i want a r/c VX

[rickshaw]

..i want a r/c VX

Here is a GAS powered RC VX for you.







Hobby-estore
Excel Hobby

[VX-157]

OMFG....MINE!

[alterastro]

Hey an RC VX - Cool!

I had a couple of Rock Crawlers James - they are great fun and modifying them can be as involved as the real thing!

I got loads of info at the UKRCRC forum - they were very helpful when I was starting out - http://www.ukrcrc.com/site/

The HPI one sounds good, but it looks like it goes a bit fast - and therefore not the best gearing/motor, but certainly a good start

Nick

[crotchrocket]

Hey an RC VX - Cool!

I had a couple of Rock Crawlers James - they are great fun and modifying them can be as involved as the real thing!

I got loads of info at the UKRCRC forum - they were very helpful when I was starting out - http://www.ukrcrc.com/site/

The HPI one sounds good, but it looks like it goes a bit fast - and therefore not the best gearing/motor, but certainly a good start

Nick

Nick that looks awesome, do you think the Tamiya one is good value???

[ZEUS]

Hey an RC VX - Cool!

The HPI one sounds good, but it looks like it goes a bit fast - and therefore not the best gearing/motor, but certainly a good start

Nick

The HPI come in several forms - a 2wd Wheely King, the 4wd version, the Crawler King (also 4wd) and now the new Nitro 2wd version. The stock axle shafts are weak and end up breaking quite a bit. There is a slipper clutch in the trans but it doesn't always save the axles. To really crawl with the HPI you need to upgrade to CVD's (constant velocity drives) and straight axles for increased steering angle and greater overall strength. The axle housings can also flex which can strip your ring and pinion. It is best to drill thru the housing and clamp bolt it back together and also step up to RS4 or Savage hardened gears in the HPI's. They don't steer very sharp at all so most use aluminum "C's" and knuckles for greater steering throw. Plus the axles are a bit too wide for 2.2 size wheels. So now the HPI doesn't seem so good after you realize the weak points in the axles, right? Also beware, all RTR or RTC crawlers come with near-inferior motors and electronics. The Losi Mini Crawler comes with an FM radio which is quite nice and the electronics are pretty decent as well but they can still be improved.

So since I have an HPI, I would say you can start out better with either an Axial AX-10 type crawler (scaler or comp rig setups available) or the Venom Creeper. The market is most dominated by the Axial so you can consider it the Jeep of the RC crawler world - maybe that analogy only applies to this side of the pond. The Losi is tiny and cute but you can throw some rocks down in your yard and have a constantly changing area to crawl with it. I made my own crawl spot for my crawlers in my back yard by bringing in large (some 20 to 80 lb) rocks and forming my fire pit within the crawler course. My hope is to integrate a putting golf course with astro turf to also act as my patio around it and bring everything together. I also have hopes to install a water feature to tie into it all as well.

I find RC crawling WAAAAY fun and several of my friends are jumping aboard making it even more fun. Competitions are held all over Utah (even the international event that pays cash) so it has moved past the simple little boy's toys over the last several years and people have formed careers revolving around it.

So Mr. Rocket - hurry up and move to Utah so we can start our drafting firm and RC crawler parts business!

[ZEUS]

Here is a GAS powered RC VX for you.







Hobby-estore
Excel Hobby

I tried so hard to get one of those bodies! I searched all over and finally ordered one from a shop in Netherlands for $40 or so. I received a BMW Z3 - broken. They never returned my money or sent me the VX body or any response. Another guy contacted me from rccrawler regarding VX stuff and he thought he found a supplier to ship us several so I ordered 3 - luckily we never exchanged money cuz I never heard from him again. The Smartech Rocke has been out of production for years so be careful of online shops that claim they still carry it or you might end up like me with a broken BMW.