"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
07/01/2020 at 13:10 • Filed to: RC
5
28|
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
07/01/2020 at 13:10 • Filed to: RC | 5
| 28 |
During college and grad school I got big into hobb y grade RC vehicles. I was into both nitro and electric stuff. I bought, beat on, modified, fixed, and flipped/sold dozens of them over a couple year span. I sold all of that stuff I had left 15 years ago, while I was student teaching, to pay for gas. About a month into student teaching I had $200 to my name, and was spending $60/week on gas to get there and back. Thankfully I was able to live and eat at home for free. I probably could have asked my parents for gas money, but instead I sold everything on eBay.
Fun fact: not only do student teachers not get paid, they are still paying tuition to their college that semester.
Anyways, I bought one electric RC truck after I started working . I honestly don’t even remember what it was. It was a T r axxas something or other. It was neato , it had selectable locking differentials, but it was also very top heavy and flipped over a lot . B etween starting my teaching career and getting married and buying a house , I probably only used it half a dozen times. I traded it for a nice Matco torque wrench and some cash.
I’ve only recently starting itch ing to jump back into the hobby. This was triggered by a buddy of mine buying an RC crawler, and the street outside my house being torn up and turning it into the perfect RC truck bashing playground. I hemmed, I hawed, I bought nothing.
For Father’s Day though, my wife bought me a Traxxas La Trax Teton. It’s an entry level 1:18th scale truck, complete with battery and automatic smart charger. I have been beating the crap on it. It’s a lot of fun, it’s quick, it climbs gravel piles well , and it has held up very well. I did have an axle bearing freeze up, so I bought a $15 sealed bearing kit, only bo thered to replace the bearings on the axle that had se ized , and went back to it.
My wife also bought for my daughters a pair of the red truck on the left there. I don’t know who makes them or what they are. T hey’re a lot cheaper, but they came with two batteries of unknown specification and USB-based smart chargers. They’re 2wd and a lot slower than the Teton, but honestly they’re pretty darn good toy grade vehicles. They have also taken quite a beating. They remind me of my favorite childhood RC truck, my Tyco Baja Bandit. That’s a pretty high complement.
Today I had to glue the tires onto the wheels of all three of the new trucks, because they’ve all been ripping them off the rims :)
On the back of the workbench is my old Losi Mini LST with a Baja Bug body . That’s the one thing I never sold. It was one of the very first batc h of those delivered when it came out, and it was the last Christmas present my grandmother ever got me. I t’s a fun little truck that I had upgraded all the diffs on before I put it away, and it was worth jack squat anyways when I sold off my stuff, so I just kept it.
My wife got me a couple batteries for that too, so I could get it going as well. The front shocks were completely dead, so I filled them with oil. Then one of the shocks totally fell apart. I order a cheap set of universal fit 1:18 shocks off Amazon, but I need to get some more hardware to mount them. I was able to get one mounted with the coup le screws and nuts I found at my closest (but small) Ace Hardware. T he stock hardware is too thick , and the hardware I ordered from McMaster-Carr is too thin . So, I need to make another run to the bigger and only slightly farther away Ace Hardware.
So that’s what I’ve got going. Hopefully between my two little trucks, at least one of them will always be running. My daughters are enjoying their little guys too. It’s been a fun father-daughter activity .
I’d love to get an E-Revo VXL or something like that, but I’m way too cheap to spend that kind of money right now.
notsomethingstructural
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 13:22 |
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Oh, hey, another RC thread! In addition to my TC3 I ALSO have an old nitro Ofna buggy that’s ALSO inoperable! I’ve been thinking about getting that running too. That one has a much more established fate. Was warming it up on the off-road track trying to set the carb and it flipped and the throttle got stuck open. With no resistance it just freewheeled until the engine blew despite me running basically full speed to get to it first . I really don’t have much of an excuse for that one. OOPS! So now I just have to find an ol’ big bore engine that won’t set me back more than a new RTR electric kit.
Tripper
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 13:27 |
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Hey I’m about to ring up a Teton just to to a little dippity dip myself. I take it you would recommend?
JustAnotherG6
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 13:32 |
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I still have an Associated RC-10L in the garage, minus the running gear. A few years back my brother sent “the kids” (meaning me) a HPI Bullet Flux. Lithium batteries and brushless motors are absolutely nuts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t run out a full battery without breaking something.
I’m considering taking the running gear from it and putting it in the 10L, if only I could find tires for the old thing.
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shop-teacher
> Tripper
07/01/2020 at 13:47 |
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Yeah, it's a really fun little basher for not much money. I have no complaints.
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shop-teacher
> notsomethingstructural
07/01/2020 at 13:49 |
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I never did any proper racing, but the final straw that led me to selling my RC stuff for money, was when I made a big carb tuning error and nuked the engine in my RC10GT by running it too lean.
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shop-teacher
> JustAnotherG6
07/01/2020 at 13:50 |
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That would be cool. I still haven't experienced a LiPo battery, but I could see keeping a vehicle from breaking during an entire battery run being a challenge for me too.
Taylor Martin
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 13:57 |
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I got into RC cars as a kid. There was an indoor RC racetrack about 15 minutes from where we lived. Boy did I stink, but it was a lot of fun hanging out with people who knew what they were talking about when it came to RC cars. Mine was a little battery powered buggy that went like stink! Only thing is the axles were all faulty and, one by one, broke apart. Nothing a little glue couldn’t fix... temporarily... Ended up getting rid of it recently since I hadn’t been using it. Would get back into it again though, it’s a hoot.
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Tripper
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 14:01 |
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Yeah it seems like it! I watched a couple of videos and it makes more sense for me to start small. DONE ...EXCITEMENT
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shop-teacher
> Tripper
07/01/2020 at 14:12 |
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Cool! I can't wait to hear how you enjoy it :)
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shop-teacher
> Taylor Martin
07/01/2020 at 14:12 |
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I've broken so many axles over the years :)
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JustAnotherG6
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 14:30 |
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LiPo is nuts! We started out with a 2S, kept breaking stuff and flipping over when accelerating (the thing is 4WD to boot). The 1S batteries I
’m using now still allow for plenty of donuts and shenanigans.
TheRealBicycleBuck
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 14:32 |
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I bought my first R/C car so I could race against my cousin and his Grasshopper. I didn’t hold back when stepping up to the challenge. I bought an RC-10 Championship Edition. That started a very real arms race that my cousin and his limited budget lost. After I caught the bug, I bought a two pack - a Traxxas Rustler stadium truck and it monster-truck sibling, a Traxxas Stampede. We had a great time bashing the cars around anywhere we could find some loose dirt. Then I went back to college and all my toys were put away. I’ve pulled them out a few times, but without a decent place to run them, they get packed up again after being bashed around the street. Really, we need to move to a small acreage so I have a place to play with my toy cars and fly my toy planes. Even better would be a place with a runway and a hangar so flying real planes is more convenient too.
Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 18:13 |
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I’ve got two vatterra v-100s that I raised and softened the suspension to make them lean in turns and handle more like a real musclecar. (shitty) I then proceeded to beat the shit out of them. Quality product.
I also stuffed some R/C guts into a general lee model kit and made it functional, at 200 sc ale mph.
Pixel
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 18:24 |
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I Keep pondering getting an R/C, but can’t decide between a crawler or a drif t car, and so just don’t get either.
My new house has a skate park at the end of the block, so I was thinking it would be perfect for a drift R/C, but there is never a time when it isn’t full of kids on skateboards/BMX, and I don’t want to either get in their way, or risk the car.
Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> shop-teacher
07/01/2020 at 22:05 |
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Hey more RC content! I recently refreshed my Slash and then let it sit for a year. Took it out and I forgot how much fun it was.
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shop-teacher
> Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
07/01/2020 at 23:45 |
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The Slash looks like a ton of fun. I definitely wouldn’t mine getting one of those.
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shop-teacher
> TheRealBicycleBuck
07/01/2020 at 23:46 |
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That would be nice! I'm enjoying my little playground so close to home. I'll actually be a little disappointed when the street is fixed now :)
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shop-teacher
> Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer
07/01/2020 at 23:46 |
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Very cool!
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shop-teacher
> Pixel
07/01/2020 at 23:47 |
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The cars are harder to have fun with, because you need a big patch of smooth pavement. That’s why I like the trucks. You can let it rip just about anywhere.
Plus, I feel like your modeling skills can be put to better use on a slow crawler.
TrickJos
> shop-teacher
07/02/2020 at 09:40 |
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Sounds like fun!
I just got back into the hobby with a Traxxas TRX-4 kit. After years of high speed nitro trucks I decided to go the opposite direction. I’m loving it! I highly recommend a crawler for your next purchase since you have a couple fast trucks already.
Nothing
> shop-teacher
07/02/2020 at 09:52 |
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Nice! I have a crappy Helion Animus that breaks about every other time I use it. I was tempted to get some improved parts for it, but it’s probably best to just get a better base to start with. I REALLY wish I would’ve kept my old original RC10.
Have fun with the girls and your trucks!
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shop-teacher
> Nothing
07/02/2020 at 10:04 |
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Thanks, we are!
A nitro RC10GT is what started it all. During student teaching I made a critical carb tuning error and nuked the engine. That was the final straw that led me to selling it all.
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shop-teacher
> TrickJos
07/02/2020 at 10:06 |
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Very cool!
I want the K5 Blazer they make very badly!
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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
> shop-teacher
07/02/2020 at 10:07 |
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On a 2s, with a decent tire it's just about at the too much power mark. On pavement it will sit up on top of the rear tires, pull the front right in the air, and hold that until about 30. I cant imagine the monster power wheelies a 2wd would do.
Jim Spanfeller
> shop-teacher
07/02/2020 at 12:57 |
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I can’t afford serious RC cars, but I do have enough Lego electronics that I occasionally build an RC car out of Lego. RC cars are fun!
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Tripper
> shop-teacher
07/02/2020 at 17:12 |
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It’s scheduled to arrive tomorrow, jackpot! Meanwhile I have my Nitro RS4 R I P P I N G. I know a lot more about engines than I did 20 years ago ergo tuning this thing is a breeze.
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shop-teacher
> Tripper
07/02/2020 at 19:59 |
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Niiiiiiice!
My favorite RC vehicle from back in the day, was my HPI E-Savage. That thing took unbelievable amounts of punishment bone stock. It had a nice low center of gravity too.
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shop-teacher
> Jim Spanfeller
07/02/2020 at 22:10 |
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They definitely are.