SCX 10 Mods

Our first weekend with the rigs…pre-modifications

There is nothing like pulling your new rig out of the box for the first time. It’s like a new-born. It even smells new. So many unknowns, especially if you are new to the RC adventure world. Like parenting, there are so many opinions out there. So many directions to take your rig.

My first piece of advise, just drive. Go have fun. As you see the need or things break, then replace the parts. Go to any hobby shop or RC event, and just like in raising kids, you get advise. I have a hard time over-looking the advise-giver’s screaming brat as I grow old of the spontaneous Parenting 101 class.

Other accessories like sand ladders not only look great, but also useful to the scale experience.

I have been asked to share modifications and upgrades I made to my SCX 10 Wrangler. While Melissa and Abby went the route of RTR (Ready-to-Run) I opted for a kit. I was not interested in a used rig since 1) every owner wants what they put into it-and they are never worth the asking price and 2) I specifically wanted a fantasy version of my new 1:1 JK Wrangler.

 First, I built, well had lots of help building, OK, Troy from Team Dewey built my ride from a kit. But I did help. OK, I stayed out-of-the-way mostly. He let me do the body and put some stickers on…and the shocks…

 We ordered my rig as a kit and I provided the electronics. Originally it had a Traxxas ESC, which has now been upgraded to a Castle Side Winder 3. The upgrade was based on the need to run 3S LiPo batteries. Using 3S has had its own love/hate relationship. I like the Castle since it is both waterproof and programmable. I can set everything from LiPo cut-off to braking power.

 The Vanquish LED light-bar requires 3S to run. The ESC was really designed for 2S, but held well on 3S. The lights require 3S and provide enough illumination on the trail that I really don’t need a headlamp when doing night adventures. I have also used the lights on my RC to sift through the camper at night. It is seriously bright.

 Another 2S/3S battle I fight is with my winch. I use the RC4WD Bull Dog. This winch has been debated to no end, specifically from the guys who crawl. I was advised against it, specifically from a local Treasure Valley shop that also earned my distrust on so many other issues. The winch is designed to run on 2S, a direct conflict with my 3S battery selection needed to power the lights. So I use a BEC from Castle to power the winch. The BEC draws power directly from the battery and places it into a usable power source for winching. RC4WD now has a new WARN winch that will handle 3S. My hopes are to get one soon to test. I really like my RC4WD winch.

Drive stock until it breaks. By then, you will have a better idea for your needs

Why the crawling communities shy away from the winch is beyond me. All three of the AIQ rigs have one and we have yet to have any issues. They pull well, easy to use, and look great. I had push back at one point that it will lift only 6lbs. My rig weighs in at just over 6lbs. I cannot think of a situation where I would need to lift my entire rig up at 90°. If I did, well that’s what pulleys are for. I drive scale trails in scale conditions. The day I find an obstacle that is a 4x the height of my rig that I have to winch strait up, I will start doing it in the scale world. I am in this to keep it real. I don’t take my 1:10 rig over tree stumps.

Speaking of weight, that seems to be the first question I get from comp crawlers. To be honest, I don’t know, nor do I really give a rat’s hind quarters. It seems like there is some kind of weight envy out there, like these guys convert the weight of their rig to penis length. Okay, I come in at over six, but I’m happy….with rig weight that is…

 For the power plant, I started out with a Thunderbolt 55T motor. I moved to a 35T because I wanted more speed on the trail and still have torque when I needed it. My wife and kiddo still have 55T on their rigs, and this summer I want to see how the rigs perform when running wide open on trails. Heat could be an issue as they drive wide open to keep up speed.

I have tested a few wheel and tire combos since getting the rig. Right now I am running RC4WD Super Swampers and very happy. They work great in sand, snow, rock, and gravel. When they get wet, they get super sticky.  I have minimal wheel weights from Axial up front. Again, the comp guys swoop in for the attack…but I don’t run wheel weights on my 1:1 rig…I mainly have weight in the front of the 1:10 to simulate the weight disbursement of my 1:1. Running bead-lock wheels are from Axial.

The RC4WD winch sits happily on top of a RC4WD shorty bumper for the JK. It mimics the Rugged Ridge bumper on my 1:1 JK. Abby and Melissa are also using bumpers from RC4WD, but all three of us chose different styles.

At the heart of all that tugging power is a Pull Pal land anchor. Both Melissa and I have one. (Abby keeps saving up for one, but never gets there…) I have tested 4-5 other land anchors and the most happy with the Pull Pal.

On the back I have added a dual gas can rack from DS Pro. They build great stuff. It will also hold two shovels but they either fall out or break on a roll. No big deal, I moved the items into a new location. The team from DS Pro is awesome and they really back up their products. The stuff looks and funtions well.

I replaced my sliders with an aluminum set from BPC. I won these at a G6 and love them. The only downsides have been 1) they don’t come with compatible screws to attach the sliders to the chassis, and the Axial screws are too short to bite and hold in place and 2) The angle you have to get the driver to engage the screws is impossible to get at. I will run them until I get a custom set. I have the Castle ESC and my water-proofed radio receiver servo-tapped to each one.

Speaking of Radio, I use a Spectrum that I bought used from Troy. It has a programmable channel that I operate the winch from. I have it tied to a lanyard, which stays clipped to a D-Ring on my day pack.

 This week I did add aluminum C-Hubs in the front from Axial. Testing…testing..testing…

 As for Servo, I have an unknown servo I rebuilt a few years ago. When it dies, a Savox water-proof unit is going in.

 Accessories include ice chest, shovels, Hi-Lift jack, sleeping bags, etc. I change this stuff out often, including a few rafts and canoes. I swear by my sand ladders from DS Pro and an MaxTraxx. I also use a yank strap that I made for getting others unstuck. I get asked how many scale points I rate….who freek’n cares! Other great items are from Awesome Action RC and Scott Anthony.

What I place on the rig depends on my groove. Taking extra batteries– add a few fuel cans… Eating lunch on the trail- throw on the ice chest- My 4-legged buddies hanging with me as I hike- yep- I even have a scale Trigger-Dog!

The crawling crowd around her scoffs the RC4WD winch, but my little rig is on the trails nearly every day and has not seen any issues to date. Here it is “winching-down” a fellow G6er

 The whole thing is powered up with a flick of a huge switch in the back. The light bar also has its own power switch. Everything is double water-proofed with Plasti-Dip.

Three G6s and hundreds of hours on the trail, pretty happy with my rig

The important point is get out and enjoy your rig. At the end of the day it is a toy. Be thankful that you live someplace where you can get out and simply enjoy the outdoors and you have the means to purchase a simple hobby.  Don’t get wrapped around the axle (no-pun intended) on brands, weights, points, etc. It’s about the experience.

Get out and adventure!

Honcho SCX 10 Review

As you already know, I am a hard core Jeep guy. I have an XJ, a YJ, and the latest has been a JK. My wardrobe is 90% Jeep shirts, hats, and this last Christmas my parents even found me a wallet. The house and office, yep Jeep. Even my 1/10 scale rc rig is a Jeep.

When I picked up our new Axial SCX 10 and had the choice between a JK Wrangler or a Honcho, I selected the Honcho against all my history with the greatest American vehicle ever made. I even lean towards Nissan and not Toyota, which the Honcho is clearly a Tundra.

The latest edition to the 1/10 garage fills several gaps. First, it is a seed truck. We want to recruit others into the hobby and thought having a demo rig would be a great way to do that. Second, going to events in other states and having your rig break or simply decide to not work is a joy killer. We had this happen to Abby at the G6 in Bend, Oregon and I had to pull parts off of her rig and place them on. 1/2 finished build we happen to have with us. Even on our local outings, I had a truck misbehave and wound up walking with Melissa and Abby on what has to be one of the greatest trail drives we have found to date.

The SCX 10 is a well proven platform. Driving the truck right out of the box without all the extra mods and accessories was pure fun. I took it out to an area we call “Mini-Moab” to do some testing with it. Just out of the box, no ladders, winch, Pull Pal, wheel weights…literally out of the box.

The 27t motor provides enough speed to make driving interesting, yet it doesn’t over-power the rig. It also provides some torque when needed for climbs. Since it is a brushed motor, I don’t have to worry about water proofing. On this rig the battery is already moved forward and it is stock with driving lights, yep…trail ready.

I have heard allot of drivers complain about the servo. First, it is not water proof. Second, it is said to be week. To date, the servo set ups in both Abby and Melissa’s rigs has done well and they both abuse them quite a bit.

The radio controller is great for out of the box. It is a 2.4 Ghz set up, so cross-communication with another rig is a very low risk. If feels great in the hand and feathering the trigger is easy to do with it. The main feature I like, it has a notch for using a lanyard. I hate setting my radio down in the mud, and since this truck will be used for newbies, the lanyard is a must to help keep it protected.

Again, driving the basic rig was a blast. One of the problems with this hobby is the elitist mind set of having to super-build a rig when starting out. Most seasoned drivers have forgotten what it was like to be new to the hobby. This rig can have you on the trails right away. All you really need is two solid rc batteries (which I will cover in a later blog and podcast), a decent charging station, 4 AA batteries for the radio, and a trail to go play on.

If you are in Idaho, this next year we will be doing adventure and expedition runs. These are not comps. These are fun get togethers to go run around on trails or other interesting areas to drive.

Be sure to check out the web site and facebook page, I will post some links over there. Remember if you purchase anything through our Amazon site, you support our survival training.

RC Sand Ladder Test

One of the reasons I love these small scale adventures is all the cool gear you can get that is funtional. Sure I like the ice-chest and tool box that bounces around in the back of my mini Wrangler, but to have items that really work like tow straps and winches are pretty awesome.

I picked up my first set of sand ladders just before my first G6. For under $20 I had a set of MaxTrax sand ladders like my big scale rig has. They were used within the first 15 minutes of the start of the G6 in Bend, Oregon when after working our way through a maze of mud and sludge, we had to climb over a few ruts that was giving other drivers fits. I pulled the ladders off the roof rack of my little Jeep and Abby and I glided over easily where others were getting stuck.

I had noticed at the starting line at that first scale adventure how many different types of ladder systems there were. Many had been home built, while others were definitly manufactured. All had something in common, there were all longer than my set.

Over the next week I struggle to make a set of my own. They either looked great and were non-funtional, or were perfect bridging devices that looked like a sixth-grader’s shop project gone wrong. I went into my second G6 in Sparks, Nevada with my MaxTrax.
I used them a few times either alone to bridge or decrease an angle of attack or to help with my winch on an obstacle. They were fine until We went into the night course, which had a route that took us through a parking lot. Going off the curb….no issues. Going up and over a curb, my little orange bridges were too short and I wound up following another driver up his home-made bridges that were twice as long.

The following week I ordered a set of Siege Ladders from DS Pro. Twice in length and slightly less expenseive, and regionaly made from a great guy over in Oregon. I decided to test them right away.
They areas tested:

1) Scale Look – Here I think the MaxTrax wins without question. This is probably due to the fact I have a set for my big rig. They look like the actual ladders in production. With that said, since MaxTrax is also made in blue, black, and grey there should also be options for the other colors. The DS Pro looks good, and I hate to down grade it here, and as you will see in a moment…form does not discount funtion.

2) Durability- Before I comment, I have to give huge props to DS Pro here. In transit my ladders showed up warped. Probably happened in the mail along the way. Within 48 hours DS Pro not only had a new set to me, but was looking for ways to help me salvage the other set. I have had issues with other RC accessories and service has been hit and miss…DS Pro takes care of its customers.

Because of the geometry of the MaxTrax, there is less space for flex, especially when under stress of bungee cords. In addition, they use a concave shape to help strengthen overall load. They also have reinforcement on the long-axis of the ladder. There are small cutouts along the edge for mounting with a bungee, and under minimal stress, have either torn or stretched out of position.

The DS Pro ladders are longer and more suseptable to flex. They have smartly placed reinforcement along the two outer edges so there isn’t hardly any flex when under load. They have also been on the rig as it took a 30 foot tumble down the side of a rocky bank and did not break or bend, eventhough they protrude beyond the roof rack. I would like to see a slightly different plastic formula used since it is suseptable to bending like it did in the mail. I am curious as to what it will do in the summer. It does not seem at risk of snapping in cold weather. I drove today for about 6 hours in temps ranging from 29° to 36° and used the ladder for testing…no cold temp issues.

3) Usability- This is tough. Most likely, each has its specific place that shines, but here is where the Siege Ladders shine. The ladders not only long enough to bridge large gaps and provide a much better angle of attack, but are long enough that you can shove them deep into soft dirt or sand and they will stay in place as you transition out of the rut you are in. I will carry both sets, but if I had to pick one, I would most likely use the DS Pro product based on this alone.

4) Traction- for both sets, tracting was an issue, though the dimples on the MaxTrax were only slightly better. Only slightly, because with the siege ladder you have more options for angle of attack. Change the angle so you aren’t trying to drive as steep out of the sand trap. If there was some grip on the DS Pro ladders….outright awesome.

5) Overall Satisfaction- Again, if picking one…DS Pro. I really like the look and the ease of mounting of the MaxTrax, but for the reason of needing a ladder for urban and rocky environments, I would have to use the longer ladder. The other reason is simply the company taking care of me. I work hard for my RC gear and I hve to do it for Abby and Melissa as well (not always same brand- just same option), and when a company steps up to take care of me, it means allot.

With that said, I am sure RC4WD has some fine folks working there. But with our winch projects, I have already seen a lack of insight, like putting screws to mount the winch to the bumper in the packets or at least telling me up front I would need them. Still, they have a history of making great products.

You can’t go wrong with either set. MaxTrax look great and will do most of the work. Siege Ladders, best all around and will be my go-to set when I am stuck.

Be sure to check out our Facebook page for the video of these guys in action and be sure to tune into our podcast for more info on these and other adventures.
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