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Crawlingarkansas

Just bought a Hilux HighLift

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Hey guys I'm new to rc and let alone this server as well, I remembered seeing a youtube video on one of these trucks like 10 years ago and said what the badword and bought one on ebay, it was prebuilt but with no electronics, I had an rc shop install the servos and esc and now I have a running truck, I wanted to ask if there were any advice or things I needed to know. Is there any maintenance that needs to be done such as lubricating gears in transmission or axles? And how do you take the wheels off? I want to upgrade this truck by buying some bigger tires and rims much like a mountaineer or bruiser. I was also going to ask if installing lights is a hard thing to do for a novice. Where do most of you buy accessories for these truck? I know this is a lot to ask but I'm glad to be getting into the hobby. Thanks.

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36 minutes ago, Crawlingarkansas said:

Hey guys I'm new to rc and let alone this server as well, I remembered seeing a youtube video on one of these trucks like 10 years ago and said what the badword and bought one on ebay, it was prebuilt but with no electronics, I had an rc shop install the servos and esc and now I have a running truck, I wanted to ask if there were any advice or things I needed to know. Is there any maintenance that needs to be done such as lubricating gears in transmission or axles? And how do you take the wheels off? I want to upgrade this truck by buying some bigger tires and rims much like a mountaineer or bruiser. I was also going to ask if installing lights is a hard thing to do for a novice. Where do most of you buy accessories for these truck? I know this is a lot to ask but I'm glad to be getting into the hobby. Thanks.

Firstly, welcome aboard! That's a great colour, really suits the old school Hilux look.

Secondly, your local hobby shop can probably sell you a tool to remove the wheels, but a standard metric nut driver will do. Honestly, a good set of Tamiya specific tools is a great investment - google Tamiya 74085.

Adding lights isn't particularly tricky - you just run them off a spare channel on your receiver, but they can get a lot more complicated if you want them remote switchable, brake lights etc.

Good luck!

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My mate has this. The kit should be able to accept a full light kit, including the indicators. he also has the motor sounds kit installed too. Looks and sounds great.

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Welcome to the club!  Don't be afraid to pull off the lid and see how everything works, these kits are more complicated than plastic touring cars and buggies but once you get your head into it it's all just nuts and bolts, if you have an idea of what everything does it will help if something goes wrong.  If you don't have a manual, you can probably download one from tamiyausa: https://www.tamiyausa.com/media/files/58397ml-937-2618.pdf

There's a big nut that holds each wheel on.  The kit usually comes with a little box wrench (a cross-shaped thing) that can undo the wheel nuts, but as mentioned above, a proper Tamiya 74085 kit gives you a good sized nut driver and also the screwdrivers you'll need.  Tamiya screws are JIS, which is not the same as Phillips or Posidrive, and using those drivers will damage the screws.  The Tamiya kit is a great investment.

As mentioned above, all the lights are made to have LEDs fitted.  You can buy kits online that fit in neatly.  If you're handy with a soldering iron you could make up your own - there's plenty of tutorials online if you want to have a look, remember you'll need resistors to protect the LEDs if you go that route.  Or as has been mentioned, there's a multi-function unit that adds switchable lights, indicators, brake lights and engine sounds.  The Tamiya one is called the MFC-02 and should come with instructions to fit right in, there are also much cheaper generic units (GT Power is a brand I recall) which are a little more complicated to fit.

Routine maintenance is fairly low on these.  Unless you're driving through puddles or in fine dust, there should be no need to open the axles or gearbox.  Like most other Tamiyas, I'm fairly sure the pinion gear is made of a soft alloy which will wear down over time and cause damage to the plastic gears, but if you're using a standard motor this probably isn't an issue.  You can replace it with a steel one which will last until the next ice age if you want, RW Racing make them but I'm not sure of the pitch or tooth count in the High Lift trucks.  Replacing the pinion is a fairly easy job.

These trucks weren't made for racing or hard off road use, they're more of a functional scale model, so they work best if you drive them at realistic speeds.  They'll tip over if you try to corner at speed, and that lovely plastic body will get scratched, parts can break off if you hit things hard.  Enjoy it, it's a lovely looking truck in a great colour :) 

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