Crawler kits for beginners?

[Busdriver]

16 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

The first version of the SCX10 uses the AX10 axles I believe and there is a ton of aftermarket around for them.  The SCX10 II uses the AR44 axles, and the SCX10 III I have no clue, haven't gotten there yet    Having both 1 & 2 you can't go wrong with either, but I do hate the steering/link setup on the 2 so for simplicity's sake if I could only have one I'd take the original.  It just works and there are millions of parts for them. 

I think the Mk3 has AR45 axles?

[87lc2]

3 hours ago, Busdriver said:

I think the Mk3 has AR45 axles?

Yea, that sounds right.  I believe they are portals on the SCX10 III.

[Busdriver]

10 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

Yea, that sounds right.  I believe they are portals on the SCX10 III.

Certainly not on my deadbolt RTR. Might be on the Basecamp ( I think it’s called) they are fitted to the Chevy K10 basecamp but I can’t seem to find them on anything else!

Edited October 12, 2023 by Busdriver

[87lc2]

5 hours ago, Busdriver said:

Certainly not on my deadbolt RTR. Might be on the Basecamp ( I think it’s called) they are fitted to the Chevy K10 basecamp but I can’t seem to find them on anything else!

The kits have portal axles for the SCX10.3   Don't know much about RTR stuff.

[OldSchoolRC1]

The SCX10 III comes with either portal axles or AR45 solid axles depending on which one you get. Gotta say I'm very less than impressed with my III, my II will crawl circles around it. It seems like Axial tried to make a TRX4 - they should have stuck with simple and performance oriented imo - that's kind of their wheelhouse. The builders kit version might be better than my JLU kit as it has a simpler transmission. 

Looks nice though:

I highly recommend an Enduro - builders kits are excellent, and the RTR's are pretty decent if you want to go that route. Simple, reasonably priced, and they work well.  Body and wheel selections are endless, and lots of suspension options to play with as well - IFS, rear trailing arms, etc. 

A CR01 will do fine too.. Not a pro crawler, but for basic trail running, it'll do very well. 

[JimBear]

Thanks everyone! This far, there has been a lot of good stuff to read and watch. As it stands at the moment, I have a CR-01 incoming. I am thinking I'll try this for starters and see if light crawling/trail running is something I'd like to get deeper into.

From what I have read, it seems that the kit tyres are a bit on the hard side - I was thinking of perhaps using something else, like the Gmade Bighorn (if they fit on the orignal rims?). Or if someone has a better tyre option? I am just going to see how it works as a stock build, with a 25 kg servo up front first.

[87lc2]

I ran mine with stock tires for a while and while a bit hard they were OK for trailing.  I did have the version with the "open" lugs though, I'd imaging the versions with closed lugs would be pretty poor.  They're 2.2 size so the lack of grip is a bit made up for in sheer size so I'd give the stockers a shot for now.  When you want to change them there are about a million options out there so just pick what you like and go with it.  Proline Hyrax are about as good as you can get grip-wise (and the cheap knock-offs are pretty good as well), but I prefer some of the more realistic looking options out there. 

[Badcrumble]

Enjoy your CR-01 

Whilst I've not built one (yet, I have two NIB) I have disassembled the suspension on one and my, there's a lot to it! I reckon it will be a cool, quite challenging and therefore satisfying, build.

It is easy to lock / unlock the diffs, 4WS is an easy job and it can be converted to standard dampers if you fancy tinkering. You can even monsterize it . 

And it is a Tamiya - what's not to like?!

[JimBear]

I'll report back when it has arrived (and the servo, supposedly a good few days later ... aaah!). I am going to try to rein myself in and not go off buying tyres first thing I do. 4WS is on the long-term list, but first things first. Good to know at least something to start out with, once I get to that point.

And yes, the siren call of Tamiya ...

[OldSchoolRC1]

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the CR01 family!

Kits tires are kinda meh. The Vice Crawlers are just terrible, the Cliff Crawlers are a bit better. Standard size Proline TSL's are a very worthy tire. The XL's are huge, but the original 5.5's are just right (shown on mine above) I'd stay in the 5-6" height otherwise they look out of proportion.  

[JimBear]

49 minutes ago, OldSchoolRC1 said:

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the CR01 family!

Kits tires are kinda meh. The Vice Crawlers are just terrible, the Cliff Crawlers are a bit better.

Thanks, and good to know! The whole tyre business is pretty confusing - a lot of names and choices and no idea what really works (for me). But now I have a few option to look at when time comes (probably sooner than I think, hah).

[JimBear]

Well, something arrived on my doorstep - a roller CR-01 chassis. I'll probably be able to show you a few photos tomorrow. Nicely built (it was a batty ebay purchase - would actually rather have built it myself) but it is setup for 4WS, and since I only have a 2 channel radio and one servo, I have to revert it back to FWS only for the time being.

In time, it has "lost" its motor, and I don't know what to make of the Carson Dragster ESC in the box. I assume it came with that originally, and the standard motor would be have been a silver can.

Now, I need to get a motor of course - what of the Axial AX31312 35T (it's less than half the price of a CR tuned one)? Or should I just get a silver can to start out with?

[87lc2]

I would stick with a silver can or other 27t motor, I think that provides the perfect speed in a CR01 and also good torque due to the planetary gear transmission.  I'm sure a 35t would be fine if you're set on that, but might be just a bit slow. 

[Tamiyastef]

2 hours ago, JimBear said:

get a silver can

and test it. If you like it fine. If you feel you need more torque or more or lesser speed you know in what direction to look for a replacement. Silver can is always a good starting point IMO.

[JimBear]

@87lc2, @Tamiyastef - I'll go for silver, then. And then I'll see where to go from that point.

[davidwj95]

7 hours ago, JimBear said:

Well, something arrived on my doorstep - a roller CR-01 chassis. I'll probably be able to show you a few photos tomorrow. Nicely built (it was a batty ebay purchase - would actually rather have built it myself) but it is setup for 4WS, and since I only have a 2 channel radio and one servo, I have to revert it back to FWS only for the time being.

In time, it has "lost" its motor, and I don't know what to make of the Carson Dragster ESC in the box. I assume it came with that originally, and the standard motor would be have been a silver can.

Now, I need to get a motor of course - what of the Axial AX31312 35T (it's less than half the price of a CR tuned one)? Or should I just get a silver can to start out with?

I run mine with 4WS now using 2 channel radio.  It just requires an extra servo and a Y harness.  It certainly reduces the turning  circle. It looks OK on mine because I've converted it to a monster truck but might look a bit odd if you want a scaler. 

[JimBear]

Just an update to ... well, update things.

This is what I ended up with ... I am waiting for the servo and I just realized I need to change out the 25T Tamiya cheese pinion, so will put that on the order list.

[OldSchoolRC1]

Looks great!  Always love the lower stance with the barrel springs. 

[JimBear]

Sorry for the less-than-stellar photo - the weather is gloomy and I didn't have the time to set up the lights for a proper shot ... Anyways, I am just fiddling away, did a dry test with something else than the stock tyres (Gmade Bighorns on the kit rims). Perhaps a bit much? Nut sure yet. I have gotten the electronics, a HW-1060, a silver can and two no-name 25 kg servos put in, using a Carson cheapo TX/RX. Hopefully I can get that done soonish.

[87lc2]

Lookin good.  Servos and silver can should be fine, that's what I run in mine.  I would recommend the 1080 over the 1060 if you'll be out on the trails, a lot more adjustment as far as drag brake and most importantly a 7.4v BEC which will help with the dual servos.  They'll be a lot more responsive. 

[JimBear]

28 minutes ago, 87lc2 said:

I would recommend the 1080 over the 1060 if you'll be out on the trails, a lot more adjustment as far as drag brake and most importantly a 7.4v BEC which will help with the dual servos.  They'll be a lot more responsive. 

I'll keep that in mind, the 1080. I am going to run a ni-mh battery in the truck for starters, and then we'll see if I get up to the li-po business in the future. Unless it would be neccessary, using two servos in it?

[87lc2]

1 hour ago, JimBear said:

I'll keep that in mind, the 1080. I am going to run a ni-mh battery in the truck for starters, and then we'll see if I get up to the li-po business in the future. Unless it would be neccessary, using two servos in it?

1080 is a brushed ESC that you can use nimh with if you choose.  It's not 100% necessary, but I wouldnt run a trail truck or crawler without one.  Biggest advantage is the 7.4v BEC (the G2 has an 8.4v BEC which is awesome), but you can adjust quite a few settings that are helpful on the trail, mostly brake settings.  I believe the 1060 has a drag brake, but its either 100% or 0%, pretty useless. 

[JimBear]

2 hours ago, 87lc2 said:

I believe the 1060 has a drag brake, but its either 100% or 0%, pretty useless. 

From the descriptions, yes, it has drag brake. Obviously I haven't tried it yet, so I can't say if it is good or not.

[JimBear]

I'll keep it in here, since it is related to the CR-01 (see above) ...

I am finally getting down to putting this thing back on the trail again. So, first off, the former owner did take out the motor so I need to put another one in - and I guess I know the answer - but is there a shortcut to get a new one in, without pulling everything (it feels like it) apart? Can I lift off the skid plate and get the "motor + gears" out a bit to install the 540?

If not, I guess one doesn't want to switch motors on this each and every day ...

... fiddling around a bit and looking at the manual, I now find that screws BA8 (4 of the 3x8 mm ones) and shims BB4 (2x 3 mm) and the piece A5 from the A sprue are missing, so I can't put the motor in. Gah. I have to source the 3x8s and the shims elsewhere (the metal bags cost from 25 euros and upwards) and buy the sprue A.

Remember kids, "cheap" can be pretty expensive ...