Not Vintage. Toyota Hi-lux High-lift

[mongoose1983]

I know it isn't vintage, and I know some of you don't even believe this truck will ever be a classic, but decided to write this here one to find some info on this new Tamiya truck.

In spite of my very limited budget, I'm nowadays considering to buy one of these kits. I know none of my two channels radios will do, and I've heard this one runs exclusively with a special Futaba 4channel radio. Does that means that I can't use no other 3 or 4 channel radios with it?

I recently saw an old Futaba 3channel radio over here with a three step silver switch on the top right corner. It's an old model, those with larger receivers. I was wondering if that one would work ok with this new truck. It was just like them ussual two-channel radios, I mean the sticks automatically go back to the center after you pull or push them. Will that be OK? I don't know if that kind of radio would ruin the transmission. So what do you think about it? Or how about some old aircraft 4-channel radios? Those are much cheaper, and besides I know I'll never run the truck near radio controlled aircrafts.

Other question is about the ESC. Rumour has it that this truck won't run with an ordinary ESC. I have a regular Tamiya ESC here I thought would do OK but now I'm in the doubt. I frankly don't see much chance to ever get the complete sound system if I ever got this truck, but there are still lots of questions surrounding me as to what to expect of such a high priced purchase. You see I've never had a 3 speed before!

So if someone out there can shed some light over these doubts I have then that would be a big help to me.

Thanks and Happy Easter to Y'All!!

EB

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PD. Sorry to post this one here -this is the forum I look at the most.

[WillyChang]

You do not need any special radio just to run it.

If you don't mind locking the gearbox into 1 gear, you can use a 2ch radio.

3rd channel is needed to change gears; if you use a stick 3 or 4ch then that's fine too.

Or cheap Traxxas 3ch pistol radio is usable too if you mod the 3rd channel switch into a 3-position toggle.

You only need the specially recommended Futaba stick radio if you're planning on using the HighLift MFC.

This is just a "basic" radio with analog trim tabs - these trim tabs are moved from end-2-end to activate

the various light functions. It would not be as easy to do using digital pushbutton trims on fancier radios.

[mongoose1983]

You do not need any special radio just to run it...

Thanks for the info, WillyChang!

So the cheap Futaba 3channel I mentioned will do. That's good to know.

Anyway, what about the ESC? Will it run with any ESC I used with my other Tamiyas (BF, MB, MP, etc..)??

Thanks again!

EB

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[Shodog]

A standard no frills 4 channel radio will work fine. you should get a stick radio that way you can use a shift gate for the shifting. I see older futaba radios sell for dirt cheap on ebay,

you need an esc that puts out enough amperage to run two servos plus itself. the standard low end Tamiya ESC doesn't quite cut it. On the steering you should use and upgraded servo with more torque. I have bought a few inexpensively off of ebay where someone was parting out a Tamiya TNX.

[mongoose1983]

A standard no frills 4 channel radio will work fine. you should get a stick radio that way you can use a shift gate for the shifting. I see older futaba radios sell for dirt cheap on ebay, you need an esc that puts out enough amperage to run two servos plus itself. the standard low end Tamiya ESC doesn't quite cut it. On the steering you should use and upgraded servo with more torque. I have bought a few inexpensively off of ebay where someone was parting out a Tamiya TNX.

Thank you Shodog! Still a couple more questions...

Well, the ESC I have is the regular Tamiya TEU-101. Do you think this can do with the High-Lift truck? As for the servos, I only have S148 and S3003. Will they work or do I need something more expensive? Is this the reason they didn't include a MSC with this truck?

Mmmm... That Toyota truck is really a complicated model, isn't it!

("Dirt cheap" on eBay!!?? Man, I'm just a mid-to-low class man living a drastic life in a poor Country. What may be a dirt cheap radio could really mean 'something' to a guy like me...)

[WillyChang]

They probably didn't include ESC with the Highlifts as they'd think everyone wants the MFC

TEU101BK should be good enough to drive a RS540 motor in the truck.

However TEU101BK does *NOT* have "BEC"... (which circumvents Shodog's suggestion about BEC being powerful enough)

so you'll either need to use an external BEC or have a receiver that has BEC built it (= can be supplied direct with 7.2V).

Some older ancient Futaba RXes use the "F" plug instead of current modern "J" plug.

Its pretty hard to find stock of F plugs these days; no new servos come with them anymore.

Hitec metal/Ti gear servos are usually good value for the $$ if you're after a budget hi-torque steering servo.

[mongoose1983]

They probably didn't include ESC with the Highlifts as they'd think everyone wants the MFC

I was reading the .PDF available of the Toyota Manual. Its all there. Sadly, according to the manual my ESC won't work. Furthermore, the thing says you can't get the High-Lift in the mud, gravel nor water because of short circuits (and heat in the case of gravel) and it's no-way about mounting larger tires. Still makes me wonder about many of these trucks I've seen on YouTube doing some serious water/mud runs... So what is it about the instruction manual. Are these mere exaggerations or what?

[Nick83]

The High Lift is easy to build, and very fun to build. it was my first RC build!

But, get a waterproof ESC or waterproof yours. LRP makes a waterproof ESC for not too expensive, but they have a bad reputation. I have one in my High lift, and it works great, but the other one I bought was defective out of the box.

Buy the Hilux. You won't regret it.

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

I was reading the .PDF available of the Toyota Manual. Its all there. Sadly, according to the manual my ESC won't work. Furthermore, the thing says you can't get the High-Lift in the mud, gravel nor water because of short circuits (and heat in the case of gravel) and it's no-way about mounting larger tires. Still makes me wonder about many of these trucks I've seen on YouTube doing some serious water/mud runs... So what is it about the instruction manual. Are these mere exaggerations or what?

Do not have doubts about the high lift.

Its the best engineered tamiya truck in years.

Ignore the junk in the manual about motors, pinions, wheels and water.

I've just ran mine in some deep snow. So its got soaked. Its got 2.2 size wheels and a 21 turn motor. No tamiya police are after me yet for ignoring the manual

Get a nice waterproof esc and high torque servo for the steering. The truck is very durable and worth every penny of its asking price. Buy from stella models and you get a lot of kit for your money. Do not buy from your local hobby store unless you're not interested in saving money, as stores need to charge higher prices.

[mobias]

I was reading the .PDF available of the Toyota Manual. Its all there. Sadly, according to the manual my ESC won't work. Furthermore, the thing says you can't get the High-Lift in the mud, gravel nor water because of short circuits (and heat in the case of gravel) and it's no-way about mounting larger tires. Still makes me wonder about many of these trucks I've seen on YouTube doing some serious water/mud runs... So what is it about the instruction manual. Are these mere exaggerations or what?

I think Tamiya really mean if you've got a MFU installed then don't run it near water gravel etc. Even so when I had the MFU in mine I ran it in in sand and dry dusty mud surfaces with 2.2 wheels fitted with no probs.

Like Mymonsterbeetelisbroken says the High Lift will take a lot of punishment. The only weak points I found were the leaf springs which bend out of shape very easily. Thats why I've 4 linked mine now

[WillyChang]

I was reading the .PDF available of the Toyota Manual. Its all there. Sadly, according to the manual my ESC won't work.

T probably tells you not to use the TEU101BK as

1) its got no BEC and most 4ch RXes need something with BEC

2) stock Hilift doesn't have ballbearings... there's probably a big load on the motor with bushings

They recommend the TEU302BK which is similar to Futaba MC230R, its nothing flash but has BEC.

Furthermore, the thing says you can't get the High-Lift in the mud, gravel nor water because of short circuits (and heat in the case of gravel) and it's no-way about mounting larger tires.

Dare say it says the same thing in the manual for the 1:1 Porsche Cayenne, VW Toureg, Toyota Landcruiser...

[Live Steam Mad]

Hi, nice to see some new faces on the forums!

MFU-01 for the 1/14 lorries (trucks) has a 5V BEC output which can reliably drive the Hitec HS645MG high torque servo (excellent value for money, around 2.5 to 3 x more torque than a standard servo if I remember right) under the most arduous loading conditions (almost stalling it, many times over), and this allows you to steer on thick carpet if you run your truck indoors at all. I found the standard servos to be pathetic on carpet (no steering). The MFU for the HiLift is I imagine almost identical in design. I didn't risk using any higher torque a servo since the loading in Amperes would maybe get too high, maybe blowing the BEC transistor output. However it is possible for about 40 GBP (from Hong Kong) to buy a Hitec servo with Titanium gears and around 8 times more torque than a standard servo (20+ Kg.cm if I remember right). Check out hitecrcd.com and look at the servos' torque specifications.

I also use an LRP truck puller motor with the MFU-01, it's designed to give the 'ultimate' in torque (well almost) from a 540 sized can, and the MFU doesn't cut out due to overloads even when the motor is severely loaded.

Like all receivers (RX's) and ESC's (there is an ESC built into the MFU-01), try not to subject it to immersion in water. Spashes are OK. If it does get immersed, discontinue use immediately if you can, allow to dry out for a day, and then all will be well (same with RX). You can enclose (waterproof) the RX with a balloon. The MFU-01 has a heatsink which will need ventilation if loaded (it's for the power dissipation from the transistors when large currents flow).

For ALL of the Tamiya MFU's, including MFU-01 and the one in the tanks, you will need a transmitter (TX) WITH MECHANICAL RATCHET TRIMS to work the "Special MFU Functions". Digital trims are NOT practical.

I use a computer radio (so much more flexible) called the Futaba Field Force 6XS (discontinued, can be bought on Ebay) on SURFACE freqeuency (40MHz in England, 75 MHz in USA) on PCM1024 (MUCH better than the standard Futaba Attack 4VWD that comes with the HiLift etc. in Japan, this one is on 27MHz, AM), I use the FM radio because you get none of the twitchy glitchy servos that you get indoors around metal objects in the kitchen if you use AM (which suffers from multi-path (signal echos)), and PCM means error protected (like with computers, perfect error free signal). My receiver is the Futaba P-146iP. The good thing about this radio is you can set it to PPM instead (normal FM without the PCM) and use any FM Futaba receiver as well. It has got mechanical ratchet trims (linked to the computer radio inside). Perfect performance with MFU-01, I have extensively tested it. TC member Ant88 (really nice guy, a real gentleman) makes shift gates to fit this TX if you want them. I use them, and also "2-channel" gates from Ant on another 6XS that I have to run my normal 2 channel cars. The radio has 6 channels.

Hope that helps!

Personally although I really like the new HiLift Hilux, I hugely prefer the original one, and now have a NIB 4000mAh battery for mine, a NIP windscreen, a NIB original Transistorised speed controller, and near perfect original tyres for it, and yes you've guessed it, nothing else, no chassis, nothing LOL!! Hilux is a long term project for me! Remember the old point, you can only make great progress if you build one model at a time and stick to it LOL!

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[jeffy]

Like willy chang said i use a traxxas tq 3 transmitter with th 2 way switch changed to a 3 way toggle ideal for the job. I just bought a second hand one off ebay for 2 the toggle switch cost me 1.50. You cant possibly do it cheaper without stealing.

[mongoose1983]

Like willy chang said i use a traxxas tq 3 transmitter with th 2 way switch changed to a 3 way toggle ideal for the job. I just bought a second hand one off ebay for 2 the toggle switch cost me 1.50. You cant possibly do it cheaper without stealing.

You're right, Jeffy. That Traxxas seems to be the only way out. BUT to me, all my life it 's been Tamiya + Futaba stick radios. Anything else just doesn't feel right. But then again, you're right. That one's a good option to the $175 USD shipped Futaba radio.

[gazwilts]

Im doing the same thing here, my hilux should be with me tommorow. ive just modded a TQ3 as has already been suggested and it works great!!!!!! the whole radio set cost me 30 brand new, thats with receiver and 2 high touque servos!! looky here if you need the guide on how to do this mod, it really is easy and works great.

http://www.myrcmt.com/bd/showthread.php?t=298

the mini switches you need are available on ebay.

[raysan]

The High-Lift is a great fun truck to use. In mine (f350) I run a waterproof speed controller, I think they're mainly used in boats, the thing has worked a treat. The standard motor has plenty of pud for low range climbing. It has Diff-locks so it mostly just walks over the rocks (scale hardcore! it cracks me up ). To start with I had a normal steering servo but in the rocks it just didn't cut it. So instead of killing it I put in a metal geared Hi-tech one. I had no problem after that. The radio is an Eclipse 7 I had, I made up a shift gate out of some sheet PVC and stuck it in with some double sided tape. The radio has button type trims on the sticks, but I too have no real intention of buying the MFU especially when at the time I bought it they costed as much as the truck itself (If want noise i'll take out the GQ). I figured I'd buy another truck instead! Now that the Hilux is out I'll get one to park between the F350 and the Toyota 40. I would be very surprised if a company ever made another truck like the original hilux so we can just make the most of what there is today i reckon.

[WillyChang]

...

Personally although I really like the new HiLift Hilux, I hugely prefer the original one, and now have a NIB 4000mAh battery for mine, a NIP windscreen, a NIB original Transistorised speed controller, and near perfect original tyres for it, and yes you've guessed it, nothing else, no chassis, nothing LOL!!

the HighLift Hilux is derived from Mountaineer, not the original stepside Hilux

the 4000 6V battery does not fit into Mountaineer unless you have the Bruiser's battery tray

stepside Hilux's front cab is significantly different to Bruiser/Mountaineer

[mongoose1983]

Well, I still haven't got the d*mn loctite required to get all of them small lights and mufflers done, but all of the other stuff it's ready.

This is how my truck looks now (the camera can't capture the true tone of the blue I used) and, if you look at the left corner below, you'll see a nice 1.1 Hilux for a side by side comparison.

Y'All have a great 1st of May!

EB

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