Volvo Fh12

[subsea]

I am looking at buying a Volvo truck. have looked into the prices for the kits and see several companys have increased the price by about 50. Has this come from Tamiya and how long do you think it will be before everyone else increases prices too?

Apart from ball races what other upgrades are worth looking at? I cant afford a MFU for a long while so thats off the list.

[retroman]

I think the smartest move would be to shop around on the net, rather than ebay, you might be able to get a good deal, if someone has one in stock, at the old price. Unfortunately it's all down to the weakening pound I recently ordered a receiver, and got a nasty shock on the price!

Bearings are a really good place to start upgrading, I guess you could fit a lighting kit and stuff, while saving up for the MFU

[subsea]

Ordered the truck yesterday from ModelsinMotion @ 174.99 and bearings last night on ebay. Hopefully should have it all on monday. I have got two Standard Futaba servos and a 4 channel rx but need advice on a speed controller. What is best?

[gozone]

I run most of my trucks on the Tamiya TEU-101-BK esc, which is the standard one, supplied with many kits today..

It does its job properly, and i like the fact that it brakes WITHOUT going into reverse by itself.

Have fun on your build..

Cheers..

Michael

[subsea]

I run most of my trucks on the Tamiya TEU-101-BK esc, which is the standard one, supplied with many kits today..

It does its job properly, and i like the fact that it brakes WITHOUT going into reverse by itself.

Have fun on your build..

Cheers..

Michael

Thanks, i will find myself a TEU-101-BK. sure i got one laying about somewhere. Im just waiting for ModelsinMotion to process the order as it says "waiting" on the website. plus they increased the price overnight from 174.99 to 244.99. Anyone had proplems with slow delivery/order processing with ModelsinMotion?

[retroman]

As far as I am aware, shops are obliged to sell for the price that they have marked it up at! I also think that the huge increase in price is unreasonable. Could always try Time Tunnel, or Modelsport. Might be worth phoning the them, rather than ordering on-line. Or go to your LHS, and ask them if they can price match, or better it?

I would say that the TEU-101-BK is a good call. They are probably one of the best budget ESC's out there, and they are really smooth in operation as well. The brake facility is really smooth and progressive, perfect for a truck.

The Tractor Trucks are great fun to build, and there is plenty of stuff on "You Tube" to drool over. Be warned.... You'll find yourself saving hard for the MFU though

There's an excellent video on TC, titled "Ice Pond Truckers". Well worth a look. I don't know that I would have had the bottle to do it though!

Have fun with the build, and good luck

[subsea]

Yeah i know the movie on here you mean. Thats a mates truck at his local boating pond. Thanks for all the advice. i got my truck on Saturday and am starting the build tonight. Anything i need to pay special attention to? Now the hardest part, choosing the paint scheme.

[turbine2]

Anything i need to pay special attention to? Now the hardest part, choosing the paint scheme.

Having just gone through building a king hauler I would say that the main things are to check carefully that what you're putting together is how it is on the instructions. The instructions are comprehensive but there were a couple of places where I ended up going back to correct a misunderstanding I had. The only showstopper I had was when I put the gearbox together and could not work out the way it was supposed to go (meaning I ended up with no mid range gear).

I'm also at the point now of deciding on the paint job. I think I know what i'm going to go for but that could change depending on my experimentation with airbush paining.

Other than that, take your time and enjoy.

[retroman]

Yeah, be a little carefull with the gearbox build. My King Hauler instructions were a little confusing, as the first picture shows one of the shafts, then the next picture down shows the same shaft, but rotated through 180 degrees - ie, reversed. Top tip would be to make sure that the gearbox is working properly before fitting it into the chassis.

Another piece of advice I was given on here was to be carefull on the twin rear axle trucks, as it is easy to build the diffs, so that the wheels on the front and rear axles turn in opposite directions!

[turbine2]

Another piece of advice I was given on here was to be carefull on the twin rear axle trucks, as it is easy to build the diffs, so that the wheels on the front and rear axles turn in opposite directions!

Ah, I'm glad I'm not the only one who did that.

[subsea]

ok. nearly all built now after two late nights (i couldn't stop myself). I have just thought as im using a Tamiya standard ESC i am gonna need more than a 4 channel rx. As the esc has a batt lead to fit in the rx its got to be a 5/6 channel rx or am i being dumb?

[turbine2]

I've managed with a 4 channel rx and only using 3 channels. One for steering, one for gearbox and one for speed control. I've got the Acoms techniplus 4 unit with ch1 doing gearbox, 2 for steerage and 3 for throttle using the Tamiya standard ESC. I did not need the separate power switch that came with the Acoms and just plugged the power lead from the ESC into the receiver (after removing the tab).

What do you need the extra 2 channels for?

[subsea]

Dont worry all sorted now. was being a bit thick at the time. its all working. just need to paint it.

it wont be box art. i am thinking metalic red with viper strips at the moment. suggestions?

[lee172]

i think this colour looks awesome!

a kind of coppery-gold...

[subsea]

Paint job done and all built. See Pastonpersons showroom for pics. It's the red and white Volvo.

New question about it. Is there anyway of getting the fifth wheel to move and raise/lower trailer legs without buying the legs kit as i dont have a trailer and just use my mates.