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steelo

Looking for monster truck with personality

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Tricky question and one I've been working on for years. NameUnchanged is right. The first step is solid axle or independent? Lets start with Tamiya. The TXT as previously stated is a great build and realistic truck. I've got the txt-1 and 2. Between them I've run stock 540s, twin 550 Titans on 14.4v, Twin HPI 15T Firebolts on 8.4v and 4600 single brushless on 8.4v. Here are some considerations. How long do you want the truck to last? Tamiya doesn't build trucks for the "beat it to death" crowd like Traxxas. Tamiya supplies RC models designed to be realistic and to be cherished. I suspect, they might be perplexed by how abusive and destructive folks can be with the "other brands" at times. You'll get a couple years worth of good use with a high-powered set-up but if you take them to the grave, like me, keeping the power levels sensible will ensure the truck last a long time. Remember the TXT is HEAVY and this begins to wears things out as the power levels skyrocket. The center transmission is fine but those cast gears in the axles don't last forever under extreme power. I could go into further detail if needed but the main thing is, they aren't Emaxx beaters and aren't meant to be. They do what they're intended to very well however. Also, the rumor is the TXT-2 may have been discontinued making parts sourcing years down the road a possible issue.

Now, the Clod Buster. Its less realistic by virtue of the axle mounted motors. Parts supply is not an issue. These things have been around forever. They can be modded to insane levels. While not Emaxx territory, take a look at some of the freestyle exhibitions at true RC monster truck races on Youtube. Those mod Clods fly high and take a beating. They're costly to build to that level (needed two separate brushless systems gets expensive and that's just the beginning). Personally, I'm not a fan of the stripped down current race Clods. Its just body hung over the tires with a tiny, minimal chassis in the rear but...the setup does perform very well. Amazing really.

The only other solid axle alternatives in the Tamiya stable is to build up an old school monster with a High Lift chassis truck or convert a CR01 into a monster (which I've done).

Now, independent Tamiya. The Wild Dagger series of trucks or 4wd converted versions of the WT01. Tough trucks with many configurations possible. Also reportedly recently discontinued but I think parts will be around for years yet and the gear box lives on in the Wild Willy 2. They made A LOT of these trucks. These are closer to scaled down Emaxxes. Noticed I said scaled down. They lack the bulk and built nature of a Maxx. They won't plow through everything. They do reach a top speed limit (like the Clod of TXT) where they get unmanageable. But, they are more nimble and maneuverable. In smaller spaces where the Maxx gets cramped, the Dagger zips about great. I personally found you have to like them for what they are and not try to chase an Emaxx with one. They can be great trucks and can be highly modded.

Now, none of those options grant you Emaxx-like durability and performance. If you want that, like others have said, convert a Tamiya Nitro truck. Just like Traxxas won't give you the satisfaction of kit building, neither will a Tamiya take to being jumped over a house. The Maxx is an impressive piece of engineering and I respect that, but it's also a souless lump of plastic marketed by a now-greedy company. I'd never buy a new Traxxas nowadays. 

There's also the rabbit hole of other manufacturers to go down, solid axle: Wheely King, MXT-1, Ground Pounder, SMT-10 or if you want independent suspension and an Emaxx that's not an Emaxx, the HPI Savage. Oh yeah and the whole slew of re-release Tamiya 2wd trucks. The rabbit hole goes deep.;)

 

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Given your responses in this thread, @steelo, I think there is little question you should go with solid axle. I have many of the vehicles mentioned in this thread, and my favorite by FAR is the mod clod. Here's a not-very-interesting video I took for the speed-run thread that another member manages:

 

What amazes me about this truck is that it really can do many of the tricks on youtube (my driving skill is the only limiting factor).

While this vehicle is the most fun, it is also the most expensive by a large margin, and requires the most maintenance.

 

 

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Thanks guys for the detailed response. I believe you’re right as far as choosing a truck with a solid axle. I really don’t ‘beat the crap’ out of any of my cars…it’s mainly running in the parking lot and around a dirt baseball field. I may make a jump or two, but nothing like what you see in some youtube videos showing people jumping cars and houses.

 

You’re absolutely correct in saying that the Traxxas’ CAN take a beating, but in the end they’re just soulless hunks of plastic marketed by a greedy company. My friend has a TMaxx and I laugh at the insane money he’s spent on nothing more than ‘bling’ for it…

 

Another thing I forgot to mention…I’d (kind of) like a nitro, they sound and smell awesome. However, I have had very bad experiences with nitro’s in the past with everything from clutches prematurely wearing, every screw coming loose and motor tie rods breaking. I don’t know if I want to spend $3-400 on another one…I’d be running it with my friends truck (T Maxx)  and would like to get something that can at least hold its own against him 😉

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Not sure if this type of thing would appeal. Or even if they are available where you are. 

But these are what I’m seriously considering. Expensive yes. But tick a lot of boxes. And would be my pick over an XmaXx or TMaxx while in the UK being very similar money or indeed cheaper than the Traxxas models. 

Petrol (gas) rather than Nitro. But all the pluses of the noise and drama still. Just more power and arguably better running. 

Maybe not quite a monster truck. Although they might offer a truck version, I’ve not looked tbh. 

https://www.rcmodelz.co.uk/rc-cars/1-5th-scale-petrol-cars/km-blade-baja-buggy-34cc.html

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I’ve seen some of those and would absolutely love to own one…unfortunately I’m too poor…LOL

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Well, if you want solid axles, gas (or electric), and the ability to keep up with a Tmaxx, that kind of narrows it down to a Kyosho Mad Force (or Mad Crusher). They're pretty durable from what I have read. It won't be a Traxxas but also won't be a kit. If you want the buildup experience and are okay with electric, I agree with smirk-racing, a mod Clod is probably the way to go. 

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Good point…and the Mad Crusher would cost over $400 USD for the electric and just under $400 for the nitro.

 

I’ll just have to see how good our tax return is this year 😉

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Right I am blaming all of you lot for this! TNX Chassis on the way gonna be brushless!

rps20180119_204246.thumb.jpg.324b5566f820d112d76a19ebd22509c3.jpg

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^ I’ll be following that, as I have three of those chassis to convert. Hate nitro so would like to get mine useable with electric power :)

large.image.jpg.06016fc93c30ae0745c27f62

 

large.image.jpg.b090ac8bad72bdc3bd615fd4

 

large.image.jpg.9c14c187b27fbd156ad0cdc5

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18 minutes ago, Nitomor said:

^ I’ll be following that, as I have three of those chassis to convert. Hate nitro so would like to get mine useable with electric power :)

large.image.jpg.06016fc93c30ae0745c27f62

 

large.image.jpg.b090ac8bad72bdc3bd615fd4

 

large.image.jpg.9c14c187b27fbd156ad0cdc5

It looks straight forward, im going to be on a budget looking at Chinese brushless motor combos 4076 size and universal motor brackets watch this space (well another thread space) also never got on with nitro

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3 hours ago, novicelad said:

Right I am blaming all of you lot for this! TNX Chassis on the way gonna be brushless!

rps20180119_204246.thumb.jpg.324b5566f820d112d76a19ebd22509c3.jpg

TNX tires for the front, and rear tires are something else.  If they are not the same size, you may want to make them uniform.  Still, it's a good thing that they are not Terra Crusher tires...

Terra Crusher weighs 12 pounds, and full 5 pounds are tires.  That was little too heavy.  Going electric would involve some work.  Kindly post your progress, because I'm going to have to follow your project.   

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10 hours ago, Juggular said:

TNX tires for the front, and rear tires are something else.  If they are not the same size, you may want to make them uniform.  Still, it's a good thing that they are not Terra Crusher tires...

Terra Crusher weighs 12 pounds, and full 5 pounds are tires.  That was little too heavy.  Going electric would involve some work.  Kindly post your progress, because I'm going to have to follow your project.   

It will be slow progress I got the chassis very cheap but funds are low, will get a bracket and mock up fitting a standard motor just to make sure all meshed ok then continue with getting all missing bits

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The motor should be the easy bit, it’s the centre diff that I feel will be the harder part and mating that to the props, but then I’ve not really gone off piste to that extent on a chassis before, probably childs play to many on here!!

edit: yours doesn’t seem to have the same frat tranny as mine, poss easier then, yours must be a different version to mine or maybe its just the photo angle. I note the later TGM-04 chassis has single dampers.

Double edit!: thoroughly confused, so yours is TNX and mine is a TGM-02 it would seem! Are they very different? They look fundamentally the same chassis below the ally top plate. I had never heard of the TNX but then I don’t follow Nitro.

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2 hours ago, Nitomor said:

The motor should be the easy bit, it’s the centre diff that I feel will be the harder part and mating that to the props, but then I’ve not really gone off piste to that extent on a chassis before, probably childs play to many on here!!

edit: yours doesn’t seem to have the same frat tranny as mine, poss easier then, yours must be a different version to mine or maybe its just the photo angle. I note the later TGM-04 chassis has single dampers.

Double edit!: thoroughly confused, so yours is TNX and mine is a TGM-02 it would seem! Are they very different? They look fundamentally the same chassis below the ally top plate. I had never heard of the TNX but then I don’t follow Nitro.

At fear of hijacking this thread too much will try to keep short all other updates will be in build thread when I get the chassis.

My understanding is the TGM-02 chassis was a bit too heavy so they quickly released the TGM-04 I think fundamentally they are the same?

The tnx TGM04 only has 4 shocks originally the seller advised that the two yellow ones wont be on it.

Im not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination, all I want is a big brushless truck.  Could have brought aone off the shelf but needed a project thats a bit different Wanted the tamiya TNX cos it looks cool, people seem to lock it in second gear and mesh the pinion staight to the gearbox where  the nitro motor would. There will be lots of trial and error trust me!

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HPI Wheely King is probably my favorite runner and the MST MTX-1 is it's direct competitor and looks really nice and the plastics on MST products are some of the best! 

I would say Wheely King, MST MTX-1 and Blackfoot or Monster beetle in that order. 

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On ‎2018‎-‎01‎-‎19 at 8:26 AM, steelo said:

Thanks guys for the detailed response. I believe you’re right as far as choosing a truck with a solid axle. I really don’t ‘beat the crap’ out of any of my cars…it’s mainly running in the parking lot and around a dirt baseball field. I may make a jump or two, but nothing like what you see in some youtube videos showing people jumping cars and houses.

 

You’re absolutely correct in saying that the Traxxas’ CAN take a beating, but in the end they’re just soulless hunks of plastic marketed by a greedy company. My friend has a TMaxx and I laugh at the insane money he’s spent on nothing more than ‘bling’ for it…

 

Another thing I forgot to mention…I’d (kind of) like a nitro, they sound and smell awesome. However, I have had very bad experiences with nitro’s in the past with everything from clutches prematurely wearing, every screw coming loose and motor tie rods breaking. I don’t know if I want to spend $3-400 on another one…I’d be running it with my friends truck (T Maxx)  and would like to get something that can at least hold its own against him 😉

I've reviewed the thread, not sure I saw the following points:

  • budget
  • 2wd vs 4wd
  • willingness to modify from stock

If you think the $$ spent on that Traxxas is a lot, spending the money to make a Tamiya Clod Buster or TXT-2 competitive is just as hilarious :o.

I'm a Tamiya purist but they just don't compete with other manufacturers RTR or Kits if you want something competitive from the box.   Having said, modifying a Clod or other Tamiya is fun but can be very expensive for what it is.  Yes, I speak from experience. 

Good luck with your choice.

As an example, these began began life as Clod Busters.  Fun to convert ? Yes. Expensive ? Yes. Worth it ? ........ Not financially.

I think Tamiya Monster Trucks should stay relatively stock - top pic, one of my Juggernauts.

post-8889-1263309733_thumb.jpg

58065.1.thumb.JPG.ff4776b34eb7c7d149b4da21a5571067.JPGpost-9-1165536300.jpg

 

 

 

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On 16/01/2018 at 5:35 PM, steelo said:

I’ve been looking for a ‘monster truck’ that I would enjoy for a few years now. I’ve owned an Arrma Granite, which was a great truck but it just had NO personality to it...it just felt...generic. I ended up selling it because it never excited me to run. Despite it being 2WD, it went over just about everything…however, every time I ran it, I just felt like, meh…

 

I love the Tamiya trucks like the ClodBuster but I’m also looking for something with relatively good performance that can scoot. The Clodbuster is a beautiful truck, but really it’s never going to compete with the likes of Traxxas, Arrma, Kyosho or HPI. 

 

I guess I’m looking for that fine balance between retro-awesomeness and detail and performance. Unfortunately, I haven’t found it yet…

Going back to the original post, how bad was the Arrma Granite? I presume you had the brushed 2wd version which is what I’m considering for a reliable soul less MT lol. 

I can live with the blandness of it for a trade off in reliability especially if it can run 2s and 3s lipo on the stock esc and brushed motor ( although I wouldn’t expect the brushed motor to last too long on 3s)

Was it a tough Truck?

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The Arrma Granite was a pretty tough truck. I did break a steering rod on an awkward jump but it was also about 14 degrees outside…

 

I replaced the 15T brushed motor with a 13.5T brushless and used a 2s lipo…the truck wheelied every time I gunned it. It was only 2WD but with the large wheels pretty much went over everything. I really didn’t like the truss chassis as it made it much more difficult to replace the steering mechanism that it should have been. Also, a 2s lipo BARELY fits…I felt like I was straining the battery wires jamming them into the tiny compartment.

 

Overall, it was fun for a while but I got bored of it after a few weeks because it just felt like a hunk of plastic built on an assembly line. I have way more fun running my Tamiya's and Kyosho's, even if they aren't exactly race ready models =)

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Sorry to bump such an old thread, but this is my topic of contemplation at the moment!

I'm anticipating a work bonus in November as our company has done well (all things considered, this bonus was supposed to be paid out in April...). Almost all of it will go into savings/debt repayment, but I want to keep a little aside for a toy for myself. A monster truck specifically :lol:

I have already a WR01, WT01, WR02 and GF01 (yes, I have a problem) but I'll never forget working in the shop back in 2007 and first seeing the sheer size of a set of Clodbuster wheels and tyres. 

Fast forward just over a decade and the 'Buster is still knocking around available new from Tamiya. 

However, reading some recent build threads and posts about disappointments in the Clodbuster chassis construction and that it's not a "great runner" have put me off somewhat.

I stumbled on Matteo's video of the MST MTX-1 on YouTube and the cogs started turning. It looks far more scale / competent than the WR/WT chassis vehicles and also really stable at speed. But it's not a Tamiya.

Will I be just as disappointed with the Clodbuster as others have said they are? It has a great look to it but I'll want to run it around and jump it a bit, I'm lead to believe a stock Clodbuster will struggle? 

I can't decide which way to go. My local hobby shop can't get hold of MST either, but can Tamiya and Axial and Traxxas. 

I don't know! I just want something bigger than my WT01!

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2 hours ago, ChrisRx718 said:

Sorry to bump such an old thread, but this is my topic of contemplation at the moment!

I'm anticipating a work bonus in November as our company has done well (all things considered, this bonus was supposed to be paid out in April...). Almost all of it will go into savings/debt repayment, but I want to keep a little aside for a toy for myself. A monster truck specifically :lol:

I have already a WR01, WT01, WR02 and GF01 (yes, I have a problem) but I'll never forget working in the shop back in 2007 and first seeing the sheer size of a set of Clodbuster wheels and tyres. 

Fast forward just over a decade and the 'Buster is still knocking around available new from Tamiya. 

However, reading some recent build threads and posts about disappointments in the Clodbuster chassis construction and that it's not a "great runner" have put me off somewhat.

I stumbled on Matteo's video of the MST MTX-1 on YouTube and the cogs started turning. It looks far more scale / competent than the WR/WT chassis vehicles and also really stable at speed. But it's not a Tamiya.

Will I be just as disappointed with the Clodbuster as others have said they are? It has a great look to it but I'll want to run it around and jump it a bit, I'm lead to believe a stock Clodbuster will struggle? 

I can't decide which way to go. My local hobby shop can't get hold of MST either, but can Tamiya and Axial and Traxxas. 

I don't know! I just want something bigger than my WT01!

If you want something bigger than the wt-01 forget the mst- mtx1 it is the same size, I had a mst mtx1 

The mst-mtx1 is not a bad car but if you want some speed this is not the car for you, out of the box they are real slow so you must buy a faster motor and run it on 3s to get some speed because it has a crawler gear ratio, then the biggest issue I had with it the the driveshaft break easy, even the steel mst options driveshafts are not good, and I had also traxxas driveshaft  on it that I made for it, but they broke to, and broke the front knuckles so then I parted out the car and sold it, kept the wheels and tires and put them on my wt-01, also the mst is very tippy because of the narrow wheelbase, even with wheelwideners it was still tippy and bouncy, my wt-01 truck drives a lot better then the mtx 1.

If you want a bigger truck, you  must look for an 1/8 scale car.

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2 hours ago, dannymulder said:

If you want something bigger than the wt-01 forget the mst- mtx1 it is the same size, I had a mst mtx1 

The mst-mtx1 is not a bad car but if you want some speed this is not the car for you, out of the box they are real slow so you must buy a faster motor and run it on 3s to get some speed because it has a crawler gear ratio, then the biggest issue I had with it the the driveshaft break easy, even the steel mst options driveshafts are not good, and I had also traxxas driveshaft  on it that I made for it, but they broke to, and broke the front knuckles so then I parted out the car and sold it, kept the wheels and tires and put them on my wt-01, also the mst is very tippy because of the narrow wheelbase, even with wheelwideners it was still tippy and bouncy, my wt-01 truck drives a lot better then the mtx 1.

If you want a bigger truck, you  must look for an 1/8 scale car.

Thanks for the feedback, I was just adding-up the cost of an MTX-1 C-10 kit.

Maybe an Agrios TXT-2 then? The problem with that is I don't have much love for the body or wheels. 

Or maybe I would be happy with a Clodbuster afterall.

Round-and-round the thought process goes...

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1 hour ago, ChrisRx718 said:

Thanks for the feedback, I was just adding-up the cost of an MTX-1 C-10 kit.

Maybe an Agrios TXT-2 then? The problem with that is I don't have much love for the body or wheels. 

Or maybe I would be happy with a Clodbuster afterall.

Round-and-round the thought process goes...

I wanted the TXT-2 Agrios myself, but the parts support for that car is terrible there are not many parts floating around, ,thats holding me of to buy one, I am not going to buy an expensive car that has almost zero parts support.

If you want an solid axle car maybe something like a kyosho mad crusher, or fo-xx and put some monster truck wheels on it like the kyosho mad force.

if you want a kyosho fo-xx roller  https://www.modellbau-metz.com/rc-modellbau/kyosho-fo-xx-ve-4wd-roller-_ohne-elektronik_-1_8.

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Take a look at the Axial SMT10.  The stock tires are too small but you can put clod sized wheels and tires on it.  I have a stock Clod, and  a Clodzilla II and IV and it outperforms them all, while keeping a very scale look.  It is very quick and handles well.

smt10.jpeg

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Thanks @67CamaroSS

The SMT10 does look cool, is it only available with the green frame and Grave digger body? I favour a black frame and traditional truck body.

The idea of using clod wheels and tyres makes sense to me - they're the part I remember the most. Do the wheels straight-fit onto the Axial? Looks like there's a part in the clod manual "B5" which joins the wheel hex (12mm?) to the rim, I guess this part would be needed too. I found somewhere listing Clod tyres but not the rims, any tips on where to buy separately? Looks like a £50 'investment' just for the tyres alone!!

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