CR01 #3 - Snow and Mud Fun!

[OldSchoolRC1 622]

I usually stay away from mud and water like it's a plague...despite all the new waterproof electronics out there, I'm a firm believer that water in any form and electonics just don't mix. Having said that, I live where we have snow for a few months, and a very muddy spring season. So finally I broke down and built a dedicated snow and mud truck so I could play year round.  

My other CR01's are built for crawler/trail duty, and I had this one on the shelf that I was keeping mostly stock. Of course, nothing ever really stays stock around here for long. With its taller stance, big tires, and electronics up high, and a giant box of spare parts I figured this was a perfect candidate for my mud truck. 

This truck came to me with the luster silver chassis.. I wouldn't have bought it myself, but it's a really nice looking piece. I decided to mod the chassis a bit to give a bit more clearance under the trans mount, but I wanted to keep this chassis semi stock looking. First thing I did was (carefully) shave the underside of the chassis rails. 

I trimmed off the upper mounts of the side plates. Could have cut them off completely, but for strength, I left them on. 

Rebolted the side plates to the chassis 1 hole higher giving me about 10mm more clearance. Doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes a world of difference. 

To make this mod, quite a bit of the stock battery tray had to go. It looks kind of butch, but works just fine. The battery will be supported by the top of the trans. 

View from the side with the additional clearance. 

I had a set of portals on this truck originally, but didn't want to ruin them in the mud since they are so hard to find. I put a set of 3Racing lockouts on the rear axles. Speaking of, both diffs are locked for now with the "3rd Gear" mod. I may unlock them later if I add more power. 

Only other real mod to the truck is replacing the cantilevers with some homebrew standoffs and a set of Vaterra shocks. 

Overview of the chassis..My others are modded with custom chassis and various transmissions. This one really retains the stock look overall.  

Wired up with a WP 1060 ESC and stuffed the receiver into a TT02 box. Servo is a basic Traxxas waterproof model I had laying around. Running the stock motor and gearing for now. The upper mounts on the chassis standoffs I shaved down earlier worked perfect for zip ties and cleaning up the wiring. 

A few finished pics. Modified Imex tires on Gmade wheels should move some snow. A Proline body (In Tamiya Copper of course) with the fenders removed gives it the aggressive mud truck look I wanted. 

And a few action pics...I'm not much of a photographer, apologize for the blurry shots! 

[Granddad Stinky 974]

Love it. 👍

[OldSchoolRC1 622]

I let my daughter wheel this truck the past weekend on her first trail run. Did fantastic as expected! 

[novicelad 785]

I need one 

[njmlondon 545]

I keep nearly pulling the trigger on a CR01. Photos like this make it very very tempting!

The extra scale of that body works nicely on it.