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B.RAD

Traxxas Stampede 4x4 assembly kit build

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Having successfully completed my first (Mad Bull) and second (M06 MK1 MX5) Tamiya builds, nostalgia reached out a tugging hand and pulled at my sleeve for a truck I had when I was a kid, and absolutely loved...the Traxxas Stampede. I had the 2wd version and as I recall, it was absolutely indestructible, with the only thing needing replacement in several years of abuse being a servo. 

The Mad Bull has reminded me that my approach to RC cars is somewhat unsympathetic, so the idea of the Traxxas' reliability and ruggedness really does appeal. Plus, 4wd will be a big bonus on the sandy areas we drive, and I need something a bit less likely to act as a mild obstruction/ramp/pebble in the road to @Bunty's awesome Clod Buster!

So, kit purchase made quite a while ago now, it was with a massive dose of self restraint that I waited until the M06 build was done before even contemplating tearing open a Stampede kit bag.

I did, however, start by painting the shell. This was purely as practice for the M06 as I wanted that to be a replica of my 1:1 turbocharged MX5 and therefore thought I'd get some testing in on the Traxxas shell. I was very, very happy with the outcome...

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Initially I was going to do viper stripes because the shell I had as a kid was dark blue with white viper stripes (I was obsessed with Dodge Vipers at the time), but when I saw the shell up close, those bonnet bulges where just crying out for cooper stripes. A nod to my pop, @Mfdriver, and our joint love of classic minis.  The rest I just made up as I went, and was really ecstatic when it came out well!

I can't decide whether to fit the window stickers or not. I don't really think it needs them, but keep flip-flopping on it in my mind. They're a black and red colour, I don't think it would clash too badly, but might "cheapen" the look a bit? Your thoughts and opinions are most welcomed!

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That lovely shell has been sat in my office looking forlornly at me every time I walk through the door.  So with the M06 build done (at least, almost done, need to fit the shell...but, you know, close enough 😁), it's finally time to crack on with the build!

I will be going completely stock on this build, running a 2s 5000mah Traxxas lipo battery. But if anyone has any tips or advice along the way, I'd really appreciate it.

So stage 1 - diff bag! These were really straightforward to build, the only real struggles being the thickness of the diff fluid (30k weight) making filling very slow progress. Also having just got used to Tamiya self tappers everywhere, the force needed to get the hex head screws started was something of a surprise, and I probably spent 10 minutes struggling to get my head around the lining up of holes that seemed to be prevented the screws from engaging. Once brute force was established, it was plain sailing from there!

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They're quite stiff in action, but that's presumably a good thing and a reaction to the diff oil weight. Keen to see what they're like on the dirt.

Next up was springs, this was really easy, although the instruction method actually introduced air to the oil, so I reverted to common sense after getting quite a lot of bubbles in the first one. Only seemed to affect the front shocks weirdly, rears could be done "by the book". Instructions tell you to push the piston all the way to the top to release any air, but the piston in the front shocks actually goes higher than the shock bodies, so there's no way to do that without sucking air into the fluid. Still, easy enough to resolve and simplify the process on the second one. Shocks built!

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Things have moved fast! Much faster than expected. Got granted the freedom to work on this after work tonight, so several hours straight have pushed me very close to the end of the build. Exciting times! 😁

Front end built up, really impressed with the sturdiness of the structure and components. Working with hex heads is a dream! 

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Rear end built up too. Wheelie bar! Hadn't expected that, so that's brought about much anticipation and excitement at what adventures are ahead!

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All stock. I see options for customisable and alloy upgrade parts in the instructions, are any of these worthwhile? I'll likely give it a bash as is anyway, but always appreciate experience from others on such things.

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Tub was a really easy build, very simple. Nice and neat too!

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Slipper clutch! This is an amazing bit of kit. Really fun to put together, I very much hope that I've done it right!! 😆

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Check out these instructions! Really good quality and colour too. I like the little measure at the bottom of the page, although the screw drawings are very accurate so I haven't needed it yet.

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Boom! Done for the night. Really happy with the progress, just the body mounts and wheels to go. 

The only thing in this build that was a royal pain was the receiver's waterproof box. The instructions tell you to connect the wires, then install the o-ring seal. The smarter out there will see a problem here - once the wires are connected, you can't get the o-ring on! I had to reverse it all, which was a bit annoying, but then the o-ring kept wanting to jump out at every slight touch so it was really tricky and quite frustrating to get all this together. And I know realise, typing this, that a small dose of the silicone grease in the bag would have really helped that process, as well as making a better seal, but the instructions didn't mention it so I didn't use it 🤦 Will make a note of that if I ever have to take it apart again. 

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Is anyone else uncomfortable with the motor wires resting in the motor like that? It's how the instructions say it should go, but I can see melted wires in my future... 😳

Also any tips on disposing of the aerial? I really, really don't like it!

Unfortunately the charger I bought doesn't seem to like the Traxxas lipo battery I bought, so I think I have to invest in a Traxxas charger to solve this. Shame as otherwise I could be running tomorrow!

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31 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

Is anyone else uncomfortable with the motor wires resting in the motor like that? It's how the instructions say it should go, but I can see melted wires in my future... 😳

I’m pretty sure they use Silicone insulation on their wires , it should be up to task. 

 

50 minutes ago, B.RAD said:

All stock. I see options for customisable and alloy upgrade parts in the instructions, are any of these worthwhile?

The Only aluminum parts of theirs I would possibly recommend would be caster blocks. 
however I’m a big advocate keeping stock and replace parts when and if they break. And even then I would stick with plastic especially RPM aftermarket bits. 

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Does this have the same internals as the brushless Stampede?.

I have looked at this kit, but I'd want brushless and 3s from the start. 

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8 hours ago, Dakratfink said:

 

I’m pretty sure they use Silicone insulation on their wires , it should be up to task. 

 

The Only aluminum parts of theirs I would possibly recommend would be caster blocks. 
however I’m a big advocate keeping stock and replace parts when and if they break. And even then I would stick with plastic especially RPM aftermarket bits. 

Thanks, that's a big relief on the wires. 

Cool, good tip! I'm of the same mind as you. Usually, and as per my Mad Bull build, I would seek out to guidance of others before starting to make sure I incorporated the known mods/upgrades during the build. But this time I felt like I wanted to learn through experience. Will be interesting to report back!

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40 minutes ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

Does this have the same internals as the brushless Stampede?.

I have looked at this kit, but I'd want brushless and 3s from the start. 

I'm not sure, but it's funny you mention it as I was thinking the exact same thing this morning. The diff gears are all metal. Only the spur gear and slipper clutch flywheel are plastic. The driveshafts are all plastic, but really, really chunky. I'm intending to go brushless in the near future after some good running on the standard set up, but on 2s. Anything else you'd want to know about the kit?

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Thanks, did a bit of research and see there are hardened gears available..

 

And the 4x4 brush less RTR has the TQI radio with TSM and self righting,, as far as I can see, that's it..

Traxxas telemetry,....

Speed

Oooooooo, that's fast!!!

Temperature

Ouch that's hot!!!

Battery voltage

It's still going...

That's how I normally do it.. lol

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6 hours ago, wolfdogstinkus said:

Does this have the same internals as the brushless Stampede?.

I have looked at this kit, but I'd want brushless and 3s from the start. 

The slipper assembly is definitely the one for the Brushless and the 4x4 Slashes, the big diff gears appear to be the ones for the brushed model, which has more teeth and shorter gear ratio, but it’s been 6 years since I put those in my Telluride trail rig, so I can’t tell for sure. It should give a part number in the manual though!

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Thanks @BJoe76, from what I can tell on the Traxxas website, they're pretty much identical apart from the gearing. The brushless motor I have is 4000kv so nothing too crazy, so I think the standard gearing would be ok, but welcome challenge to this!

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Had a short break over lunch so cracked on with the wheels, tyres and body mounts. Got the tyres glued on to the rims (really wish they were black!! Would look so much better, no idea why Traxxas insist on the chrome! 🤦) and then mounted to the truck. I had thought the chassis looked a little small, but with the wheels on, it suddenly looks bigger!!

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Next up is the very exciting moment of popping the bodyshell on - I'm very happy with this!

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What do you think about window stickers, needed or no? I think it looks ok as is, but like something is missing without the windows... 🤔

Just waiting for my Traxxas charger to turn up now so I can go and run it, super exciting!!!

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I have eyed this kit recently also.  I have two 2wd Stampedes, one is a brushless "upgraded" one, and the other I did a "low and narrow" job with Slash and Bandit arms and such.  I have always wanted a 4wd Stampede, but the prices always seemed high for what it is.  I would be ditching the ESC/motor combo in favor of brushless in this, and the fact I don't have any Traxxas connector bs things.  Now you have me thinking again...

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Seems like the RTR has many more upgrades designed for the extra power.. 

https://traxxas.com/news/stampede-4x4-factory-upgrade

Mainly just arms and driveshafts,,. So it maybe worth getting some spares..

Does this kit not come with a wheelie bar?. 

It's offered as an upgrade..

Ignore most of this message, I just matched up the part numbers and it looks like the kit comes with all the upgrades apart from the motor and self righting. (Footage) transmitter with telemetry..  hmmmmmm.. tempting..

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Charger arrived yesterday, so battery is powered up and I cannot wait to have a go! Weather looks good today so I'll do a first spin up and down the road out front just to see what speed and handling is like before heading over to the woods later. Will try and get some video. Super excited!

@wolfdogstinkus from what I can tell of the parts/descriptions, the assembly kit has everything in there already. There are upgrade options available, but they're not standard on the brushless RTR, you have to upgrade that too. They only really seem to add adjustability, something that would just add confusion for me! So I'm happy to stick as is and upgrade if/when any bits fail. But it's pretty awesome how robustly built this thing is, definitely looks ready to take a bashing!

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Apart from the obvious brushless system, the BL RTR does come with turnbuckles instead of the plastic upper links.  I am pretty sure the driveshafts are the same on both models.  The telemetry stuff is not standard on the BL model either.  And I never heard of the Stampede 4x4 having the self righting feature... maybe they added it recently, but I have never known it to have that feature.

Another mention... I have a feeling the Stampede 4x4 might disappear from their lineup, as the new Hoss model is basically an updated/upgraded Stampede 4x4.  My feeling is they faze out the Stampede in favor of the more $$$ Hoss.  Which is a bummer.

I think I may have just talked myself into a kit now.  Mostly just for the "new"... "kit"... "budget" aspects of it.

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Just get it bought @kwkenuf!! 😁 

Had my first drive this morning - I'm very impressed. The handling is great, it drives really nicely and the tyre/shock damping makes it bound over jumps really, really well. It's not as quick as I was expecting, I don't see how the 30mph claims could ever be justified, but it's quick enough to be a lot of fun. I think that brushless upgrade might be happening a little quicker than planned.... 😬

I tried to get some video but it seems that recording with a phone in your mouth isn't all that easy...! A couple of clips night have worked, I'll see if I can edit something together. Or wait until I have an assistant on hand. For now a couple of photos will have to do!PXL_20210327_113945660_copy_2016x1512.thumb.jpg.a6b4029c912dd1ef71a8542498ed2b18.jpg

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I'm really pleased I went with the window stickers now. I also added the headlights and bumper bar stickers, which for me do complete the look. I'm thrilled with how it's turned out!

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@B.RAD, I just found the kit without the electronics for $50 less than the kit with electronics.  Turns out these kits are very scarce right now...

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Fair warning - the video quality here is absolutely awful!!! Trying to film on your own is hard work, and phone in mouth apparently doesn't translate to effective tracking! Next time I'll get my friend to do some action shots.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nvMt4kRc0A8

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Update - the Stampede has been utterly, absolutely, brilliant! It does everything so competently and capably, and has proven to be incredibly robust. I love it!

I took the spacers out of the front shocks, which has helped reduce grip roll and decrease it's turning circle. Other than that I left it be.

But...I found myself with a spare 4000kv Hobbywing ezrun motor and couldn't resist the temptation! It's gone in with a matching ESC. First impressions are decent, it's nowhere near as quick as I was expecting, but it is faster than the standard brushed motor. Still very competent and none of it's charm is lost, although I do need to dial back the braking as it currently does front flips on the brakes! 😆 I think it can go quicker though, so I've ordered a 15t pinion for it. Will see what that does!

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Another great thread!

I wonder if the dishwasher would remove the chrome on the wheels?

@toyolien did this very successfully on some Konghead wheels.

Either way it looks great and it sounds like it is a lot of fun 👍

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17 minutes ago, Grumpy pants said:

Another great thread!

I wonder if the dishwasher would remove the chrome on the wheels?

This is a cracking idea! Just have to wait for HRH to be away long enough that I can stick car parts in her prized dishwasher! 🤣 I actually applied some prize-winning man maths here and added some of the black chrome wheels and tyres to a Modelsport order to get it up to the free postage threshold. Boy am I sucker. Spent £50 to save £4.99!! 🤦😝 Haven't tried them out yet so that'll be something to do this weekend 😁

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