EXPIOWA

This has been my path. It has been my hobby, obsession and therapy. It has helped me climb up from a very dark time. I never dreamed anyone would watch my videos. There are over 1,700 subscribers at YouTube and growing. Thank you to my viewers around the world. Thank you to my friends and family for tolerating a grown man playing with toy trucks and not caring that I landscaped the basement. : )

This is a somewhat apples to oranges comparison and there are outliers like the low weight V3 that over performs but the results are fairly consistent across the board.

If it didn't happen on video, it didn't happen. So its on video. Evidence, that is all this video is. An Alpha 5 Bouncer gets destroyed and I figure out the combination at the crack with my TRX Sport.

The first rule of RC: If it didn't happen on video, it didn't happen. That just happened. 🙂

In this video I list the components chosen for this build then measure several performance data points. Visit the CrawlerWorkz page for more information: https://m.facebook.com/CrawlerWorkz/

This was going to be a no-big-deal video that should have been about 90 seconds in length but I ran into some issues that needed to be addressed. Most of what I have to say has nothing to do with the 3D printed parts. Chris Tandy did an awesome job designing this kit especially if you are and advanced builder. The big manufacturers are the ones who need to see this.

After purchasing the Low CG battery mount from Hot Racing I wondered why they didn't bother to put the battery as low as possible. Its a little lower than stock but they left a lot of meat on the bone. My new Cliffwalker ultra low CG battery mount picks it clean. I can't wait to get out to Red Rock to test it. That along with some other modifications this week should enable it to do things on the cliffs that none of my crawlers have done yet.

In this video we are not using my normal rock course so we will not be driving the normal SCX24s. Since it exinow I thought we should use it. We take a look at how modified versions of the Tetra 24, Enduro24, and HBX Devestator perform on my new portable course. The winner of this challenge surprised me a few times. I am proud of how the course turned out. I am not a portrait painter but I managed to get a lot of shading using only two colors of paint. The terrain is challenging but mostly doable.

This is the current finished version of my new portable 1:24 crawler course. My daughter may paint it later but for now, its done. It has several good lines to drive. Some are easy, some are harder. It has some of the best sidehilling of any course I have ever made. I have tried to keep this presentation tight and moving along as much as possible. Jump ahead if you need to. I hope you enjoy the video.

What started out as scrap insulation is now a pretty decent crawler course.

Oddly satisfying or annoying like a door stopper spring? I thought this low energy, low friction event was interesting either way. Sometimes I post stuff that is not RC related.

The Orlandoo battery is about 10 grams lighter than the stock battery. For reference an AAA cell weighs 12 grams. on a crawler this small that is a significant amount of weight loss from the top of the vehicle. You can feel it when you drive. There is a downside. Run time is only about ⅔ as long as you are used to with a stock battery. Buy more than one. All of my videos are work and kid safe. Watch with confidence.

If you live in Central Iowa schedule a time to come over and find out how many of these lines your truck can pull. 🏁 Open Invite

This is probably the smallest crawler you can buy.

Random wheeling

This is the latest mod in a list of mods intended to lower the truck's center of gravity. Most modifications so far involved adding weight to the front axle and reducing high up weight. The goal is to get my lifted trail truck to perform at a higher level than other non-lifted trucks of its kind. Out-crawling dedicated crawlers would be nice too. Basically I want it to perform like a belly dragger but with a lift kit that Ginger Billy would be proud of.

I am going to go the opposite direction from where I have been. I think I have been running tires that were way too soft. I also believe many people are driving on a scale version of flat tires. There is an optimal stiffness for each axle at every weight. As the weight of my trucks have increased I have recognized a need for stiffer foams inside of the tire. For the front axle I have chosen to make it far stiffer than stock. I will do some testing in the next video and share my observations. Never think you know it all. Question everything.

Loosing weight off the top of a vehicle is one of the most effective ways to improve the capability of any rock crawler. This modification dropped over 82 grams from the top rear of the vehicle where you don't want weight to be. It retains the structure of the roll cage, provides easy access to the body pins and still has some scale pieces that just look cool. They serve no purpose really. Nothing in crawling is sacred to me. I will modify anything. Have I gone too far this time? 😀 Maybe. You get to decide.

My friends consider this drifting. I guess they don't like my crawler spot. I like it just fine. 🙂

1:10 on my 1:24 course.

One of my most modded out rock crawlers is my Gen7. Tonight I added a winch to the front bumper. I kept it tucked in tight to not give away any approach angle. It is a cool thing to have.

Fulfilling a request to show how I set up the front suspension on my E1.

This is what a senile fool sounds like.

This is a shirt video showing a comparison of various differential clearances derived from various configurations. The 1.2 tires are RC4WD Rock Crushers and were special ordered by my friend Nick at wolframrc.com He could set you up too if you would like a set.