Rhodey's Budget TRX4 D110

[WreckitRhodey]

Orite chaps, I've been on the forum for a while now but only recently got into crawling from 1/5th scale petrol and 1/8 scale nitro, but I'm brand new to electric setups bar an old TT01 I had many many moons ago, hence the TRX4 thread.(which I'll write up abit later on)

 

Just a quick noobie question for now..

 

I set the XL5HV esc up to the 70/30 trigger config. And whilst reprograming the endpoints I noticed the throttle and reverse were backwards to what was mentioned in the programming guide. Would this point to the motor being soldered up to the wrong polarity? Also if I change the bullet connectors over in the pic shown, it shouldn't do any damage to anything else once the endpoints are reset again? 

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by WreckitRhodey
Clarification

[stimpy]

It is more than possible that the TRx uses a reverse rotation set up. I don’t know as never owned one..

 

In which case then yes just swap the bullets over 👍. 
 

Only consideration is if you have a rebuildable / time able motor in which case you’d want to reset that or adjust your rotation via that method. If it is a sealed can then no worries!... 

[WreckitRhodey]

Cheers @stimpy I honestly dont know about the can, all I know is what  it's got on the outside of the can, 27T RC4WD Crawler Motor.

 

I did flip the bullets over after I was done yesterday to test it, there feels like alot more control now with the the polarity reversed.. The plan was to wait till this can dies then look at a HH/Hw1080 setup the standard esc doesnt seem bad but everyone seems to rate the 1080.

 

I'll post up about the truck later on when the kids are in bed.

 

Thabks again Stimpy 👌🏻👍🏻

[stimpy]

No worries.

 

And looking at your pic, yes it’s a sealed can so all cool 👍

[CarlC]

My two TRX4's do have reverse rotation motors. I believe that they are designed to.

[WreckitRhodey]

Cheers gents, I'm loving the knowledge this forum has!

 

So as the title suggests, I've been wanting to get into crawling for some time now but due to other cash drains (kids & her indoors..) Its just not happened until I saw this TRX4 for sale.

 

Firstly it's the D110 which is a big massive yes from me! Even in respect that the shell is a slight draw back, it still looks the business in my eyes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all..

 

It cost me the round sum of £350 sterling, which may be a little much second hand but it was 10 mins away from me, had a lipo and had the can upgraded to the RC4WD 27T crawler motor. So I figured it's a starting point, this is how "Bertha" turned up..

 

 

All pretty stock,but I did like the chequered plating on the front wings..

Then these turned up.. 😬

 

 

Not much mod-wise yet, but there were a few basics I was missing from being out of the RC world for a while so thought I'd concentrate on a goot setup first. That said I do have a few more shiny thing winging there way to me atm.

 

The only real mod I've done so far is I ballsed up the battery tray measurements by a couple of mm on width so I ended up shaving down the original tray to suit..

 

 

 

It all fits snug now with the 4000mah (I bought for trailing), the 2200mah's fit nicely in the well of the tray and when the battery holder is flipped to the 23mm side it holds them sweet too! Two birds, one stone..

 

The other things I've done so far are more scale than performance. I've added Ebay limb risers (quite a good kit for only a tenner..), had a 29cm CB lookalike ariel, made a buddy rope and moved the jack to the roof rack to fit the cb ariel.

 

 

Next on the list of things ordered, I've ordered a set of Vanquish copies from China, that are on the boat right now.

 

I've also purchased some wheel weights, I'm not sure about using then now after reading about rotational weight being a mare for the drive train, but just can afford to add weight in the form of portal weights etc atm. What are people thoughts on some weight in the wheels, as it's something I've never done myself before..

 

Also there's a bottle of Core RC 100cSt in the post aswell to give the shocks a re-vamp as they're really stiff and sticky atm.

 

Lastly for now, I was looking at tyres and the hyrax's were the one's I had my eyes on ,due to all the good reviews. But then I saw the mod you can do to the standard traxxas canyons so thought I might give this a go today to see the difference.

 

Think I've covered everything apart from I want to change out the steering servo and horn but that seems pretty standard on the TRX4's.

 

Hope I haven't bored you guys, just thought I'd get involved. 🤘🏻

 

P.S    standard obligatory flex pics..

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by WreckitRhodey
Miss-clicked (fat thumbs)

[stimpy]

Truck looks good man!!... I know the D110 has been done to death but there’s good reason for that - they look the nutz 👍. 
 

As for price, they do seem to hold their value extremely well and they’re not cheap trucks to start with. The ones I’ve watched on eBay all seem to make it to the mid £300s plus post for good condition units so I wouldn’t worry! And besides, what’s so bad about starving the family a few more days for a toy!??  😂
 

Keep it up! 

[WreckitRhodey]

19 minutes ago, stimpy said:

Truck looks good man!!... I know the D110 has been done to death but there’s good reason for that - they look the nutz 👍. 
 

As for price, they do seem to hold their value extremely well and they’re not cheap trucks to start with. The ones I’ve watched on eBay all seem to make it to the mid £300s plus post for good condition units so I wouldn’t worry! And besides, what’s so bad about starving the family a few more days for a toy!??  😂
 

Keep it up! 

 

Cheers Stimpy 👍🏻

 

It's good to know that's somewhere in the average price for them. Seems a pretty capable rig tbh for a stocker, I haven't had a proper play yet but I only live ten mins away from cannock chase, so I'll be up there as soon as the lockdown eases up!

 

I missed the defenders coming out really, when I used to run the 5b and the virus 2.0 the trx4 wasnt released I dont think..

So when I was bored and stumbled back across the forum, I checked the crawlers section, saw the D110 and caught the bug again..

 

 

Trust me though the noise levels are enough to deal with on a normal day, food is the only thing buying me some quiet time atm 😁

[stimpy]

There’ll be some great bits at Cannock. Get there sometimes for mountain biking 👍

 

And yeah, gotta keep them quiet somehow! 

[stimpy]

Just saw your added to your original post.... 

 

Weighting... Yes, better done on a non rotating part if possible so portals... But I did run weighted  wheels before and yes it works, yes my driveline survived, and yes the truck felt much better when I weighted elsewhere... 

 

Does weighting help? For crawling; absolutely. For trailing; not really. So depends what your plan is.... 
 

Wheels look fab! I’d guess most of us may have a set of those!! 👍

[Andy-Roo]

The TRX4 Defender is on my wish list, a great mix of scale and performance, and doesn’t need a load of mods out of the box. 
A good choice and you got it at a decent price 👍

[rob foster]

I bought a trx4 recently and I'm still setting up, tweaking, and modding.  I don't have a shell as a bought a kit but the d110 shell is going  to be mine soon, hopefully.  

Regarding wheel weights I've just watched a video of someone using proper car wheel weights stuck  to the circumference of the wheel inside the tyres.   They are plyable to a certain degree and self adhesive you could try this cheap way of weighting it up.  

The best mod I've done is not necessarily addinf weight but moving the weight forward.  My motor is mounted on the front bumper and makes a huge difference when going up an incline.  You could get rid of the plastic battery tray and strap ur lipo further forward too. 

 

[CarlC]

I got myself a TRX-4 Defender second hand but the Defender part didn't last long. It ended up being shortened to 313mm and have a Chevy cage back bopdy installed. I went with lots of weight upfront and lowdown (I used weighted portal covers rather than wheel weights) and it does make a huge difference, at least with my driving style it does. Oh and I still have the Defender shell and longer links if anyone needs them, they are looking for a good home. 

[WreckitRhodey]

On 05/05/2020 at 09:34, stimpy said:

Just saw your added to your original post.... 

 

Weighting... Yes, better done on a non rotating part if possible so portals... But I did run weighted  wheels before and yes it works, yes my driveline survived, and yes the truck felt much better when I weighted elsewhere... 

 

Does weighting help? For crawling; absolutely. For trailing; not really. So depends what your plan is.... 
 

Wheels look fab! I’d guess most of us may have a set of those!! 👍

 Cheers Stimpy, 👌🏻 

 

I could do with a nudge tbh, I've had the beadlock and  3 stage foams turn up today, and not sure what to do weight wise though..

 

I was going to put them on as instructed on the packet (125g front, 75g rear ) but unsure now on whether to weight just the fronts or do them all.. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Any knowledge/experience you fancy sharing?

 

On 05/05/2020 at 11:17, Andy-Roo said:

The TRX4 Defender is on my wish list, a great mix of scale and performance, and doesn’t need a load of mods out of the box. 
A good choice and you got it at a decent price 👍

 

Cheers Andy, 

I think I'm going to look for a 20kg WP servo now and that's it for a while. I'll look at the led light set and ess one in the future but I'm in no hurry now.

Thanks again skin 👌🏻

 

 

On 05/05/2020 at 17:03, rob foster said:

I bought a trx4 recently and I'm still setting up, tweaking, and modding.  I don't have a shell as a bought a kit but the d110 shell is going  to be mine soon, hopefully.  

Regarding wheel weights I've just watched a video of someone using proper car wheel weights stuck  to the circumference of the wheel inside the tyres.   They are plyable to a certain degree and self adhesive you could try this cheap way of weighting it up.  

The best mod I've done is not necessarily addinf weight but moving the weight forward.  My motor is mounted on the front bumper and makes a huge difference when going up an incline.  You could get rid of the plastic battery tray and strap ur lipo further forward too. 

 

 

Hi Rob,

They do look the mutts nuts in my eyes, I was only planning on spending £200 on a starter rig then someone offered me this beast! Did some reading up, as I'd never seen or heard of it before and that was it, I was thinking how I could keep it under wraps from her indoors. 😬

 

I'd have liked to built the kit, looks and feels really well made compared to some rc cars I've had I  the past, I'm thinking possibly a sport kit in the future..?

 

On 05/05/2020 at 17:23, CarlC said:

I got myself a TRX-4 Defender second hand but the Defender part didn't last long. It ended up being shortened to 313mm and have a Chevy cage back bopdy installed. I went with lots of weight upfront and lowdown (I used weighted portal covers rather than wheel weights) and it does make a huge difference, at least with my driving style it does. Oh and I still have the Defender shell and longer links if anyone needs them, they are looking for a good home. 

 

Orite Carl,

 

I have only gone with the wheel weights atm as I'd like to do the portals and c brackets etc.. all in one go, which wont be for a while now due to funding.. 😥 Also I've only kept the tray as living next to the chase, I plan on doing a fair bit of trailing hence the 4000mah, I'm trying to find a way to strap the smaller 2200mah's to the front of the chassis. I've not seen that with the motor I'll have to have a search and read👍🏻I have seen the servo mod switching the rear and front diff lockers around on the settings which I'm contemplating tbh and the canyons tyres mod which I've done and put the sipes in the tyres too. Cant wait to get out there properly now! 😬

[stimpy]

Is that 125g total front or for each front tyre? Etc? 
 

I wouldn’t do more than 70g ea fr / then 25/30 ea rear for trailing.... Tbh for trailing you probably don’t need much to any but certainly 50g with have little effect on drivetrain in my opinion.... 

[WreckitRhodey]

That was 125g a wheel on the fronts 😬 I dont mind it losing trail-ability as long as it improves its crawling, but at the same time dont want to hammer the drive train to bits. They are the RCBitz  taped strips, 2x 45g strips and 4x 80g strips in the set.

 

I was thinking 80g on the fronts and 45g on the backs but if any other setup would be better fire it at me as I'm brand new to this lark lol.

Edited May 7, 2020 by WreckitRhodey

[Andy-Roo]

Can’t you try it without the weights first? 
That way you’ll be able to see if it actually needs the extra weight, and if you think it does, be able to see the difference between the both.  
 

Bowhouse RC does a Low CG battery tray for the TRX4.  They are available direct from Bowhouse or from AMain hobbies for under 30 bucks. 

[WreckitRhodey]

So gents.. I'm back after many many hours of fun on the chase, aswell as convincing my bro to get him and his lad rc's and a couple of pals into crawling.. 🙆🏼‍♂️

 

So have done some more mods and rebuilt all the shocks etc and tbh I'm really impressed with how it climbs now. Although theres room for improvement but im not in no hurry to empty my wallet into it now.

 

 

However, I bought my nephew a 3650kv brushless setup,  so his vantage was faster than his dads carnage 😜. But thought I've had to buy myself a a brushless setup too... I ended up going with this one. However should have read into it more as I punched it once and popped the esc... might try and see what's popped and try and repair it for another car instead, but I thought I'd ask the question here to see what you guys would recommend brushless-wise? I know about the axe systems but dont really want to throw 200 nuts at it. Would something along  the 150A esc be better suited? As I'm not too clued up on the whole leccy business to be brutally honest. But unless a used axe system comes up (which I doubt will happen) I wont be buying one in a hurry ☹

 

I'm going to have a look through the electrics section and try to educate myself but being a crawler I understand the drag brake settings have to be specific and the punch settings etc..

 

But Hey-Ho any advice is welcomed as it's all new to me 👍🏻✌🏻

 

 

Pics for attention 😁

[Stormbringer]

really liking that almost looks real there 🍻

[Andy-Roo]

You’ve captured some great images there - good work 👍

 

As for BL setup - there was an Axe system in the sales forum a week or two back, but it wasn’t a bargain.  The trouble with BL is that your choices are limited as far decent setups go...and you’ve already found out the risks of budget systems.  How about sticking with a brushed setup until funds allow for a good BL system? The stock 21t motor isn’t bad, and if you couple that with a HW 1080 ESC you'd a decent setup. 
Worth thinking about. 

[WreckitRhodey]

You know what Andy, I might not say too much on here all that often, but I do alot of reading. 

 

This is the exact conclusion I've come to! This is currently in my basket on ebay..

 

I'm going to hold off for a week, just see if any discount codes come through or the seller offers a reduced price, every little helps 😉.

 

But the idea of going brushless was more of a vanity project tbh, and after watching the some pro's and con's comparison videos the only real thing about the brushless setup is the water proofing, but that doesnt mean your bearings etc are.. 

 

I love the fact this forum always carries the voice of reason too! 👌🏻✌🏻

 

Thanks for the compliments on the photos too gents!  They're more the handy work of the mrs than me,  but I'm going to try and improve my skills.

 

Thanks again gents, it's really appreciated!

 

 

 

 

[stimpy]

As Andy says and you have concluded!... Het that bought when you can...

 

As to your brushless system, whilst I’m not an expert on BL I do know that the motor you chose there is way too quick / hungry for a crawler.
 

As to ESCs, Generally a 60/80A esc is used And suffices... 

 

Pics look grand 👍😎

[WreckitRhodey]

10 hours ago, stimpy said:

As Andy says and you have concluded!... Het that bought when you can...

 

As to your brushless system, whilst I’m not an expert on BL I do know that the motor you chose there is way too quick / hungry for a crawler.
 

As to ESCs, Generally a 60/80A esc is used And suffices... 

 

Pics look grand 👍😎

 

Thanks or the compliment Stimpy!

 

But yer, I think the 1080 is next although I'm going to put the xl5 back in for now until the HW gets here then possibly look at HH motor but again in no hurry as it's already got the RC4WD 27T crawler motor in atm. Which from what I've read, is still a sturdy motor but alot of people cant say enough about the HW/HH setup. 

 

Cant wait to start pouring into some more scale accessories for the looks, but performance is going to come first me thinks!

 

In the form of brass and LCG upgrades 😁🤞🏻 

 

Good things come to those who wait.

[stimpy]

You've got it right mate!.. Start with performance, end with the trail tat!!..

 

Noticed I never answered your weighting query further up.... So basically non rotational is best if you can - so knuckles and hubs. You don't need much for trailing but certainly useful crawling. For lowering the COG, even a few mm out of your ride height can make a difference, then perhaps a smaller battery, lighter parts etc.Bottom line you want to get everything as low as you can on the chassis and generally forward if possible to help with climbing....

 

All fun and games!...

[WreckitRhodey]

10 hours ago, stimpy said:

 

 

Sorry stimpy, couldn't remove the quote for some reason? 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

But yer, again I apologise, I meant to reply but I've had some testing times recently.. I tried a few different setups on the weights for crawling and ended with 85g fronts and 50g on the rears and it seems pretty sweet for now. However I would be looking at removing them in the future once some shiny stuff has been purchased.  I've also read that 130mm hair scrunchies, make for great tyre inserts that arent affected by water but for a grand total of four punds, it's got to be worth a testing run?! 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

Next on the list is the bowhouse LCoG tray as I've got a 4000mah 3S turnigy Graphene for trailing and two 2200mah 3S turnigy Graphene shorty's and a 230mm velcro strap to try and relocate them in front of the steering servo for the crawling side of things. Small changes I know but when your working to a scale small changes can lead to big things, hopefully 🤞🏻

 

I'm planning some fettling tomorrow when I change the ESC & motor back over and rewire my big bro's carnage for him, so I shall try and get back out to the bomb hole and run it back up the hill of doom as it's supposed to be scorchio tomorrow and sandstone seems to be good fun in the dry!

 

 

Pic doesnt really do it justice, but the it's about 40-45ft and an incline of between 35° and 45° depending on the line you pick 😁