Steve23

Hi everyone, I've recently bought the RGT version of this car called the Rockhammer. At first I was a little disappointed with the out of the box performance and certain aspects of its looks so decided to try a few things. Firstly my version of the car came with a silver coloured cage which didn't suit the look I wanted. However, I have a buggy made by HSP which is also the OEM of the Rockhammer. Luckily the cages are identical so the silver cage of the RH was swapped with the black one of the buggy. At the same time I removed the moulded drivers because I didn't like them either. This is a crawler not a racer! I felt the suspension was a little too hard so I removed the pre-load rings which made an improvement. I was disappointed that the tyres were glued to the rims, therefore making changes to the foam inserts ( which I think are too hard) or adding wheel weights problematic without lots of effort. I do have some slightly smaller, softer and grippier wheels/tyres which I may try at a later date. Until then I found that drilling another air vent on the inside of the rims allowed the air to escape a little easier, allowing a little quicker air flow and subsequently more flex from the tyres. My final mod has been the most work so far though but also the most satisfying. It's still work in progress with more to do but I'm pleased with the result. Essentially my model is now a single seat 1/6 scale crawler. I've included a few very hurriedly taken pics to give the general idea.

Update, I decided to go for option 1 from my first post. My sand buggy now has 125mm wheels and a 14T motor pinion fitted and is looking more like a rock racer. It now has masses of ground clearance and is much more suited to the terrain on which I want to run it. The combination of the bigger wheels along with the 14T pinion has reduced the overall gearing by about 1/8 compared to stock. Therefore I should get a little more low end grunt as a result which will be helpful. Attaching pics in a post seems to be somewhat limiting here, so I've added a few before and after photos in my gallery entitled Terrain. Steve.

Many thanks again for your feedback gentlemen. Lots of good advice and pointers which I fully appreciate. I would love the likes of an Axial Wraith or SCX10 but both are way over my budget at the moment and I just can't justify spending such amounts when I'm still not 100% certain which way i wish to go. The monster trucks are just not my style I'm afraid and therefore don't really appeal. I have to say that I'm leaning towards an entry level crawler like the Maverick Scout mentioned by Nitroholic as the terrain I have available is as in the photo I posted. Additionally, while the Scout isn't readily available over here in Euroland, there are several which I'm sure are virtually identical, available locally for reasonable prices, and have a full range of spares. And, within reasonable limits, I would also enjoy doing a few mods and upgrades as things progress. Anther option that appeals to me, and which I could just stretch my budget to, is the Vaterra Slickrock, although I would prefer something a little larger. Thanks again for your replies. Steve.

I would be interested to hear what the general consensus is. Does the enhanced turning ability of 4 wheel steering outweigh the extra complexity entailed? Does it equate to better crawling ability or is it more a marketing ploy? Alternatively, is it best to keep things simple? Would love to hear peoples thoughts. Steve.

A very interesting suggestion Si Coe. I do like such vehicles but it's not really what I'm looking for at the moment and a bit over my present budget. Steve.

I've uploaded a few pics to the gallery in an album entitled Terrain. If you had this playground available to you would you opt for a Crawler, a Scaler or something else? Cheers, Steve.

Many thanks for the replies. I more or less bought the buggy on a whim as I was getting browned off with going to my flying field and not being able to fly. As a stand alone cheap buggy it's fine but only suited to relatively smooth terrain. The thing is, I've discovered that I prefer tootling about at slow to medium speeds as opposed to bashing around. The bigger wheels idea was to turn it into more of a rock racer type of buggy and open up the options of where I could use it. If I'd had been a little more patient and thoughtful I would probably have bought a Crawler or a Scaler but it's a case of not knowing until you've tried. I really enjoy watching the videos of this type and the terrain all around me (see photo) is perfect for this kind of vehicle. I've added more pics to the gallery now. Many thanks again. Looking forward to hearing more of your wisdom.

I recently got myself a 1/10 scale Desert Buggy for use on days when my RC plane flying is curtailed by poor weather. Now, while I'm enjoying the expansion of my RC hobby the buggy doesn't quite suit the way in which I've discovered I like to drive, and doesn't offer enough ground clearance for the kind of rough terrain that surrounds me which I'd like to take advantage of. I think something more akin to a Scaler/Crawler would be a better option but I'm at a loss in deciding what to do and which direction to take so I'm seeking some advice from those of you more expert in these matters than me. Please note that I don't have the budget for Axials, etc and that I see RC cars as an extension to my RC flying, not a replacement. To that end I'm looking for sensible and practical advice As I see it I have several options as follows: 1. I can replace the buggies stock 85mm dia wheels/tyres with a set of crawler type of 125mm dia that are a direct fit. Together with a change of motor pinion from 23T to 16T would produce a final drive ratio very close to the original. Thus I would have almost identical performance/motor/esc load but with an increase of ground clearance of 20mm. Aproximate cost in the region of 50 Euros. 2. Similar to above but with 105mm wheels/tyres + 16T pinion. Would give lower gearing hence better for trailing/occasional mild crawling. Ground clearance up by 10mm which perhaps isn't really enough. Aproximate cost 40 Euros. 3. Buy myself another vehicle more suited to trailing/crawling. Budget between 150 - 200 Euros max. Therefore, I'm looking at an entry level 1/10 Crawler or something like the HG P402. I do realise the limitations of these models but I simply can't justify spending any more at the moment. So, what would you advise? Many thanks in advance, Steve.

Personally, I never go below 3.75v per cell and usually it's closer to 3.8v. However, this is when used in flying planes which tend to put much more strain on a lipo. Also, as evssv says above, at this voltage they are then perfect for storage.

Thanks for the welcome gentlemen. Nice Spanish name? Actually I'm English but just happen to live over here.

Hello to everyone, Just dropping in to say hello. My main RC interest is actually RC planes. However, there are many times when I go to the flying field only for the weather (mostly wind) to put a stop to flying activities. Therefore I got myself a 1/10th electric buggy to keep me amused at those times. Now, of course, I'm finding myself viewing youtube videos of Rock Crawlers, Scalers, etc and becoming fascinated by them. While I don't think land based RC will overtake my love of flying model planes I do see a few more RC cars being added to my current collection of one sometime soon. Steve.