Redback

mmm thats a tough call, I've seen a Capra in action an they seem the most capable of any truck on the trail. Really sold it for me.. so I bought a Gatekeeper because already have a R1 Rockbuggy that very similar to a Capra so i thought. If you want a really capable crawler that can also take on the trails, I would go Capra. The only thing that sold me on the gatekeeper was the ability to use other endro parts. So weight up the pros and cons. Capra can only use small batteries, it also to me looks a bit odd with such a tiny cage and 1.9 wheels, but it really comes to its own on performance.

Attempting to do some bodyshell painting and failing.

Super photo's looks like lots of fun, love to see a photo of how clean the inside was after. What battery did you run and how long did it run for, any video of it mud bogging?

Green mean machine! What tires are those? Got any plans for a bed or inner wheel arches or going light clean?

Forgot about this little first run video. Edit. 2.2 Gmade R1 wheels and tires with 13mm wideners fit with minimal frame rubbing, also give much better ground clearance for the IFS diff and no rubbing on the shocks, still rather 1.9s as the trucks now too wide imo.

Great information @Derka cheers! Looking forward to seeing your build. I have tried 13mm wideners and 5.85' tires and they rub on the body. 13mm is to wide imo for 1.9 wheels and looks silly. I have some 2.2 bighorns that might work but sticking with the 1.9 size there is 2mm of thread left after the nut with the stock hubs (6mm steel) and some alloy rims, so max i can probably go is 8mm before having to a widener and barrel nut, tired axial hubs with 5mm offset and there wasnt enough thread left for the nut. Can live with not going full lock, the lurching is noticeable but controllable through reasonable driving. The steering is really tight maybe on par with the trx4? Going to build the front solid axle to check out the adjustable caster and from the looks of it this IFS kit might fit on the ftx highrock depending on if the diffs fit, from what i recall size wise they are the same the only difference being the tooth count.🤔 So maybe i can use this axle on the highrock but id loose my steel axle IFS kit hardware is not as good as the gatekeeper hardware, the plastics are quite soft, below standard compared to other models Imo. Plastic pivot balls, plastic hexes, but a steel servo horn so that's nice, would it stand up to 7.4v 28kg servo? The amount of spare links they supply I'd say no. But lets give it a try🤓 I haven't looked hard into hubs / wheels that do the offset without changing the hex hardware, I've seen some that you get different offset hubs that screw to the rims, maybe those are worth the investment?, but i would then loose the wheel weight swapping from metal to plastic hardware. Can't win them all.

I would hold out for the R2 Axe system maybe as they have wider selection of motor kv, bigger cans and logging etc. The v1 axe system was solid but i feel the motors dont contain enough motor, Alternatively Castle have very smooth startup and can be further tweaked via power curve that the axe v1 / 1.1 system doesn't have. And they work with most sensored or sensorless motors that the Axe systems wont do. The sherpa will not be parts compatible with the trx4, maybe a bumpers will fit with some cutting, but the portals for example are not even close to being similar so all the weights wouldnt fit imo. You might be better off looking at heavyweight rims rather than portal weights at the moment, should give the same effect and be compatible with any truck you want to be heavy :D. I would highly recommend these. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/index.php?product_id=432791

Indeed, more time to play and wanted to see how the IFS system would work out. On that point It feels like the IFS kit adds more weight to the front than if it was using a solid axle. So thats cool for crawling. Still toying with what motor to use, I rather use brushless and didnt put in a brushed crawler system as know what to expect and get a similar experience from the Axe Anyway not set on a pinion size yet, for the test run i ran 11t on 1800kv 3s and it maxed out at walking pace (ran for over an hour on 1300mha with 30% left over) also took out the 8kg servo and put in a 18kg and it kind of struggles on 6v when in a bind surprized me. Maybe its IFS kit or the heavyweight rims, it doesn't seem very top heavy and performed better than the trx4 (with same heavy weight rims) on some parts of the trail. Will do a bigger review once the builds finished. One big sad is the tires rubbing all over the front shock springs. Its much worse when turning on the slightly wider canyon tires, less so on the flat irons, any recommendations for deep dish alloy 1.9 and or / 2.2 beadlocks, thank you.

Day 2 - Drive time! Shocks built, easy and clean to build. Chassis done, onto the frame. Frame done, got the rear body pin mounting upside down on the cage, just note theres a slight turn down to the body post holes, if these face up you cant fit in the body pins. other than that was enjoyable. The front CV's makes it lurch under full lock the steering however outside of full lock feels really nice, and the way the truck rolls and sits i think is great. Next up panels, paint and polish, still not decided on the motor, going to give the axe system a go for a little bit before deciding.

Thats the best bug to get infected with right now matey! 😜

Wrapping up for the night the last few pages havent been as fun. Rear diff, sealed bearings here, so probably will put the front sealed bearings in the IFS. The diffcovers are a super tight fit and once shut are even harder to open without a prybar. This is where the fustrations start. 14mm screw for the trailing arm to suspension end then a nut... only issue... 14mm leaves about 1 1/2 lines of thread for the nut, this cant be right. So gave up for the night, quick check of transition shocks, dont think i'll be using them, so tommorrow shock build and body. Goodnight.

Not for me, not my truck, I'm actually happy something broke because it was about time it did with the amount of things it gets run into haha! Not bad just pin mounts and a new pin.

6s brushless conversion was definetly heavier than an engine and fuel for the hyper anyway as needed much stronger shock springs all round, I agree run it nitro, maybe some one in the park will offer you 300ish for it once they see it and say, thats cool i want one...

Broke it! Bench 1 / Outlaw 0

Good to know for next time, thanks @PraetoR Managed to get a few more bits done before dinner. Still on the IFS, they don't use shielded bearings on the diff cup outputs and i cant understand the reasoning, so packed it with marine grease to keep most the junk out till i get some rubber or steel shielded bearings. Front end done, time for the transmission. Seems pretty solid, running the stock overdrive for the time being. Transmission done, time for cuppa and decide what motor to use as the 35t has gone back into the rock buggy. Might throw the Revolver motor in it for the time being as i know that modulates really well.

Thats amazing!!

Started the build, going to have sore arms, the hard plastics propper hard. Instructions seem clear enough, cracking on. Thats all that can be done for now until the IFS kit is ready. Havent installed the pan hard as that and the front servo plate gets replaced with the IFS kit. IFS kit started, so far Gate 1 has been pretty aweful, the link rods are round, with no place to grip onto with pliers like most have a square midsection. Screwing these on was a right pain, already scratched the chrome on them.

Capra is super capable, should have loads of fun. Going to be a good weekend!

Ah yes the old roto starters that ran flat after a few starts, used the motor from it for a crawler lol. Yes max 8 with 150amp motor combo that i use in the hyper, its got all the power it should need probably to much on 6s. So will start on 4s due to the weaker v1 drivetrain, Will keep you posted and looking forward to seeing yours recovered from the grave, if you don't mind, I'd love to drop some pics in here rather than start a new topic on reviving the LST. You might be ok if you have a clutch on the drill and dont overstrain the engine, but expect the roto start plate to wear out eventually. Can confirm the wheel hexes rounding on v1, i think most are now glued into the wheels.

☹️ oof Fixing this mistake, lesson learnt dont use a stanley blade to cut zipties.

Crikey 🤯 will need a bigger workbench for christmas then. Whats the other kit or is it a surprise 😁

Your going to have a fun weekend! Saturday can not come soon enough haha!

Ah, mine was .26 as it was the first version, i think the 2nd revision had bigger blocks. https://www.rc-trucks.org/team-losi-lst.htm Sadly the engine roto start plate wore out so ran a spare hyper .21 engine in it for a while just no power and ran really rough, so its in the garage waiting for some love, I will also be converting mine to brushless, I've got the mount and max 8 motor to go into it so will let you know how that goes. Hope you get yours running again, I second the resale value is under valued for the amount of truck you get imo. @James RC I ruined my roto start by using a cordless drill, maybe ran it to fast or something but the plate that the rotostart uses to turn the crank was worn out to the point it failed, will try to find the part for a photo, just something to be wary of

The LST used a big block mach .26 engine if i recall right, looks like its in good running order, It probably still runs fine, mine was unrun for 8 years, warm up the motor head to loosen it up before starting. If you go brushless, keep us posted on how the conversion goes, looking at doing similar with my LST.

Yes the stock wheels / tires have foams. The sponges are probably wet / damp from being run on wet grass and will start to desintergrate but usally not that quick, you can tell as they will feel lumpy and not run true, also as they are run in the tire rubber will soften vs the spare one thats unloaded. So is your outlaw and outlaw or a torro now haha. Edit: Outlaw issues, lad clipped a bench in the park, bent lower arm pin and snapped the mounts, very impressed as this is the first and only front end failure after many years of hitting walls, trees etc... Least it's not my outlaw haha.