I need to know what everyone thinks is the coolest looking off-road rig ever.

i need something that is just a modified vehicle, nothing specific for off-road.

the reason? I am going to buy a gas powered Radio Controled car, and im going to pimp it out off-road.

basically, im gonna run something and do a suspension lift, 4wd definately, figure out some type of solid axle swap, shaft driven 4x4, no belt.

hopefully, if i can figure all of this out, i'll have it by the summer, and, i *should* be able to gear it low enough so it'll crawl anything. but in order to do that, i'll need to fab up some type of 2 speed transfer case, so i can still drive it around just for fun. help me out guys.

i was thinking a Honda CRV, but its IS, and i dont want to have to do 2 solid axle swaps. that, and they look funny lifted and with big tires.

thanks alot everyone.

Why not a 95-01 style Explorer?? Or an Explorer Sport Trac?? I think those would look cool.

i was just thinking of a Sport Trac. i need to figure out some way to run 4 wheel disc brakes too. the one disc brake on the main drive shaft isnt gonna cut it off-road, it wont have the clamping force to sufficiently stop a truck going down some serious grades. im gonna try and Fab a bracket onto the stock brake bracket, to fit the larger cross drilled rotor and thick carbon metallic pads with stainless steel backing plates that are meant to fit an R/C Monster Truck.

it'll turn out fine, i just gotta find my chassis. i dont want to do IS, but it might turn out that way if i cant find something that'll have dual solids. but before i do any of that swapping, i need to fab together a lift and some aluminum or fiberglass fenders to keep sand and all that bad shit out of the engine.

the best R/C truck is the traxxass t-maxx www.t-maxx.com

i have one...brand new .15 engine, rear spool, dual shocks, blue aluminum lower front control arms, rechargeable recever pack, full skid plates, billet bumpers, MIP CVD steel driveshafts, 2 speed automatic forward and reverse transmission, Mip stinger tuned pro pipe...some other goodies too.... my last engine died before i got to test out the spool... that thing was wicked though...i need to get another shift linkage due to an experiment i tried then it will work again.... i have like $2k into it and it doesnt even run right now :( ... it is probably worth more than my explorer....

Yikes the R/C word. To me that is a dirty word. I got wrapped up in that bit about 1o years ago and spent a fortune. I final got alll of it paid off 2 years ago. I probably spent 3 grand plus. I have a Tamiya Mountaineer that I am going to clean up and put on ebay. The Mountaineer has a steel frme leaf springs a 3 speed transmission that is shiftable with the radio. The body is a 83-84 Toyota truck body. It is electric however not gas. If anyone is interested in it let me know. I will probably have it on ebay in a couple of weeks.

ive been thinking of a T-Maxx, simply because of the huge aftermarket available.

ive come to realize that if i want a solid axle, its gonna have to come out of a buggy, and that will more than likely be fixed geared and have plastic diff gears.

so, im gonna probabally get a T-maxx and just pimp it all out. im talkin a .21 engine, full TI drive shafts, maybe a robinson foward only gearbox (depends if i will use the reverse that much).

i definately need to hook up some way to keep dirt and sand and shit out of the....everything. im thinking of getting a body and cutting it all up and, in a sense, sealing up the body and some lexan fenders. this will all go to increase travel and allow me to play in the sand with out hours of cleaning and shit.

this is gonna be fun, ive always been into this kinda thing, and im gonna get back into it. wee!

I don't know much about R/C, but my uncle has been building/racing R/C cars for a very long time now and it's a very costly hobby.

yea, its a hella costly hobby, but im chill with that.

im not gonna do the Robinson Foward only gearbox, im gonna run a RAD racing, 3 speed tranny on stocker size tires, then pump it full of other go fast, friction reducing goodies and run it on the 1/8 mile track. it'll probabally run faster than alot of economy cars.

wee!

Damn, that T-Maxx looks cool! How big is that thing?? And how much do they cost??

the T-Maxx is 19" long, and about 400 bucks mailorder give or take 50 to 100 if you buy at a store (with waranty mind you).


width: 14.8"
Ground Clearance: 3.75"
total usable suspension travel: 3.76" (said by RCCA magazine)

tires are 5.85" tall, the wheels are 3.41", so pretty large rims compared to tire size.

that sounds cool.
i didnt know there were so many parts and accessories to actually build an RC car the way you want to. are there different gear ratios too?

For only 400 bucks, that sounds worth it for a gas powered RC. Does the T-Maxx have many other RC competitors?? And how "off-road capable" are they right out of the box?? I'd love to see one of those things up close and in action. They sound really cool. I'll have to do a little more digging for info on them. They sound like a bunch of fun.

Leenjen: gear ratios? in a sense, yes. you dont reduce the gearing at the diff as you would in a regular car, instead you gear it by use of the transmission. you CAN change gearing in the diff, but its a bit harder due to the smaller size. its easier to run a transmission. im going to hold off to get the RAD 3speed tranny for the stocker tires, it'll be out soon, so i'll get the truck before that and eventually get into the trans.

Stephen S: outta the box, its one helluva off-roader. not a whole lot of hard corps rock crawling, but it'll hold it's own. it jumps well, and lands better, flies off of everything, and if you can set the sag enough, you could keep the wheels on the ground no matter what. i need to get the truck and design the lexan fenders and chassis sand gaurds. then plan out a way to get the .21 to fit, or i need to figure out how to A) run 2 .21 engines, or B) run a .49 engine out of an R/C plane, hence my need on how to make an intercooler, plane engines use 40 mph of air + to keep them cool, so im ###t if i dont keep it cool, cuz 200 + bones for an engine that will eat its self is not a good idea.

im also thinking of pounding out an aluminium body to act as a gigantic heat sink to get some of the heat away from the engines.

Man, I really want one of these now. :D Is this a good "starter" RC?? I notice that it has a 2 speed transmission. Is it an auto or manual shift? Is it just good for speeding around off-road or can it go slow and crawl over stuff too? and Where can I get one? :bounce:

steve, im about to get off-line, PM me and i'll get back to you with all of the information you will need. but PM me, or i will forget