Beginners Guide to buying and building you first truck.

[fhhhstix]

Items needed for a basic truck.

#1 Truck kit of choice.
#2 you will need two servos. HI Tec 645 MG servos are a good affordable choice.
#3 4 channel stick radio
#4 ESC (Electronic Speed Controller)
#5 Battery and charger which are compatible with ESC. A 7.2V NiMH is the most common.
#6 Basic tools. Pliers, screw drivers, metric Allen wrenches, and a razor knife.
#7 Paint for painting the body.


Items needed for a truck with an MFU (Multi Function Unit)

#1 Truck kit of choice.
#2 you will need two servos. HI Tec 645 MG servos are a good affordable choice.
#3 4 channel stick radio
#4 MFU (Multi Function Unit) you will not need an ESC as it is built into the MFU
#5 Battery and charger which are compatible with ESC. A 7.2V NiMH is the most common.
#6 Basic tools. Pliers, screw drivers, metric Allen wrenches, and a razor knife.
#7 Paint for painting the body.

The MFU will give you more realism with light and sound effects
Electronics for the truck are all about personal preference. Higher quality electronics are not needed but can make your truck more enjoyable in the long run. In the end it all comes down to your budget.

I recommend buying from your Local hobby shop first, even if they don’t stock the truck kits they can more than likely order them for you. I stress this point because they will be there to try and help you with any problems you may have whereas an online store can’t give you the same personal service. If a local Hobby Shop is not available I would suggest horizonhobby towerhobbies they are both reliable sources for all of your basic truck building needs.

Travis

[fhhhstix]

I want to thank all that had posted to this thread and mean no disrespect but we want to keep this thread clean to make it easier for the newcomer.

When posting please post pics of stock trucks or stock trucks your adding a custom part to along with a detailed instruction of how the part was added and any additional parts or supplies needed.

Thanks
Travis

[fhhhstix]

Stock Globe Liner and flat bed trailer



Stock Mercedes and flat bed with the discontinued Tamiya aluminum Hop Up rims.



Stock Metallic Night Hauler.



Stock King Hauler



Travis

[driveshaft]

hi all. i am just getting started on here and with building. or should i say wanting to build. i have seen alot of builds that i really like. both in truck and equipment. but i am have trouble with finding a truck kit i can afford, and model i like. can someone help me with this? i like the global liner but all i have found are out of stock. i like the wedico truck models. but would like to know why they are so much more expensive than the tamiya models? thanks for all the help in advance, driveshaft

[wingnut163]

wedico=metal
tamiya=plastic body

[flamefighter47]

Hey all looking for some help with servos and a radio. I would like to get a decent of servos for my knight hauler and as far as a radio clueless. Do you need the sticks to return to the center because I see some radios that don't ie spectrum dx6i. I saw an ad for the turnigy 9. Can anybody shed some light for me. Thanks

[louie r/c nut]

Hey Travis thanks for the info will help in picking my first truck .

Your fleet looks sweet .

Thanks again
Louie

[TRUCKMAKER]

Here is a "Box Stock" Knight Hauler built at the 2013 Indy show by Travis (fhhhstix), IZZY and myself. It took between 5-7 hours (forgot to time it) of mostly relaxed building with no shop equipment and basic tools we took to the show.





Test drive!


This is what can happen to a "Box Stock" Knight Hauler kit after 2 years and lots of Ideas!





Have fun, use your imagination, anythings possible!

[jack van]

well ii had planned to purchase my first truck this weekend BUT recieved call from mom saying the furnice has decide to not work so after much debate with mom that she would like heat this winter and it is after all my house and i do love her i will get the furnice first hehe

[Lyle]

What is meant by "Truck kit of choice?"

Does it mean like a plastic RC truck or a model etc.?
And what about things like bulldozers, which have more than simply wheels, axles, and chassis?

[BRICKNICK]

Originally Posted by Lyle

What is meant by "Truck kit of choice?"

Does it mean like a plastic RC truck or a model etc.?
And what about things like bulldozers, which have more than simply wheels, axles, and chassis?

The Statement "truck kit of choice" means too choice what your going to build like one of the many different tamiya semi truck kits or the various different models that wedico offers. As far as construction equipment like bulldozers and loaders etc, I'm not familiar with any manufacturers that produce them.

[probusa2013]

my grand hauler is coming Monday so excited. I'm not going to put a time limit on how long it takes as I want to spray the rails and individual parts.i really want to give the kit some nice looking tweeks.i may use it for shows we will see.
my colour scheme is going to be blue and red.there will be lights and details in the cab aswell.mfu with a smoke kit and some very nice leds around the front and sides.