Building a trainer

[Tinbender]

I jumped in with both feet. I bought a King Hauler. I am going to build this as a trainer to learn what is out there for aftermarket, home made, other kits, and how to drive a RC vehicle. I have never owned one and always wanted one but for one reason or another, I did not. Now I am doing this. I want to learn as much about these trucks and trailers as I can during this build so when I build my next one, it will look like something, and I don't crash it after it is built. I will try to take photos and post them along the way so that maybe it will help other newbees when they too jump on board.

[Espeefan]

Tinbender, dig in, and have fun! These trucks are not difficult to build, or drive. They run pretty fast if you have a heavy throttle finger, in stock form, so be sure to pick up a slower motor, or else an aux. reduction box of some kind. That's about all I would really recommend. Everything else is up to you. Build it however you like. I wouldn't worry about crashing it. If you do break a few parts, they are replaceable. Think about it as an excuse to upgrade parts to something better!

[Tinbender]

THanks Oztruck and Espeefn, I truly plan to "dig in". I guess the first questions I have is about the motor.

When I ordered the truck, the store said I would have to buy a 55T motor. Then the ladysaid I would have to buy "A motor". I get the kit and there is a motor in it. Is this motor not good enough for a stock build? Why did she reccomend a me getting a 55T motor? I think it is 55T. I don't know the difference from one to another or how to look ast them and know what I have i my hand.

[Cammo]

Hey Tin Bender, and welcom to the wrold of RC Trucking. I am new myself but having lots of fun learning!

The standard motor that comes with the Tamiya kits is very fast. To slow my trucks down you can eiuther use a reduction gearbox (Check out http://www.gardentrucking.com/produc...=10&startAt=51 or a slower motor, I have got a few of the carson puller motors without the gearbox, can be found at http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Carson-Tr...item2ec3672522

Start seraching the net and eBay, as well as this forum to find more info.

Ifg you arer worried about your skills driving, I very much suggest putting animal guards (Bull Bars) on your trucks, I have got them on all fourn of my trucks and with many a late night and can in the shed, these things save me a lot of repair works!!

Enjoy and keep posting, check this out to give you some inspiration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX1aA40c4F0

Welcome and enjoy!

[Espeefan]

Tinbender, yes, your truck kit does come with a standard issue Tamiya motor. We all call them 'silver cans'. They are decent motors, but they run some pretty high RPMs, and with the Tamiya truck's stock gearing, the truck will be fast. To fast, in 3rd gear. The reason someone recommended a 55T motor is because it helps slow the truck down. Motors are not all the same. A 55T motor is actually a 55 turn motor. The T stands for the number of times the wire wraps around the motor's armature, or we call it the number of 'turns'. So a 55 turn motor has the wire wrapped around the armature 55 times. Think basic magnetic experiments, from your science classes, as a grade schooler. Building an electro-magnet with wire and a metal core, like a nail. Wrap the wire 55 times around the nail and magnetic field becomes stronger. In the case of motors, wrapping a wire 55 times around the armature makes for a slower spinning motor, that also draws less current. Fewer turns makes the motor spin faster. A stock Tamiya motor, if I remember correctly, has 23 turns, so it's going to be a lot faster.

I would suggest looking at the idea of adding a reduction box, like the one from PMD. The link was already posted. It's a nice reducer.

[Tinbender]

Cammo:
Thanks. I have already started to looking into the references you gave me. Garden Trucking can be very dangerous to the wallet.

Espeefan:
Thanks for the info.

From what I am understanding:
A 23 turn motor will run say 25 miles per hour and have no pulling power
A 55 turn motor will run say 15 miles per hour but have all kinds of pulling power
A 45 turn motor is a fair inbetwwen motor to have a little of each but not a lot of either.

"Basic Magnetic Experiments" in grade school? How young do you think I am? LOL That was too many years ago for me to remember. But I understand what you are saying. It is what I thought but was not sure. When it comes to electrical... It takes two batteries to make a flashlight work...sometimes, that is the ammount of elecrtical knowledge I have. Now machine shop, Fiberglass, Welding, Tin Bending, and that sort of stuff, I can hold my own but never claim to be any sort of expert.

[Espeefan]

Originally Posted by Tinbender

Cammo:
Thanks. I have already started to looking into the references you gave me. Garden Trucking can be very dangerous to the wallet.

Espeefan:
Thanks for the info.

From what I am understanding:
A 23 turn motor will run say 25 miles per hour and have no pulling power
A 55 turn motor will run say 15 miles per hour but have all kinds of pulling power
A 45 turn motor is a fair inbetwwen motor to have a little of each but not a lot of either.

"Basic Magnetic Experiments" in grade school? How young do you think I am? LOL That was too many years ago for me to remember. But I understand what you are saying. It is what I thought but was not sure. When it comes to electrical... It takes two batteries to make a flashlight work...sometimes, that is the ammount of elecrtical knowledge I have. Now machine shop, Fiberglass, Welding, Tin Bending, and that sort of stuff, I can hold my own but never claim to be any sort of expert.

Ha ha, Tinbender! Yes, you've got the idea. Low turn motors tend to make more hp, but to do that they spin at higher speeds, and consume more current. High turn motors make more low end torque, and aren't so power hungry. Both motors will work in a truck just fine, but you need to gear the truck to make the most of the motor's characteristics. A 23 turn will have tons of power, if there is enough gear reduction. That's why the 4:1 reducers are really popular. Kind of like comparing a diesel engine to a gas engine. I didn't think you were much past 118 years old. I'm sorry if I insulted you, my friend! But the old electro-magnet example is a really good way to describe what the motor turns are about! A low turn motor, like the 23T that comes with the Tamiya kits, is just not going to be in the powerband sweet spot, at the lower speeds we tend to drive these scale trucks, unless you gear it down. Then it'll work just fine!

[Tinbender]

Espeeanf,

No insult, just good clean fun! Wait a minute 118! What the heck? I may be older than dirt but I ain't THAT old!

I remember re-winding a fan motor with my dad way back when. I had to count the winds, and IF I remember right it was something like 144 turns. The fan never worked after we got done.

[woodhog]

I have a 55 t in one truck and a 65 t in another and I wish I went with a 75 t or 85 t . Both mine have plenty of pulling power my dump and a load of rubber weighs 31 pounds and it pulls it fine and i done have 4:1 gear reductions.

[Tinbender]

Ok, here is question #2 and #3:

I was talking to the hobby store today and the "GURU" there said the Futaba 4PL is the radio to use. I will have to get survos and a speed contoler as well.

#2 Is this a good radio to use? I just want the bare basics due to this being a trainer and all.

#3 Is the speed controler the same thing as a MFU?

Thanks

[woodhog]

As for radios some of the guys use airtronics,some use futaba,some use spektrum.I personally use spektrum . One thing to look at is the more channels you have the more flexibility you will have for future builds.I wish i had bought 2 or 3 radios with a lot of channels instead of having a radio for each truck or piece of equipment,which is what i am trying to do now.I think if you want to do a basic truck get a more than basic radio that way as your truck changes and it will,you wont have to upgrade radios

[dabears]

Originally Posted by Tinbender

Ok, here is question #2 and #3:

I was talking to the hobby store today and the "GURU" there said the Futaba 4PL is the radio to use. I will have to get survos and a speed contoler as well.

#2 Is this a good radio to use? I just want the bare basics due to this being a trainer and all.

#3 Is the speed controler the same thing as a MFU?

Thanks

With the servos i would recomend a higer torqe servo for the steering, the trans servo has little to no resistance on it so it doesnt have to be as higher torqe but i would just go with the same on both.

Radio is a hard choice. Yes a 4ch radio will work fine. when i started i got the DX5e by Spektrum, it did everything perfect even with digital trims. I currently have a DX8 as i outgrew my 5 very fast. I have set up a few trucks on the Airtronics radios and they are nice radios as well... I think spektrum wins on ease of setup and truck switching hands down but both work just fine. prefrence i guess...

The speed controller can be used in a stock bare bones truck as you would need one. The electrical light set would need one but the MFU has one built into it. The MFU is the better bang for the buck as it has the lights, sounds, and the built in ESC. A stock truck will only use 3 channels 1 for throttle, 1 for steering, and 1 for shifting. the MFU uses 4 has the extra one for the support legs but it controls the light features as well.

Hope that helped a little.... As for motor the integy 55t is by far my personal fav to use and also their gear ruduction unit which is listed as a 2.5 to 1 i belive...

[rcman]

lots of good info! I have the futaba 4 channel attack and it is a good radio for these trucks but I have to agree i used to try to have a radio in each truck and after My collection grew I too gave up. I am looking at getting a 6 or 8 channel now so I have room to grow later and then just get several receivers for my other trucks. If I were you get a 6 or 8 channel so when you decide to upgrade your truck you have all the necessary channels to do so. Then if you get another truck all you have to do is get another receiver.

[Tinbender]

Thanks all for the info. I thought I was confussed before, but now...LOL

Really think I am going to take the advice and go with a 8 channel radio. Hope to go pick it up today. There goes the bank account! Part of it.

More quest will be coming in the future I am sure.

[Tinbender]

I am so glad I asked about radios. I had me a "No Brainer" at the Hobby store on the radio situation.

A 8 channel radio (aircraft type) was only $25 more than a 4 channel radio that will only work for ground vechiles. DUH!!!

I can buy more receivers like I was told and use this radio for up to 20 different vechiles. What was I thinking about going with a 4 channel?

Hope this helps out other newbis.

TB

[Espeefan]

TB, there are a few things you never want to skimp on, in this hobby. Your radio gear, and other electronics, like batteries and the battery charger you chose. You'll always have your radio gear, battery packs, and battery charger. Models may come and go, but that equipment you'll keep (unless you get out of the hobby altogether), and you can always pull the servos and receiver out of one mode, and swap it to a new one. It's worth buying something better. The best you can reasonably afford at the time.

[powerstroke_1999]

Welcome aboard man you will love the semis one thing I don't like is the dent they put in your wallet lol.I run a airtronics rds8000 crawler version if I remeber its 7 or 8 channel and the price isnt bad.For some reason they stoped making the crawler version I got mine last year.The spectrum is a real good radio system to ive used airtronics since ive been doing rc stuff.Get some pics up of your build man.

[Tinbender]

Espeefan

I agree totally. That is why when I buy tooling I try to buy the best I can. They last a lot longer and take so much more abuse than the "cheep trash".

powerstroke

I will try to get some pics up soon. Have to admit, this build is a far cry more attention keeping than the plastics models that I have built in the past. I always felt like if a "model" was ever built like s real car it would sell.

I am currently at the point of having the tranny built and installed in the frame. I have taken no pics of it so far, same on me. I followed the directions step by step and when I got to building the gears for the tranny...I was almost lost. Back up, take a breath, study the photos in the directions and slowly moved foward. Good thing they furnished detailed photos. I don't read Jap. Spent 18 months there but don't read it.

Some where in all the threads that I have gone thru, there was someone who makes decals. I sure wish I kinew who that was. (question #4) Does anybody know who that might be?

Thanks
T/B

[Espeefan]

TB, Tamiya manuals are some of the best I have ever seen. If you take your time, you'll make it through the build just fine. The transmission is probably the most complex stage of the build. The rest should be easy, unless you decide you want to install an MFU or a ton of lights!

[Tinbender]

Well I put the radio stuff in the truck tonight and turned on the radio and receiver. What a surprise! These things roll really fast. And it was only in second gear. I had to release the joy stick and grab the truck frame before it went off the table. I was surprised because I put a 55T motor in it to slow it down a little. Didn't happen, it took off and the dog started to barking at it and trying to catch it.

Put it on the kitchen floor and now I got me a problem.

The front wheels are slightly turned and they operate backwards. So I got me some adjustments to perform for getting the wheels straight and I found in the book how to reverse the rudder control. That will be coming up real soon.

I know I haven't posted any pics of it yet but it is a bone stock build to learn how.

Espeefan...I got LEDs for the head lights but I think I should use the "wheat grain" lights for cab and tail lights to keep them from being too bright. Am I correct on this line of thought? Also I am thinking for right now just run a separate battery and mini toggle switch for the lights, not like it will be dark in the house or anything...LOL