Basic Rock Crawling Question

[Badgerman45]

I know nothing about rock crawling. To be a successful rock crawler, does it require significant skill or does success primarily depend upon the proper vehicle? Maybe success is a combination of both? Please educate me.

 

[tntpoof]

ITs the control you have of whatever rc you chose. Driving time trigger control and steering control..

 

[HPIguy]

It's a combination of both skill and the right equipment. I mean you can crawl with a sensorless brushless independent suspension monster truck, but a purpose-built crawler or scaler will perform much better.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Rock crawling is a ton of fun in which takes a bit of practice but that's part of the fun. Enjoy it...

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

More or less, a combination of both. If the vehicle has an ESC that doesn't modulate well, the car would be jumpy on low-speed starts, which can make even an experienced driver struggle on steep inclines, since the sudden starts and stops can break the balance of the car. On the other hand, if the driver just tries to power through obstacles without choosing a good path to take, even a high-performing car wouldn't be able to go over the obstacles without having an intense struggle.

When starting out, you don't need to have the best setup, but having a fairly good setup would make learning much easier, and is more fun. Having a low CG (center of gravity), grippy tires, a good amount of ground clearance, precise ESC, strong steering servo, and a torquey motor all contribute to having a good setup.

To become good at crawling, lots of practice, and some analysis will get you there.

 

[Shoeless]

Its unbelievably fun. It takes skill, control and equipment. The best part though is as long as you have a decent crawler you can self teach everything. You can compete against someone, yourself, or best of all nature. Another really fun part is locating awesome places to crawl that you never even thought of. Dry creek beds, parks or build your own course.

 

[Doom!]

This is something I would also like to look into, I have an Axial scx24 and have been enjoying it, but a 1/10 scale is tempting me.

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

This is something I would also like to look into, I have an Axial scx24 and have been enjoying it, but a 1/10 scale is tempting me.

It's fun! Give it a try!
Here's a vid I made a while back:

If rock crawling at first is too technical, you can also trail with it.

 

[Shoeless]

It's fun! Give it a try!
Here's a vid I made a while back:

If rock crawling at first is too technical, you can also trail with it.

This is a good point. Trailing doesn't require anything other than the vehicle its self.

 

[Badgerman45]

How about in the yard-grass, tree roots, bricks, rocks?? Is it good for all of that?

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

How about in the yard-grass, tree roots, bricks, rocks?? Is it good for all of that?

Yep, crawlers (a.k.a. trail trucks) can be driven on almost any terrain. Grass, tree roots, bricks, rocks, etc are all good places to run it.

 

[Shoeless]

Yep all of it, depending on the rig, mud, snow and water too.

 

[Badgerman45]

Not knowing anything about crawlers, the TRX-4 Sport has only one speed. What difference does that make?

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

Not knowing anything about crawlers, the TRX-4 Sport has only one speed. What difference does that make?

The Sport only has low gear (more gear reduction for more torque; doesn't overheat while crawling), so it won't be able to go as fast as the one with the two-speed.

 

[Badgerman45]

How fast can it go?

 

[Shoeless]

How fast can it go?

I'm not sure I have the trx 6 and i just put the hobbywing Axe system in (new brushless motor, new programmable esc) and the top speed is maybe 12mph in hi gear, very slow in low gear. I'd say the original motor was around 15-17 in hi and 5-6 in low. That being said I did some pretty rough crawling today and never left hi gear and never went over 4mph with no issues.

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

How fast can it go?

The Sport, around 5mph more or less. It's not really that fast but is sufficient for crawling.

 

[Jerold]

You need to grow together with your equipment, just like any other sport that has equipment. - Skiing, Biking, Skateboarding, etc

Get the basic equipment (SCX10, TRX-4, Redcat, etc). When you start to out grow it, then figure out what you can do to make it work for your driving style. No two rigs are the same, nor the drivers.

I've seen good drivers use stock rigs and do things I can't do with expensive stuff.