How "waterproof" are Traxxas and Arrma?

[dshaf]

I know traxxas and arma claim their trucks are completely waterproof. Currently have kraton 6s/ traxxas sledge. Just a few weeks ago I was rinsing kraton off lightly and receiver went haywire afterwards losing signal at full speed. Just today I did the same to sledge for cleaning and esc came on with all lights solid red and no throttle. Luckily powered it off/ on and works fine now. Are these trucks not waterproof enough for a light hose rinse on esc/ motor? Did this multiple times on erevo 2.0 without single problem

 

[Tunedfrog]

Nothing is completely waterproof. I use air and dry brush to clean mine and stay completely away from water.

 

[332_RC]

Compressed air or leaf blower. If I get mine muddy, I'll use an old cloth & wet it down 1st & wipe down. I have rinsed the body off but not on the truck.

 

[luke66]

Keep them dry lol. Water does nothing good. It’s bad on electronics and bearings too

 

[Doom!]

Water equals maintenance. If your going to get electronics wet you need to seal them first with something like THIS.

 

[dshaf]

So you guys don't use water at all to rinse truck off after suspension/a arms get covered in dirt? So easy just to spray suspension components with simple green and hose it off real quick. Always use a blower afterwards and then spray down with wd40 on all bearing/ screw areas.

 

[Beer_Goggles_RC]

Id say more splash proof than water proof.

I typically use dawn to clean my cars and then rinse them with low pressure water. Immediately dry them with a leaf blower or low pressure compress air. High pressure water or air can force water into the electronics. And then I let them sit for 24 hours so everything thoroughly dries. It's not the best way but it works. Take extra care to make sure water doesn't sit in the screw heads or else they'll rust and look yucky.

The majority of racers around me blow the dirt off there car with compressed air directly after running. Or simple green and compressed air. After every so many hours of running they do a teardown, clean, and rebuild

 

[CertifiedMike]

I dunno. I own a compressor and it works well. I never saw a need to rinse my car off. Bearings get cleaned when the car gets disassembled and everything gets wiped with a few microfiber towels.
I've also cleaned bodies and even tures and wheels in the sink if they are just caked with crap or if the compressor won't get the grease off.
The only times my cars see water is if I run thru puddles by mistake.

 

[ZaneC]

To be honest, I'd figure rinsing off bigger trucks (8th scale and up) would be fine, as long as you dry them off. Real cars drive through water most every day, and they've got bearings, electronics, and they're mostly built out of metal. I know RCs aren't aren't real cars, but they're close enough. @dshaf, I'm not saying to rinse your cars, I'm just trying to make sense of it. I understand the part about electronics, though. Don't let water touch them. One of my cars caught on fire in a hobby store, due to a short circuit by water.

 

[WoodiE]

So you guys don't use water at all to rinse truck off after suspension/a arms get covered in dirt?

Rinsing your a-arms is vastly different than water boarding your electronics.

That said I've had no issues with using simple green and water mixture to clean my RC's and then wipe or blow off. I think the only RC I've really "hosed off" is my large scale RC's and even still I'm not hosing down the electronics.

 

[Doom!]

I think the only RC I've really "hosed off" is my large scale RC's and even still I'm not hosing down the electronics.

I knew it! @WoodiE must be a Canadian, cause he's a hoser!

 

[biggman100]

I have to admit, after reading the replies here, I'm the odd one in this, because, especially after burying them in mud or snow, I will drown my trucks using the sprayer in the shower, and, I have only ever had issues with certain brand electrics not working afterwards, which is why I now stick strictly with HW. I have never had an issue literally drowning HW stuff (well, except for some early 10BL60's that were heavily abused). Somewhere I have a post (that I currently can't find) of my Losi 22S SCT absolutely plastered in mud, and all I did to clean it was spray it with the outside hose and some simple green (the simple green was strictly for the body though), and, that truck never gave me electronics issues.

 

[Warby]

I have to admit, after reading the replies here, I'm the odd one in this, because, especially after burying them in mud or snow, I will drown my trucks using the sprayer in the shower, and, I have only ever had issues with certain brand electrics not working afterwards, which is why I now stick strictly with HW. I have never had an issue literally drowning HW stuff (well, except for some early 10BL60's that were heavily abused). Somewhere I have a post (that I currently can't find) of my Losi 22S SCT absolutely plastered in mud, and all I did to clean it was spray it with the outside hose and some simple green (the simple green was strictly for the body though), and, that truck never gave me electronics issues.

I've had similar experience. I only wet wash if the car is really dirty but when I do, I spray with simple green then hose it down. I've never had any issues with HW or BLX ESC'S getting wet. I've never wet a Spektrum or CC ESC so not sure how they handle it.

 

[CertifiedMike]

I should add that I have got a Spektrum 120a esc wet as well as an older Spektrum 4chn receiver.
One of the 2 wonked but worked after dry out.
I assumed it to be the older receiver that had the issues.

 

[RustyUs]

If you keep the electronics within the limitations of the seal(s) keeping out the water, you're good to go. Lots of asterisks and "fine print" when it comes to "waterproof" terminology. Read component manuals as I'm sure there are conditions listed when a product is said to be waterproof/water resistant. Something like this...

The above snip from a manual is just the beginning of conditions. Running my RCs in muddy conditions is not a normal everyday thing for me. Once a year... maybe. The ratio of maintenance to mudslinging action is too great for me to be doing it often. But, when I do get the itch to run in mud, I carefully use hose to get mud off things adjacent to electronics.

Everybody's wet running conditions differ. Take precautions and measures and ...

 

[Greywolf74]

Waterproof usually means "splashproof", when it comes to RCs, as someone else mentioned. I also do not use water and I dont subject my kits to mud or water. Whatever dirt is on them after hitting them with a dry brush and some compressed air stays on them until I have to do a tear down. While doing a tear down, I will clean everything with simple green.

If you really want water proof then I second the conformal coating that Doom linked above.

 

[WoodiE]

I'm the odd one in this, because, especially after burying them in mud

You're making me twitch over here. All I can think about right now is all those poor RC's coated in nasty, dirty mud.

 

[hood52]

If you keep the electronics within the limitations of the seal(s) keeping out the water, you're good to go. Lots of asterisks and "fine print" when it comes to "waterproof" terminology. Read component manuals as I'm sure there are conditions listed when a product is said to be waterproof/water resistant. Something like this...
View attachment 204842
The above snip from a manual is just the beginning of conditions. Running my RCs in muddy conditions is not a normal everyday thing for me. Once a year... maybe. The ratio of maintenance to mudslinging action is too great for me to be doing it often. But, when I do get the itch to run in mud, I carefully use hose to get mud off things adjacent to electronics.

Everybody's wet running conditions differ. Take precautions and measures and ...

Cool video, but I would never do that. Some people who crawl are just built different . I have a few friends like that

 

[ZaneC]

Cool video, but I would never do that. Some people who crawl are just built different . I have a few friends like that

I've considered making a waterproof Bandit to drive underwater in the past... And by past I mean like yesterday.

 

[dshaf]

Ordered some cow rc products to try. Figure if I stick with their degreaser that is safe on electronics and chassis wash for suspension parts I should be safe. These trucks really don't like being rinsed with hose. Sledge came back and working perfectly 24 hours later, but I may not be so lucky next time and kill the esc rinsing it down