Monster Truck!

[tedo]

Racing truggy is fun, however I was missing bashing with a Monster Truck, so I picked this up.

It's a Redcat Groundpounder. It is fairly new, only 10 months old or so, and is super scale to real MTs. What's nice is it has a fully adjustable 4-Link set-up, with solid front and rear axles. I have owned MTs before: Lunchbox, Stampede, T-Maxx, LST2, Revo... And I have to say, this thing gave me wood!

Similar to Clod set-ups it has 4-wheel steering, which rules. This is very similar to Clods and TXT's however this thing only weighs 10lbs with battery.

Here's the specs:
When I bought it used on RCU
-Aluminum shock mounts (Crawford)
-Low profile motor mount (Crawford)
-HR air shocks (I added a bit of shock oil though)
-Jumbomaxx tires with RC4WD tractor pull tires (basically pillows)
-Aluminum driveshafts (Crawford)
-That bad-ass vintage GD body.

I did:
-VXL System (usually can't stand trx, but it was cheap and waterproof, and it's a basher)
-Tad brace mod (securing the transmission so there is no flex to strip spurs)
-Mod .1 - 11T Pinion / Spur
-Reversed electronics tray
-8000 2s lipos

I am 3 packs in, and it is freeking amazing! It only goes about 30mph, but I am sure it is because of those huge tires, 11T pinion, and real old crappy maxamps batteries. However, it can pull wheelies at mid throttle. I dialed down the steering throw, because I love the 4-wheel steering. It actually flies very straight and balanced.

Sorry for the poor pics, I was trying take photos and drive at the same time. Love to hear what you guys think.

[Kcaz25]

That is incredible! I would like to see a video. Also I would like to have it, my address is

[doo540]

love those tires, can you give us some measurements of the tires?

[tedo]

Originally Posted by doo540

love those tires, can you give us some measurements of the tires?

They are right here:
http://rc4wdstore.com/2/product_info...ed607acf84790f

Incredible absorption for bashing! Thos are 4.0 Revolvers on my 6T next to it...

[nativepaul]

I like the white truck in the background what is that?

Do they do tractor pushes in reverse as well as tractor pulling, sure looks like the green and blue tractors in that link have there wheels on the wrong way round.

[tedo]

Originally Posted by nativepaul

I like the white truck in the background what is that?

Do they do tractor pushes in reverse as well as tractor pulling, sure looks like the green and blue tractors in that link have there wheels on the wrong way round.

The white truck is my custom 2.2 Hilux scaler with Hi-Lift axels and leaf springs. Basically, I built it over the winter when I couldn't race truggy. It's fun to take in the trails.

Not sure about the the reverse direction in those pics.... that is truly weird.

[nitrostarter]

I was looking at the reverse direction as well. But I tell ya, those tractors look real! I had to take a double look...

Thats cool! Reminds me of my old original Clod back in the 80's. I remember buzzing around in front of the house and having it slide and spin in some fine sand and get stuck under my dads truck. Jammed it right in under the pumpkin on the rearend at the plastic sunroof part of the body. Played hell getting it back out....

[tedo]

Here is a vid from this morning:

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

[suicideneil]

Do like.

I love the tyres, I had another set of the rc4wd clod sized ones similar to yours but sold them- they arent quite big enough for my needs, but when you install them on a smaller 1/10 - 1/12 MT the proportions are *perfect*.

Let us know how the groundpounder does for you, havent seen much feedback on it really.

[JThiessen]

Originally Posted by nativepaul

Do they do tractor pushes in reverse as well as tractor pulling, sure looks like the green and blue tractors in that link have there wheels on the wrong way round.

That's to get/encourage wheel spin. The "big boys" will do that on certain tracks that tend to give too much traction, thus pulling the front end up too much, too soon.

[Semi Pro]

that looks like a fun truck, im suprised the vxl system is holding up

[Chadworkz]

Originally Posted by nativepaul

Do they do tractor pushes in reverse as well as tractor pulling, sure looks like the green and blue tractors in that link have there wheels on the wrong way round.

Back in the day, in the mid and late 80s, I used to compete in RC Tractor Pulling, and it was common practice to run the tires (like pictured above) backward on certain tracks and track conditions. If the track was a high-traction circuit, like moist red clay, running the tires the correct way (forward) produced way too much traction and just lifted the front end way too high no matter how much weight was added to the front of the puller (some classes have a weight limit). Turning the tires around and running them backward gives just the right amount of traction on the above mentioned high-traction and moist red clay tracks, resulting in clean runs and long pulls, even quite a few full-pulls!

It's just like real 1:1 competition rock crawlers...they commonly run their tires backward to the way the manufacturers designed them to be run, because they work better in certain situations and on certain courses that way. For example (this example is based on "forward" being from left to right ( -›-›-› ), a "V" tread pattern tire running forward (correctly) allows the rock(s) to follow the ">" toward the outside of the tire, causing it to slide or be pulled off the driver's desired line, which is not good. If the tire is run backward "<", the rock(s) follow the "<" and are forced toward the center of the tire, not only increasing traction, but also (most importantly) allowing the tire to stay exactly on the driver's desired line.

There are many situations and circumstances where it is better to run a directional tire backward to the direction it was designed to be run.

Edit: Wow, JThiessen beat me to it...heh!

[simplechamp]

Originally Posted by suicideneil

Let us know how the groundpounder does for you, havent seen much feedback on it really.

+1 It looks like a fun inexpensive vehicle and I dig solid-axle trucks. I saw some pics where someone converted the suspension to a custom cantilever setup and it was pretty neat.

[tedo]

Originally Posted by Semi Pro

that looks like a fun truck, im suprised the vxl system is holding up

Yeah, to tell you the truth, I am too. I got it new for $119, so I figure I would try it out. And it claims it is waterproof... so we will see.

The Groundpounder is actually really light. Much lighter than an emaxx, so the VXL doesn't have that much strain (except for those huge tires).

I am stepping up to the 4500 3s Turnigy LiFe batteries once they are in stock. Saw those running yesterday, and they do pretty good. My crappy MA 2s packs suuuuck.