Readers Rides – September 2023

MISSOUR YOTA
Jonathan Moffat « Pacific, MO
Jonathan Moffat, the creator and owner of this rig, said it best when he told us, “This is a one-off custom rig that gets taken out on the trail quite often. Everything works so well together it’s a pleasure to drive!” The Axial SCX10 II-based crawler sports a realistic-looking RC4WD body and looks at home on the trail scaling hills or romping through the river. It’s a great-looking truck, Jonathan, fantastic job!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Axial SCX10 II
– Body: RC4WD Mojave
– Motor: Homes Hobby 2700kV
– Speed Control: Castle Creations Copperhead
– Battery: Ovonic 2200 short pack
– Wheels & Tires: Spec-RC wheels, Pro-Line BF Goodrich KM3 Class1 tires
– Shocks: Incision 80mm
– Axles: Vanquish RC Yota
– Lighting: Owner-made
– Radio System: Spektrum DX5C
– Other Options: Cage by Blue Line Fab, custom 3D-printed interior, VFD transmission, 1Tenth Scale RC steering servo

BOO BOO
HOBART HENRY « New Florence, PA
Hobert began by telling us, “This car started life as a Traxxas Rustler, then I purchased a Drag Slash frame and Bandit arms and this is where we’re at now.” Where we think it’s at now is one sweet-looking no-prep dragster. We’re really digging the Pro-Line ’79 Malibu body. This thing looks like it’s quick off the line, and we’re loving it! Great job, Hobert!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Traxxas Drag Slash
– Body: Pro-Line 1979 Malibu
– Motor: Traxxas VXL
– Speed Traxxas VXL
– Battery: Traxxas 7600 2-cell LiPo
– Wheels & Tires: Stock Drag Slash
– Shocks: Stock Drag Slash
– Axles: Stock Drag Slash
– Paint: Tamiya PS paint
– Graphics: Custom-made
– Radio System: Traxxas TQ, custom-painted

CRUSTY CRAWLER
TREY FRENCH « SALEM, OR
Trey tells us that he and his wife got hooked on crawlers thanks to this little Traxxas TRX-4M. “We chopped up a Defender body into a bed style, moving the rear windows forward to create the cab,” he says. “For the bed rails and utility cage bars we used hobby plastic. The bed liner is sand mixed with flat black enamel paint. Creating the body damage and rust really added to the uniqueness of this little rig! It also gets better with age as we add more ‘rust’ to new chips and scratches. The body has been trimmed multiple times in various areas, and the fenders are no longer there. Adding weight and other performance parts has really made this truck close to unstoppable. It is a blast to crawl with. With any luck we will find a crawler competition in our area and get to compete!” Fantastic job, Trey, we’re enjoying you guys’ creativity!

BUILD HIGHLIGHTS
– Chassis: Traxxas TRX-4M
– Body: Traxxas TRX-4M Defender (customized)
– Motor: Injora PRO 48T motor
– Speed Control: Traxxas ECM 2.5
– Battery: Traxxas Lipo 750mAh
– Wheels & Tires: Injora 62×22 S5 Crawler A/T tires, Injora 1-inch beadlock wheels, Pro-Line two-stage tire foams
– Shocks: Traxxas Blue GTM aluminum
– Axles: Stock axles with Injora stainless steel extended axle shafts and Injora brass hex extensions