Water proof?

[Brackett]

Hey guys, I'm looking to buy me a rig. Thinking of the axial RTR (when it is out) or a Wheel King. Some guys have told me the Axial so far(I think it is the Charlotte crowd that just join this forum). I've also been looking for places around my place for crawling or even more toward the mountains (Which I've posted about in another thread). I've seen the bullhole vids and was wondering how water poof the crawlers are? As of lately no racing because of rain, I would not mind to find another RC fix if it's to wet to race. Or maybe just go crawling all the time depending on how much I like it! So any input you Crawlers and give me would help me out!
Thanks in advance,
Buster

[Silas]

I wouldn't say that out of the box they are water proof... the AX10 would need a bit of work. You would need to seal your receiver and ESC...then get a water proof servo for stearing, and silicone it all up nice and water tight... :)

But if your just going to drive it on wet rocks...that shouldn't be an issue as long as there are no large puddles to submerge it in.

[Brackett]

Back in the day, they had balloons that you could put your radio and servos in to keep water out. I was not sure if the rigs had sealed radio boxes. I seen the new E-maxx supposed to be water proof. Also in a bullhole vid I saw a guys truck in deep water.

[Silas]

Back in the day, they had balloons that you could put your radio and servos in to keep water out. I was not sure if the rigs had sealed radio boxes. I seen the new E-maxx supposed to be water proof. Also in a bullhole vid I saw a guys truck in deep water.


Miller Time has had his Wheely King in some deep stuff... but he has taken steps to water proof it.

There is no box for the electrics in the OEM AX10...you will have to water proof it yourself.

I too have seen the balloons.... still an option.

[Brackett]

Not a problem to do something about it. Just wonder what you guys do about it or if ya stay out of the water and mud. The Bullhole vids was nice!! Some of the water stuff was what made me think of this.

[Silas]

cool... yeah I stay out of the water... :)

[KvilleKrawler]

I will put my ax-10 through small puddles, but I ain't submerging my mamba max... I may pick up a cheap LRP AI esc for water runs. They are 100% waterproof.. the down side is that rumor has it that they suck for crawling...

[Miller Time]

Yeah I made my Wheely King waterproof, because all of the fun areas that I was going through were near water. Originally I only wanted it to be able to go through puddles without worrying, but I decided if I was going to do it, might as well do it right.

You could do this with an AX10, but it would be a bit more difficult to do like I did because there isn't a lot of room for a waterproof box. It worked out well in the Wheely King because the box I used was almost the exact same size as the stock battery tray, so I swapped them out.

Originally I used the Traxxas servo from the new Emaxx, but it only has 80 oz of torque, which I found to be a bit low. I just got a Hitec HS5645 which is also waterproof, and puts out 164 oz of torque, cost $55 at Tower.

I went to Radio Shack and got two "Project boxes" for like $3 each. They are sold in the PC and electronics section and come in a few sizes. I tried it with one, but the ESC was a bit too tall, so I had to get a second one and place the open ends together. Originally I wanted it to be a bit more accessible, and I will probably redo it soon so that it is, but my first priority was making sure it would not leak a drop. I used a dremel to cut the bottom off one box, then glued the two boxes together, tops facing each other, with some Shoe Goo adhesive. I drilled out a small hole on each side for the wires, then mounted the ESC, receiver, and power switch (in the on position!) in the box bottom. Glued the bottom that I previously cut off back in place with Shoe Goo again, and when dry I covered the seams with silicone (about $4 at any hardware store, or as aquarium repair silicone in pet stores).

I put silicone around the wires on both side coming out of the box to seal that, and used silicone again on the wire side of all battery connections. I went further to silicone the battery wires where they enter the shrink wrap, and all seams in the shrink wrap, just in case.

For the battery I lucked out and found a perfect fit for cheap. Rite Aid sells a balloon punch in their toy aisle for $1.50 each. It's a large latex balloon that you inflate, tie to an elastic strap, and you punch it like a paddle ball game, with your fist. I cut the tip off the sealed end just enough to slip the battery pack inside, the connection wire comes out the other side where you would inflate the balloon.

To run, I strap the battery balloon onto the chassis with velcro straps, plug in the battery, and pull the inflating end of the balloon over the battery plugs. Both sides of the balloon are closed off with zipties - it's a bit of a hassle to do all this, but it adds like four levels of protection.

So far it works great. You've seen the Bullhole video where I went through some deep water, and there is also a video out there where the truck was carried away for a bit by a stream's current. The truck was completely submerged except the backmost part of the body, and nothing was damaged.

There are easier ways to do it, and some great information can be found here (http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/waterproofing/ge-waterproofing.asp) as well. Dielectric grease inside the casings of all electronics is supposed to work well, but it seemed to risky for several hundred dollars of electronics.

[Brackett]

I know it could be done. Miller Time your truck is nice in the vids i seen. I got to get me something to crawl with. Still not sure of what yet, but in the vids they all look like they get the job done. What is a good Brushless motor for a upgrade?

[Miller Time]

In my opinion, nothing beats the AX10 for crawling out of the box. You can get going without any additional modification or 'hacking' parts from other kits, which most crawlers need.

Right now I don't think any brushless motors are really good for crawling, because you need low throttle control. I'm sure with the crawlers getting more popular, someone is developing a crawler specific brushless setup right now.