security22

I'm new to the RC world and just bought a GP today. Took it out of the box looked it over and everything seemed ok. Put on the wheels and took it out for a test run. Not long into the test run the left tire falls of. Thinking I might not have put it on tight enough but that;s not the case only the front left tire comes loose. Not even an hour into it and the gears start stripping and it's already on the shelf until I replace the cheap plastic one with metal or aluminum. Should my gears strip so easily?? Can someone recommend where to get an upgraded 81T spur gear?

Thanks!

zackS30

Sounds like the mesh wasnt set correct or the motor moved back some how.
As far as the wheels coming off did u make sure all the nuts were tight? I locktite mine.

security22

Thanks for your reply. Yes I made sure the nuts were tight but haven't investigated further because the truck is not running until new parts come in. After taking it apart I notice a basically melted some of the teeth on the spur gear. I have two machined spur gears on the way a 43T spur gear and to go with it a 12t pinion. I also ordered a machined 81t spur gear so I can go back and forth to see which type of gearing I like the best. I'm not too happy I have to put in this work after just an hour of use but I already learned alot about this truck and think it's still a good truck to bash with.

zackS30

Have u though trying to get redcat to warrenty the parts? Ive not had to use them for the warrenty but I read they r the best.

security22

I thought about it but I don't want the same cheap plastic gear so I ordered the upgraded metal spur gear.

security22

Even though I ordered the upgraded parts I'm exchanging this GP. I ordered it from Amazon and there exchange process is quick and straightforward. I encounter several stripped screws in the chassis and the locknut on the left front tire won't stay tight. I just need a better quality unit and hope to get one next time around. I still like Redcat products and I realize there will be defect units from time to time.

john01374

Security22 - The Ground Pounder does have a few issues but most are easy to deal with.

The first issue you encountered with the wheels falling off is not uncommon regardless of the brand. It has been my practice for the last 20 yrs or so to use light duty blue Loctite on just about everything.

As for the spur gear stripping. That was/is an issue with the stock trucks. The motor mount and gear box are separate on these trucks and they flex independent of each other. It doesn't matter how many times you trade in the truck, the next one will do the same thing until you fix it. The good news is that crawford performance make a MOD1 spur gear for this truck that will never strip. It cost about $15 but it's well owrth it. If you're handy you can make the traxxas Jato spur fit as well.

The other problem you haven't run into yet is the axles. You will break them plain and simple so I recommend that you buy a couple of replacement housings or buy the aftermarket axles braces.

The GP is a fun truck after you spend a little time on it to make it right.

security22

Hey John I understand where you're coming from and I did order new gears but I already returned the 2nd GP. I feel that the GP should come stock with machined gears because you shouldn't be forced to mod you should be able to mod if you want to. On both GP's I didn't even get a chance to bash either of them all I was trying to do was calibrate and get the feel of it and couldn't even keep it running several hours. I've had a Tornado exp for more than 3 months, bashed it countless number of times and have yet to break anything or be forced to mod it in any way shape or form. I will be modding it this weekend with a new low end brushless motor and esc. That's I believe how every RC truck should operate. I'm very disappointed with the quality of the GP and have upped my game and got an Earthquake and will be getting the Terremoto once it's back on Amazon prime. I know I can bash both those trucks out of the box and don't have to mod it right away.

I actually got two extra spur gears one from Crawford Performance and one from Amazon. I'll just keep them as spare parts maybe they'll fit one of my other trucks when I need it.

john01374

The spur gears for the ground pounder are unique to the ground pounder. You will not be able to use them on any of the other carsand trucks.

Unfortunately a lot of times this hobby does require modifications to the vehicles right out-of-the-box. I like my ground pounder after I spent about $50 in modifications. The truck is now very reliable but I must admit that I reengineered a good portion of the truck.

A lot of the things they did were just plain silly. Good example of this is putting the battery at the highest point of the chassis. A very simple mod is to move the battery trays underneath the main tray dropping the battery by almost 2 inches. No more rollovers