Soppy

Hey,
I am considering buying either a Revo or a T-Maxx (maybe and E-Maxx) and I had a few questions. I live in Florida and was hoping to run these on the beach. Are the corrosion resistant? Will the sand and salt ruin them? Also, I have seen videos of these things getting wet, exactly how wet could you get them before they break? If you have any other tips for a newbie as far as purchasing or owning one of these goes, please let me know. Thanks for the help guys.

lax195

My Feedback: (2)

Sand
I have run my trucks in the sand many-a-time and the only thing you really have to worry about it getting the sand out of the shocks/drivetrain area once you finish bashing. Grease+sand=mess. Compressed air is a good tool to have... or carb spray.

Water
Look into plasti-dipping your servos and receiver to keep water out of them and you should be okay. You're obviously not going to be able to completely submerge your truck though. Be sure not to get the air filter wet.

Salt
Yes salt can corrode things very easily. Just be sure to wash off your truck when you're done. WD-40 is good to spray on shocks/drivetrain.

I'd personally go with a Revo or T-Maxx. I am nitro biased. T-Maxx will be easier to work on but at the end of the day, the Revo is an all around better truck (better in regards to durability, design, suspension...) Do some searches on the site, you'll find a lot of info.

Soppy

Ok, thanks. How much does plasti dipping cost and where can it be done. I may just stay away from water. How should I wash it off if it isn't waterproof though? Take it apart?

lax195

My Feedback: (2)

Check this out:
http://www.rcnitrotalk.com/564/waterproofing-your-rc/

To wash it off, you should take apart some parts but you probably won't have to disassemble the whole thing. Check for places where sand collects and focus there because sand can squeeze into small places. Use a compressed air can, carb cleaner (aka - nitro cleaner) and some finger grease.

cmerritt

the new emaxx is totally waterproof!!!

sheograth

But it is still succeptable to corrosion from salt water, so be careful.

I cant wait to see how many kids buy the new Emaxx, drive it into a lake, and then wonder why It didnt survive.

Soppy

@sheeograth:

me either!!! someone will add a boat hull to one and drive it into a lake though...

jatoracing33

i never had a forst rc car

lax195

My Feedback: (2)

Post *****.

sunco1

if ur willing to spend the money... get a baja 5b! i see tons of videos of those in the sand and all u need is some paddle ties and ur good to go.

good luck

jarett 92

hes a devils fan dont listen to him lol.

JB COMP

Soppy,
Where in FL do you live?

jatoracing33

amen to that lol jk

snoking16

GO DUCKS!!! anahiem and oregon

keeping your truck clean in any conditions will just help it last longer. pipe cleaners and compressed air work great for me...along with a little WD 40

Soppy

i live up in jacksonville, nearly georgia

lax195

My Feedback: (2)

Haha that's a really old pic, just too lazy to change it. My teams this season are the Devils and the Penguins.

pred192

Yeah go Devils (wearing jets jersey right now lol)

jp173363

Let me start off by saying GO CANES. Now back to RC. One thing I would recomend doing is not putting any of your RC's in sand. I took mine to the beach one time about seven years ago, and that was the last, just a pain in butt to clean well. But that is just me. As for waterproofing, I haven't heard of or tried lax195's suggestion of plasti dipping, but after reading the link, I' think I'm going to give it a try for my servos. As for my reciever, I have mine wrapped in a balloon, and I have also use di electric grease on my connections. If you are going to be running in sand, buy a spare air filter. Just like fine dirt, it's going to be very important to keeping sand out of the motor and having a clean filter to allow good air flow into the motor. So have fun in sand, I'm off to plasti dip

madmax22

Alright. Sand and florida means bikinis not nitro rc cars. lol no since your a newb i would go electric just easier to maintain and if you dont like it you wont have a bunch of crap laying around. Ok 2nd off plastidip. works well so does a balloon. If you have the extra cash i say go for the Baja Made by HPI. The T-Maxx is good so is the revo (the t-maxx has better acceleration and a tiny bit more top speed) Good Luck Man!!!!!!!![sm=shades_smile.gif] watch out for the sharks to [sm=drowning.gif]

delsym

hey soppy
I bought a revo in june last year and found out gas is just too much to maintain and messy!!! So i turned it into electric. Now its easy. If you have extra cash i would deff consider doing this. Getting an emaxx tranny off ebay or get a teckno conversion, or an rcmonster motor mount. and turn a revo into a BEAST!!!
I go too the beach in daytona and tampa and have a blast with em. I drove my rc18t into the water and it got washed up to me by the wave. Unpluged the battery and plugged it back in and it drove off. Did it a lil while later with my erevo and it didnt turn back on but i just let it dry and it works still. But any way you go the beach is a blast. Im about to get a Losi muggy
I cant wait to turn it brushless too. If i would of know about them last year i would of got one instead of a revo.

Soppy

ok, found what i wanted... revo 2.5r for $250 on ebay... i really appreciate all the help, this is by far the most helpful forum i have been on in a while (minus the hockey thing, lol) i may turn in electric if i get tired of all the parts but i think i can handle it.

@madmax22:
yea, i agree with the bikini thing but you gotta have something to do during the winter months, lol. p.s. i have never seen a shark in the 10 years i have lived here

can someone post a link to a page showing how to balloon because i am utterly clueless. also, i was considering going to my hobby shop to have the waterproofing done because it is such an important thing to have done correctly. any suggestions on this? what would be a good price for that kind of work? again, thanks everyone for all the help.

nitrorcjunkie

I live in Southeast Florida and do not recommend nitro trucks if you're gonna run on the beach. I run my trucks on the beach sometimes, and it warrants a complete teardown afterward, to clean the oily sand out of EVERYTHING! Not to mention the fact that if for any reason your air filter falls off or fails, sand will trash the P/S and crank. The new E-Maxx would be the perfect beast for the beach. A lot quieter, which will net you fewer complaints from fellow beachgoers, cleaner without nitro residue, and therefore easier to maintain.
I would use shock socks to keep sand off the shocks and some kind of foam over the air vents on the motors. Traxxas says the electronics on the new E-Maxx are waterproof, so you shouldn't have any issues there. Even though I own and love two nitro trucks, I think the E-Maxx will outperform a T-Maxx or Revo in the sand.
As far as ballooning the electronics, it's straightforward- use small balloons, like latex balloons that blow up to about a foot across. Blow them up one time to stretch the material, then put your rx inside the balloon with the wire hanging out the opening. ziptie the opening around the wires, then use a piece of 2-sided tape to secure the rx in the box. Same process for servos, but you will have to screw thru the balloons to secure the servos. You can do the same for the RX battery, but it's easier to seal the battery box with silicone.

vge

Totally agreed, I would not recommend running in sand at all. It's more pain than anything. If you don't clean it all off after your done it can just cause all sorts of probs. If you wanna sand run, get a beater rc. Maybe one of these super super cheap .15 T-Maxxas everyone has been selling these days. But dont buy anything you don't want to be destroyed. Water is not an issue. You can water proof any rc. Hell that new E-Maxx video they show it running in a lake which is amazing to me.

Soppy

so if i waterproof it it will be good for sand? because the e-maxx is just waterproof and it is good in sand according to you all. wouldn't the other exposed greasy parts still get messed up and stuff? i will probably try it at least once, i have had a few people on this forum tell me they run theirs in sand so i will go for it... i'm not getting an e-maxx at this point, i have already bought the revo... also, how is sand different than dirt because a lot of the dirt around here is sand. wouldn't an air compressor do the trick for the cleaning part? sorry for my lack of knowledge...

revoskid32

yeah, the other exposed parts are the most delicate, especially on the new e-maxx it's made to be water proof, thats it. To me it seemed like a downgrade, but, im sure its a nice car.

Sand is different from dirt just because the particles sand is made of is so small it can get into any part of you truck, dirt, is usually more compact and more moist, so it'll not be as dangerous to your tuck.

An air compressor is basically like one of the cans, but, its not s precise so it can just blow it around further into your truck, and you can buy a thing of brake cleaner and get the same thing as one of the expensive nitro cleaner.

As for your lack of knowledge, don't worry, give it about three months and you'll know all about your truck, it was easy for me, and i'm only 11