WickedJester

Does anyone know of any current production R/C amphibious buggies, trucks, military vehicles, ect..? Besides "Toys"-that is. I know of the new and old Land/Sea RC (Have the older design), Terrain Twister, Shell Shocker, the amphibious porsche at Sharper Imagine-ect, ect. But I've never seen a Hobby Level model. I'm looking to get a new RC-I was leaning towards a T-Maxx-But I'd really love to have something that could conquer the mud and water as well. (In Florida it's a good kind of vehicle to have.) So do any of you know any? And where I could find them?? Thanks in advance-I appriciate any replies.

biteme

For amphibious, try the airboat section. Screamers on land and sea. Maybe even a hovercraft.

WickedJester

Hmm.. Airboats? Well I guess technically that works.. I''m looking more for something tire propelled though. Like a swamp buggy or something along those lines.

biteme

Yea, I know what you're talking about...some even have props in the rear for aquatic use. I have not seen any real quality versions, though - mostly cheap kids stuff. You may be looking at building one yourself; might be fun.

WickedJester

Yeah, I've got one called Land/Sea RC that has dual props in the back. But something like that is Ground or its Water, ya know? I want something that can mud its way from one to the other without it being such a clear cut transition, ya know? I would build one myself-in a heart beat. But I dont think I have the know how fort hat sort of thing yet.

biteme

I think the easiest way to do it would be a treaded veh( a la buldozer or tank ) I have built non r/c versions using a Tamiya treaded veh chasis http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGZ87&P=0 (a u-build it kit about for 16$ - maybe 8"long) The kit is just a platform with forward/off/rev switch, battery holder, motor and gearbox with rubber treads. With a balsa body, waterproofed with epoxy, the thing floats. It will drive right into the water and waddle out the other side with a Barbie type passenger(eventually - it is not fast in the water, but makes definate porgress)
Two of these kits - to give longer treads and two motor/gearboxes for differential drive - and a platform about 18 in long by 6 wide would probably give enough room for a couple of speed controllers and Rx. To waterproof the axle holes, I used some brass grommets(came with the kit) and packed it with vaseline. It really shouldn't be to hard, actually sounds like fun. If you really think you can't, Maybe I'll build one and sell it to you! LOL Sean

WickedJester

...How much? lol. I dunno man, you seem to have the right idea. I still dunno if i could pull it off though. I've never tried to build an R/C myself before. Never even really done any work on one. The most expensive part would probably be the R/C equipment, wouldnt it?

biteme

Probably. The Radio can be had for about 40$ for a cheap two stick radio. The speed controlers will probably run about 20-30 bucks apiece ( would need two) but only if you wanted speed control. I bet you could do no speed control( the kit comes with forward/off/reverse switch) by just connecting the servos to the existing switches. It would give you the ability to turn, go forward, and backwards, but all at the same speed. That being said, you could probably do the whole thing for around... 85$...40 for the radio, 2 kits @16 each, and another 15 bucks for some epoxy, paint, balsa, etc. The rest is just skull sweat(figuring it out).
If you are serious about 'buying' one, I'd do it just for cost of materials( I think it would be fun to do). Wouldn't be the first time for me http://www.rc-airboats.com/gallery/v...ies-Hovercraft was my first attempt at a hovercraft - she is very happy with it.
I did find the original (non-r/c) version of the treaded veh I made, if you want a pic or vid in action, let me know. Sean

biteme

Yo, Jester!
I know these are kinda cheesy, but more I think what you were looking for. I have seen TV commercials for these, no propellers, just wade right in. http://www.youngexplorers.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=Y510114 Just a thought. Sean

bbs53

Kyosho made the Dash 9. It has a prop and is 2 wheel drive. It uses a cowl around the prop to get more thrust from the prop since the wheels tend to add drag to the forward motion. It is powered by a .19 VECO engine and has a spring returned pull start that had to be a first for the industry. It uses a third channel servo to shift the prop drive dog into engagement with the spur gear, that means the rear wheels turn as well when under way. It is steered by the front wheels and the manual cautions against turning too sharply lest you cause the wake to enter the engine compartment. It has a 7 to 1 gear ratio which makes it fairly fast on land and it is quite a sight to see it drive into water and get under way. For when it was made, it was quite advanced, however, it was not a huge success and they are rather scarce. I was fortunate enough to get one not long ago and it is in the middle of a fairly easy restoration. I have changed the prop to get a little more thrust and will run narrow tires on the front to aid drag and help with the steering. The pull start was necessary because you cannot access the flywheel to bump start it, and you need to start it with the top and bottom of the hull already to go or it will idle too long and over heat. It is an excellent design and about as weird a rc vehicle as you will ever see, it is also 1/8th scale, so it is pretty good size. The question raised was about a current one, and this does not apply, however, it would be pretty easy to convert a Blizzard to do the same thing and it has the separate track control worked out in advance. Bon voyage!

Robin Colbourne

I bought my sons an R/C Toy Amphibian which looks vaguely like an Alvis Stalwart, but with four wheels. It is electric and rear wheel drive with a prop. If you are going to build an amphibian, make it all wheel drive orwith tracks as our model gets to the bank and doesn't have enough traction to push itself out of the water if the back end is still floating.
In the UK it is possible to buy kits to make the WW2 DUKW. They are not cheap, but cottage industry stuff from this country seldom is. See: http://www.rchobby.co.uk/radio_controlled_dukw.htm

Good luck with your amphibian!

Doahh

Theres the hydrofoam
land sea and air