man that would suck to have to move after all that you have done. i see your point with the lights. although i was thinking about the little mushroom lights that you bury. also, i would only get the solar powered version with the led's. the solar powered variety with incandescent bulbs are not worth a crap(im sure you knew that already but, for those who don't). i guess though this would only be an option if your gonna stay but, something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...3+90401+500665

you could also get a longer wire and more lights and run them all the way around the track(with enough funds and the led lights you could make it look like a runway thats seen from space). if you put them on the inside of the track you wouldn't have to worry about them getting dirt kicked up on them(dont think this would be a problem unless they are flush with the ground and your TWS would help with this also). some ive seen stick out the ground maybe an inch or two and if you did run them over i doubt it would hurt them. it would be like a little speed bumps. or if you wanted to actually light the track get some of the spot light variety and put them inside the corrugated tubing(if it were me i wouldnt really care about the straight aways i would just wanna know where the boundaries are.) make it a little more challenging. if you have lights on your rc car you really wouldnt need to light the track. just do the boundaries with the red and white reflective tape(good choice if you are moving).

it would be rather time consuming and it wouldn't provide much light but, you could use the outdoor christmas lights(all white) and run them on the top of the tubing. then you could daisy chain them together all the way around the inside and outside of the track.

just looking around i came across these(bored and brainstorming):

http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/405369.htm

these would look really cool to run down the middle of the track. just bury them as well and just leave the top portion sticking out(so it lights out the sides and even if some dirt gets kick up on the top you could still see). could also wrap the tops with packing tape to protect from skid marks. you would need a few sets though so, it wouldn't be very cost effective and then the problem with tilling but, with the loose dirt after tilling they would be easy to reinstall.

Thanks for all the advice and comments. Hope you heal your tongue, too.....that would hurt like #&@*!!!!

I'm kinda down-and-out myself........just caught some kind of summer cold or something. Throat is sore, nose is stuffy, body aches, etc.. Gotta get over this real quick!

I've got a couple of those clip-on lights as well. In fact, I've got this make-shift spotlight tower that uses a automotive wheel for the base, an extending pipe and 2 adjustable sockets for outdoor floodlights. I've use it most of the time.....but I think I'm going to like my new one(with five adjustable light sockets) much better. In fact, I've been thinking about if I can install those aluminum, reflective housings(found on the clip-on lights) on the new unit?! Right now, it just has 5 translucent, colored shields.

I gotta get some pics up......promise.....updates are coming!

Ob1n of RCU

it's a mite better feeling today,still smarts tho.why anyone would wanta peirce theirs...
hope you get to feelin better too!usually early summer and mid-winter is the only time i get sick each year,usually the head cold from heck.

i didn't work on a perminent jump today (wasn't all into workin that hard w/ a shovel...tongue still hurts),but my son and i cleared out a place for one where i had the wagon and the parts truck parked...then we set up a make-shift ramp and proceeded to break our 1st part after months of beatin on the (evader) ext...antenna tube.

if i feel a little better tomorrow,and get an earlier start (it was about 7pm when we got home from a day trip),i wanna work on the new jump.it's not where the track will be,but after dang near getting snake bit surveying the spot,think i may wait till (much) cooler weather for work there.

Wow... greath thread... this thread has rekindled my desire to build a backyard track... When I moved into this house I got permission from my wife to use the back half of the yard for a track... but then I decided it would be too much work... not so much the building, but the maintaining was what scared me... but reading about your track care, It doesnt sound that tough... thanks!!

keeping a track up is somewhat easy, just deal with weeds, common erosion from the elements and cars, clearing it of the occasional rock, but ya, other than that, its easy, and even with the list i gave, heck, just do whats needed, ok tip time (i can thank Gex61 for it)

HOW TO PACK DIRT FOR JUMPS
first, step on the dirt to pack it
then water it down till the water starts to "puddle' on the surface, let it soak in
take a plastic sheet and lay it over the soil and take a lawn roller, car tire (they do work very good, i use an old racing slick)
roll the tire, lawn roller.... over it to pack it down (if using tire lean on it, helps a ton to pack it)
slide the plastic off carefully (don't lift, it can cause the dirt to stick, leave in clumps,,, disaster)
let jump dry for a bit
HAVE FUN JUMPING (this tip can be sucessfully used to pack down loose dirt to[8D])

good tips on packing the dirt!

well,i ended up having to drive all the way to my parent's house to pick up my daughter today (almost 2 hours 1 way)...ya think i'd learn,they always say they'll bring her home after spendin the night/weekend,never do-lol!so i didn't get to build a set of doubles for playing around on this weekend (between that and the tongue thing).

i did,however,load my little junky lowered S10 down w/ about a ton +/- of dirt while there (smoothed level,1" below top of bed)...it's dang lowered now!i start a new job tomorrow,but before i go in (6p-6a) i'd like to start on the jumps,all depends on how late before i can sleep (been 3rd shift a long time) and how late i get up.

lol,gives me an excuse to ride the wifey's car anyways!


BTW,using dad's tractor w/ loader up front is bound to have been more fun than i'll have unloading it...shoulda stopped @ wallymart and bought 2 kid sized shovels

ok ok, im so bad, i need pics of my backyard track, its still in the working stages, its fun, so far got 1 tabletop, 2 take off and landing jumps, 1 washboard section, ya, good stuff[8D]

yeah!i'd love to see some pics of it-might inspire me to get off my sorry tooshie =)

[8D]

I think rctruckracer packs his jumps using tarps; I just use my shoes.

Don't put lights "on" the track. It will hurt your eyes to look directly at the lights. It will make your car and track features harder to see. It will also make changing your track layout harder.

I agree with you Gex 61. Especially when the lights are mounted so low and have the ability to shine into your face.....you'll be seeing spots after a while. I'll be posting pics of the light setup that I have fairly soon.....I've got a race set up between me and the neighborhood kids before school starts. I'll be sure to take pics.....and perhaps some video?

We'll see when it happens.

Ob1n of RCU

i use both your 'pack with shoes (i use tire) and pack with tarp, both work a charm for packing down our dirt, i don't know if you can see it or not, but i SCORED with a neighbor getting rid of dirt from his backyard, have a giant pile of it, now what to use it for

good point with the lights. although i figured common sense would tell you not place them where they would shine in your face.[8D] if anything the flood lights would do that more than anything no matter where they are placed plus, they are concentrated to one small area especially since the track is right next to his house you would need 2 maybe 3 sets of those for it to be effective. i would be more tempted to go with the solar powered led's but, to each there own i suppose. they hardly put off enough light to "partially " blind you but, would give a faint glow to the track. if you get the set that is self contained they would be easy to move.

Calvino, Im impressed.... Ive heard you talk about your track..... but pics are worth a thousand words man

lol, and im only like 1/3 of the way done, still need to pack down much more of it, but even as it is, its a blast with my brushless 18T, the jumps shure make you have to slow down[8D] (if i hit it to fast, i either fly forever, and crash land oooooor i end up wobbling in midair and landing in a crash), so ya, i definately will add more to it over time, just need to make the edges of the jumps a little "more even", seen your track to, its nice[8D]

calvino,lookng great,man!!!

well,the new job turned out to be just what i thought it would be...work (heeheeheehoohoohahahaha=P)
i did get 1/2 of the double i was gunna build in the driveway finnished,will be tomorrow before i get to try it out,gotta go in early today (overtime).

we got a track we're building and it's gonna be pretty nice

did i ever say working on a track was EASY , great way to get ripped, hey, you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labors[8D], i should make a video of mine[X(][8D]

I have tried with Malibu lights. They have covers on the top, so I figured they wouldn't be shining directly into my face. They looked very nice putting little glowing circles onto the racing surface. I put them along the sides of my pipe, in places where I wouldn't hit them, and I mounted them on PVC pipe just to be safe. I also put slightly stronger light bulbs for the ones further back. I tried it for two layouts and then moved them to my front yard and tried something else. The lighting wasn't bright enough; it was uneven and made it difficult to see anything while the car was in motion. The lights did bother my eyes. Having a bright flood light shining 5-7feet next to the racing surface is much better than looking at a bunch of small lights that are near your car. I would post pictures of these lights, but unfortunately I didn't take any.

I have also tried the flood light. It only took one to light up my entire track. I loved it, but my only complaint is that it made a few shadows on the other side of the pipe/jumps. I'm also pretty sure "it" drove up the electricity bill. lol (picture below) it eventually stopped working because of the weather.

We tried the light bulbs next. Right now it is with three extention cords, but we are seriously thinking about running electrical underground and possibly putting a small pit area up.

I seriously need to update my track thread to. It has changed a lot over the last year or so.

every time i look the track is different , i plan to keep this one up for a while, maybe like a few months, well see, change jumps... around, ya, cool stuff like that[8D]

here's the beginning of our track



it's still in the beginning stages and won't be finished for a few weeks, but it's turning out alright

how much was the 4" corrugated tubing? If you dont mind me asking. im building a track and i need some. I have a thread started about it. I'm posting pics tonight when i get out of work.

I paid about $50 per roll. I think each roll was 200 feet(that, or 100 feet per roll?).....and in my example, worked out perfectly. I didn't even measure when I ordered it. I could have gotten it cheaper at a big box store(Home Depot, Lowes)...but I live 40 miles from anything like those type of stores. Basically, it saved me time and money driving to 'save a buck'. I spent more time building my track rather than running around getting supplies. And when you factor the cost of me 'saving money' at the box stores versus fuel cost driving to them, I saved big-time using my local, small-town hardware store.

I'm very happy with my results. I hope you have as much fun and success as I did while you build yours!

What I love about my back yard track(much to my wife's chagrin) is that I don't need to leave town for my entertainment. Of course, I am a real, die-hard fan of R/C! Some people can and do get bored of doing this all the time. Especially, when the track doesn't change in layout. However, I designed my track with the mindset of being able to 'mix it up' a little. So far, I've been able to run on my track in 12 different configurations. Of course, half of them going one direction and the other half going the opposite direction. And if I want, I can even run my vehicles in all configurations to make ONE lap(if you know what I mean). That makes my small track, which takes my kids about 30 seconds to run the entire outside perimeter, into an long haul!

I'm glad to see so many of you enjoying this forum as much as I am!

Ob1n of RCU

i use 1" PVC for our track, haha, does nothing to keep the cars in but it shure was cheap, to bad you can't bend it into curves..... [>:]

oh yes.......definitely cheaper!!!! Even my 4" pipe allows my 1/18th Vendetta to 'change' lanes! LOL!

But, at least you have the lanes marked! I wish they made the 4" corrugated in white.....would being easier to see.....although would look dirty all the time.

Ob1n of RCU