While I was recently digging through and organizing my RC parts, I was surprised to find a stock Traxxas motor. I must be getting old because I can’t remember why I had an extra, but I hooked it up and it seems to work great.
I picked up an old school Traxxas speed controller (ESC) super cheap and hooked it up to a radio receiver I also had lying around. I tried to keep it simple by keeping the chassis all black but when I swapped around a few different shocks from the other trucks, I really dug the looks of the blue springs with this body.
I just fixed a broken controller which I also had stuffed in the bowels of my parts bin. You see honey, I knew I should keep it all these years just in case I needed it one day… well today is the day and now the truck is officially complete.
Ready to hit the shelf!
Yup, just like my fancy 30th Anniversary Grave Digger, these tires will only be touched by carpet, linoleum and maybe a few wood or tile floors.
The first monster truck, Bigfoot, started out as a family Ford F-250 pickup which was modified until the tires reached 66 inches, as well as adding heavy duty suspension and four-wheel steering.
Often seen crushing regular cars under its weight, this humungous truck provide a thrilling source of entertainment that was loved across the US and beyond.
Fresh out of the box!
I was thrilled to see that Traxxas brought this classic to their lineup a few years ago, but I just couldn’t see spending the money on yet another Traxxas Stampede with a fancy shell. Well after patiently waiting for years, and searching eBay for just the right price, I finally purchased the shell and built this roller using 90% parts I already had. I even found an incredible price on a LED light set that is only found on the most recently released version.
It’s just a roller now, no motor, computer(ESC) or controller… but let’s be honest here, I’m sure this thing will be 100% up and running before you know it. 🙂
Almost there… stay on target!
I’ll be perusing eBay for the remaining parts needed for the beast and digging through what’s left of my parts in the hopes of finding anything else I can use for the build.
Hopefully soon this thing will be fully functional.
I’m so happy to find this very special “souvenir from the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadow in 1964”.
This coin was mentioned during the end credits of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which showed a touching moment between Egon and Janine that was unfortunately cut from the original Ghostbusters film.
What a fun addition to my Ghostbusters collection.
First there was the normal everyday sunflower seeds, which seemed fine at the time. Then came such favorites as “Cracked Pepper”, “BBQ”, “Spicy Sweet Chili”, and of course one of the best, “Dill Pickle”, but hot damn these “Takis Fuego” seeds are incredible.
Stop whatever you are doing at this moment and go grab a bag of these hot and spicy delights!!!
Well, after getting all the RC’s out and cleaned up this past week, I decided to change this beauty from a simple rolling chassis to a full blown radio controlled beast.
I ordered and installed the last remaining parts needed to truly drive this thing, along with a few visual enhancements to spruce it up, and this monster is finally ready for the road.
Just before the transformation.
Well, actually… it won’t see any dirt, asphalt, gravel, or cement under its wheels and there will definitely be no roll-overs to scratch this beautiful body as this trailer king will only be driven under safe conditions that can only be accommodated by in-door driving.
Too pretty to bash!
Yup, these tires will only be touched by carpet, linoleum and maybe a few wood or tile floors.
Sure, 2020 was a complete mess, but things didn’t get too much better in 2021. Still dealing with restrictions forced upon us by the virus debacle, I wasn’t able to get back into the gym until late March.
It was such a wonderful feeling getting back into the gym, and getting back into my groove. Unfortunately, the time off and lack of motivation really took its toll on my knees and ankles. That’s right, I said ankles. I’ve been dealing with knee issues for some time, but ankles? This is something new… I don’t recommend getting old my friends.
Anyway, I couldn’t believe how much was lost, and how tough it was going to be to just get back to where I was before all this mess. I started off slow, and very frustrated. I wanted to do so much more but just couldn’t find the strength, and my endurance was totally shot. After settling down a bit and realizing nothing was going to happen overnight, I relaxed my mind and slowly began to regain the strength that was lost. Just as I started reaching many new goals and feeling better and stronger than ever, life got in the way. I fell out of my normal routine due to community obligations as well as my personal health.
Unfortunately, I hit another low.
It was pretty hard to take. Surprisingly, prior to this I had been hitting goals and lifting weight I have never lifted before. Things were looking good for hitting the goals I made for myself by the end of the year. It’s funny how frustrated you can get when you know that with every day or week that goes by, you are losing more and more of the hard work you’ve put in. When I was finally able to get back to a regular schedule, I was again surprised at how much was lost so quickly. After coming back the first time and hitting highs like never before, I found that once again I had to start well below where I thought I’d be.
This time I was more prepared for how long it would take me to get back to the weight I was lifting before. I’m still not quite there, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m feeling healthier and stronger everyday, and I feel confident that I will hit and quite possibly exceed the goals I had missed last year.
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the optional full size spare tire.
After owning the new Bronco for only a week, my wife found a tire air removal device on the drive home from work. It was so nice to pull out a full size matching spare rather than the little donut options we’ve had in the past.
Now we can run the Baby Bronco normally until we can get the tire fixed.
Update (11/26)
Well wouldn’t you know it? I took the tire into the local shop today to get it plugged and back on the road, but when they were breaking the bead, a part of the sidewall split open. They could not see any damage at all on the outside, but the tear is pretty huge.
Huge rip in the sidewall
I’m heading down to the dealer tomorrow to see if they will cover this as a defect. This poor thing only lasted 824 miles, and now it’s heading to the tire graveyard.
Update on the Update (11/27)
Well, they didn’t warranty the tire, I had to pay full price. The dealer wouldn’t even look into it, just got a quick NO and asked if I wanted to buy a new one. Which is strange as one of the things that stood out during our purchase of the Bronco was that the finance guy specifically mentioned that even the tires are covered against defect.
Back on the road in full regalia
So, my wife was driving home when the air pressure warning hit. She pulled over immediately and the tire still had enough air for her to think it was an error as it looked fine to her. By the time I got there it was totally flat.
AAA swapped to the spare and I took the tire to our local shop for a plug. The shop said the sidewall split when they broke the bead. So either it was some kind of defect, or the shop damaged it and didn’t take responsibility (which I feel is highly unlikely).
