Crawler Canyon Presents: ICFTW Vol.28 Ep.1, from Box to Rocks

Another build for platinum-tier Canyon supporter ShakerMT, who graciously sent everything in to have a rig... assembled? I can't call this a build, really. Everything I needed was in the boxes.
Get a Crawler Canyon tee! www.cafepress.com/crawlercanyon
Links
Vanquish VRD bit.ly/487fCZ7
ProLine Beetle bit.ly/3TbNsI5
Baja Pro X bit.ly/416fWoH
Treal Vintage Wagon bit.ly/3t5FhCy
A75BUMW amzn.to/41cQwG2
Rhino 3532 1800 amzn.to/3Rcoy8I
Rhino V80 amzn.to/47wZQ9M
IG: crawlercanyon

[@brianmorrison2846]

You guys are my RC family that I talk to. My granddaughter 4, loves her pink FCX24 power wagon and has first pick of what ever truck I can keep running lol it's all beans all the time.

[@meirdeaph]

😊❤

[@BrandonM83]

Yessss I’m making popcorn 🍿 and watching. Big thanks to @shakermt 😎😎😎😎😎😎💯💯🙏.

[@user-ld9ke2yv6t]

OHHHHMYYYYGOOOODNEESSSSS!! I want one!!! Beetle on Bajas!!! It makes me giddy!

[@FaithSaraG]

Looks like Vanquish nailed it with this one.

[@derrickhays3627]

I want 1! Man that bug crawls! We could see you just fine nothing was missed, so relaxing to come home and watch you build, thank you and thank shaker mt. can't wait until it's painted.

[@lastcreations8845]

hooray long one. 2" long section, 4.25" skid to top of body, cut everything else off. Compy ! 5.8 is nice ! 1800kv looks good. wheels look great, tires doing amazing on those foams. Looking like bias is really close. od just much for me. patina herbie, cartoonish paint vw bug, so cal moonie style or flames lol.

[@Jnichols77]

I’m pretty lucky in my dad is into toy cars…lol. I just gave him an SCX24 for his 80th birthday to drive around the house this winter.

[@mfnJOSH]

Those bug bodies were the go-to comp body around 2007-2010 theyre durable, easy to trim out, and the rounded roof makes self righting massively easy. 👍

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Impossible to turtle is definitely a bonus.

[@SoCalCrawlers]

This Truck is my All Time Favorite Crawler !!

[@davidwatlington3737]

That thing deserves to be SHINY!

[@LumpkinMumfins1]

I reckon if the BVGGRD name sticks, it oughtta have a paint scheme to match! Make it look as clapped-out as possible! Patina away, sir!

[@erwinadriaensen]

Thx for build #28 mister ShakerMT 😎

[@offroad1911]

Dang it, I told myself I wasn’t gonna build anymore rigs this year and here you are building the one body I’ve wanted for a while. 😮

[@SivartCustomRCs]

Agreed, it is a solid body...I've been holding on to one for about a year now. Just haven't had the time and $ to build an LCG for it. I also have this body on my Arrma Granite and it is holding up well.

[@offroad1911]

@@SivartCustomRCs I’ve always wanted to do one, but I’ve been on a Power Wagon kick with Rock Pirate chassis’s. Lol

[@fejwe]

I've also been impressed with my latest Proline body. It's noticably thicker than previous ones I bought, especially around the edges. The last one I did I coated almost entirely with drywall tape--it's about as heavy as a hardbody now. Not sure if I'll do precautionary drywall tape on the new one, it may not need it, or not need much. I considered this bug body for that build, but was concerned it would look out of scale with the rest of the fleet. But seeing how nicely it fits that chassis makes me rethink a bit, it looks great at 313mm.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

It's definitely "overlong" compared to a real one, but I like that they swelled the dimensions, so everything still looks proportionate. Like with PL's Samurai, the Sumo, all of the proportions look ridiculous.

[@ShoddyRC]

Front upper links, it seems like it performs better with them in the lowest hole, but it does interfere with the driveline so you have to get creative. I also don’t know what I’m talking about so it could be a placebo effect.

[@2Geek2bChic]

I really love this "build" so far, especially the tires/wheels with the bug body. I think if it was a beach buggy I would make the body shiny but a crawler with patina makes more sense to me. I agree with your overall sentiment about the side skirts though. Aside from that.... you can't argue with the results which are impressive! Also, I just bought this exact servo for my XRT that weighs almost 4x as much!! 😅

[@arthopfer]

So now you’ve got me thinking VRD vs zoku. Looks like I’ll have both.

[@richpeacock5768]

You will love this when it is done.

[@TheOtherSock-728]

Yay! A Beetle! Paint: That Gulf livery from RattleCat

[@meirdeaph]

Total awesomeness ❤ this place rocks 🪨🗻🪨👍

[@fuse557]

OMG dude! those Proline tires are so awesome!

[@davidconaway2830]

I was with you wrt to the massive overdrive.....and I'm just as surprised how well it did. Now I'm really excited about my backordered VRD. In the meantime I'm acquiring all the other goodies to get this build on the rocks soon after it arrives. It didn't look like it needed any brass up front either, but I suppose time will tell if brass proves beneficial. Joe, over at Exocaged has the VRD with the vanquish brass on the front axle and it does very well on his course. Love the videos and experienced opinions and reviews.

[@sammygonzalez7627]

For some reason, you picked the right body, for this build 👍

[@evintacy7272]

Man I’ve been wanting put a bug body on a build! Your killing it my friend love this channel! ❤ 😊 thank you

[@DSMOffRoad]

Man that was a great build, digging the bug body for sure. The performance is quite impressive as well out of the box. I’m with you, the OD amount has me going back and forth in my head.

[@richpeacock5768]

Try under drive gear in front, I did and dropped my overdrive to between 21%-25%. I found it to work better, with less wonkiness when using reverse. Running 2300 pro, brass bead lock rings on all 4. I am using lighter of optional brass front portal covers as well. Baja pros too.66 degree side hill before rolling .also running desert lizards full droop. 😀

[@andrewhead4365]

In a VRD it has 21% in the trans and 17% in the front OD gears. All you need is standard portal gears in front to get down to 21% which seems to work better than the 37-38% for me. I have two carbons, one with standard 38 and one stepped down to 21% and the 21% does best if not comping

[@richpeacock5768]

I have the vrd carbon. I used underdrive ring and pinion in front axle. It dropped my overdrive down to 24%. I also have a Vanquish Rock Pirates Interceptor build with portals. I bought my axles individually, they both came with overdrive portal gears. I replaced the rear portal gears with standard portal gears. It is now at 24% as well . Two different ways of getting to the same place. I did not do the math, but did rotational test both came out at exactly 24%.

[@andrewhead4365]

@@richpeacock5768 does the 24% seem to do better for you? I know 37% has some advantages for most people, I think it’s a little much

[@richpeacock5768]

@@andrewhead4365 it is in my opinion, the 37 percent is way too much. Both my trucks do very well with 24% Overdrive. I do not compete but I do look for the most impossible lines. Both my trucks are point and go . 24% does not affect my ability to side Hill. 37 percent did affect my ability to side Hill, that is why I chose to lower my percentage. The forward Drive is amazing.

[@corydehaan8349]

The glazed eye look is real. I get allot of "that's nice dear" from the wife quite a bit.

[@brianmassey7563]

I just made some stainless sliders and love it.

[@jamiejck]

Amazing! I have most of these bits on order. Except I have tusk tyres and my own 3d printed insert. Not sure on the body yet. I'm still waiting for the chassis (uk) absolutely love watching your vids. No decorating getting done here in blighty 😂

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Tusks came back in stock on Amain and I ordered a set without a rig to put them under. The day after I ordered, Megalithics came back in stock. C'est la vie.

[@jamiejck]

@@CrawlerCanyon I don't think we'll see megolithocs in the UK for a while yet. I was considering jetko conquerors 🤷

[@craigpimlott204]

I know what you mean about proline bodies .I built a Dodge power wagon just using the cab with a home built truck bed ,and after a while the rear of the cab started to split down the sides like it had gone brittle .so i bought the FTX Texan body which also has the scale plastic grill too, it’s a direct replica of the proline power wagon .but is a hell of a lot cheaper and it is now on its second year of trailing and not one crack split or anything .

[@Andrew_Red]

can't go wrong with a bug body 😊. Looks awesome!

[@jasoncouy2075]

That is a pretty sweet build. Great video

[@HollerRC]

My family members either just don’t get it or their eyes roll. I took my 2021 bronco to my cousin’s thanksgiving. Her one year old followed it around the back yard, pushed it around and sat on it for 2-3 hours. He enjoyed it so much that now I’m trying to find a used one for her fiancé to buy.

[@HollerRC]

It was also a lot of fun at Halloween. I sat outside in my sister in law’s driveway running my bronco down the driveway and the street to lead trick or treaters to us with my light kit on and playing Halloween music from a truck mounted Bluetooth speaker. For some reason they kept not seeing us and walking past us otherwise.

[@TheAmericanUhate]

I did notice with the stock gearing, the outrunner was rubbing the front of the skid on the stock and stubby both. I added a 2mm spacer under the skid and problem solved until I get my new pinion/spur delivered. I've also added the VFD hurtz dig unit it also. Still need to mount the micro servo for it.

[@pallepetersen7641]

Do a Herbie.👍

[@JIPPERR_1]

You have got to love a vw bug! Just something about it

[@TheAmericanUhate]

The OD on it can be setup in a ton of different ways too. If you did want to cut most the OD out, swap the portal gears front to back, that would bring it down to 5% OD. Or you could swap an UD ring & pinion into the front axle and bring it down to 28% OD. The higher OD works better than I'd have thought too. I had already ordered UD portal gears for mine rear axle to bring it down to 21% OD total, but I ended up leaving it at 37% for now. I did put UD ring & pinion gears in both axles, still 37% OD, but geared down overall ratio, because I've got a 2500kv outrunner with a 4s setup on it. Going to change to a 14/52 spur/pinion and 2250kv outrunner when I get home again too.

[@TheOtherSock-728]

I thi😊nk I made it this far then was hospitalized fur leg amputation. Life completely different now 😢

[@Doug_Morgan]

Glad you picked the Treal wheels. As soon as I seen then I thought they would be perfect for the Bug body. Treal is my goto now for wheels. Much better than 90% of the usual Amazon wheels with excellent quality at a bargain price. I have 3 different sets of them now and just ordered my 4th set today. The other accessories I have ordered from them have all been top quality as well.

[@badcredentials4230]

Paintwork = Dunkelgelb? Nice assembly!

[@arthopfer]

They are back in stock at VP and amain.

[@craigpimlott204]

Beetles and Morris minors suit nigh on any colour available because of the shape of the body’s. you can go from Factory colours to wild and mad candies too red oxide and grey primer lacquered over .

[@francotarantino982]

Love it !

[@TheAmericanUhate]

Zoku guy released a new skid for his chassis to run SOA on his kits now that he's seen how Vanquish did it lol. He's supposed to have a stubby skid for the zoku Phoenix builds this week too.

[@gibsonlife573]

I am super surprised that they sit waits for the front end that's really awesome I mean I haven't seen one kit that I know of that come with weight

[@BobBitchen100]

Bought 3 of those servos on Black Friday. Got one loaded up in one of my sporty rigs. Power and torque feel nice. If it ever stops raining in the PNW I'll get to crawl w/ it... 🤡🤡

[@CrawlerCanyon]

GET OUT THERE IN THAT WATTAH shouts the guy from the Land of Never-rains.

[@BobBitchen100]

@@CrawlerCanyon ha ha ha! Got out today after work lol. My rock piles are still soaked lol. Servo is great on 3s in my Asylum sporty. Also tested on some Extreme Route gold dot pins I got a screaming deal on new/never used. They are also a great pin tire even in the wet. Dare I say better than Ibex?!😂 No rain Friday. I may have to call in sick🤡

[@mathias4891]

Company wide skills competition. They fed us including a mobile shaved ice truck . MIDI format Poker Face while eating 'Tiger Blood' in August... The only disappointment was I'm the only one who found this hilarious .

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Any MIDI version of a song fills me with glee, while "muzak'd" versions of songs from my teens and early-20s make me feel ancient. The first time I heard Green Day in a supermarket I aged instantly.

[@nicholasstephey8475]

This is not a disappointment

[@EddieDesigned]

My girlfriend is tolerant of my obsession, everyone else glazes over! Got my behind the axle servo mount done last night, don't forget to leave enough room for the servo wire! Crazy idea for paint, why not half and half? One half like new, the other half 50yrs later

[@CrawlerCanyon]

My wife is the pinnacle of tolerance, leaning even into enabling. But she doesn't want to hear about ANY of it. And god help me if I tried to bring anything in the house.

[@EddieDesigned]

@@CrawlerCanyon due to a lack of space anywhere else, it's all in the house! She'll patiently let me talk about stuff, but it all goes straight over her head, and occasionally she'll fall asleep while I'm halfway through... ;)

[@gibsonlife573]

Maybe after Christmas man I might send you everything to build one of these it looks really really nice I would like to go with like their new body on a like metallic silver or gray with black stripes

[@gibsonlife573]

I definitely feel like the front could come down you did say that like it's sitting right on the Rockers

[@Shakermt]

Emailed you :) I gotta say that thing came out of the box swinging. I suggested a color scheme/style but I'd love to hear what everyone has for ideas.

[@Jnichols77]

What part of Montana are you from? I’m in great falls.

[@Shakermt]

@@Jnichols77 I'm from Clinton but I hang out in Helena most of the time. Well whemn I am in the state (truck driver)

[@brianmorrison2846]

You should use the electronics tray on the VFD because an 850 battery fits on it.

[@nicholasstephey8475]

I used it for the esc. They skid mounted the battery. 😊

[@TheAmericanUhate]

The subby transmission kit gives a small tray in front of the trans, beside the servo. I'd rather mount electronics down on the sliders, lower CG

[@nicholasstephey8475]

@@TheAmericanUhate as soon as I get mine installed all mounting will be re-evaluated

[@brianmorrison2846]

I would rather have 50 grams more down low with the Fusion Pro. I'm not convinced there is any performance gained from the stubby motors not to mention lack of drag brake. I have the s20 2220 kv and it's in my carbon scx pro. Look how much rock surface that servo has when moved long ways on the VRD.@@TheAmericanUhate

[@TheAmericanUhate]

@@brianmorrison2846 Fusion is a whole lot more than 50 grams difference lol. Just swapping gears and from a fusion to an outrunner was close to 5 ounces difference on my Ultra trans. The only lack of drag brake on an outrunner comes from using castle ESC's. The Furitek Python X and Rhino 80a esc have rock solid drag brake on the correct size outrunner for the rig they're on. I use Holmes outrunners, they have stronger magnets in them and better made. The mid sized team spec specifically, and my rigs are light, and axles geared down. As far as the servo, I'm running the nsdrc RS700 v2 low profile servo on my VRD with the BTA/stubby setup, and the bottom of it is still a good bit higher than the axle tube. Moving weight down low as possible is the point of an LCG.

[@The_RC_Family]

One of if not thee best crawler show on the interwebs! Thank you Mr CC. PS, is it "shon" not "shined"? Toodle pip!

[@CrawlerCanyon]

According to ol' Mirriam-Webster, "Shined and shone are competing acceptable past tense forms of the verb shine. " I think shined is just more common in the US.

[@The_RC_Family]

@CrawlerCanyon Well bless ol' Mirriam for giving us clarity! Ya know, I chuckled a little when this reply popped up. It's exactly the sort of thing I would have done once curiosity struck! My leaning regarding the choices is obviously geographically inherited! :)

[@TheAmericanUhate]

On that transmission, going from the regular pro/ultra gears w/fusion pro to lightweight gears and outrunner, it lost close to 5oz off the trans

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Well, you'd have to offset that by how much you picked up with the ESC. The Fusion Pro isn't exactly lightweight-- but seeing as it is where it is in a VFD, I don't think that weight is actually all that bad. LISTEN UP HOBBYWING, bring us a STUBBY FUSION

[@brianmorrison2846]

My VRD rock sliders constantly need bent into shape. I have R.P.'s boat sliders to replace them

[@nicholasstephey8475]

They are under bent on purpose. Should slide of a rock easier.

[@RiceCrisp320]

I think he meant that the become deformed easily. I am personally not impressed with the sliders. Definitely seem to be one of the weak points of the kit. Other than those and the knuckle weights should have come as brass it seems like a good kit​

[@brianmorrison2846]

Under bent? I turned one side straight up wedged on a rock with the Reefs 800lp and every time I drive it I have to align the stance body by bending the sliders. @@nicholasstephey8475

[@jamiejck]

Would be interesting to see how it handled with less over/underdrive?

[@CrawlerCanyon]

We'll see if @shakerMT is curious about the same thing.

[@sprather84]

I’m not sure if you’re familiar with the rock pirates sliders I’m sure you are you seem to have everything lol but I was hoping I could get the power wagon/creep sliders from rock pirates to fit on the VRD

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Get them to fit, possibly-- but get them to fit well, doubtfully. All of the RP sliders I've seen are for flat skids, and there's a decent angle to the VRD, so the slider would look like it was slapped on. We need more slider options for VRD.

[@fromfin90]

speaking of toy cars, just charged a pair if lipos for my Traxxas Summit, gonan go bash it in the snow now.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

The best time to play with toy cars... is all the time.

[@themountain59]

A lot of proline on the bench...lol..🤐 I love the car as it is....Vanquish did good on this one.

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Hey, I still haven't bought any of it. What people want to use in their builds is up to them. That bug body is really nice, though. Thickest ProLine body I've ever seen. All of the PL tires now appear to be $32-33 a pair, which even if I didn't have my "ProLine thing" would still land them firmly in the "would not buy" category. Tusks are still $25 a pair, and I haven't found a PL tire yet that can unseat them from their position atop the pyramid.

[@walterkaaden]

Herbie The Love Bug !

[@AndreMartins-ul7xi]

I lost my decal/stencil sheet for that proline body and have yet to forgive my self

[@gibsonlife573]

That is so silly they automatically should think hey on these little bitty parts we need to send a couple extra at least

[@gibsonlife573]

Just like I asked the other day what did you think the perfect overdrive percentage was I have found myself that if you get up there in that too high of a zone that it just really Wayne's on the ride I don't do what it's supposed to you know what I mean it counteracts

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Yeah, there are points with bog OD/UD that you can feel the rear end dragging. The sidehilling was surprisingly good considering. I still think at least putting in one ring gear to drop it below 30% would work better.

[@gibsonlife573]

I would like to know how much weight savings it is to drill those damn gun gears out I would think by keeping them solid that you would have a better you know beefiness let's say from the outside of the gear to where the hole is it's only a millimeter or two thick that's some of gun can break in half I feel like if you kept that material in the gears you would take less of a chance of a breaking

[@CrawlerCanyon]

Minimal. I've learned this from making chassis-- all those cutouts they love to do (because they have access to CNC machines) might take an ounce off of a pair of rails. Inside gears? All the holes in a gear take off a gram.

[@fuse557]

Im soo irritated right now! You're just like my X wife! Read through the instructions first!!! The ego is a negative. Love your channel, great content, enjoy your narration! OMG read the instructions! lol!!!!

[@betreyes8691]

Lol exactly like my ex too...agree, great content and always entertaining... looks like the rear shocks/ body mounts are not in the stock position

[@BoostedTV1]

How does it compare to just doing the Zoku on the Phoenix?

[@CrawlerCanyon]

The VRD definitely feels lighter in action, and with the basic VFD it sure goes together more quickly. But AFAIC my portal Zoku Phoenix (Argentum) is still the benchmark against which all other LCGs shall be measured. The Phoenix is born as (essentially) a trail truck, and putting a Zoku on it is like cheat codes. I don't think it's an accident that the VRD rails won't accept a VFD-Twin. And y'all know me-- if given the choice, I'm taking dig every time. I think the Zoku is the standout for the guy that already has a Vanquish at home, and the VRD is for the guy that doesn't.

[@BoostedTV1]

Makes sense sounds like I don’t need a vrd since I have the Zoku . It surprises me every time I take it out .

[@gibsonlife573]

Why don't you just go ahead and say it you done dropped the mic again killee job bro

[@nicholasstephey8475]

Get that gear cover outta here 😂😂😂

[@CrawlerCanyon]

If the rig were staying here, you KNOW it thing would already be in my growing collection of unused gear covers.

[@gibsonlife573]

That is going to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard not to even send some extra eclipse some extra little washers come on bro

[@guywithashovelproductions]

Lived in the hood for a while and the ice cream truck and or tamale lady were a daily....now I live in rural utah where there are neither.....