ASK Cub Reporter, 09.26.2013, Version- In Come Your Questions, Out Goes My Non-sense
Welcome to ‘Ask Cubby’. Here we go…
“Tried to email yall and it wouldn’t go through so I am trying here. (This is from our FB page- Cubby) I just bought a 1/5th scale Red Cat Rampage. I have NO experience with this hobby, but wanted to buy something to play with my grandson. I have concerns with certain things that is not listed in the owners manual. Such as safety shut off switch, changing the battery and servos to a better setup. How to hook up the fail safe and set it? I found your article on the Rampage on your web site and bookmarked it.
Any help on this truck would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help
Robert A.”
Cubby- So you got to thinking a 5th scale gas truck would be a good way to get into the hobby with your grandson. I suppose you think a good way of getting into car audio is to buy Mark Fukuda’s old Blazer? I do have to give ya props for going big or not going at all though…
Yes, a fail safe/remote kill switch/throttle return spring should be at the top of your list for your big truck. A fail safe kicks in when radio signal is lost, helping to prevent an uncontrolled runaway. A remote kill switch works off your third channel and kills the ignition to the engine, and a good throttle return spring can help when all electrical power has been lost. Nothing is 100% certain to totally prevent a runaway, but if I had a Rampage I would have the remote kill and a stiff throttle return spring on it before it was ever fired up. 5th scales have both, a lot of speed and a lot of mass, making them especially dangerous should one ever get out of control.
And how do you set those things up? Plus upgrading the battery and servos? Wow, that is more than I can cover here in ASK Cubby, but we certainly need to get that information out there. I will kick some chairs around the office and see if I can get one of the Bash Crew to do a series of articles on safety and upgrades for 5th scalers.
“Sir, I have been trying to find a roll cage that would cover my T-Maxx from front to back including protecting the engine head. I saw one on a website that said it was at Big Squid RC and I have searched for it and no luck. Can you kelp me. I’m looking for something in blue that will protect the head and truck itself.
Thanking you in advance for your time and consideration, William C.”
Cubby- Yo hey Bill, thanks for the email.
The T-Maxx is a legendary bash machine for sure, props to ya for owning one. Some would even say that the T-Maxx saved the hobby when it hit the market.
About a rollcage for that beast… I would only go with an RC Solutions cage. Those guys are cool and have been supporting the hobby for a long time now. You’ll be looking at about $80-$90 for a good cage, but as you already know it will save you money in the long run. Give This Link a click and check out the RC Solutions cage for the T-Maxx 3.3 and the extended T-Maxx cage as well. Oh and, shoot Brian your snail mail so we can hook ya up with a sticker pack.
That’s it for this week, shoot your questions to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. Shoot me pretty much anything your warped head can come up with, the worst I can do is forward it to the rest of the staff to laugh at. If your email hits the big-time you’ll win a free sticker pack, and the first week of the month I pick a “Letter of the Month” where the author gets a free t-shirt.
YOUR Cub Reporter
