For those of you who plan to run your truck during the winter....

[Trailwalker]

How are you waterproofing/snow proofing things?

I really don't want to go all winter without driving my truck, but I'm super paranoid about rust or water damage on my truck (I never run my vehicles in water or mud).

I see so much conflicting techniques on waterproofing and just wanted to know what you guys were doing for your TRX4. The wheel wells seem to do an awesome job of keeping stuff out of the inside of the body, so I'm assuming things will be easy.

[puzzleluvr100]

I'd think it'll be like regular water use.
Conformal coating on boards, and grease in the axles.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Greatscott]

You need to break it down by parts of the truck as to what needs to be done...

The chassis, for the most part will be fine. The screws will get surface rust on them, it really isn't a big deal, just a little unsightly. If you are worried about it, put a dab of silicone grease over them.

The tires are vented and will get water in them. Recommend putting a dab of Shoe Goo or silicone sealant over the holes to keep the water out. As long as you don't go crazy with it, both are easy to remove.

The axles and portals will get water in them. It really is not that big of a deal, there should be enough grease in there to protect everything. But, if you are worried about it, pack the housing with marine grease. Recommend removing it in the spring, the grease will turn into a dirt magnet.

Electronics. If you are using the stock electronics, you should not need to do a thing to them, they are waterproof from the factory.

Motor. The motor will require maintenance to keep it running. After you are done running in wet conditions (including snow), remove the motor, blow it out with compressed air (~ 30 psig), put a drop of light machine oil on the bushings, and spin the motor to work it in, after that, reinstall. If you run mud, sand, or extreme dust, you'd blow the motor out, then spray electric motor cleaning through the motor until it runs clear, blow it out again, then let it dry over night, put the light machine oil on the bushings, and reinstall.

Keep in mind, there are a good number of ways to skin this cat.

[Sprinkletron]

I fully understand your hesitation to run in water. I made the mistake of running my TRX-4 in beach sand and then not doing any maintenance afterwords. This resulted in a full drivetrain lockdown. I had to fully rebuild the transmission, front axle, and rear axle to get it to work again. Mind you I still run in water anyways I just don't run in super deep water (I say that yet I drowned my TRX-4's radio connection underwater the other day).

I regrease the ring and pinion after every water run as well as clean the motor. After 3 or so water runs I will check the portals for any sign of rust. The chassis is usually fine because of those nice wheel wells (those are life savers when it comes to cleaning) but I would still make sure to brush all the dirt out of it.

As puzzleuvr mentioned having something on all your electronic board (like epoxy) is always helpful when running in water.

Be careful when running in water in high gear though, that motor heats up quick in water (or maybe it's just Texas).

One last thing. Make sure you seal those tires. Water eats the foam in the stock TRX-4 tires from my experience. I switched to SSD beadlocks with stock TRX-4 tires and Proline closed cell foams (my truck's still super heavy). The foams need a little breaking in but after that I expect them to preform well.

[Trailwalker]

Thanks, guys!

I like the idea of closed-cell foam. One of my future upgrades are to get beadlocks and swap the foams for closed-cell. I've seen some video of what the stock foams look like after being exposed to water - yikes!

I have been using marine grease in the portal axles, which I hope helps to keep some extra water out of them. For the motor, I'm quite familiar with brushed motor maintenance because of my other trucks, so that's not going to be a problem.

Do you know if stainless steel screws would need to be protected in any way or are they fine as they are (I mean, they shouldn't rust no matter what, right?)?

For batteries - any preference for cold winter running? I've got both LIPOs and NIMH and have no problem running either one.

[Greatscott]

Thanks, guys!

Do you know if stainless steel screws would need to be protected in any way or are they fine as they are (I mean, they shouldn't rust no matter what, right?)? .

By, the name, you'd think "stainless steel" would not rust, but it does; not as fast as the black oxide-coated screws, but stainless does rust.

For batteries - any preference for cold winter running? I've got both LIPOs and NIMH and have no problem running either one.

Doesn't really matter. I run my packs in water and snow with now problems, but if you want to make sure they are protected, put them in a plastic bag.

[Stircrayzy]

Tagging along for tips... so far it seems odd that there are so many unsealed areas on this truck, yet is marketed as "waterproof". Very much looking fwd to winter wheeling anyway. Its one main reason i bought it.

[grave75]

Stay away from Salt / Salt Bine Sprayed / Treated areas... My Step Son's Friend & his dad found out the hard way last winter They used to go BASH in a Open Public parking lot @ our Local Mall & come to find out in the Spring time there Chassis & all exposed parts got eaten away or ruined... COME TO FIND OUT the parking lot they BASHED in used a Spray Brine Salt mixture on the parking lot & the Melting Snow on the blacktop mixed in with the water on the parking lot & ruined there Trucks. They spent a lot of money on Parts that Spring.

[Greatscott]

Tagging along for tips... so far it seems odd that there are so many unsealed areas on this truck, yet is marketed as "waterproof". Very much looking fwd to winter wheeling anyway. Its one main reason i bought it.

"Waterproof" and "Maintenance Proof" are not the same thing; and, in the world of RC, "waterproof" really just describes the electronics. The diffs and portals vent on purpose, given that they do take on water, it will drain and not corrode the gears. Sealing everything up so that no water could get in at all would make maintenance and repairs a royal pain. Also, other RCs like Axial, Vaterra, Losi, and RC4WD are pretty much the same way (some a little worse, some a little better).

[Sprinkletron]

I also suggest that before you even run the truck in any sort of water you must regrease the diffs and gearbox. The gearbox is a pain to get to but it is worth it. My truck has never been quieter. Another thing to worry about is the skid plate under the gearbox. There are no holes in this and it will hold water, sand, dirt, and anything else that gets in it. I drilled some holes in the skid plate and my gearbox and transfer case have been cleaner lately.

[Stircrayzy]

Good points Scott. I was more just chuckling to myself at the marketing farce. The manual is very clear that deep water running will require additional maintenance.
My perspective is that i would rather clean off the old, and apply new silicone after a repair, vs tearing everything apart for maint every time i dunk the truck underwater. Since im no RC expert, i obviously have no experience to back up that premise.

[Trailwalker]

Lots of great tips!

@grave75, good point about salt sprays - hadn't even considered that. I plan to stick to hiking trails this winter (whether practical or not, I will find out).

I do not plan to take my truck out when there's anything more than a dusting of snow on the ground (since I hate the snow and wouldn't go out in it anyway).

Does anyone have experience with fall trail crawling? Mainly leaves on the ground and whether they cause much trouble.

[puzzleluvr100]

Leaves if wet may, but otherwise you should be fine.

Lots of great tips!

@grave75, good point about salt sprays - hadn't even considered that. I plan to stick to hiking trails this winter (whether practical or not, I will find out).

I do not plan to take my truck out when there's anything more than a dusting of snow on the ground (since I hate the snow and wouldn't go out in it anyway).

Does anyone have experience with fall trail crawling? Mainly leaves on the ground and whether they cause much trouble.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[Sprinkletron]

Stay away from Salt / Salt Bine Sprayed / Treated areas... My Step Son's Friend & his dad found out the hard way last winter They used to go BASH in a Open Public parking lot @ our Local Mall & come to find out in the Spring time there Chassis & all exposed parts got eaten away or ruined... COME TO FIND OUT the parking lot they BASHED in used a Spray Brine Salt mixture on the parking lot & the Melting Snow on the blacktop mixed in with the water on the parking lot & ruined there Trucks. They spent a lot of money on Parts that Spring.

Yep. Been there done that. Rebuilding the entire driveline is no fun. Salt doesn't just eat. If your truck sits to long after playing in salt then you have a complete driveline lockup

[Stircrayzy]

Lots of great tips!

I do not plan to take my truck out when there's anything more than a dusting of snow on the ground (since I hate the snow and wouldn't go out in it anyway).

Who says you have to go out, my plan is to sit by the fireplace and drive, while letting the kids build me obstacles and flip me back over. I do love the snow however, and probably will have the truck out more than summer.

[Trailwalker]

Who says you have to go out, my plan is to sit by the fireplace and drive, while letting the kids build me obstacles and flip me back over.

Haha! Winning! I'd love to get my backyard crawler course done by the winter, but that's likely not going to happen. I really do enjoy trails and I hope we get very little snow this winter so the trails will be clear. If not... Do we have skis available for these trucks? Haha