Backyard off-road RC car racetrack

[JodyH]

Anybody here ever built a off-road RC car racetrack in their backyard?
Me and the now 13 year old boy have taken up RC cars as our new expensive hobby and I'm going to build a racetrack in the backyard.
:cool:

The area my wife has allotted for this project is approximately 45' x 25', which should be plenty for two or three 1:10 scale off-road trucks or buggies on track at the same time.

Here's my initial drawing (each square is 1'x1'):
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160110/bfaa4f749b6ea18b857269d25e202a38.jpg

The track will average between 5' and 8' wide.
The initial jump will be about 1' tall (don't want to launch cars into the boys bedroom window).
The five "rollers" will 6"-8" tall (probably use 6" PVC as the base and layer dirt on top).
The "step up" jump to the big "tabletop" will be the centerpiece of the track at approx. 18" tall.

Oughta be some good man time with the boy while we build it and then some boy time while we play with the RC trucks.
:cool:

[Luke]

Man. I've been down the RC road before. May your spare money rest in peace.

[JodyH]

Man. I've been down the RC road before. May your spare money rest in peace.
I've already been down that money pit before.
And enjoyed every minute of it.
Now it's time to double down on it and share the sickness with my boy.

We're getting back into it because he found two of my old RC trucks in the attic.
Heck I'm already $500 into it to get those two running with new batteries and chargers and just placed a big order with Tower for a couple of new trucks...

[Dagga Boy]

Does the kid have an RC Raptor.....he should.:cool::cool:

[theJanitor]

I was heavy into nitro on road cars, 1:8 & 1:10. Nitro 1:8 buggies are insanely fun. And hard to break.

I advise everyone NEVER to get into nitro drag racing. $1000 weekends were not unusual

[JodyH]

Does the kid have an RC Raptor.....he should.:cool::cool:
I wouldn't be opposed to you buying it and having it drop shipped to him.
Just $300 or so.

5397

[JodyH]

I was heavy into nitro on road cars, 1:8 & 1:10. Nitro 1:8 buggies are insanely fun. And hard to break.

I advise everyone NEVER to get into nitro drag racing. $1000 weekends were not unusual
I did nitro RC boats for a while... yea.

[JM Campbell]

1/5 scale off-road gassers was my money pit.


Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Tapatalk

[theJanitor]

I did nitro RC boats for a while... yea.

And nitro sprint cars. I've spent more than a real car on those

https://pistol-forum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5398&stc=1

[SecondsCount]

I got into nitro trucks the year I moved into a new house. The backyard was unfinished so I had the whole thing to myself for a summer. After I broke the truck a couple times I got bored and planted a lawn.

My son grew up and resurrected it. Then a friend gave him some nitro trucks and two boxes of parts. I think he has some SC10 trucks now with Lipo batteries and brushless motors.

It is a fun hobby.

[LOKNLOD]

You know, it almost has to look like this:

5399

[JodyH]

You know, it almost has to look like this:

5399
Well duh.
Where do you think I got my mad racetrack drafting skillz?

I played that and Nintendo Excitebike until my thumbs looked like they belonged on Schwarzenegger.

[Dagga Boy]

I wouldn't be opposed to you buying it and having it drop shipped to him.
Just $300 or so.

5397

We could totally have a P-F event at your place. Me and your kid will run those Raptors. GJM will have 17 Taco's, you ll have a Taco (just one), and robS will roll this thing, for practicality and gas mileage, and to avoid any mid life crisis issues.....;)

[JodyH]

Did someone say Toyota?

5401

[Wendell]

I'm reminded of that scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3vPyyLbI0) from The Salton Sea.

"Get ready gentlemen!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3vPyyLbI0)

[Dagga Boy]

I'm reminded of that scene (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3vPyyLbI0) from The Salton Sea.

"Get ready gentlemen!" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In3vPyyLbI0)

Love that movie.

[LSP972]

Aside from ramps and whatnot, I never dared to dig up the yard to make an honest-to-God track. But since you're doing electric instead of nitro, you don't have to worry as much about being able to get to a stalled ride out in the middle, and can design accordingly.

#2 grandson and I have a pair of Traxxas Rustlers, both of which are REALLY fast and quick with a 3-cell lipo. We beat the back yard up fairly regularly…

This is mine; he has his at his house.

[LSP972]

But this is where its at for me.

[LSP972]

Some of those are pre-fabbed, just requiring assembly. Building a kit from a box of balsa wood is the real "modeling experience", but, sadly, is dying out. Few people have the time and/or patience these days.

Sorry for the hi-jack, Jody. But its such a great, multi-faceted hobby…

[JodyH]

I love the RC Helicopters, but I like to push things to the limit and beyond too much.
Helo's don't crash well.
At least when I really smash up my RC truck it only costs me about $20 in parts instead of $1000 helo going down in flames.

[JodyH]

Track update:
Track has been laid out with 4" plastic drain pipe (took 200' of pipe and fifty 12" galvanized landscaping nails).
Most of the grass has been removed (my yard has a very solid dirt base so I just scalped the yard with a weed eater and raked the heck out of it).
Winter is perfect for ripping out grass, got lucky on our timing.
We'll finish clearing the grass and raking everything out this evening and tomorrow afternoon.
Wednesday we'll haul in some fill dirt and get the track surface packed down and fairly smooth.
By Thursday we should be doing test laps on the bare track to see how it flows with two (maybe three) trucks at a time.
If the track drives right we'll start building jumps this weekend.

[rob_s]

JodyH any update on your track?

[EMC]

Associated RC10T from 1991. Upgraded to brushless and lipo so my son and I can enjoy it. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180729/c3ebf42548dddeeac55991dea4dd999c.jpg