Bought a 1/18 Ford Bronco RC crawler: My experience modifying it

Low range can be retrofitted by changing the gearset or the motor too.

BHPian bullitt1 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

It's tough when asked to keep hands off the steering wheel for a while (recovering from shoulder issue) and let cars like Compass and Ecosport idle. It was bit agonizing as I had to put off few drives and find some salvation and in comes the Bronco RC Crawler. It's a 1/18 scale RTR (ready to run) electric 4wd offroad from Traxxas.

Sourced from RC World, Malaysia for RM740 discounted from RM 870 (apprx 13k INR) when my wife was on official visit recently.

Having owned Ford's and Jeep, the choice was obvious. A quick summary of my search:

• HPI : Did not have any Ford or Jeep instead their models looked their own than licensed bodies.
• Axial : Though there was Wrangler and Gladiator, the scale was either small or big and also found the plastic body not that great.
• Traxxas : Found the perfect one for a beginner.
• FMS : Had same scale with higher battery capacity and two speed, but the model was a Toyota and there was no way i was going to put my money on a Toyota. (Apologies Toyota fans )

Pros:

• Looks, Looks and Looks. Fortunately I could get the colour I wanted badly.
• Great model for the price for a beginner.
• Decent stock capability.
• Good run time of 80mins (max i timed with battery still green) after full charge in approx 45mins (this is plugged to laptop).

Cons:

Most online reviews state 2 cons which i too agree after using:

• Relatively high crawling speed.
• Absence of 2 speed.

Toyed with it few times with some curious onlookers. Have a couple of videos but could not upload as Youtube url seems the only way.

Few modifications planned :

• Lift kit as the Bronco beached quite few times.
• Mickey Thompson Baja tires for better traction.
• Low range, now this could be done either by changing gearset (cheapest at $5 or plug the combined gearset/motor at $40)

Bronco's capability

and a cheaper way to take a shot at the challenge.

That's all folks for now, hope you had a good ride.

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