Summit from scratch??+questions

[rustlervxl4life]

Well I've seen videos of peoples summit's and have decide i want one. The question is How much would it cost to make one from scratch?? Would it be hard? Would greatly appreciate a part list.

[Jimmy1971]

I'm not sure what the total cost would be, but I not think it would be hard to do, judging by the times I've worked on mine. You can download the parts list from here, http://traxxas.com/products/models/e...mmit-downloads.

[chapinb]

It has been done. Depending on how patient you are, about 150-225 to build a roller.
It is slightly harder to put together for the first time because its built a little different than other cars.

Id rather buy a used roller and build on that.

[Psyclone75]

Well I've seen videos of peoples summit's and have decide i want one. The question is How much would it cost to make one from scratch?? Would it be hard? Would greatly appreciate a part list.

I built my truck from scratch and it's not hard. I don't know if I really saved a lot of money doing it this way, but just the personal satisfaction was worth it. I built my first hobby grade RC in 1987 before the option of RTR and I enjoy the building as much as I do running my radio controls. I say go for it!

[pavmentsurfer]

Man, I disagree fully that its not hard and its relatively cheap. A set of diffs will cost you $50-60, bulkheads are $10, the servos alone will probably run you $60. Driveshafts are $50, motor/ESC is usually $60-75 (maybe more for an LVD model)... tires are $50, body is $50... thats not even getting into things like the transmission, chassis, shocks and all the other related small parts. You need at least a 4CH radio to run this truck. To get the same radio the new summit comes (4ch TQI) with will cost you about $100.

By the time your done, you'll be better off buying the RTR truck. Not to mention the fact that you get it all assembled and adjusted correctly. There is a very good reason you find parts on e-bay in chop shops. They buy them complete and part them out to make money. It literally makes no sense to buy the parts back and make a complete truck to try and SAVE money.

If there are parts on the truck you don't want, just sell them when theyre new. Get back some of the money you spent on the new truck and use it to buy whatever other parts you'd rather have.

[Psyclone75]

Man, I disagree fully that its not hard and its relatively cheap.
It literally makes no sense to buy the parts back and make a complete truck to try and SAVE money.

If you're only trying to save money, I wouldn't bother building one. As to whether it's hard to build one, that depends on your mechanical ability and experience. I didn't find it challenging at all, especially compared to other trucks I've built where I had to figure out driveline angles and make pieces. It was basic assembly work and checking a few tolerances.

It will be your truck. Buy it or build it and drive it how you like. Just enjoy doing it!

[chapinb]

Your only better off building from scratch if your replacing alot of parts in the process.
I agree that buying a new one, or a roller at the least is the way to go.

[TheKennyKiller1]

Your only better off building from scratch if your replacing alot of parts in the process.
I agree that buying a new one, or a roller at the least is the way to go.

+1 I'm almost done building another truck mainly from spare parts I had laying around, I figured it would be cheaper to buy the parts I needed vs a new Summit. I must say even though it's not quite finished the one I built gives me a feeling of satisfaction that the ones I bought don't.

[pavmentsurfer]

Your only better off building from scratch if your replacing alot of parts in the process.
I agree that buying a new one, or a roller at the least is the way to go.

Or if you have alot of spare parts like kenny. Ive built about 5 stampedes now completely from spare parts. I think I only spent about $20 on each one to get the little things I didnt have. Great plan. But, it simply isnt cheaper to build ANY RC by buying new parts one by one.

[Psyclone75]

+1 I'm almost done building another truck mainly from spare parts I had laying around, I figured it would be cheaper to buy the parts I needed vs a new Summit. I must say even though it's not quite finished the one I built gives me a feeling of satisfaction that the ones I bought don't.

Exactly. To me, the building, tuning and improving (not just bolt-ons) is my favorite part of this hobby. Getting to drive it and see how it performs is just the bonus.

[Mayberry Kid]

I agree, Ready To Run (especially Traxxas) are by far better than the RTRs (not to mention most kits) of old. I've been away from the hobby for 20+ years only to be reintroduced with a renewed interest since my 2 youngest got the bug. I looked for months for a comparable kit like I built 25 years ago. As much as I like to build, I bought a Summit and could not be happier. After following several repair/build threads our next project will probably be a resurrection of some sort. I do miss that satisfied feeling when an RC performs after assembly.

Mad props to all builders/modifiers/repairers out there!!

[rustlervxl4life]

I am not going to build it i just realised how much it would cost!

[jungletreker]

yup, its pretty expensive to buy parts for this truck esp. if you live out of North America like me...

you'll have plenty of fun and challenge maintaining this truck, cleaning it, modding it, etc.

[pavmentsurfer]

That that extra $$ and get a couple good lipos and a dewalt motor. Thats ALL the modding the truck needs other than dropping the body a bit.

[Psyclone75]

That that extra $$ and get a couple good lipos and a dewalt motor. Thats ALL the modding the truck needs other than dropping the body a bit.

So you would never swap out the dual plastic geared servos for a single, strong, digital one ?
The Summit is a great truck stock, but there is a lot to be done to it to improve it's performance.

[pavmentsurfer]

You don't NEED to swap servos... the stock ones will work fine in the summit for a while. Its the next upgrade I would suggest but in terms of capability from the get go you don't need it. You don't need the dewalt motor either... infact id probably change the order of suggestion from dewalt first to servo first (the dewalt motor having bearings and being rebuildable is a big plus though).

But I ran the dual servos for a while before changing and they are still going strong in other trucks today.

[rustlervxl4life]

i still have a urge to build because, the experience gained is phenomenal