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Type 4WD scale rock crawlerPrice $380 (varies with dealer)Top speed 6mphRequires Battery ❯❯ Radio system ❯❯ Servo ❯❯ Speed control ❯❯ 8 AA batteriestamiyausa.comQ

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TAMIYA TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 40 CR-01Tamiya takes a classic to the rocks

As the RC hobby moves steadily to almost all ready-to-runs, Tamiya continues to be a steadfast light at the endof the proverbial tunnel for those who love to wrench.Instead of offering its new CR-01 rock crawler pre-built, Tamiya recognized that this beast would bestbe served up as a kit. And while it’s all new frombumper to bumper, the CR-01 is still classicTamiya in that it’s built to blend performancewith scale appearance. On those notes, itdelivers. And it gets even better when youfactor in that it goes together like aTamiya; any easier, and it would beRTR. In addition to Tamiya’s atten-tion to detail, the Land Cruiser 40CR-01 features a realistic ladder-frame chassis and a unique sus-pension design that is truly unlikeanything currently used in rockcrawlers. Read on to see ifTamiya’s first dedicated foray intorock crawler can climb to the top.

RIGHT TO THE ROCKSHaving crawled many times at Lover’s Leap, Ihad a good idea of what a typical rock crawlercan and can’t do on these rocks. The firstthing I noticed is that the Vise Crawler tiresgripped well. The tread pattern offers numer-ous edges to grab, and the compound isplenty soft. The tires found traction on all butthe smoothest rocks. The CR-01’s unique sus-pension worked well, and I found myself fre-quently checking out the cantilevered shocks.As the suspension compresses, the shocks

actually do the opposite and extend—prettycool. With the battery and motor mounted upfront, the CR-01 has excellent forward weightdistribution. As a result, it climbed steepinclines I didn’t think it could. With tractionavailable, 50-degree and steeper climbs aredoable. On long, almost vertical climbs, itoften tipped over backwards, but every truckhas its limits, and the CR-01 thus far exceed-ed expectations. If the truck starts to tip back-wards, a quick stab of reverse will back youout of trouble and keep you on all four wheels

with the shiny side up. The CR-01 is no compcrawler out of the box and isn’t intended tobe, but its performance is on par with itslooks. That is saying a lot since it’s a prettysharp truck. When side-hilling, the CR-01 performed the same as when climbing. It hasits limits, but those limits when it’s carefullydriven might surprise you. The center clear-ance on the CR-01 is ample. This helps whenbreaking over crests after a climb. The smoothaluminum links also help here. They get ratherscratched up, but they help the truck slideover rocks. I experimented with the rear sus-pension and ended sticking with the stocksetup.

LOVER’S LEAP STATE PARK ❯❯ NEW MILFORD, CTTEST SPOT

BEHIND THEWHEEL

DRIVE TIME

WORDS MATT HIGGINS ❯❯ matth@airage.com | PHOTOS PETE HALL

1/10 SCALE | ELECTRIC | KIT

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[ ]ACTION VIDEOONLINERCCARACTION.COM

HITTING THE TRAILWhen you just pick a path and do some typi-cal off-road trail riding, the CR-01 is flat-outawesome. It looks scale, but the 1⁄10-scaleToyota really does things even the most trickfull-size Land Cruiser could never do. The tiresgrip as well on dirt as they do on rock (notsomething many rock-crawling tires do), andthe suspension lets the CR-01 work its wayover all sorts of obstacles. The Novak Goatbrushless system is fantastic, and since it’s a sensored setup, the throttle feel it provides is without match. This really increases yourlevel of control, and with rock crawling beingso much about precision, the Novak system

definitely provides a noteworthy advantageover many other brushless setups. The dragbrakes on this system work great. Just releas-ing the throttle to neutral often resulted incool-looking, rear-wheel-lifting stoppies.

ROAD RAGEEven though it’s officially a rock crawler, thisLand Cruiser is sure to see plenty of pave-ment pounding. As expected, out on the tarmac, the truck pushed like, well, a truckwith two locked diffs. You can expect big,slow, wide turns. I can’t really fault the truckfor this, and Tamiya’s axle design makesunlocking the differential amazingly easy.

In less than a minute, I had the front diffunlocked, and this gave markedly improvedturning. It also didn’t ruin the truck’s off-roadcapability. It only presented a problem when afront tire was lifted. Even then, the locked reardiff was usually enough to propel the truckforward. Back on the pavement, I had somefun just driving around. One of the manythings I like about the Novak system is thatwhile it dishes out massive torque, it still pro-vides some decent speed. The CR-01 and itsplanetary transmission is geared so low, how-ever, that top speed was limited to a modest6mph. Slow, but fast enough to still be fun.

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Since the Land Cruiser shell comesclear, I had Zegers R/C Graffix(zegersrcgraffixx.com) lay down a classic and simple paint job usingParma Faskolor.

UNDER THE HOOD

It takes a long pair of body posts toreach into the high-rise land Cruisershell. Note that the rear axle has allthe parts required for rear steer butuses fixed links to lock the tiresstraight ahead.

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CHASSISAluminum frame rails with plastic subchassis

SUSPENSIONType 4-link solid axle with fixed-length aluminumlinksLower link positions chassis/axle 5/1Upper link positions chassis/axle 5/5Upper shock positions 4Lower shock positions 5Shocks Plastic body, oil-filled

STEERINGType Drag linkServo-saver Servo-mounted, nonadjustableplastic springSteering linkage Steel rodAckerman settings None

DRIVETRAINType Full-time 4WDTransmission Planetary-type enclosed gearboxTransmission ratio 15.22:1Axle ratio 2.66:1Slipper clutch NoneDifferentials Bevel gear with locking pinDriveshafts Telescoping plasticBearings Metal-sealed ball bearingsSpur gear Plastic 74TPinion 20TFinal drive ratio 40.5:1

BODY, WHEELS & TIRESBody Clear Lexan Toyota Land Cruiser 40Wheels Black slotted plastic rim with silver bead-lock plastic ringsTires Tamiya Vise Crawler 2.2 with foam inserts

SPECIFICATIONS

tamiyausa.comScale 1/10Price $380 (varies with dealer)

New AxlesWith trucks such as the F-350 and TLT-1, Tamiya has a few solid axle designs already in produc-tion, but an all-new design was created for the CR-01 platform. First and foremost, these axlesare beefy. With thick plastic cases, metal internals and plenty of gusseting, you are unlikely to tear these units part—even if you go brushless. They are also versatile. Tamiya makes locking

and unlocking the dif-ferentials easy. Simplyremove a threadedpin, and the locked diff becomes an opendiff. The axles and therest of the drivetrainspin on included ballbearings.

Tamiya designed awhole new heavy-dutyaxle for the CR-01. Asimple threaded pinlocks and unlocks thedifferentials.

TAMIYA TOYOTA LANDCRUISER 40 CR-01

New kicksAn all-new rock crawler called for all-new tiresand rims. Tamiya wisely went with 2.2-inchdiameter rims, which puts the Toyota in rockcrawling’s most popular class. The three-pieceplastic rims are of the bead-lock variety. Eachring is held in by 10 small screws. When prop-erly assembled, you’re not popping a bead.The tires are Tamiya’s new Vise Crawler treads,and they’re soft and flexible and feature a real-istic tread pattern with plenty of knobswrapped around the side for improved grip.Full foam inserts that are very soft can be cutor left as is.

Geared lowThe CR-01 uses an elaborate (by crawling standards) center gearbox to split power front andrear. A metal motor plate creates a secure mount, and large planetary gears should be more thanup to the abuse of rock crawling. The stock gear ratio is a slow-spinning, torque-filled 40.5:1, butby switching pinions (16- to 25-tooth), you can get geared as low as 50.6:1 or as “speedy” as32.4:1. The stock 20-tooth pinion will probably be just right for most of us, but it’s nice to knowyou have options. The entire tranny is supported and protected by a thick plastic skidplate.

CantileversuspensionA 4-link suspensionarrangement locateseach axle and allowsreasonable amounts ofarticulation. One of thecoolest features on theCR-01 is the use of bigcoil springs. Perchescapture the springs onthe axle and the frame,and Tamiya offersoptional springs to dialin your rig. The shocksare mounted usingcantilevers, so theshock is actuallyextended as the suspension compresses. Spanningacross the chassis are metal stabilizer bars that connectthe cantilevers on each side of the chassis. It’s a uniquesetup, but it’s also highly adjustable. In addition to differ-ent springs and stabilizer bars, you can experiment with a number of suspension geometry adjustments.

Bead-locks and rock crawlersjust go together. The ViseCrawler tires aresoft and featurean aggressivetread pattern for crawling.

The 4-link setup is typical for arock crawler, but the remotelymounted coil springs and can-tilevered shocks are quite dis-tinctive.

With 40:5:1 gearing andstout planetary gears,the CR-01’s transmissionprovides plenty of rock- climbing grunt.

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Rating the Tamiya Toyota Land Cruiser 40 CR-01Here’s the deal: Tamiyaphiles will drool over the CR-01. Hardcore rock crawlers, in contrast, mightnot appreciate its almost over-engineered design, but those hardcore guys who are alsoTamiyaphiles will quickly get over it and love Tamiya’s first rock crawler as much as the rest of usdo. This truck is meant to blend performance with scale realism, and it does this beautifully. It’s alsoa fun build when kits generally are harder to find, and the end result is a durable truck that is quitecapable on the rocks. Tamiya’s bodies are often without match, and the Land Cruiser 40 is, asexpected, fantastic. With the nicely molded body and the hard plastic grill, side mirrors and markerlights, the Land Cruiser is an actual RC model and not just an RC vehicle. Smart touches such asthe numerous suspension adjustments and easy to lock/unlock diffs also raise the bar for crawlers.I think you can count on seeing a lot of Tamiya Land Cruisers out on the rocks. My only questionsis: which body will they dish up next?

NOT TOO TIGHTMost of the screws on theCR-01 can be tighteneddown nice and snug. Theone exception are the pinsthat lock the differentials.Don’t over tighten these, oryou’ll bind up the whole axleassembly. Use thread-lock-ing compound as the manu-al shows, tighten the pinsdown, and back them outone full turn. Make sure theaxle spins freely.

BETTER-BUILT TIRESThe Tamiya tires work greatfor crawling, but you canmake them even better bycutting the foam inserts in astar pattern. This allows thesoft tires better to conform tothe rock and thus improvesgrip. Adding weight to theinside of the front rims alsohelps climbing. I added 4ounces of self-adhesive leadweight to each front rim.

DISH ’EM UPDo yourself a huge favorand follow this tip. Tamiyauses a variety of screws,

and many are close in size.The first thing to do is sepa-rate the screws by size. Thiswill greatly speed up thebuild and prevent you fromgrabbing the wrong screw.The silver screws are some-what soft, so make sure youuse the proper size screw-driver or you’ll strip theheads.

TRANNY TIPThe center transmissiongoes together quickly, sotake the time and first buildit without grease. Make sureeverything spins freely, andthen add the included thickTamiya lube. If you build itwith grease the first time, itwill feel tight, and you won’tbe able to make sure thatnothing is binding. Aftereverything checks out, addlube across each gear.

MORE ARTICULATIONBuilt per the instructions, therear suspension does notyield much articulation;although this can easily beadjusted by moving the rear

shock-mounting locations, trythe stock settings first. Manypeople will opt to change theshock-mounting locations on the cantilever and on theframe, but keep in mind thattoo much articulation canhurt as much as too little.

LOOSE PINSPut a dab of silicone-typeglue on each hex pin. Thiswill prevent these smoothpins from falling out eachtime you take a wheel off as the hex often comes offwith the wheel.

GOING WITH HITECTamiya doesn’t include aservo saver that will fit aHitec servo. This is unfor-tunate as Hitec servos areextremely popular for rock crawling. I used aKimbrough Mid-size servo-saver that has held up welland doesn’t alter the stocksteering geometry. I willeventually switch to astraight servo horn. Withtitanium gears, the Hitec5995T will be fine.

TAMIYA TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 40 CR-01

I’ll go officially on the record and say that you haven’t fully experienced RCuntil you’ve built a Tamiya kit. Tamiya kits are legendary for being fun, easybuilds. The new CR-01, while fairly elaborate, is really no different. Here are afew tips to help ensure your build is a smooth one:

❯❯ Great-looking body with awesome detail

❯❯ Blends performance with scale realism

❯❯ Lots of adjustability and potential

❯❯ Easy-to-lock and unlock differentials

❯❯ Rather elaborate design for a rock crawler

❯❯ Good forward weight distribution but fairly high CG

+

-Anyone interested in rockcrawling

BESTFOR

❯❯ Spring set—item no. 54029❯❯ Stabilizer set—54030❯❯ LED light unit—53909❯❯ Aluminum battery plate—54046❯❯ Strengthened wheel axle—54048❯❯ Luster silver frame rails—54049

FACTORY OPTIONS

YOU’LL NEED | WE USEDRadio system Spektrum DX3R

spektrumrc.comServo Hitec 5995T

hitecrcd.comMotor Novak Brushless Crawler

teamnovak.comSpeed control Novak Goat8 AA batteries Duracell

duracell.comNiMH or LiPo Orion Rocket Pack battery 4500 NiMH

teamorion.comCharger LRP Pulsar Competition 3

teamassociated.comPaint Parma Faskolor

parmapse.com

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ON THE BENCH

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