backyard tracks

transman731

transman731

get your shift together
Joined
Mar 13, 2010
Location
Raleigh, NC
do any of you guys have a course or track at your house?

last year i did a short course track but i didn't keep up with it so it has overgrown. i fired the guys that worked for me so i no longer had people to race with.
this year i'm going to build a crawler course. i have been doing some checking and i can afford rip-rap but i can't afford boulders. i need some ideas. i have all the space i need and varying terrain. i have a 3 acre field and 8 acres that are wooded. after talking to a few people(thanks untchabl) it seems the larger the rocks the better the crawling, but i have seen good courses built with smaller rock.

i'm going to end this post because i realized that i'm rambling. evidently i have taken one to many muscle relaxers(back is really bothering me today)
 
if you have a creek around you can do like we did in the yard and go take all your rocks from the creek, you can always fit about any size you want
 
Lee, you can build a challenging and entertaining crawler course with smaller rock. You just have to be more creative. Army Dave's course in Fuquay is mainly smaller rock, think his biggest rock is maybe twice the size of a 5-gallon bucket.

One of the biggest issues with smaller rock is getting elevation changes. You don't want your course to be "flat". Maybe pile up some dirt into some mounds and stack the rock on the mounds. This way you won't have to use so much rock to create the elevation change. Or, if you have a steep bank somewhere on your property, use that and place the rock on the bank and above and below the bank.

Also, you can use rope or wire to create "bridges" to get from one area to another.

Also, don't just limit yourself to rock only. Army Dave has a ton of concrete test cores that he used in his course. Pieces of concrete, slate, stepping stones, tires, wood, etc can all be utilized in a man-made course.

Also, check out this thread on RCCrawler. This is another local NC guy that built a nice "indoor" course under a shed on his property.

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/general-crawlers/289453-crawliseum-wasnt-built-day.html

Here are a few pics of Army Dave's course in his backyard.

awww.sleekun.com_images_rccars_crawling_july_202010_20_1_.jpg

awww.sleekun.com_images_rccars_crawling_july_202010_20_2_.jpg

awww.sleekun.com_images_rccars_crawling_july_202010_20_3_.jpg

awww.sleekun.com_images_rccars_crawling_july_202010_20_4_.jpg

awww.sleekun.com_images_rccars_crawling_july_202010_20_5_.jpg
 
i feel better this morning.
i have the landscape to make a good course.i have an open 3 acre field and 8 acres are wooded. the house sits on top of a hill so everything is downhill from the house. between the house and the field is probably a 50-60 foot elevation change and i thought about using that slope for the course. i also have a creek as one of my property lines and it has some spots that are 20 feet below the grade so those could also be used for sections of course.
after the first of the year i will start getting a few dump truck loads of rock delivered. i have called already and the rip-rap is do-able but the boulders are out of the question.(you would think they would be cheaper because they don't have to process them)
 
You can also build some structures out of scrap wood (pallets), cover them with chicken wire and landscape fabric, then put a little concrete on them. I'm working on some in my yard, I'll see if I can find the thread where I first saw it done.
Brian
 
For $2 I will let you come climb over the junk in my back yard. I have tires and scrap metal and trucks, and engines and all kinds of stuff. Not sure your little buggy will survive it though and good luck if you have to go in and get it out.
 
Find a friend that does excavating and such, they would probably love to have a place to dump rocks. A friend of mine has brought over loads of BIG rocks to my parents house that he had to get rid of after digging out beside someone's house so they could re-seal it.

I've seen some at construction sites too, but it's not likely they would haul them for you, if you had a way to move them I bet most places would probably give them to you...
 
rokntoy said:
That is awsome? Will he let people go or is it by comp only or can I simply ask?
Click to expand...

The course in Fuquay is only available when we are having a comp. We usually have a comp once a month or so.

The "indoor" course is only available when we are having a comp there also. We may have a couple comps there next year, we typically use it as a back-up location for a comp in the case of bad weather.
 
The ultimate back yard track....:driver:
 
Short Course Track

Here is my backyard track, still have to bring in some dirt for the banked corners and jumps, but its getting there. Hope to get a little more work done to next week on my days off.
aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v329_KrawlerTJ_RC_20Stuff_RCTrack1.jpg

aimg.photobucket.com_albums_v329_KrawlerTJ_RC_20Stuff_RCTrack2.jpg
 
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