About Us
I’m Steve of Signature R/C in Australia, an engineer by day and R/C enthusiast 24/7...
A few years ago, as the Truggy (Arena Trucks, Racing 4WD Trucks…) made a strong class known overseas, (UK & USA) I was anticipating that this class would take off here in Australia aswell. After a lot of research and scouting around, the first Truggy conversions emerged. With privateers and manufacturers hopping on board to test the response of the Australian racers and the level of interest that this class of racing truck might spark and also the eventual viability of a sustainable NEW class within Australia.
Back in the early days, a racer would turn up to a club on race-day and ask the organisers if it would be alright to enter their 4WD truck (that resembled a Buggy on steroids!... Reminiscing… I can remember back when my first attempt at a Truggy build was a Mugen MBX5 conversion utilising MBX5 Buggy parts on an extended chassis with a few extras to make some kind of race-able geometry that would drive and jump nicely while putting on a half-decent performance.) The Buggy guys didn’t want it racing with them and the Monster Truck guys didn’t want that either.
I mean, it was too large an obstacle for inclusion in the Buggy class… and the MT guys hated the fact that the Truggy, as it is now known, would and does kick their arses.
In fact… Truggys are so well engineered now, that they are posting faster lap times on average than the Formula1 class that we know as 1/8th 4WD Buggy.
Arguably, there are claims that the Hot Bodies Pro R Lightning Stadium was the very first competitive truck, excluding any of the privateer conversions. Then there was the “Saeker” Truck, made up from Buggy components combined with Monster Truck components. All in all, it has become irrelevant now, with so many manufacturers adding to the list of what’s available to a racer.
With a couple of race events under the belt, one by one, others joined in with their trucks and the potential Truggy Class was born in Australia.
It was at this time that I could see the bigger picture...Continue...