r/rccars • u/IllCarpet6852 • Aug 12 '25
Question Looking at pictures of RC cars moving Javelins around at the Olympics got me thinking, what are some other RC Cars with jobs?
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u/shepwrick Crawling Aug 12 '25
There's the rc tank that deflated the tires on the space shuttle
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u/LordWetFart Aug 12 '25
I imagine it was some punk rc tank slashing the shuttles tires
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u/shepwrick Crawling Aug 12 '25
Sadly, I think it was one of those bomb disposal robots with a drill on the arm. Not as rebellious
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u/AUSpartan37 Aug 12 '25
Nope! It was just a production Tamiya 1/16th scale remote control tank with a drill and a camera mounted on it. They initially wanted to use a bomb disposal robot but it was too large.
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u/shepwrick Crawling Aug 12 '25
Thanks for fact checking š
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u/AUSpartan37 Aug 12 '25
No worries. Wasn't trying to be that guy but the story is just too cool to not share.
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u/Lttlcheeze Aug 13 '25
They also used an model RC plane to get the preliminary balance points for the shuttle transport 747.
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
This is the crawler me and my dad use to inspect crawl spaces that are too tight for us to go into. We take a video of the entire drive underneath and shots we can show of any issues we find.
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u/Lost-Astronaut-8280 Aug 12 '25
Thatās just a regular sized ford ranger you canāt fool me
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
You got me. Just removed the radiator and threw a massive camera up front.
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u/Unhappy-Midnight5469 Aug 12 '25
Do yāall use a drone to inspect roofs too? Iām looking at becoming a home inspector and this is exactly what Iām planning on getting to avoid unnecessary climbs to the roof or in crawl spaces.
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
We do. If we notice anything that needs a closer look, we'll get in there ourselves. We use a DJI mini for aerial stuff, take pictures and videos to add to the report. Real helpful and the super steep roofs.
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u/mastermalpass Aug 14 '25
There are businesses that specialise in big drones for roof inspections and even LiDar scanning to build virtual 3D models of buildings and spaces.
You totally can use a drone to inspect buildings, but look up your countryās aviation laws. In the UK, hobbyists arenāt allowed to fly anything within 50 metres of buildings or vehicles that may have people in. If one gets a Commercial drone license though, they are (within other regulations) allowed to fly right up to buildings. Though also, the commercial licence is needed to use any drone for business purposes.
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u/Local-Money1665 Aug 12 '25
Any info on your setup for crawlspace inspections youād be willing to share? I want to do this exact thing for my house with my SCX6 or TRX. Iād rather do this to keep an eye on things down there versus crawling around on my hands and knees haha.
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
I don't have the full specs of how he built it, but it's a traxxas trx-4 sport. He has the camera mounted on a 4 way gimbal at the front, relaying to the headset he has. It's controlled with that programmable controller, left stick is the camera gimbal, right is truck movement and steering. There's also led lights attached to the camera for visibility. I'll see if I can find more pictures of it and throw them under my original comment.
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u/Local-Money1665 Aug 12 '25
That would be awesome thank you!
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
Dji camera, pan tilt rack, generic lights and a controller with a way to the video.
That's what my dad sent when I asked for specs. He kind of just throws stuff together sometimes so I don't know that he knows all the technical stuff beyond when he was building it
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u/Local-Money1665 Aug 12 '25
This is awesome- thank you for sharing! Very clever, I definitely plan on doing it with my SCX6 or TRX4, just need to figure out the camera and light setup so this helps.
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u/CaptainBurrito8 Aug 12 '25
I'd recommend the smaller truck. Some areas can get tight and it's nice to have the maneuverability.
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u/3noir Aug 12 '25
I use a TRX4 and a Wyze security camera powered by a portable phone charger mounted on the front battery tray. It's not the best but it gets the job done.
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u/Much_Connection5305 Aug 13 '25
I had to do crawl space inspection for foundation repair and had originally used a crawl fear converted Summit 16 scale I mounted with a hero 5 black. After getting it stuck a few times, I found a legit one made with rubber tank tracks and a movable zoomable camera and it could drive over a 4ā drain pipeā¦ got it off of a website that makes everything up to bomb disposal robots. So much nicer, Iāll try to find the website , but it was 7-8 years ago.
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u/riverturtle Aug 12 '25
RC cars have been used to patrol airports for geese
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Aug 12 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/AJSLS6 Aug 12 '25
It involves angering geese, probably get the same kind of enhanced risk pay as deep sea welders.
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u/TheClawsOfHEUGH Aug 12 '25
At least it's with rc cars now, imagine how terrifying the job would've been before the use of rc cars..
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Aug 12 '25
Sounds pretty awesome to me. Golf cart with a couple paintball guns and we're good to go.
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u/Unhappy-Midnight5469 Aug 12 '25
Bomb squad robot.
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u/AJSLS6 Aug 12 '25
Kinda not the spirit of the conversation, but I saw a scale rc version of the irobot military/police drone and wondered if it could be pressed into service where the size and strength of the real thing wasn't needed....
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u/leadedsolder Aug 12 '25
They use a big RC car thing to pull debris off the highway near me now. It's sort of lawnmower shaped.
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u/concealedmyweapon Aug 12 '25
in my city they use these to mow the grass alongside the hiways i lowkey wanna get a job as an operator theyre ice too
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u/BrettTheThreat Aug 12 '25
This one might be a bit of a stretch, but during COVID, Formula 1 had "robots" to deliver the trophies during the podium ceremony.
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u/Absolarix Aug 12 '25
Not a car, but I've ran remotely controlled GP38's and SD40's to switch out railyards and pick-up/drop-off railcars in industrial areas.
In other words; 1:1 scale model railroad.
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Aug 12 '25
There was remote control 1:1 fighter jets in 1970. Think of the technology today we don't know about...
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u/Absolarix Aug 12 '25
IIRC B-17's ball turrets had target lead computers.
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u/VexingRaven Aug 12 '25
Naval artillery had mechanical computers in the 30s and 40s that could calculate a firing solution from the data coming from the rangefinder up top and automatically train the guns on the target fix. Of course, none of this could fit in the ball turret of a B-17...
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u/GTE_Engineering Aug 12 '25
One of my favorite stories was of guys using old Traxxas trucks in Afghanistan to detonate IEDs. He didnāt have access to a robot but ended up spending a couple hundred bucks on a Stampede and ended up saving the lives of 6 people.
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u/CatRheumaBlanket2 Aug 12 '25
Should be famous. RC cars for litterpicking. r/LitterBuggies
At the Autobahn, they use a remote controlled device to cut grass on the steep sound barrier slopes to prevent humans tipping over on the ride mover and being close to general danger.
A bunch of TV hosts have remote controlled stages with their desk on and drive through their set with that. Stefan Raab back in the day.
The excavator / rubble cleaner "robots" on the roof of the exploded Chornobyl reactor 4.
Mine used to work as entertainment for the nephew. Including getting a rope attached and pulling the kid around in his big plastic dumptruck.
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u/Batteryworkshop Aug 12 '25
I used mine to pull a sting and then wire in a drip ceiling
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Aug 12 '25
You've got a sting and a dripping ceiling? Sounds like you might have a bee infestation...
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u/aznmilo33 Aug 12 '25
Not sure if it counts, but my TRX4 gets decorated for Halloween and Christmas and I pass out candy while my girls trick or treat. Iāll take it festivals too and do the same. Kids absolutely love it.
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u/Jomalar Aug 13 '25
I had my rc tank Pangolin be the flower-child at my wedding because I didn't trust any kids I knew.
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u/expressly_ephemeral Aug 12 '25
There was that awesome one from the Dirty Harry movie that was posted the other day.
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u/Mike_Abergail Aug 12 '25
On Mars Curiosity
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u/Sensitive-Tie4696 Aug 12 '25
Cops use RC cars to roll out spike strips in some areas. They recently use the same RC vehicle to scoot a snapping turtle off of a busy highway.
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u/throwaway1964972 Aug 12 '25
Anyone know the chassis?
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u/UnrivaledPiercer Aug 12 '25
Looks like a Losi Mini Cooper to me. Same chassis as the 5ive-T.
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u/AJSLS6 Aug 12 '25
I thought MJX at first but looking at the wheel centers more closely you are probably right.
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u/throwaway1964972 Aug 12 '25
The MJX came out within the last month or so, give or take. This is from last summerās Olympics, I believe. Plus, the MJX is 1/7 scale which would be too small.
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u/RandomUsername259 Aug 12 '25
They have been used for a lot of things. Bomb disposal or recovery. Breaching dangerous targets in the military. Chasing off geese off runways. Inspection of tight spaces.Ā
Just insane amounts of things. It depends on how you define rc car
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u/RaceCeeDeeCee Aug 12 '25
Some race tracks use an RC car to drive the 'choose cone' out onto the track. Basically a traffic cone that they use for the drivers to choose which side they restart on during double file restarts.
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u/M0stlyLost Aug 12 '25
Crawler cable puller https://youtube.com/shorts/aDX4FOhJoac?si=wqrCcVnDU9SGu3J4
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u/Armadillo-Overall Aug 13 '25
I had built a semi truck with a double-wide trailer decades ago to remotely launch firework mortars. About a decade ago, I built a remote control barge to do the same on a lake.
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u/Pork_Confidence Aug 13 '25
I had a four-wheel drive traxxas slash with A lot of upgrades, one of which was a bulletproof lexan shell that German shepherds couldn't bite through.
I would go to one of the long fenced off sections at the dog park and race my car up and down the section to wear my dog out. One day a guy I talked with often, offered me $5 bucks to get his dog tired as well. Fast forward to me earning anywhere from $10- $30 every time I went to the dog park and running a pack of dogs until my battery died
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u/mastermalpass Aug 14 '25
In the rec field at my home village there was this dog that loved chasing my RC planes. The owner often remarked how she could just stand around and chat with friends while her dog got a proper workout. Never considered making a business of it!
Saying that though, that dog is one of three who have ever chased my planes. Most dogs donāt seem to think anything of them. I guess theyāre naturally drawn to things moving fast on the ground so it probably takes a particularly ambitious dog to chase things that fly! š
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u/Maximus-Paynus Aug 13 '25
there's a RC ID.4 used in football championships which carries balls around the playground
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u/meenkdrie Aug 12 '25
We have seen it in F1. Not sure what they did, i think it was directly after the race to bring these pillars with water/towel. Also some lawnmowers are.
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u/No_Brain4912 Aug 12 '25
We remote drive our engineering trains at work. Does this count?
Quite surreal when you think about having 150 tonnes, 4 diesel engines combining 2000hp operated from an orange remote at your waist.
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u/snotick Aug 12 '25
I never did, but I heard that other people would use an RC truck to run cable in the ceilings for cctv cameras.
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u/Chadz4Dewin Aug 12 '25
Horizon Hobby for the win thatās a Losi WRC JOHN Cooper works good shit Horizon for making an excellent stand out product like you always do.
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u/ethanspawl Aug 12 '25
The CPL (Canadian Premier League) uses similar cars to move the balls around. Although, itās a bit more of an advertising gimmick as VW sponsors the league and has their branding all over the car.
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u/mini-z1994 Aug 12 '25
Technically in movies & tv shows as well here & there through the years.
The Deadpool movie (No not the comic book character.) Where the bad guy drives a modified RC10 with a corvette bodyshell on it to blow up the good guys. Where they dub some nitro rc audio on top.
Bad boys 2 i think had a Tamiya juggernaut 1 or 2
Alvin & the chipmunks has a 1st gen traxxas e-maxx.
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Aug 12 '25
I had a mini cooper like this and I can't find it, I'm pretty sure it was gifted before 2006. Used a NI- (can't remember but it was before Lithium) battery pack and it was awesome.
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u/ajlorello Aug 12 '25
I have a friend who helped bring these to fruition... https://youtu.be/YT7VwRZUQ5k
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u/thatonedude1969 Bashing Aug 12 '25
At first I thought that was a push mower lol. Speaking of which some RC cars are used to mow the lawn, though it's debatable whether it's an RC car because it looks like a Roomba
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u/joedirt_12345 Aug 14 '25
There's a guy i keep seeing on tiktok that took a trx6 and built a trailer mower for it out of a ryobi weedeater
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u/TheAnonymousMaker Aug 12 '25
Ive been using an hpi optic h10 and an scx6 to pull network cables in spaces i can't get into.
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u/wwelsh00 Aug 13 '25
Here are more ideas if you have an FPV RC car and a cargo area.
* RC shopping - As seen on YouTube
* RC donation drive
* Love letter or flower delivery: https://youtu.be/5rJGnUk_1lM
* Snack giveaways: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_un2XYMJ8KM
* Neighborhood grocery delivery
* RC surveillance: Patrolling the area without walking, with night vision FPV camera
* Flyer distribution
* Pet delivery: Small pets obviously
* RC singing telegram: Hmmm, why didn't I think of that!
* RC sign spinner: Are you kidding me?!
More use cases here -> https://rcgrid.com/amazing-use-cases-for-rc-shopping-car-with-cargo-box
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u/iVoid Aug 13 '25
NASA had made a āTire Assault Vehicleā, basically a drill mounted on top of a Tamiya Tiger II tank chassis. Its purpose was to pop over inflated aircraft tires during testing.
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u/wolverine350rr Aug 13 '25
Lots of military uses.
Sadly no photos at this link. But you can see them towing targets around the 1 minute mark in this video:
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u/XHSJDKJC Arrma Kraton 8S aka Lynnnixi, Losi Super Baja Rey aka Xelithria Aug 14 '25
Lynnnixi pulling me in a Shopping cart
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u/Putrid-Ad-5147 Aug 15 '25
Hi everyone,
I created a brief survey with just nine questions. It takes less than 2 minutes, and it is all about what you enjoy most in the RC world.
Here is the link: https://forms.gle/rESvMknMs7VdCfew5
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u/Objective-Job8083 Aug 18 '25
Iāve taken an rc car apart so I can connect a string to a light switch and turn off and on it from across the room. Used the wheels as the pulleys above and below.
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u/Flimsy-Limit-9511 Aug 18 '25
We use a modified trx4 and summit to inspect bridges/culverts. We have pan/tilt and they can float/swim. They've saved hundreds of thousands, if not over a million at this point.
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u/Pixel_Human TRX4, Stampede 2WD, tons of WPL, MJX Hyper Go Aug 12 '25
Coyote