I am hoping to acquire a new old stock bachmann 10 wheeler set. It has the radio control. How easy is it to convert this over to battery but retain all the OEM control. I am assuming it would be as easy as disconnecting the track pickup leads and hooking them to an appropriate battery.
Wait are these already. Battery.
Hi Devon, we are confused. The only Bachmann that I have seen with a remote was the Big Hauler from 15 years ago. Todays G scale 10 wheeler I believe are conventional track power only.
It is straight forward to convert the 10 wheeler to battery radio control. The tricky part is making the connection directly to the motor after you disable the track pick ups. I do reuse the two connectors going to the tender. One for chuff triggers the other for sending power to the headlight and smoke. Then I add a new connector directly to the motor. It is best to bypass the little pcb attached to the motor.
Contact me for more specifics. Don
Let me clear up the confusion if I can. I believe this is one of the old versions. It is new “old” stock I believe. The auction is listing it as new. The box says radio control so I have to believe it is one of the first versions. My confusion came in not knowing much about the evolution of the 10 wheeler. I thought they were all track power and some were radio but picked up the power from the track. Then I see this was not the case. So I am thinking this is one off the first versions that ran on the D cell batteries; does that sound right?
Its an Ebay find that if I can get it cheap enough I would like to play with. I first found it just a fodder for the cars and kit bashing potential. For the right price I can use the cars and then bash the loco if I have too. But Figure if it is new and it will run then heck why not use it until it breaks then bash it. I think shipped its less than $60.00. So why not have it to play with.
If this is what I think it is and it is already battery then I have answered my own question. What I don’t want to do is convert an old ten wheeler to another brand of radio control. This question would be about making this work with a battery if it doesn’t already have one. If it is not something easy to run Battery R/C with the existing radio control then I will not bother and just bash it into something else and put a good system in it. I really don’t want a Bachmann 10 wheeler as is but if I can get one cheap and easy to play with then OK I have something to haul around to play with at club meets.
Edited to say the thing is in Spokane so if I do get it for the bid price I will only be into it for $33 bucks. The two cars are worth that plus fodder for a future build.
Edited again to say awe heck it has a caboose also didn’t even realize that. So three cars and fodder for a future build. And if I can run it as is on RC then what a deal. If if it is an old sucky drive unit that dies afterawhile. (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Devon,
On a diff thread, the variations were listed and the very first iteration was battery/rc.
This would indicate Very Old new in box stock. Look for expired plastic and brittleness.
I just checked out my ‘new’ old stock caboose. I don’t think the wheels ever turned, but one truck exploded in transit. 4 keepers broke off key corners. I’m not distressed, I figured it would be a parts source as it’s an old REA car. It’s too modern for my pike, but buried up to it’s hubs in sand and rusted out, it could become a crew shack… point is check it out before you invest too much in it.
John
Good advice John. I am not investing much at all no matter what. If I don’t get it for the opening bid then oh well. For $33 bucks opening the box will be worth it (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif).
Devon:
You may want to ask this question on the Bachmann Forum. One of the participants, Loco Bill Canelos, has a lot of knowledge regarding various releases and maintains a historical database.
Hi Devon, I understand now. If you win the bid the body looks good. If you need a new drive train they are on sale for $40 on Bachmann web site. I have some in stock but this is a better deal.
Good Luck. Don
Devon Sinsley said:
Good advice John. I am not investing much at all no matter what. If I don’t get it for the opening bid then oh well. For $33 bucks opening the box will be worth it (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif).
Devon,
I have one of them still sitting on my shelf, and I think it still works. Yes, it used D-cells - but it also came with a cable that plugs in inside the battery compartment and connects to a 7.2V plane/car NiCad/NiMH battery. The backhead lifts up to access the boiler battery box. The remote control is a bit on/off. Not easy to run at low speed.
The big problem is the wheels are plastic - all of them; including the driving wheels. They don’t last long!
I have a couple of spare sets of driving wheels if you want them.
Thanks Don and all,
I would think it should work if it really has not been run. The box it comes in looks pretty pristine like it has just sat indoors. If it doesn’t then I have three cars and a tender to use for other projects and what ever I steal of the body of the loco. But hopefully it works and gives me some play time with a loco I don’t have to, or feel the need to, modify.
Well on the driving wheel side of things would I be able to swap metal ones from later versions? I have two complete sets of metal ones in the parts bin. How easy would it be to swap them? After I wear out the plastic ones that is.
Devon,
I hate to burst your bubble (OR is it bust…whatever…), but I have one of these Big Haulers stored in my garage now. It has to be over 35 years old! Bought it for Christmas one year, on a whim :). Even then it cost maybe ten bucks. Really a cheap set and it’s ALL plastic, everything! Lasted all of a week…maybe. The remote control, if you want to call it that, has a couple of buttons on it…forward, reverse and I whistle IIRC. Don’t waste your time or money on this thing. I’d send you my set, but it’s not even worth the gas to drive it to the post office frankly.
Hi Devon.
You cannot really replace the existing R/C with something better. The loco requires a maximum of 7.2 volts. Many after market R/C systems require require more than that to function. There are some ESC’s that will run down to 7.2 volts but the mechanics at best are so so.
It would be best to rip the old chassis out and replace it with a new later version from Bachmann.
Gary Armitstead said:
Devon,
I hate to burst your bubble (OR is it bust…whatever…), but I have one of these Big Haulers stored in my garage now. It has to be over 35 years old! Bought it for Christmas one year, on a whim :). Even then it cost maybe ten bucks. Really a cheap set and it’s ALL plastic, everything! Lasted all of a week…maybe. The remote control, if you want to call it that, has a couple of buttons on it…forward, reverse and I whistle IIRC. Don’t waste your time or money on this thing. I’d send you my set, but it’s not even worth the gas to drive it to the post office frankly.
Gary,
I appreciate the critique and the offer to send me yours (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif). Like I said its really only for bashing fodder if I do win it. I am not expecting much. It has to me worth 30 bucks even if only to cut up.
Gary,
I am pretty sure that if what you have is is over 35 Years old it won’t be an original Bachmann Big Hauler. I think you will find they came out in the late 80’s at the earliest. The first ad appeared in GR in the May - June issue 1988 for later delivery.
The Bachmann TX handpiece used a slide pot for direction and speed control. I don’t remember any buttons on it.
I do believe there were other less mainstream makers of some very crappy largeish scale battery R/C toys at about the same time or earlier.
When I first started in the hobby in 1991, the Big Hauler is what we were using at Fred’s. It did use D-cells for power. But as previously stated there was a 2-wire connector to plug in a small rechargeable battery pack. I bought an Erwin Toy Ni-Cad AA pack and charger at Walmart for $30. I remember it being 9 volts, but my memory is not the best.
The radio control was alright if you stayed with your locomotive. Although we tried, we couldn’t find a better R/C set up until the 27 MHz on-board Train Engineer was introduced.
Ok Tony. Then what in the heck is THIS set that has been in my garage since before my son was born AND that was in 1984! I bought my Gene Allen 1-1/2" ten wheeler in November 1980. I bought this set to go around the Christmas Tree for Christmas 1981. So…what is THIS set? I didn’t get into LGB until late 1985 with the 2018D Mogul! I went out to the garage and took these photos thinking I was crazy. Tomorrow when it’s light, I will pull it down and get better photos. Maybe there will be a date somewhere. I may be wrong about the dates, but there were too many things occurring during that time to help me remember (birth of kids. etc.)
BTW, this set was purchased from a “Big Box” warehouse called Price Club. They went out of business some years later and now it is Costco
Now I am intrigued. Tony says 1988. Wikipedia says 1988. Some other Bachmann history site says 1988. Gary says 80. Now I am not calling anyone out becuase. One I have no idea and two I have no stake in the game. But I am curious
As an aside.
Lee Reilly told me Bachmann sold well over 900,000 sets. When they were being remaindered at Price Club in about 1991 they were $29.95 and Bachmann was still making money.
Lee also told me the most expensive component in the set was the cardboard box.
Bachmann sold so many the profits paid for all the tooling on the subsequent track powered Big Haulers.
Good bad or indifferent I own this thing now for 33 bucks. At the very least I have three cars to bash a tender to use elsewhere and some cheap plastic track that i can paint and weather for a display shelf in the man cave. And if I am lucky a loco to play with until I killl it.