What started as a crawler quickly became something else.

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tcanin00

Member
I have recently found and joined this forum and must say its great to to read about the kind of builds that I am into posted here. I am still an avid rock crawler, but I build other trucks occasionally. As the title implies, I intended to purpose build a custom truck as a crawler but it escalated into a MT. To briefly sum up the details, it is based on an SCX-10 chassis, Gatekeeper 3A center chassis designed for a comp AX-10, and Wraith axles. The full details on the original build can be found here: http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/axial-wraith/407408-scx-10-wraith-hybrid.html

I had fitted the truck with a set of Pro Line Masher MT's and it was downhill from there. Once this truck officially became a MT, it needed more power. I cannibalized a 4,000kV 4 pole Hobbywing brushless motor and ESC from a SCT. This worked perfectly. It gave me the speed and power I was looking for. But, the proportions of the truck didn't seem right to me, like track width and wheel diameter so I decided to make some changes.
To be honest, the RC Crawler community did not take much interest as I started to update the build and that is what lead me to this forum and Budhatrain's build. That being said, onto the pictures of the recent progress. Since I am using RC4WD's rockwell axles i had to figure a method of mounting the servo's to the axles. Here is what I did:





I made brackets from plate aluminum and mounted them to the shock and lower link brackets.
I then had to revise the drivetrain since I am using a different skid plate to correct the triangulation of the narrower axles. Here are some of the mock up pics:





I decided against this since it would require some extensive fabrication. I am not too concerned about the appearance since the drop down section of the chassis would be covered by sponsor plates. Here is how I mounted the crossmember:



This would have shown the improved input shaft angle if I had not broken it:



This is the temporary electronics setup for testing (and breaking) purposes:

 
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william g

william g

Retired
Moderator
cool looking build so far, liking this.
Can we get a picture of the whole truck from a step or two back??
And is the picture distorted, or is the track that narrow??
 
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tcanin00

Member
I'll get some more pics up soon. The truck is relatively narrow at 13.75 from outside lug to outside lug since I am using the Rockwell axles. With Wraith axles it was extremely wide(did not measure while installed) and I wanted to reduce its track width since the wheelbase is so short at 12.5.
I'll take a picture of it compared to a modified Wraith and an SCX-10.
 
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tcanin00

Member
Here are three pics showing it in the middle with a 12.5 wheelbase SCX-10 on its right, and a 13.5 wheelbase Wraith on its left:





 
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Brian34

Well-Known Member
Interesting build. The axles are so narrow though. How does it turn with the clod tires and not hit the frame/suspension ?
 
T

tcanin00

Member
I forgot to mention this initially, but this truck is being built over a deployment to Kuwait. I am part of the Pennsylvania National Guard and have been here for 5 months, giving me the time and resources to build this and several other projects. The other two trucks in the pictures are mine as well. I tend to take things to the next level, but this hobby has allowed make to make new friends and see other people get involved with radio control.
I am planning on changing the drive train with a different transmission to improve CG and reduce weight. I am cannibalizing a RC4WD R2 two speed trans and delrin skid plate from the SCX-10. It still has the Novak Crawler motor on it in these pics:





Here are some teasers about my plans for the build. First, the mandatory flex shot:



Then the new body(which is another blue 6th Gen. F-series, I know). I want to style it after Bigfoot 16, which was the 35th Anniversary of Bigfoot so it was built with a 1979 F-250 body:



I also have a Wraith interior which took quite a bit of trimming to make work. Silent Bob and Soundwave will be the occupants:



I would like ask anyone in the RCMT community with the capabilities of making decals if they could make the graphics for me. I will pay for them and shipping here, but I can not make them here. I was able to find some really good pictures of the truck and the graphics on this website:
http://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=206972

Here are the detail shots of what I need:





And this is the truck itself:



It also has large Summit and Firestone decals on it that I would need as well. If anyone is able help it would be greatly appreciated!
 
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tcanin00

Member
I have apparently outsmarted myself with my photobucket account by moving the images I had posted into another library. I will edit all of the posts with the proper links. I had also posted something last night before I moved all of the pictures that isn't showing up on here. Would I have repost it?
 
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tcanin00

Member
I installed the new trans with the 4,000kV and the truck is cartoonishly fast. Probably in the 35 mph range, which isn't Traxxas X0-1 speed but is ridiculous for a truck of this size and weight. Even in low range the truck is faster than it was before and its at least two pounds lighter. I will have reduce the tooth count of the pinion and try to slow it down a bit. I have also discovered how brittle the Rockwell axles are. I have broken two of their internal drive pins very easily. I'm thinking about using them for another build and replacing them with either narrowed Wraith axles(which I have a set of stock axles, so less cost) TLT-1 axles which are not too expensive and look like the axles Bigfoot 16 uses, a set of axles from an Exceed Mad Gear Cliff crawler(which belong to a friend here that I am trying to convince into building a Monster Truck with and using my Wraith axles and spare Pro Line Masher MT's) or Venom Creeper Crawler axles which have mechanical diff lockers. I haven't looked at them in depth yet to know of price and durability. I have some research to do.
Well, onto the pictures. Here is how the chassis is set up now:





The rear upper links did not clear the motor so I had to move them to the outside of the chassis. I also extended the rear links 20mm. The actual wheelbase before extending the links was exactly 12", so it is now close to 12.75"



Side views showing the new rear upper link location and the new trans in place:







Opposite side showing the motor with the ESC directly on top of the trans:



I had already cut the bed off, but this shows how much I extended the wheelbase:



After cutting the bed off I kind of like how it looks:





I plan on using the roll bars for the new body and to support the bed since I will have to section the fenders to match the wheelbase.
 
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tcanin00

Member
After putting the body and interior together, I completely changed my mind about going for the Bigfoot 16 theme. Since I have a spare 1973 Bronco body that I am not using, I decided it would look better an this chassis:





I plan on adding more graphics soon, but the Rammstein sticker I had looked good on the roof plus it covers up holes from a roof rack that I used on another truck. I also decided to try out a set of CR-01 axles. I found a set on RC Recycler for $75 and so far I am impressed by their quality. Even with only the front steering hooked up, the turning radius is much smoother since these axles have diffs. They are also 205 mm from hex to hex, 12 mm wider than the Blackwells. This alone seems to have improved handling. I plan on fabbing up some sway bars to limit body roll. To be honest though, I think it should have some to replicate a real Monster Truck.
Here they are installed:





I have some 1/8th scale high torque servos on the way from RC4WD, so I will have to make new servo plates which are also the upper link mounts. I have ran Savox servos on other cars without issues but I think because of the size and weight of the tires I need to step up to larger and more powerful servos.
 
william g

william g

Retired
Moderator
looking good
the wheels are heavy and probably NEED the extra servo oomph.

The fact they have diffs will make a huge difference in handling and part longevity.
 
T

tcanin00

Member
william g said:
looking good
the wheels are heavy and probably NEED the extra servo oomph.

The fact they have diffs will make a huge difference in handling and part longevity.
Click to expand...
Thanks, william g!
Yes, it is all the high torque Savox can due to turn these since I am running the machined aluminum wheels. They make up 3/4 of the truck's weight now that I have eliminated some of the heavier original components. I am impressed with the new axles so far, even though it hasn't been ran that much. My schedule here tends to limit when I can take it out, so I usually just work on it and other projects until I am sick of looking at them. I have 5 other cars that I have built here, and three of them have not been driven in quite some time. I'm actually thinking about sending those three home along with some other things from here. That being said, I am planning another build out of the parts I took off this truck. It never ends.
 
T

tcanin00

Member
Here is the finished graphic scheme from spare decal sheets:





I also added a RAM Tech police light bar to the roof. I thought it looked right on this truck. I will add the rest of the lights and a flasher control unit later.
I also used a Pro Line short course truck interior that I had painted to look as though being driven by The Stig. Some say that he is vacuum formed from poly-carbonate...



And if there any military personnel viewing this, they will recognize the hand gesture my buddy is making behind the truck.
 
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