Venom Creeper Crawler

[jsu0234m]

So i just bought a Venom Creeper crawler from Ebay, I've never had a crawler before, i have a Revo 5308 nitro but i wanted to get into crawling. Anyone have any hints tips or tricks for building and running this crawler? I'm just wondering what its gonna be like, i can't wait to get it and start building it. Thanks

 

[slowngreen]

Their not a bad rig imo. Pretty top heavy and the trans is huge wich doesn't help but its pretty straight forward and works well for some good back yard crawling. New tires would be a good upgrade if you have the stock ones. What electronics are you running?

 

[jsu0234m]

Not sure about the electronics yet, i have a traxxas speed controller off of a electric boat and some servos. I think I'm gonna build it and see what kind of room i have and then see about the electronics. You got any preferences or a direction, i really have no idea what I'm getting into. haha

 

[slowngreen]

For anything good, it just depends on your budget. Motor, you can go cheap, pick up a Integy, like $20. The traxxas esc will work but most likely has reverse delay wich kills it for me, but might now bug you, I know alotta guys who run/have run them and still do.

 

[jsu0234m]

OK thanks, how about servos, i've been researching and people are using high torque steering servos, how much do you think i would need or what is a good starting point?

 

[slowngreen]

I use a 403 oz servo wich is nice but expensive. Alot of guys start off with Hitec 645's, their like $30, not a bunch of torque but work ok for starters I guess. Id try going better though, a Hobbico cs170 is 333oz at 6v and can be had for around $90.....you can also get on ebay and buy two towerpro, towardpro, 995/996mg servos for like $30ish shipped and their over 200oz, some fry fast but some last forever, but for $30 for 2, its not like its a bad experiment. Just depends again on your budget.....

 

[jsu0234m]

OK so i've been looking around, i have not got any idea how to pick motors or esc's. Is there a few you could recommend for fairly cheap, like about 50 bucks max for each. I've been looking at a traxxas vx-5 maybe and some 55t motors, but the specs say that it won't handle anything higher than 15t. Could you also give me a few tips on what 55t means i've read that the higher the turns the better. I'm really just trying to get this thing going to see how i like crawling so the more information the better. I'm a dunce when it comes to electric rc's. Or direct me to a forum that has more information about electrics. Thanks alot

 

[Rolex]

55T is Turns on the motor. It's a very low RPM with very good low speed torque. There are quite a few of us that have the Integy 55T, and it's only $20.

 

[slowngreen]

Theres is no need to check out any other forum....

$50 for both or $50 each? A Castle Creations sidewinder with an external BEC would be good, a Mamba max would be good, a Rooster esc would work but can only do 2s lipo....

motor. You can go with something like a 50t Venom...

http://eastendmachining.com/fi50tusiwomo.html

Esc, Id personally go with a Sidewinder and an external bec.

http://eastendmachining.com/cacrsiesc.html
http://eastendmachining.com/ccbec10amp.html

 

[jsu0234m]

I didn't mean forum i meant another section in this forum where people may of been talking about the specifics of what all these electronics abbreviations mean BEC, and such. Also, i meant 50 dollars each, the links you supplied are helpful, i have already been looking at that 50t venom motor. So how many parts am i looking at for electronics, motor, esc, and bec? I have a degree in electronics technology and computer integrated technology and they don't teach this stuff in college. Sorry. I have no idea what this means but definitely doing a ton of research to figure it out. Also, are brushless setups harder to install and get working because i was looking at a mamba max setups with motor and esc altogether wondering how it would work. Thanks

 

[slowngreen]

Brushless setups cog alot on crawlers from my experience. Stick with brushed. BEC is...I dont wanna google it but I think its something like Battery Eliminater Circutry, basically the sidewinders internal is set at like 5.3 or something and if you run a high torque servo that wants 6v, the sidewinder can't do it and your rig will glitch and stuff really bad, so you get the bec and its programmable so you can set it at 6 or higher volts wich will feed your servo what it needs and eliminate any power shortage problems.
You need atleast a motor, esc, radio and reciever, servo, battery's.

 

[jsu0234m]

Ok thanks, i have a radio and a reciever, some 7.2 volt batteries and some servos i can try. I just made a bid on ebay for a Axial AE-1 ESC with reverse and Axial 27T electric motor, i figure this will atleast get me started and see what this rock crawling thing is about. The motor and esc is pretty cheap now, so if i get it ok if not ok too. I'm really looking forward to building it, i love that kind of stuff, I'm supposed to get it tomorrow and ill prolly stay up all night working on it. Thanks for the advice if i like it i will probably be back looking for more advice on it. Thanks a lot

 

[hamz9561]

I paid right at $120 for a Tazer ESC, Reedy 55t motor and a LiPo cutoff for my SCX-10 scaler. Plenty of low end torque. I added the LiPo cutoff because I'm only running LiPos in my trucks.

 

[abadk9420]

The electronics you bid on will get you going but are not the greatest choice, with a 27t motor it will be a little more like a rock racer then a rock crawler, A 45t integy motor http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLYV3&P=7 IMO is the best all around motor or any 45t for that matter because it gives you good low speed drivability and wheels speed when you need it too, A Castle BEC http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSWL3&P=ML is in fact a (battery eliminator circut) that runs directly off of your main battery pack drops the voltage down from 7.2 volts in ur case to what voltage you program it for, 6 volts would be best in ur case, it then plugs into ur receiver kinda like a external batter pack would on a nitro car giving you a constant 6 volts to ur receiver and servos. It is also a 10 amp BEC VS. where as most ESC's internal BEC's are only 3-5 amps.

 

[jsu0234m]

Thanks guys, I'm not too worried about it being a rock racer instead of a crawler right now. I figure once i figure out what all this stuff means and get a feel for how it works with this setup i can make better choices to what i really need. To be honest i really got tired of my Revo and wanted a change of scenery, so rock crawling seemed to be pretty fun an i figured what the hell why not. Plus i love building models, this kit needs assembling and i can see how it all comes together, then make a decision to hop it up or not. If i even like going slow, after my Revo this may not be as fun or i may end up converting my Revo to brushless or something. haha

Holy hell, that link about the BEC just made it click for me, i totally see why it could be useful. Thanks