Wheely King Crawler Conversion

[CharliesTheMan]

The axials are VERY capable crawlers out of the box. You could buy an axial kit and a rrooster crawler comb for $289. That's the axial and a very good motor ESC combo. Add on a $12 towerpro servo and a $20 saddle pack, and use the radio system you have, and you'll have a VERY capable axial with the first upgrades already installed, and be ready to get started at the comps. Sure some guys will always have a better rig, but you will be off to one hell of a start. The axial RTR is probably what you looked at. It has a lot more plastic. It's a decent rig, but the kit as mentioned above is generally a much more capable rig overall, and it's a lot of fun to build, as well as an easy build.

 

[Webbage]

Trouble is, again I live in the UK. We pay tax on everything, and importing stuff is a total 'will I/won't I pay duty' lottery. The AX-10 self-build is 180 GBP here (360 US) (the RTR is a SMALL FORTUNE!) and the Novak Rooster set is another 94 GBP (190 US). As you can see it's not as cheap a hobby over here

I don't even know if I can get saddle packs here but those will import relatively easy. I'd sure as hell not run the battery on the stock mount way up top in a competition. That's one of the AX-10s biggest achilles heels in stock trim IMHO. The high torque steering servo isn't a problem here, they aren't *too* expensive (maybe 50GBP/100 US).

Another question (open to the floor), does anyone know if I'll blow the HPI ESC if I sling a Novak 55T on it? The motors aren't that expensive and if I'm not gonna spent a huge wedge more on the WK I'd like to see if I can do it as cheap as possible (and save my money for a Comp Rig). If I could put a set of Axial wheels and ProLine tyres on it and a 55T motor, and maybe some shorter shocks it'd probably keep me amused until I could get a *more* decent rig.

To get the AX-10 rigged right I'm looking at maybe saving up 400GBP to do it right. That's gonna take a while

Like i say, the alternative is I sling the axles and Transmission off the WK on a custom chassis, add in a Novak Rooster kit and a decent steering servo. It's cheaper and uses what I've got. I'd end up making a lot of the stuff myself (which is a lot of fun!).

I really dunno. Buying an AX-10 is something I like the sound of, but it's wether I can justify it.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

There is a HUGE rock crawling segment in the UK, and I'm thinking that if you get on the UK rock crawling forums over there, you can buy some nice rigs for a pretty decent price, just like over here.

To answer your question, you can run the novak 55 turn with the ESC that you have. The motor will be better than what you have, and provide more torque, but the ESC is going to be the limiting factor in not providing the slow speed control that a crawler needs. Also, I don't know about the drag brake and hold brake on that ESC, and it may have a reverse delay. When you're going forward, and you immidiately push the trigger away from you, does the truck stop or instantly go into reverse?

Here's a link to a webpage of a guy that has a WK that is fairly capable. I thought you might enjoy seeing the specs that he's running. He's got the rig for sale for $325 on the forum. http://www.noeither.com/rc/indexwk.php

 

[Webbage]

Oh, I'm aware of the scene in the UK, I'm on the UKRCRC forums and we're going to the Nationals next week. I'm gonna sound the scene out there and see if I can get some help from those folks, they are a very nice group on the forums so hopefully they can give me some tips.

I also followed rule number 1 of modifying any vehicle. Never buy more parts until you've thoroughly played around with what you've got. Here's my revised setup:

As you can see, the rear axle is so well articulated it's running the risk of tearing a link off I think a couple of 1/4 inch bump stops are required in there somewhere!

The front axle isn't so good, as it's limited by the more vertical and higher mounted shocks. I think though this axle is closer to what would be ideal articulation, it's still pretty good but without risking breaking something.

You'll also notice I have tied the electronics on outside the chassis. The body covers them and they are not at risk of snagging the front wheels, but I need that space inside the chassis to accommodate the battery pack.

Also, I finally got around to cutting the body. It's never pretty, but hopefully I didn't make *too* much of a hash of it

 

[CharliesTheMan]

It looks good, glad to see you got that body cut up. You're definitely going to have to do some serious limiting on the rear. All that articulation is going to get you bound up in a heartbeat and cause parts breakage on all those stock parts.

 

[Webbage]

What do you suggest? Bump stops on the shocker shafts? Or should I put the shocks back to vertical (which reduced the travel a lot)? I've tested it like this and while it romps everywhere, it does look a bit dodgy at times. the amount of back-twist I'm getting in the axle is threatening to cause a similar problem to what you had in that comp, and I don't have any spare links. I'll take a look at it later

Still, stuff's come on in leaps and bounds today. I've got the suspension working better (too well at the back maybe!), I got rid of that crappy plastic steering link at the front and replaced it with a robust steel link with a nice allu sleeve over it. I also made a sweet battery holder that holds the battery up on top of the top links (with the aid of velcro straps). This hobby is fun, don't let anyone say otherwise

 

[Radron]

I would think shock limiters would be the way to go.If you move the shock position it will change the stiffness.

 

[Webbage]

I would think shock limiters would be the way to go.If you move the shock position it will change the stiffness.

By that I assume you mean putting a sleeve around the stem of the shock (inside the spring) to limit the travel?

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Just cut a piece of fuel line, try 1/4 inch and 1/2 in and see what you like the best. Take the bottom rod end off the shock shaft, slide the fuel line on, and reassemble. If you want to have more free moving shocks, take the ball joint out of the top of the shock. Put a piece of fuel line over the bolt that goes through the top of the shock. This will keep it snug yet still allow it to move with the suspension. The axials don't really need this because of the geometry, but A LOT of guys with other kinds of rigs and home built rigs will use nothing but the fuel line method.

 

[Radron]

You can also adjust ride height by placing the tubing over the shaft under the piston on the inside of the shock.In 1/8 scale cars that's a good way to reduce droop with out the harshness of chassis stops.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Yeah, I was going to suggest that as well to lower your COG but I just forgot about it once I started typing. You said that at 2.5 inches your truck was handling better. That's what most of the comp guys are running, and it's plenty of clearance for them. Most of rock crawling is finding the lines to run on so that you don't get high centered, so you run the tires on the highest points of the rocks. But if I were you I would just try it both ways on actual rocks, because just sticking a rock in the yard and driving over it isn't a good test. You need to have several so you get the tires up off the ground to really test.

 

[Webbage]

Well I put a half-inch sleeve inside the shocks, under the plungers, and it's pulled the ass-end down to level with the front, and it's also limited the travel just spot on.

She's starting to look proper proper now Ride height is around 3-inches, but bearing in mind it;s on stock tires which have no squash in at all, I thunk it's about right. Not tested it yet. I've got a long night ahead tomorrow night, I'm not saying why, it's a surprise, but I think you guys will like it, AND I'll be posting the design layout publicly Watch this space...

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Hey man, how about an update? I've been keeping up with your thread on a regular basis and your ingenuity impressed me a lot.

 

[Webbage]

Sorry for the delay. I'm currently backing up my CF card and clearing it after the UKRCRC Nationals at the weekend. Took a lot of pictures of crawlers, all of which I will scrutinize in detail at some stage

I'll take a snap of it when I'm done and post it up here, along with a bit of an update. Thanks for the continued interest!

 

[CharliesTheMan]

If you could load the pics onto a hosting site like photobucket and send me a link to the album page, I would greatly appreciate it. That way I could take my time and look through them all when I have plenty of time. I'm so jealous, I don't think I'm going to make it to our nationals this year. And it's in Moab, the crawler capital of the world.

 

[Webbage]

All the photo's I've posted are on Flicker, here:

http://flickr.com/photos/pixel_mason/sets/72157605773646806/

Photos of the UK Nationals are about to get a link in a new thread

Well I had a fun week last week, I built some meaty bash plates for the axles. I know, they'll catch on stuff all over but they look as mean as hell IMHO

It was a bit of a trial an error job. I pretty much got the plates worked out right the first time, but the 3-screw mounting to the back of the axle was giving me that 'please don't put that kind strain on me' puppy-eyes look, so I had to add a brace at the top.
Dad (bless him, I'd have never gotten anywhere with all this metal working without his tuition!) had the idea of bracing the plate again the top link mount, so impact stress was directed into the triangle of the top links and spread out between the top links, the mount and the chassis. It was a solution, and a good one, so i went with it. The first version used 10mm wide 1/16th plate strips with a bend at each end to screw against the bash plate and the top mount. This seemed to work well when I built it but...
While testing the truck for the first time with the plates on, it took a nose dive off a log and landed on it's face. The bash plate worked great, nothing but the tyres and the plate hit the ground. The only problem was the bracing strip snapped clean off. after a bit of muttering expletives, I went back to the drawing board. I came up with the idea of using tie-rods anchored to the battery plate at the front and a small lump of 1/8th plate at the back. These weren't 100% straightforward to do, however as I had to drill the tie-rod holes at a slope through the plates on the axles to get the angle to the bash plate right. I used M3 all-thread and 4mm allu tubing to make the rods and place a nyloc at each end and would em up. They seem to be a lot tougher and have stood up to me carrying the truck about by them. The combination of the rod and the sleeve tightened up against each other makes a very strong tension/compression system that makes them very stiff and resilient.

All-in-all they look nice and work well. I dunno how much use they will be for crawling though, as they could well get hung up easily. Oh well they make for nice eye candy at the very least

While I was at the UKRCRC Nationals I swung by the GB Models stall and got some advice on wheels and tyres. I came away with a set of Axial bead-lock wheels, and 4 ProLine Flat Iron M3 2.2 tyres. The tyres are AWESOME, they make a huge difference. Even on stock electrics I can actually crawl around on stuff with gentle throttle inputs, the stock tyres would just spin and slip all over. Only problem is the extra strain on the motor from pulling up slopes instead of giving up and spinning in thin air is hammering the battery! Oh well. Need some LiPo packs and a decent charger at some point, but later, LATER.

I'm having a lot of fun at the moment. The Nationals were a total blast, and the ideas are really flowing. I'm just annoyed I don't have the facilities to cut my own aluminium side plates. I need ideas for a chassis and transmission to drop it on...

 

[Webbage]

Incoming Photos!

 

[CharliesTheMan]

The flatirons look great on the truck. I like the tread pattern on them the best out of all of them, they just don't clim very good on the rocks we have here in Louisiana. When I go to Moab though, I'll definitely have some with me.

 

[Webbage]

The flatirons look great on the truck. I like the tread pattern on them the best out of all of them, they just don't clim very good on the rocks we have here in Louisiana. When I go to Moab though, I'll definitely have some with me.

The Flat Irons seem to be better on edges and rough gritty rocks. A good few folks used them at the UK Nats and they did okay on the rocks there, which are a coarse gritstone. From looking at the moabs and Badlands, they seem to be a bit more flexible and able to mould around smoother rocks a bit better. The folks using Badlands and Losi Rock Claws did best though.

I'll probably use 2 or 3 sets of tyres myself for comps. I saw various ones at the Nats and took note of how they worked.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Yeah I'm the same way, I keep several sets of tires and shocks to experiment and try and stay versatile to what setups work on what terrain the best for me. Hence the reason that I have 3 crawlers assembled and enough parts for two more lol.