Wheely King Crawler Conversion

[Webbage]

Bit quiet about my bash plates... don't you like them? :\

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Yes I do actually, and I think that you could use them to crawl with. Looking at the shot that shows the plate on the back axle good, it looks like there's about a half inch between the diff housing and the plate. I would make the skid plates smaller, and move them up closer to the diff so they don't stick out so far. The one in the front looks like it's going to get in the way, so you may want to try and make it smaller as well if you're going to crawl with it. Your ability to look at the rig and see what it needs, then go make it reminds me a lot of myself, and I like that a lot. I really admire the way you aren't scared to start cutting and fabricating, I wish their was more of it in the hobby, but unfortunately, outside of the crawlers, most guys prefer to buy something that everyone else has rather than build something different. With the plates, if you have a lighter guage material you might even consider using that for the plates, as it will allow that tiny bit of ground clearance that might just allow you to clear the gate you're trying to get at.

 

[Webbage]

Thanks, I was looking for feedback on them because they took a lot to make and I was quite happy with them, but I didn't think they were very practical

I think the issue with them not sitting under the diff housing tight is because the screw holes at the back of the axle are too far away from the 90-degree fold in the plate. It's deceptive, the gap is actually more like 5mm between the bottom fo the axle and the plate, the picture just made it look a bit more

I may take one off and look at drilling holes at the back further down at the back, and cutting the diff pan recess a bit further down into the back of the plate I suppose. I'll take a look at it tonight and see what I can see.

As for making them smaller, I'd pretty well like to avoid that if I can, as they were made to cover what they cover, and shaving them down may take a lot of the stiffness out of them. I'm pretty confident I can get them higher up though.

Thanks for the input =o)

I stumbled on a really blindingly simple chassis design, I'm just gonna plate each side of the gearbox with a 2" wide plate, and bolt an angle strip to the top edge of it to make the shock mounts, in a kinda 'T' shape. It's not gonna be the prettiest thing that ever was made, but it'll get rid of the overhang at the ends and give me equal shock angles front and rear.

 

[Webbage]

Well I did it, I dunno if it's comp worthy but it at last proves a point I suppose.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I think it came out great. If you move the battery out of the way, you could move the motor and electronics down a lot lower on the chassis, and still have your frame arch up to keep your shocks in the same position that they're in, and you're center of gravity would be MUCH lower. I think if there's anything that's keeping it from being capable, when you get the batteries over the axle and the center of gravity lower, it will be VERY capable. I'm definitely impressed, congratulations on a job well done.

You picked out a new body yet?

 

[Lessen]

Pardon my ignorance.. but I think HPI sells a conversion kit to turn the Wheely King into a crawler. To be honest I havn't read every single post in this thread so I've probably missed a lot. Is the conversion from HPI not all that great?

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I don't know a lot about the conversion kit since I don't have a wheely king. Brit Crawler went with an aftermarket company that specializes in crawlers I believe, and he said the kit was of nice quality. He could have bought several parts, but instead he chose to build them himself, which you and I both respect a lot. It's been some trial and error, but personally I think he done a hell of a job, and it's refreshing to see someone thats not scared to start fabbing parts when they need them.

 

[Webbage]

Just to correct you slightly Charlie ( ), I didn't actually buy a kit to convert it to a crawler wheelbase, I got the parts together myself using several sources online, the major one being:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76391&highlight=crawler

Here's what I've had to buy so far:

Traxxas #5139. 118mm. (For lower links) (2)
Traxxas #5138. 108mm. (For upper links) (2)
Traxxas #4951x Half shafts (1)
RCGuy.com Steering Plate
RCGuy.com Diff Locks
Axial Back Chrome 6-hole Beadlock Wheels
Pro Line Flat Iron M3 tyres

I've made the rest myself, thanks partly to my father who's teaching me metal work as I gone along

I'm hopefully gonna land 2 more used WKs next week so I'll end up with 2 trucks, one setup for bashing and one for crawling.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

RCGuy, that's who I was thinking of, I remember you mentioning him and I thought that's where most of the parts came from. I'm using the 5318x links on my GC2 comp build.

 

[Webbage]

Traxxas links are very popular because they are well constructed and use metal balls in the ends.

I'm looking at new electronics atm, ESC,and 55T motor. Gonna replace those and see how this chassis performs with real electronics, then see what I need to add, and if I need a custom job. Big order going on to CKRC next week, I'm quite excited

I'm also planning on putting together a Bashing truck with all my spare parts, if I get these two spares or repair used WK's I'm after. The bash plates, electronics and misc bits will probably end up on that.

I found a tin of .177 cal air rifle pellets in the wardrobe last night, so I'm off to weight my wheels down

 

[Webbage]

Man putting a dozen or so pellets covered in talcum powder inside the front tyres makes a HUGE difference. The thing will scale vertical log faces with ease now where it was just pitching over backwards before. Most impressed

 

[Webbage]

This case is officially closed. I'm concentrating all my crawler efforts on my Axial AX-10 from here in. Do not dispair! I have something in the works for the WK, but it's definitely NOT a rock crawler of any kind

 

[slowngreen]

Man putting a dozen or so pellets covered in talcum powder inside the front tyres makes a HUGE difference. The thing will scale vertical log faces with ease now where it was just pitching over backwards before. Most impressed

whats the powder for? to quiet the pellots down?

 

[Webbage]

whats the powder for? to quiet the pellots down?

Rock crawling tyres are often very sticky, especially inside where they don't get contaminated with mud and worn down. If you trap the shot between the tyre and the rim it digs into the tyre and sticks to it, meaning the weight doesn't roll round so well and you also have a heavy spot on the tyre.

If you roll the shot in some talc before you throw it in the tyre then it prevents the shot sticking to the tyre and helps prevent the issue.