2.2 Twin Hustler – Tuber with a Twist Text by Jay Kopycinski Photos by Steve Heinze

Steve Heinze (raptorman57) has built a good number of Kyosho Twin Force based crawlers, but until now they had all been Super Class rigs. He decided he wanted to build a new bomb-proof  tuber, but this time a 2.2 Class version. As a basis for construction Steve chose a Team Carnage Crew Hustler tube chassis, designed for use with Clod gearboxes. As is his norm, he again used Twin Force axles, but getting those big, wide axles to conform to 2.2 Class track width rules took a bit of work.

His assemblies use two factory short side axles to narrow the axle about 1 ¼ inches to keep the track within the 12 ½ inch rule. Diffs are locked using thin CA glue and 4.3:1 ring gears sets are used. Upper link mounts on the axles were designed to save room on top of the axle housings for anything that might want to be added on the tubes later. Suspension setup was chosen to be of droop style. Springs were removed from the stock Twin Force shocks and 800 weight oil was used up front and 600 weight oil in the rear shocks.

Custom built wheels also play a part in keeping the track narrow. Steve took stock Traxxas Stampede wheels and glued Maxx sized centers (Imex Diamond chrome) in the face side of the Stampede wheels. This setup maximizes backspacing and provides a beefier 14mm hex for the axle stubs. JPCustom Rok Rings finish off the outer wheel faces. The tires are a custom mixture comprised of Proline Badlands (Maxx size) that have been narrowed and mated up with 2.2 Masher sidewalls.

The powerplant for this rig originates at a Holmes Hobbies Revolver 2 commanded by a Mamba 25 ESC via a Traxxas radio setup. The Revolver spins a RC4WD R2 tranny through a 12T pinion and gets torque to the axles using Maxx 2.5 driveshafts.

To keep this tuber pointed where Steve wants it, an Airtronics 94359Z (200 oz.) servo pushes the steering rods. A second servo actuates a linkage to unlock and brake the rear axle. A bell crank is used on the rear axle to build this mechanism to allow for front dig maneuvers. Steve set out to build a stout 2.2 tuber and says he met his goal. He’s found the Revolver motor doesn’t quite give him the wheelspeed he’s looking for, so he plans to upgrade to another Holmes outrunner in the near future. We like the different twist on a production chassis and appreciate the custom touches Steve added.

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