SLODRIVE's L-Trail MRC Scaler
 

This MRC is my first crawler (not my first RC though). I got it for Christmas, and although the snow outside STILL hasn't completely melted, I've been goofing around in the house and having fun. I'll keep this updated as I continue modding/playing. This post shows what I've done with $100 and some spare RC stuff, lemme know what you think so far!

On the rear:
-Losi bent links and metal locker
-ESC mounted on Lexan shelf on upper link
-900mAh "Mystery" lipo velcro'd to rear axle (2 for $16! :shock:)
-Dean's connectors
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler007.jpg

On the front:
-Losi bent links and metal locker
-2 oz. stick-on lead inside each wheel, 1 oz. under servo plate, 1 oz. next to servo
-Spektrum full-size metal gear servo, no servo saver
-Steering link made from Ti turnbuckle and Traxxas rod ends (I had to sleeve the rod end at the knuckle)
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler009.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler008.jpghttp://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler010.jpg

Complete chassis shot. You can also see my old DX3 next to it, which I'm now using.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler011.jpg

Here's a couple of shells. I found this F-150 in the kids' toy bin. "thumbsup" A little scuffed, but it fits great and lights up. Too heavy for any real crawling though.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler012.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler013.jpg
And here's my Pro-Line Descender (Geo Tracker). Love it!
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler014.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler015.jpg

My next planned purchase for this? Better wheels and tires! :lol:

I got a couple more goodies in the last week or so. Losi aluminum hexes to make it a bit wider, seemed to help a little bit. I also got a set of RC4WD wheel nuts...I just couldn't resist!
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler016.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler017.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler018.jpg

Nice truck! The Ford body looks great. Too bad it's too heavy for crawling. I like the Descender body too and will probably go with that down the road when I need a new body.

Oh and those RC4WD nuts are so awesome! How much did they cost? And do they scratch easily when you put a wrench on them to tighten them? That would be my worry.

Looks good! You gonna do a 4 link on it?

Thanks guys!
I got them for about $20 shipped. They're long enough to tighten up with your fingers, so no problem with a wrench. I figure if they loosen up on me a dab of blue Loctite will take care of that.

I'm honestly not sure at this point. The weight on the front axle and wheels really helped a ton with TT already...but you never know. I have some more "stuff" in the mail, so we'll see. :mrgreen:

your gonna need bigger drive shafts.

I use ped shafts with metal yokes. got to gring on the trans just a bit,under the spur gear area.and grind the outer part of the metal yoke on the front only.

the ford body looks killer.

very nice build!!! love the wheel bolts/nuts "thumbsup"

The modding continues...After doing a little reading on here tonight, I dug up my old lower links and 4-linked the rear (forget what I posted earlier). Check it out!

I used Traxxas rod ends and bent the links to clear the shocks, as you can see. Here you can also see the Lexan shelves I'm using for the ESC and battery. The front shelf's glued on.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler019.jpg
Here's a couple of closeups of the rear links. I mounted them inside the TVPs to minimize binding. On the (trimmed) servo plate, I simply drilled 7/64 holes in it and was able to thread two old servo-mounting screws right to it. If you look closely, you can see 2 washers under each rod end to keep them from hitting the servo plate when the suspension compresses. There's still a fair amount of articulation, although less than before this mod.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler020.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler021.jpg
The Lipo fits nicely up front, secured with a little Velcro.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler022.jpg
Here we are, ready to go again.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler024.jpg

After I finished up, I tested it out a little...From what I can tell, there doesn't seem to be any TT; the body sits nice and level when I hit the throttle, and the RF wheel stayed planted when I climbed up the back of the sofa. I'm sure the geometry isn't optimal or something like that, but hey...not bad for free! 8)

Look good to me. But you should cut out that top plate were the rx is and just mount the rx on top of the trans

Looks really nice.

Like the way you have done your 4link, very green of you to recycle :mrgreen:

You mentioned getting some new rubbers for it. I'd like to recommend the Hot Bodies Rover tires. I went to a competition last weekend and it seemed like the rovers were doing extremely well on these mini's. Nice build so far.

I'm liking everything that you've done so far.

Curious though, have you considered flipping the plastic plate over? It will bow slightly as it crosses the trans but it will raise your upper shock mounts a little. End result will be a slightly lower stance and lower COG.

Thanks again for the compliments and advice!

As far as the radio plate and shocks, I'll play around with it a little, but there's a major chassis change in the very near future, and I just got my new tires in the mail a few minutes ago. Stay tuned! "thumbsup"

Is that the losi carbon fiber servo mount that you used for the full size servo?

Yes it is, I simply drilled new holes to move the servo mount over. The plate makes a nice place to stick lead to. "thumbsup"

Here's the tires and wheels I got in the mail today. RC4WD 1.55" steel beadlocks, and Mud Thrashers to fit them. I like how it only takes 6 (hidden) screws to assemble them.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler025.jpg

This photo's just for fun...it just looked too cool!
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler026.jpg

...and all together. They look awesome IMO, and the tires feel a lot stickier than the stockers. I can't wait to try them!
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler029.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler028.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler027.jpg

Those wheels look pretty damn cool with the lug nut/stud showing as they do. And complimented greatly by your splurging for those wheel nuts.

Thanks! I got the wheels/tires in anticipation of my next move...

A TCS L-Trail chassis! I still need to make/buy some driveshafts and replace a few parts with better-looking ones, but it's very close to driving. I have the WB all the way to 10 inches to see if I can fit one of the smaller 1/10 truck bodies. Considering I'm mostly recycling old R/C junk I already have, I think it's coming along okay so far.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler031.jpg
For now, I'm using the same suspension parts as before, with the battery and ESC right where they were previously.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler032.jpg
Here's a couple of undercar shots. For the record, TCS says you need 6mm spacers between the skid and framerails...wrong! You need 8mm worth of spacers on each side to be able to run the upper link inside the frame (which is mandatory), and 75mm crossmembers of some sort. I guess you could go narrower if you 4-link the front and rear...which I didn't. I used a combination of aluminum tubing, 2-56 allthread/nuts, some old rod-end balls, and an HPI Savage crossmember chopped in half. :afro:
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler030.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler035.jpg

My Spektrum servo mounted to the frame. Another Savage crossmember and the stock MRC servo mounts, hee hee. Believe it or not, it feels very solid and strong. The linkage has more bumpsteer than I'd like, but I'm not too sure how big of a deal that is on a crawler.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler033.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler034.jpg

The (seemingly) required flex shot!
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler036.jpg

We're all complete now! I went to the Hobbytown this morning for driveshaft parts and a metal servo arm. All I could come up with was another set of MRC driveshafts (which I hacked/spliced), and a Losi arm. I have yet to try any crawling like this, or buy a new body for that matter, but here's a couple more pics.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler037.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler038.jpg

I found a shell in the basement :mrgreen: It's from an old NAPA R/C truck I picked up when I worked there years ago. I'm still working on body mounts, but it looks pretty good for the most part IMO. Sorry for the cellphone picture, but that's all I had at the time. I'll put up better ones when I get things cleaned up a little. (I might paint it too, LOL)
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...g/IMAG0069.jpg

I finished the body mounts last night and I'm pretty happy with them. I cut up a spare roll-bar from my Savage and used some 4-40 studs to thread the MRC body mount posts onto them. That way, it'll be super easy to mount all kinds of pickup shells if I pick up another set of posts.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler046.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler045.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler044.jpg

Here's a few shots of the Silverado hardbody mounted. As you can see, there's a few holes I need to fill/cover up/etc. Apparently I'm going to need stiffer springs if I want to keep this shell on as well...it's heavy! Opinions?
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler042.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler039.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler040.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/n...Crawler043.jpg