Jebster's Arctic Expedition Rig

[jebster]

I want to start by saying I take not credit for this idea. I stole shamelessly from Szczerba. When I saw his build I immediately fell in love with the look. Here is a link for those that are curious: Szczerba’s CR-01 Build (#62) Arctic Truck

I dug through my parts bins. I had axles, tires, a transmission, frame, shocks, electronics (minus steering servos) and pretty of miscellaneous parts. The only major item is was missing was the body and servos. So I put an order in for those parts and started slapping it together.

Given the short wheelbase and 4ws I decided to take advantage of the venom creeper selectable diff locks. I had an old summit t-tock module on hand so now I can have full-lock, rear unlock, full unlock. With them lovked in crab steer this thing hops around a lot as expected. Unlocking the diffs definitely makes a noticeable difference. I know this is a novelty but I had the parts so why not.

More work to go on fenders and bumpers. Still thinking about a trailer but not sure I'll go that far.

[Robotboy]

Ah, very cool indeed

[OSRC]

Love it!! Creeper axles, holy cow. Been a while since I saw a set.

[Szczerba]

Heck yes!

[snozberries]

First time seeing a build like this. Looking forward to progress. These trucks are crazy - watched a video on them recently.

[meatmonkey]

Holy adjustable cantilevers batman! Do all the extra speed holes make it ride better? Looks like they are bearing supported? Did you make them?

I'm liking the uniqueness of this.

[jebster]

Originally Posted by Robotboy

Ah, very cool indeed

Thanks. Making some progress and will postup more pics soon.

Originally Posted by OSRC

Love it!! Creeper axles, holy cow. Been a while since I saw a set.

The creeper was my first crawler. Still have a 2.2 sportsman crawler using creeper axles and transmission. They've always done well by me.

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Heck yes!

Thank you for the inspiration!

Originally Posted by snozberries

First time seeing a build like this. Looking forward to progress. These trucks are crazy - watched a video on them recently.

I did a trip to iceland a few years ago. Large rigs like this were everywhere.

Originally Posted by meatmonkey

Holy adjustable cantilevers batman! Do all the extra speed holes make it ride better? Looks like they are bearing supported? Did you make them?

I'm liking the uniqueness of this.

I like adjustability! Plus when I start I'm never quite sure what pivot points will work the best. And yes the speed holes make it better!

They are bearing supported and all custom made.

[jebster]

DONE!

I didn't take a lot of progress pics so I'll just go with the finished product. Everything came out just how I had it pictured in my head. There is a lot going on here. 4WS, lockable diffs, winch, lighting, etc. The lockable diffs operate like a Traxxas summit: both open, front lock, both lock. For the lighting I had some cheap led strips that I tucked up under the fenders along with lights on the roof and rear. They are all orange so it looks a little strange!

When I took it out for a couple test runs i noticed a lot of torque twist. I wanted the suspension to be pretty soft so I decided to fabricate a sway bar for the rear. Given the space constraints it took a little creativity to fit something in. It all cycles smoothly so I hope it does the job.

It has been a fun project. Deciding if I want to add a trailer.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

This looks JUST like a 1:1! Great work!

[dirk379]

Wow great work, it looks like a lot of fun to drive around.

[high plains drifter]

These are the kinds of projects that I find amazing. It's quite obvious how much design, fabrication, and time has gone into this one. Only questions I have... are we going to get to see it in action and will we get to see it in snow?

[OSRC]

Great work! Came out awesome! I have Szerba's original build, it's all torn down for repainting. Hoping to have it back together for snow time.

[soze]

Fantastic build! Looks pretty sweet. I love all the custom work being done.

[jebster]

Originally Posted by soze

Fantastic build! Looks pretty sweet. I love all the custom work being done.

Thanks. I love fabricating parts for custom builds.

Originally Posted by OSRC

Great work! Came out awesome! I have Szerba's original build, it's all torn down for repainting. Hoping to have it back together for snow time.

You have a great rig there. His build was a great inspiration,

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

These are the kinds of projects that I find amazing. It's quite obvious how much design, fabrication, and time has gone into this one. Only questions I have... are we going to get to see it in action and will we get to see it in snow?

I'll try to get it out for some offroad action video soon. As for snow I will get it out for some winter fun once we get a little snow.

Originally Posted by dirk379

Wow great work, it looks like a lot of fun to drive around.

It is crazy to drive. With the short wheelbase, 4ws and having the diffs unlocked make it fun in tight places.

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

This looks JUST like a 1:1! Great work!

Thanks.

[Szczerba]

Oh man! That came out alot cleaner than mine! Looks like it took less fabwork too. haha. Love the simple metal work. I like the raised bolts on the fenders, adds some detail.

[jebster]

With the snow last weekend I gave this rig a try. First video i tried to climb from the driveway into the yard. No go. The snow was way to light and fluffy so the rig just dug into the snow.

But I did have fun with 4 wheel steer and locked diffs on the packed snow in the driveway in the second video.

https://youtu.be/8I0hElaeUkU

https://youtu.be/tl35yY2ePxA

[high plains drifter]

Yeah that snow looks extremely light and fluffy. I wonder if paddles would do any better in that stuff. Still very cool... especially that rear-steer. Love the donuts!

[Mike Flea]

Runs real Good! I second the paddles, bigger tread to get up on the fluffy stuff

[jebster]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

Oh man! That came out alot cleaner than mine! Looks like it took less fabwork too. haha. Love the simple metal work. I like the raised bolts on the fenders, adds some detail.

Yeah, my goal was to keep the metal fab work fairly simple. It allows me to get things mirrored on each side better with less variation. And the raised nuts on the fenders was a happy accident. I didn't want the nuts facing in towards the tires.

Originally Posted by high plains drifter

Yeah that snow looks extremely light and fluffy. I wonder if paddles would do any better in that stuff. Still very cool... especially that rear-steer. Love the donuts!

Originally Posted by Mike Flea

Runs real Good! I second the paddles, bigger tread to get up on the fluffy stuff

I may look into paddles if they go large enough. Even if I don't go that route it is a fun donut machine!