Ramination's Blue Ox

[Ramination]

Time for me to finally build a rig a bit more on the scale side. Been wheeling an AX10 with Proline Tuber body for too long, I know this thing in and out and its time for a change. Here's a pic of it







Unlike some, I don't have a plether of parts lying around to build with, hell I've never even touched a scx before so for the time being the tires, wheels, axles, driveline and steering will be donated from the AX10 to this.



So, I present to you,

The Blue OX - Dodge Ram Truggy

I am building this rig as a rig capable of competing in a TTC or G6 style event, but it generally will be used for trail runs around the area. It is being built as a sturdy reliable rig capable of conquering multiple types of terrain, and foresee big power in its future.


Custom made/bent chasis
Parma 1/10 scale second gen Dodge Ram extended cab -
Chasis mounted four wheel steering (w/independent control of rear, no mixing here)
Boatsides/sliders
2.2 Mud Slingers to start, likely get TSLs once finished
35T Holmes Handwound
I will attempt an interior

I'd show you everything going into it, but it'd just look like a pile of brake line, all thread, steel and old rc parts that look just like everyone elses! Here is a rough (very rough haha) design sketch




It'll be completely MIG welded; otherwise everything is done with basic hand tools and benders! So lets just get started building!









Please disregard the terrible looking body, it will be replaced with a new one once the project is done, this one is just for mockup.

[Ramination]

Where the body and boatside meet I plan to use a square (hollow) piece of tubing and cut a slit down it lengthwise. This will allow the body to sit inside of it as well as provide a good slider. We'll see how feasible this is once it comes time.

[Ramination]

Progress





Few things you might notice, it is four linked and steering is still axle mounted, will switch to 3 link and CMS as soon as I figure out the track bar mounting.

Also, shocks are modified AX10 shocks for now. Ride at 80mm in the front (shocks shown are setup in droop to 85mm), just using these for mockup. Will order some 100mm shocks and droop them, at least thats the plan...

And yes I know the tires are on backwards

[Ramination]

Thinking around 13" wheelbase...decent for hills while still maintaining a decent breakover angle, yea?

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[JimmyJam]

Your chassis is looking great!! hat sort of welder are you using and whets the temp your welding on?

[Ramination]

thanks! Using a Hobart Handler 140 MIG welder. For the brakeline welds I'm keeping the voltage at the lowest setting possible, otherwise it just melts it. welds are still turning out strong though, the tube bends and kinks before the weld will give.

Trying to keep the weight as low as possible, would like to have it around 8lbs fully dressed if possible. the chassis is pretty beefy, hopefully it doesn't weigh me down too much!

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[Ramination]

Oh snap








All tacked together, not fully welded yet. Still have to add top bars to rear cage (reference design drawings). I made the horizontal rail a little higher than I wish I did for cosmetic reasons but it works. Rear shocks are 100mm at ride height right now, will probably order some 120mm and droop them.

Rear MIP driveshaft barely stays together when the suspension cycles, will need a longer than normal one for sure.

Wheelbase is ~12.75", should work out alright I hope. Weighs in at 6.8lbs too, not as heavy as I expected.

Sliders/boatsides worked exactly how I planned, I cut a slit in them so the body sits down inside.

Going to need advice and input on what to do with the rear cage, how should I close it up. Or leave it tube? Opinions?

Thinking of doing the cage in flat black, should pop well with the blue body, thoughts?

Thanks for looking!

[Ramination]

For the cage I started using one of these



but it was just wasn't cutting it, very hard to get it right. So I bought this style and it works much better.



Much easier to make a bend that starts a desired distance from another bend. I tried the main hoop 3 times with the first bender (all sucked), with the new bender I got it right on the first shot.

Also, you might notice there are two different sized brakeline used in the build. I used 1/4" for the main hoops and slider support, and 3/16" for the rest.

[Ramination]

Shakedown run to see how this thing performs!











First impressions:

Wow! This thing wheels better than I expected! I was afraid that due to it sitting much taller than my AX10 tuber pictured in post 1 that it'd flop constantly...not the case! All the weight is low on this rig so its nice and stable. This is my first time driving anything except my AX10, and I'm thoroughly impressed! Needs a little more oomph to pull the weight around, can't sky wheelie like before but nothing a few more volts can't take care of. However, due to the weight it actually climbs my dirt/rock course at home with less wheelspeed, which is nice!

Pretty good shot of the underside of the sliders in pic three there, that area will of course be filled in soon enough but I had to take it out first. Front bumper is on the list, have ideas in my head just have to build it, waiting for some parts first though.

[yoda@4x4]

what is the wheel base on that monster ?

[Ramination]

Right about 12.75 inches at ride height.

[Ramination]

Everything is running well so far, still really impressed with how well this rig performs. These tires never had squish and conformed to the terrain before...they are hooking up more than ever, and they are beyond worn in.

Had another run, rig came back broken though...I was climbing over a downed tree thats about 3 foot in diameter, I had the rig in my right hand, radio in the left and as I transfered my weight onto my foot that was on the log I slipped and fell to my right, landing on the Ox. Sheared off a lower link screw head...and that was the only carnage. Cage, shock mounts, everything else is good! Heres a few more pics.

[4ONDFLR]

looks good man we need to set up a GTG soon. I'll post somethin in Va

[JimmyJam]

Aw man I'm glad the truck is not broken but are you okay?!?! I bet you"ll have bruise in the morning. The Ox is looking great Ram! You've done an awesome job!!! THanks for the info on what temp to use. I don't have tubing to weld but a few small plates for light mounts, winch hook mount on the stinger, oh i do have a little tube I have to re-figure my winch line tube, it hits the servo before the suspension bottoms out and will really do some damage as hard as I plan on driving the rig.

Flat black would be a good color, I'm thinking about gun metal on mine. It's black already and I'm just liking it. Shows dirt and scratches too easy! lol Anyways have a great night!!!

[Ramination]

Originally Posted by 4ONDFLR

looks good man we need to set up a GTG soon. I'll post somethin in Va

Sounds like a plan, I'm getting the itch to wheel!

Originally Posted by JimmyJam

Aw man I'm glad the truck is not broken but are you okay?!?! I bet you"ll have bruise in the morning. The Ox is looking great Ram! You've done an awesome job!!! THanks for the info on what temp to use. I don't have tubing to weld but a few small plates for light mounts, winch hook mount on the stinger, oh i do have a little tube I have to re-figure my winch line tube, it hits the servo before the suspension bottoms out and will really do some damage as hard as I plan on driving the rig.

Flat black would be a good color, I'm thinking about gun metal on mine. It's black already and I'm just liking it. Shows dirt and scratches too easy! lol Anyways have a great night!!!

I'm good, just a few scrapes. Hurt my pride more than anything haha.

I've found that for these little rigs I use really low voltages on pretty much everything, I do crank it up a little on the frame to skid welds though to get the penetration. What thickness are the plates you are using?

You got me thinking on the paint now...I don't know if I want to constantly be touching the paint up. I like to have a good looking rig, but I REALLY like to actually wheel it hard too! hmmm...

[Ramination]

Got a PM asking for a better picture of the sliders, figured I'd share it with all.




It is a 1/2" sqaure piece of tubing cut right down it lengthwise. Roll bar is welded to it, and the body slides right in the slot. Keeps the body clear of the rocks and sticks out just enough to let me use it to pivot the truck on. Handy in a 1:1, handy in 1:10

[blg041407]

Looking good! can't wait to build my ax10 into something more scale. Maybe we can bounce ideas off each other From mild to wild

[Ramination]

blg and I went out Saturday for a run, so I whipped up a quick bumper. It will get more added to it, but this was all I got done before it was time to go.











Unfortunately I had battery issues on our run. Took a 3000mah and a 3600mah and burned through both in ~5 minutes. The 3000mah has always been short on run time, but I used to get a solid 30 minutes of hard driving out of the other battery.

Bought a new battery and took a look at the ESC, something is going on because the new battery only works for a few minutes, then dies. Plenty of voltage in the battery, but the truck can't use it. Motor doesn't make power.

Sunday was a hard day on parts. First thing I tested the batteries again, 3600mah battery worked just fine, same with the new battery. I was trying to back up a hill and the truck did an endo down the hill, shock hit squarely on a big rock and blew the top off. Fixed that, went back to the hill for redemption and this time didn't endo but ended the run in 2wd...broke the front driveshaft output. Replaced with a spare one I had on hand and then did manage to conquer the hill. Since it was running so well I decided to head back out the park where my batteries failed so miserably the day before. The new battery showed the same symptoms, only lasted a few minutes. The older pack was still running strong when I left though, so I don't know what the deal is.

[blg041407]

Ready for another run when you are



Can't wait to see how it performs with some new goodies!
I would take the battery back because we replaced the capacitor on the ESC and now the old battery is doing fine again. Maybe it has a bad cell.That is the only thing I can think of that would cause that. Anyone else have an idea?

[JimmyJam]

You might have already thought of this but if your ESC is set for low voltage cut off (Lipo Mode) and your using Nimah packs they only run for a 5 or 10 minutes before the ESC senses mow voltage and shuts down. I would start by checking the ESC's programming and go from there. Hope this helps!!

Oh and to answer your question the plates I will be using are no more thickness then the wall your using for the square tubing on you rails and no bigger the half a finger nail. Pretty small stuff. Think I could get by with just brazing them on?