T1E AX-10 Moon Buggy build by Crawler Innovations

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

Looking good Eddie, I have to agree the Moonbuggy Shafty chassis has sure has enhanced my AX-10 as well. Rockshow has given us AX-10 owners a great platform.

Like you I was able to keep the geometry of the Gatekeeper chassis in tact but gain some much needed ground clearance. I have also been very impressed with the result of simply installing the Moonbuggy Shafty chassis. I even kept the center servo location and the link mounts from the GC-2. A few pictures in the thread posted below.

I'll take another look at those pinks in the front. I have the associated rear silver springs up front now and Mini T front reds in the rear. The rig weighs 5.5 pounds RTR. In it's first comp it did really well running in the MNRCRC open 2.2 class. It's going to put it to the test again this weekend at MNRCRC Comp #2.

Love the new rock pile I'm envious, have a good BBQ and Comp this weekend.

I think using the Gatekeeper mounting locations is what really makes this chassis work so well. I brought this truck with me to Alabama for the East Coast Championship but drove it very little. I was one of the event marshals and I had to run a course to see if it was do-able. The rovers I had on it then were not great for the terrain. I was able to get a second set of wheels for this truck finally and I now have Sedonas mounted on it. I will try and get some pictures of it this weekend.

Our BBQ comp isn't until May 14th and I have a bobcat rented for this weekend to move the rock and get things secure for the comp. I'm sure this truck will see some action this weekend to test new lines. Crawler Innovations is putting up a $20 gift certificate for May 14th for any sportsman truck with low score for the day.

[Stormin2u]

Originally Posted by Nova's Ark

I think using the Gatekeeper mounting locations is what really makes this chassis work so well. I brought this truck with me to Alabama for the East Coast Championship but drove it very little. I was one of the event marshals and I had to run a course to see if it was do-able. The rovers I had on it then were not great for the terrain. I was able to get a second set of wheels for this truck finally and I now have Sedonas mounted on it. I will try and get some pictures of it this weekend.

Our BBQ comp isn't until May 14th and I have a bobcat rented for this weekend to move the rock and get things secure for the comp. I'm sure this truck will see some action this weekend to test new lines. Crawler Innovations is putting up a $20 gift certificate for May 14th for any sportsman truck with low score for the day.

Yeah my truck is running the best it's ever run, I'm thinking the GC-2 link locations are the way to go. I have never tried the Sedonas, I've been building variations of BCrofths "Haters" for two years. I'm in a Hater rut but they work awesome on our local rock. Actually I don't see many sets of Sedonas in this part of the country. We're mostly Basalt or Limestone.

Your going to end up with a really cool crawling area on your property, I'm envious. I have a test area but the wife has every square foot landscaped, so any more room for me is not a priority. I do have nice rocks about 3 blocks from the house so I'm happy with a test area. Be sure you get some pictures of the work party and changes.

[JeremyH]

This truck worked so damn well this past weekend. I think I must have asked Eddie 3 times if it had a dig...because it was walking up stuff that MOAs had trouble with. VERY nice work on this Eddie!

BTW, enjoy that Gift Certificate that you won!

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by JeremyH

This truck worked so damn well this past weekend. I think I must have asked Eddie 3 times if it had a dig...because it was walking up stuff that MOAs had trouble with. VERY nice work on this Eddie!

BTW, enjoy that Gift Certificate that you won!

LOL! Thank you Jeremy. I received so many compliments on this truck this past weekend. It was nice to finally test it out in a real comp against MOA's in the 2.2 Pro class. I was very pleased with how well this truck performed. I need to update the build thread since it has some new wheels, tires, foams, VP 8* knuckles and C's.

[Nova's Ark]

This update is for my friend Jason who lives in Malta and has been doing quite well in competition with his clone to this moon buggy. He finished 5th out of 13 competitors in his club and that was with him missing two competitions due to work. Thank you for the emails reminding me to update this thread Jason.

First up, new pics of the steering:

These are the VP 8* C's and zero ack knuckles


Great quality as always from VP. These knuckles and C's replaced my Axial ones. The Axial clockable C's actually had more caster then the VP C's. So I was pretty disappointed to lose some caster. VP might address this issue in the next production run. I am going to address it myself with some new tubes my machinist is going to make for me. There is no camber in these parts. Only an improved King Pin Inclination. I wish it had a tiny bit of camber built it to it. I had hoped for a night & day difference in performance of the steering, and to be honest I did not notice a huge improvement. It did reduce the temperature of the steering servo though, so I know these upgrades did improve performance. But for $100, I was hoping for more shock and awe.



The steering linkage tucks up nice and close to the axle. I realize that a B.T.A. set up would be best, but with the upper links designed the way they are and how well the truck already works, I am happy with it the way it is.


I'm using a racers edge aluminum servo arm. A Traxxas Jato turn buckle with Jato rod ends for the servo to knuckle arm.
The drag link is a Lunsford Titanium Rock Grinder Link part #8690 - 4mm x 14mm x 3/16" dia and it has Traxxas Revo 5347 rod ends.

[Nova's Ark]

Here is how the truck sits currently:


As you can tell from the skid, this truck has a lot of hours on it. It's so much fun to test and tune with. The Maxx shafts are holding up great!!! In fact, they have held up so well, they broke the Axial Steel Locker in the rear axle! I will get pictures posted later of that carnage.


I finally upgraded to a Holmes 45Turn Pro Motor and what difference it made! Great power, super smooth start up and wonderful hold power from the drag brake.

[Nova's Ark]

It has taken some time, but I finally got three sets of VP Dirty Harry Version 1 wheels just for this truck. I love this truck so much I want to compete with it more, but it needs weighted wheels front and back to perform the way I like. Here is how the wheel, tire and foam sets break down:

White Dot Rover Set:
1" narrowed VP DH1's, the bead locks are drilled to vent them
Fronts have four VP stainless steel weights & two C.I. aluminum weights per wheel.
Rears have all aluminum C.I. weights in them.
Foams:
Front - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, soft outer
Rear - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, medium outer

Sedona Set:
1.25" VP DH1's, the bead locks are drilled to vent them
Fronts have four VP stainless steel weights & two C.I. aluminum weights per wheel.
Rears have all aluminum C.I. weights in them.
Foams:
Front - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, soft outer
Rear - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, medium outer
Front tire pair are siped and grooved, rears are not.

Khaos Set:
1.25" VP DH1's, the bead locks are drilled to vent them
Fronts have four VP stainless steel weights & two C.I. aluminum weights per wheel.
Rears have all aluminum C.I. weights in them.
Foams:
Front - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, Medium Outer
Rear - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, Medium Outer
Pink Dots in the Front that have the tread pattern trimmed only.
White Dots in the Rear that have been belt sanded internally and been the tread pattern is trimmed.


Close up of the Pink Dot Khaos:


A couple close ups of the front Sedona pair that has been siped and grooved. We have used this pattern on the Front Sedona pairs for over a year now. My then 8 year old son used them on his berg to finish 52 at the USRCCA National Championship in 2010. Scattman ran those same wheels, tires and foams on his berg at the 2011 East Coast Championship. They really help to soften up the sedona. Some people do not like tires this soft. I always suggest you soften the tires first, then tune the foams.



I use an electric dremel and the thinnest cut off wheel to do this. It takes about 45 minutes to do one pair.

[Duuuuuuuude]

How are those Maxx shaft adapter thingies working out?

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by Duuuuuuuude

How are those Maxx shaft adapter thingies working out?

I love them. I have them on every shaft driven crawler I own. I have made a design change in the next run. The next production run will have two 4mm set screws instead of one. That way you can securely lock down to both sides of the pinion instead of just one.

One of my scalers broke a brand new steel RC4WD TLT pinion in the front axle and I think it might have stayed together if it had even pressure from both sides. So I have drilled my personal adapters to have dual set screws and instructed the machinist to do the same on the current production run.

The Maxx shafts are so strong and smooth. They are also lighter weight than the MIP shafts. The Maxx shafts are the ticket IMO.

They are strong enough to ruin two lockers in the rear axle of not only this truck but one of my SCX-10 based scalers. They sheered the locating pins off the Axial Steel Cross Locker. Once the locating pins broke, the locker would just spin inside the plastic case. Thankfully I had some of the OG Bonus Line lockers and my machinist remachined them to fit properly in the Axial housings. The Bonus Line lockers I had needed to have .030" removed from them where the bearing rides. I will get some pictures posted later this evening.

[OxInYourBox]

Any ETA on the new run?

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by OxInYourBox

Any ETA on the new run?

I got an email from the Machine Shop today saying two weeks. As long as nothing comes up between then, the trans outputs, V2 maxx adpaters and a few other items will be done. I'll keep you updated.

[paul6ppca]

Any pictures or price on your website?


Sounds interesting.
Please PM me with any info

Originally Posted by Nova's Ark

I got an email from the Machine Shop today saying two weeks. As long as nothing comes up between then, the trans outputs, V2 maxx adpaters and a few other items will be done. I'll keep you updated.

[WAM]

Originally Posted by Nova's Ark

Here is how the wheel, tire and foam sets break down:

White Dot Rover Set:
1" narrowed VP DH1's, the bead locks are drilled to vent them
Fronts have four VP stainless steel weights & two C.I. aluminum weights per wheel.
Rears have all aluminum C.I. weights in them.
Foams:
Front - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, soft outer
Rear - 5.5 DD Medium Inner; 2.00 width, medium outer

Eddie, I'd like to follow your lead on tires, weights and foams. Don't you agree that the Moonbuggy and Gatekeeper chassis are similar enough to use the same wheels and tires?

So I need to order some softer foams. You were out of soft when I bought mine. But what about wheel weights? Since we have different wheels and weights, I can't relate to your weight setup. Unless perhaps you have total assembled weight of fronts and rears. My fronts each weigh 392g (14oz) and the rears 269g (9.6oz). That's two layers of lead tape-a-weights in front and a single layer in back. I'm guessing that's too high for a Gatekeeper scorp sportsman.

-- Bill

[Nova's Ark]

Here is a link to a short video that has a couple clips in it with this crawler:

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/videos/329162-crawler-innovations-test-tune-7-30-11-a.html#post3212477

[Nova's Ark]

It has been a while since I updated this thread. This sportsman truck is still going strong.

A couple updates:

VP 8* Knuckle Weights Installed:


Pink Blocks front, White Blocks rear


Lots o' miles on this little crawler:


So with the knuckle weights, I went down on weight in the front DH wheels. I am now running 4 C.I. Aluminum weights and 2 VP stainless steel weights in each front wheel. The pink blocks are doing well, but I am not impressed with the white blocks. The rear tires do limit traction. The rear pattern is not great either. I cut the pattern in one style first, tested it and did not like it. So I removed even more pins to get it where it is now. It works OK, but definitely not what I start with if I did it over again.

Foams are 5.5" Double Deuce Medium Inners, 2.00 width, with Medium outers front and rear.

[Nova's Ark]

Originally Posted by OxInYourBox

Any ETA on the new run?

Originally Posted by paul6ppca

Any pictures or price on your website?

Sounds interesting.
Please PM me with any info

The Steel Transmission Outputs and the Steel Axle adapters are now in stock and shipping. They have been added to the website.

Crawler Innovations is now offering a complete kit for those wanting everything to upgrade in one kit.



More info about the kit:

Crawler Innovations is excited to finally offer a complete upgrade kit for your Axial AX-10, SCX-10, or any RC using a Axial AX-10 style transmission. This kit allows you to upgrade to solid steel transmission outputs and axle adapters for use with Traxxas T-Maxx drive shafts. These drive shafts are lighter weight than metal drive shafts, are much smoother to operate, and adjustable to any length. This is a permanent fix to weak outputs, weak drive shafts, and heavy metal drive shafts.

This upgrade kit includes:

- 1 Pair (1 Front & 1 Rear) - Crawler Innovations 4340 steel - Axial transmission outputs for Traxxas Maxx drive shafts. They are CNC machined to fit the Traxxas T / E Maxx drive shafts. The reason the front shaft is longer is to allow for clearance of larger spur gears in order to gear lower for increased torque. For brushless motors this is critical to ensure a smooth start up and no cogging. These are a direct fit to the standard Axial output transmission gear.

- 1 Pair (2) - Crawler Innovations 4340 steel - 5mm to Maxx Shaft adapters. These allow the use of Traxxas Maxx Drive shaft on any shaft drive axle using a 5mm pinion shaft. These are CNC machined have the correct Traxxas flat and cross hole machined into them. They use two 4mm set screws to lock them onto the axle pinion. The adapter is machined to be the same outer diameter as the Traxxas yoke in order to provide a smooth transition up to the axle case to keep you from being hung up on the rocks.

- 2 packages - Traxxas Heavy Duty input yokes #4928X

- 1 package - Traxxas Heavy Duty drive shafts #4951X

- 1 package - Kimbrough Spur Gear in your choice of 90T, 93T, or 96 tooth

[Nova's Ark]

It's been a while since I updated this build. After the G6 Cash Comp on Oct 8th, It became obvious to me I needed to make some changes to this truck. Shelby's (4xFord) shafty crawler was very nice to drive. It had a lot more pep than mine. So...

I started with the wiring and ESC. Out came the standard FXR and I installed a FXR Pro 200 amp speed control. I rewired the FXR Pro jumping the On/Off switch at the circuit board and shortening the RX wires.



The upgrade in ESC was insurance for the new 4S Lipo 40C batteries I'm now going to run on this shafty truck:



Next was a set of 4xFord's custom knuckle weights along with one 1/8 VP ring:



A few more pics:








I will have more updates on this truck next week. The last comp for the Fall Season of ETXRCC is this Saturday at Crawler Innovations. We have a few vendor orders coming this week and this truck has a few items on the way. Mainly titanium upper links front & rear, ti lower front links and a pair of 1" wide SLW's for the back.

[eric113]

Looks good Eddie. It going fly on 4s.

Once I get my xr built, sportman rig is next.

[TEDROCKZ]

Looks good Eddie! Glad to see that drive line is holding out for you. I'll be hitting the CI site up this weekend for a kit and some custom tires for the new sporty!

[cornsnake]

Nova's Ark is the best updater! Lookin tight!