RCCrawler Forums

Broncostile · 10-16-2007, 01:06 AM

Well I found RcCrawler.com quite awhile ago and have been looking around off and on. From when I first saw one I have wanted a RC Crawler but the idea of finding all the parts and building one from scratch was a little daunting. I have been into 1:1 crawlers for awhile and I am in the process of building an Early Bronco. I had a RC car when I was a kid it was similar to the Grasshopper but I can't remember what it was called. Then I had a RC10T years ago but haven't had anything until now.

So I am the proud new owner of an AX-10 and only have 1 battery through it so far so I'm not much of an expert lol. Since I have been lurking for so long I thought I would actually post finally and tell everyone what my setup is:

Basically a stock build AX-10 with the rear steering lockouts turned to the front for more clearance and I mad sure the C's were rotated up as hi as possible for max clearance. I just took the springs off and made it into a droop setup with 1/2" of fuel line in them and 100wt oil but have not run it like that yet. I'm not sure I like how low it sits like that though. The stock springs are really stiff and I didn't like that. The tires also don't seem to stick to the rock around here very well.

For electronics I'm running 6 2/3A batteries on the front axle, Crawlmaster motor, Quark ESC, Futaba 3PM transmitter, and futaba S130 steering servo. I know the servo sucks but I'm STILL waiting on my servo a Hitek 5955. Long story on why I am still waiting on the servo but to sum it up I will only be buying stuff from RCCrawler venders from now on.

I had fun trying to put the battery packs together but after a couple burnt things including a finger I have 2 packs together.

The Crawlmaster is great with tons of torque I love it. I guess it's a little too much torque because I popped the driveshaft at the ujoint in the 1st 5 minutes. I fixed it by glueing the shock spring retainer arounf the joint and it held for the rest of the battery.

The Quark is working well now but I was pulling out what is left of my hair when I was trying to program it. I was wishing I had bought a Mamba Max. During the programing I could not get it to set the Max throttle position until the reversed the setting in my transmitter. Then I had a hard time figuring out which setting I was programing until I figured out to match the lights which are different for each setting. hope that makes sence. I set it up to have max braking in the neutral position but the brakes hit a little hard so I might try backing it off a little bit.

The Futaba 3PM is great so far and is a dream to program compared to the Quark lol.

The Futaba S130 SUCKS and I hope my 5955 shows up tomorrow.

For future changes I'm thinking about:

- Changing tires to Rock Stompers or Rock Claws can't decide which
- Changing to a 4 link by building a link/battery mount something like this
__/--\__
- Changing the droop set up either to softer external springs or internal spings or something.
- Making a front dig setup
- Building a tuber with an Early Bronco shape to it
- Actually painting my body lol
- Prolly lots of others things I've forgotten or not come up with yet

Well hope I didn't put anyone to sleep with my novel and 1st post.

cartronicshn · 10-16-2007, 08:52 AM

You have a great project going on

, i love my ax 10 also, i have gone with the sticky lizzards on mine, but will change to losi claws or imex rubicons, depending on which of these are better all around, i have tried the stock lizzards, not a great tire, i then went with the sticky lizzards and really liked these, huge improvement over the stock tires, i have a also a couple sets of losi claws, these IMHO are the best 2.2 right now, waiting on the imex to show up to test them out. As for the external springs, if you want to go that way i would recomend the losi whites

Broncostile · 10-16-2007, 12:43 PM

I got to try out the droop setup today and it crawls much better but it gets hung up a little bit too often. I'm going to keep trying for something I like better.

About 20 min into running it I popped a front ujoint so I'll have to get another shock spring retainer glued on to that one like I did in the rear. I need to figure out a permanent solution for drive shafts.

I had a problem with the electronics on this run too. 2 times over about 20 min the throttle just stopped working then a few seconds later it started up again.

ElChupacabra · 10-16-2007, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broncostile

I had a problem with the electronics on this run too. 2 times over about 20 min the throttle just stopped working then a few seconds later it started up again.

Heat protection maybe? My ESC did that to me and the first couple times I freaked out cause I didnt know what it was...

Broncostile · 10-16-2007, 02:17 PM

It wasn't very hot so I don't think that was it. I moved some of the wires around seperating the power wires from the antenna and servo wires and now I'm not having that problem. That must have been it.

I need to get some weight in the tires and decide what tires I'm going to order to replace the stock rock lizards. I really like the looks of the Rock Stompers but the Claws have been proven already so hmmm.

solomon7 · 10-16-2007, 03:51 PM

Get some aluminum knuckles with that 5955. Trust me!!! Or just buy new knuckles every run... trust me!! lol Plastic sucks

Broncostile · 10-16-2007, 04:07 PM

Ya I plan on going to aluminum knuckles. I've been working on a design to put the tierod behind the axle and the draglink in front up high. I'd rather make my own than buy something besides no one makes knuckles with steering attachments both front and rear like I'll need for the rear tie rod front draglink setup.

I just built a new shop and I need to get the power out there and everything wired in before I can do too much more with the design though.

I've been looking for a Bridgeport Vertical Mill for about the last 6 months but have not found one I like for the right price. Anyone in Colorado got one they wanna sell? lol

Going to start on the tuber tonight and see how it goes. I've bent a lot of 1:1 tube but never for a crawler before. We will see how it goes.

10-16-2007, 01:06 AM	#1
Broncostile Newbie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Florissant, CO Posts: 7	Newby with a AX-10 Well I found RcCrawler.com quite awhile ago and have been looking around off and on. From when I first saw one I have wanted a RC Crawler but the idea of finding all the parts and building one from scratch was a little daunting. I have been into 1:1 crawlers for awhile and I am in the process of building an Early Bronco. I had a RC car when I was a kid it was similar to the Grasshopper but I can't remember what it was called. Then I had a RC10T years ago but haven't had anything until now. So I am the proud new owner of an AX-10 and only have 1 battery through it so far so I'm not much of an expert lol. Since I have been lurking for so long I thought I would actually post finally and tell everyone what my setup is: Basically a stock build AX-10 with the rear steering lockouts turned to the front for more clearance and I mad sure the C's were rotated up as hi as possible for max clearance. I just took the springs off and made it into a droop setup with 1/2" of fuel line in them and 100wt oil but have not run it like that yet. I'm not sure I like how low it sits like that though. The stock springs are really stiff and I didn't like that. The tires also don't seem to stick to the rock around here very well. For electronics I'm running 6 2/3A batteries on the front axle, Crawlmaster motor, Quark ESC, Futaba 3PM transmitter, and futaba S130 steering servo. I know the servo sucks but I'm STILL waiting on my servo a Hitek 5955. Long story on why I am still waiting on the servo but to sum it up I will only be buying stuff from RCCrawler venders from now on. I had fun trying to put the battery packs together but after a couple burnt things including a finger I have 2 packs together. The Crawlmaster is great with tons of torque I love it. I guess it's a little too much torque because I popped the driveshaft at the ujoint in the 1st 5 minutes. I fixed it by glueing the shock spring retainer arounf the joint and it held for the rest of the battery. The Quark is working well now but I was pulling out what is left of my hair when I was trying to program it. I was wishing I had bought a Mamba Max. During the programing I could not get it to set the Max throttle position until the reversed the setting in my transmitter. Then I had a hard time figuring out which setting I was programing until I figured out to match the lights which are different for each setting. hope that makes sence. I set it up to have max braking in the neutral position but the brakes hit a little hard so I might try backing it off a little bit. The Futaba 3PM is great so far and is a dream to program compared to the Quark lol. The Futaba S130 SUCKS and I hope my 5955 shows up tomorrow. For future changes I'm thinking about: - Changing tires to Rock Stompers or Rock Claws can't decide which - Changing to a 4 link by building a link/battery mount something like this __/--\__ - Changing the droop set up either to softer external springs or internal spings or something. - Making a front dig setup - Building a tuber with an Early Bronco shape to it - Actually painting my body lol - Prolly lots of others things I've forgotten or not come up with yet Well hope I didn't put anyone to sleep with my novel and 1st post.

10-16-2007, 08:52 AM	#2
cartronicshn I wanna be Dave Join Date: May 2006 Location: HONDURAS...ROCK HEAVEN Posts: 5,076	You have a great project going on, i love my ax 10 also, i have gone with the sticky lizzards on mine, but will change to losi claws or imex rubicons, depending on which of these are better all around, i have tried the stock lizzards, not a great tire, i then went with the sticky lizzards and really liked these, huge improvement over the stock tires, i have a also a couple sets of losi claws, these IMHO are the best 2.2 right now, waiting on the imex to show up to test them out. As for the external springs, if you want to go that way i would recomend the losi whites

10-16-2007, 12:43 PM	#3
Broncostile Newbie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Florissant, CO Posts: 7	I got to try out the droop setup today and it crawls much better but it gets hung up a little bit too often. I'm going to keep trying for something I like better. About 20 min into running it I popped a front ujoint so I'll have to get another shock spring retainer glued on to that one like I did in the rear. I need to figure out a permanent solution for drive shafts. I had a problem with the electronics on this run too. 2 times over about 20 min the throttle just stopped working then a few seconds later it started up again.

10-16-2007, 02:17 PM	#5
Broncostile Newbie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Florissant, CO Posts: 7	It wasn't very hot so I don't think that was it. I moved some of the wires around seperating the power wires from the antenna and servo wires and now I'm not having that problem. That must have been it. I need to get some weight in the tires and decide what tires I'm going to order to replace the stock rock lizards. I really like the looks of the Rock Stompers but the Claws have been proven already so hmmm.

10-16-2007, 03:51 PM	#6
solomon7 Rock Crawler Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Portland,OR Posts: 888	Get some aluminum knuckles with that 5955. Trust me!!! Or just buy new knuckles every run... trust me!! lol Plastic sucks

10-16-2007, 04:07 PM	#7
Broncostile Newbie Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Florissant, CO Posts: 7	Ya I plan on going to aluminum knuckles. I've been working on a design to put the tierod behind the axle and the draglink in front up high. I'd rather make my own than buy something besides no one makes knuckles with steering attachments both front and rear like I'll need for the rear tie rod front draglink setup. I just built a new shop and I need to get the power out there and everything wired in before I can do too much more with the design though. I've been looking for a Bridgeport Vertical Mill for about the last 6 months but have not found one I like for the right price. Anyone in Colorado got one they wanna sell? lol Going to start on the tuber tonight and see how it goes. I've bent a lot of 1:1 tube but never for a crawler before. We will see how it goes.

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