Introducing CAPbRAstard: Now a 'Tribe' of 2

[Szczerba]

I like the back panel, among other things. Haven't see that take before.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

I like the back panel, among other things. Haven't see that take before.

Actually, it's not a "back panel". It's actually a 1-piece body, including the roof & door panel areas. Unfortunately, dum-dum (that would be me) forgot to take a photo before installing the Vitavon Racing CF body panels. Not that it's all that viable, but, the wiring for the two 1.5" lightbars is 'sandwiched' between the aluminum 'body', and the CF roof panel.

I have to admit, attaching the aluminum body & CF panels, together, was a bit 'complicated'. I started by attaching the 'body' using 2 screws (one in each 'door', in the upper-forward hole), but only screwing the screws in halfway. Then I ran the wires for each lightbar through two holes I drilled near the front of the aluminum 'roof', and then down through two holes along the back of the 'roof'. Next, I attached the CF roof panel, with the screws going through the CF panel & aluminum 'roof'. After that, I attached the CF door panels, starting with each door's 2 rear screws. Finally, I screwed in the lower-front 'door' screws, and tightened the upper-front screws.

With the exception of the 4 (2 per door) front door screws, all other screws are 2mm longer than the stock screws. As for the 4 front door screws, those are 6mm longer. While the thickness of the aluminum is fairly minimal, I felt the longer screw lengths would better hold everything in place. As for the extra-long screws on the door's front, that would be because the Carter Fab-manufactured body doesn't 100% match the contours of the cage (it's a one-off), and I needed to be able to "hold" the body to the cage while attaching the roof.

Originally, I was just going to use the CF panels...but, the more I saw aluminum panels (such as the Barndog Racing panels), ideas started popping into my head. Being only my second fully complete crawler (the Trail King I've been building still isn't complete), I'm starting to get the hang of this. If course, as I pointed out in an earlier thread, I couldn't have done it without the assistance provided by several other people...some were mentioned in that thread, but there were also several others, most of whom are regulars here in the RCC forum. Yes, I built it...but, unbeknownst to certain individuals (Topher, Jato, etc), it could be considered a "community effort" - thanks guys for all your help...the positive comments, as well as the negative ones which help me learn.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Topher Builds]

That CF looks good! I like the color scheme too, and the detailing. Agreed with the others that the engine came out nice. Cool to see a unique Capra out there.

Any thought to wrapping the back in CF too? What shocks are those?

And thanks for the mention by the way, this community here is good at keeping each other moving forward.

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by Topher Builds

That CF looks good! I like the color scheme too, and the detailing. Agreed with the others that the engine came out nice. Cool to see a unique Capra out there.



Any thought to wrapping the back in CF too? What shocks are those?



And thanks for the mention by the way, this community here is good at keeping each other moving forward.

You're most welcome for the 'mention'. Between your Capra build thread, and replies to comments I've made, some of your info was quite helpful. I've got no further plans for any additional "body mods"...it's already looking better than I'd originally thought it would. Btw, there's even a radiator 'hidden' under the aluminum, behind the rear cross brace (immediately above the fuel cell).

The shocks are the 3.75" Dravtech shocks, with standard Traxxas 4Tec 2.0 shock caps, and 4mm of internal limiters. I purposely went with longer shocks, and then added the limiters, as I knew the limiters would shorten the overall length, but they also allow oil under the piston when fully extended. Unfortunately, with Erik's 'cap mod', the shocks were too long (even with the lengthened wheelbase, and longer upper & lower links), which is why I replaced them with the 4Tec caps...which made them the perfect length).

In this custom build, I have already discovered that I might need to get slightly longer lower links...say, 2mm longer...and, instead of sticking with Ti lower links, I'll probably replace them with SS, to add Dwight, and to lower the CoG. Speaking of which...and this goes out to everyone reading this...can anyone suggest some ways to add additional weight "down low"? I installed the SSD portal knuckle weights in the front, but I think I need to add additional low won't to the front & rear. I'm contemplating moving them to the rear, if anyone knows of portal weights compatible with the SSD portal knuckles that also weight more than SSD's portal knuckle weights. If there aren't any other portal weights compatible with the SSDZ portal knuckles, does anyone have other suggestions? I think they'd add an appropriate amount of weight in the rear, but I'd still need to add additional (preferably non-rotational) weight in the front.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Panther6834]

Don't have any video, or new photos, to share (hopefully, I'll have some within the next few days)...but, I did get CAPbRAstard out for some testing yesterday. Took the rig to Linda Vista Park, where RC Review does almost all of their videos, and ran her through her first pack. Ran her up & down the waterfall several times, running different lines. Then, took her up the hill, behind the "kids playground" area, to the rock pile (technically, a bunch of old, hardened, sandbags). Finally, took her over to the hill where RC Review does their 'line 1', 'line 2', & 'line 3' runs.

CAPbRAstard performed outstandingly...with a couple of minor exceptions, NOT that they were the fault of the vehicle, or the driver. During the final runs, she had no problem with 'line 1', a moderate problem with 'line 2' (made it about halfway up), and couldn't start 'line 3'. As I said, not my fault, or the vehicle's. After running the "rock pile, but before heading to the testing hill, I took a little detour over to this mud-infested gulley, which got the tread on the front tires pretty well filled with mud. As for the rear tires, they were much worse (I'd estimate they had 3x the mud of the front tires. Of course, that's what I get after it has finished reasoning only hours earlier.

Right now, I'm on my way to Vegas (currently spending the night in a hotel in Bakersfield), where she'll get some thorough desert testing. Hopefully, my step-dad can shoot some video (without goofing it up too baby) while I'm there...in-between us taking our other vehicle (2WD Slash & Rustler 4x4) to an outdoor track.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Panther6834]

It's been a VERY looooog time (slightly more than a year) since the last update...although, that was due entirely to Scale Nats first getting postponed until November, and then getting postponed again until March. Thankfully, the Marco 2021 date worked out. So, Scale Nats 2020...or, should I Say 202One (as I've come to call it, playing of the Olympics "renaming")...has officially come to a close, and the CAPbRAstard has been beat, and beat, and beat.
The CF body panels are still in one piece, but many of the edges have been thoroughly thrashed. The aluminum "body" (mostly under the CF panels) got minorly mashed.
The stinger got snapped off during the third Class 3 course, with most of the underside mounting bracket getting snapped off during the King of Logandale race.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Panther6834]

As expected, the underside, including the 3D-printed skid, got scrapped up a bit...but, the Delrin pieces I custom-molded to protect the center housings heros up better than expected...but, I can't say as much for the interior's 'attachment' to the cage.
The vehicle is extra dirty, and somewhat "broken"...but, that was expected.
Thankfully, is still fully operational...no mechanical damage. Next up - partial disassembly, starting with removal of the skid, links, axles, and shocks. Following that, the cage & interior will be cleaned up as much as possible, and repairable damage (such as replacing the stinger with a new 3D-printed piece) will be repaired, so that what's left can be put on 'display' (I will be doing the same to my Imperial Goat, aka the Capra work the Star Wars theme & Stormtroopers).

Next, I'll be taking the electronics, links, skid to axles, and shocks, and using them to build a new vehicle - a rock bouncer, based on the Capra's "core" parts. As for how things turned out for me at Scale Nationals, that post (which will be my final post for this thread) should appear in approx a week. Until then, this Black Cat is signing off from Las Vegas (leaving for the SF Bay Area tomorrow morning).


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[Kingmeow]

Battle scars with bragging rights!

So you didn't use the stock shocks? What did you use and I'm assuming they held up?

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by Kingmeow

Battle scars with bragging rights!

So you didn't use the stock shocks? What did you use and I'm assuming they held up?

The only Axial Capra part on this vehicle is the cage. The shocks are Dravtech, from Dlux Fab...and, they held up INCREDIBLY well.
My only "complaint"...and, admittedly, it's a minor one...is the method of adding preload. Unlike (almost) all other shocks that use either threaded preload rings, or clip-on preload 'clips' (ie. Traxxas Ultra), the Dravtech shocks use rubber/silicone O-rings. Nevertheless, overall, they're still one of the absolute best shocks I've used (this might only be my second crawler, but I've got several other land vehicles).


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[themountain]

Originally Posted by Panther6834

FACTOID: Group of goats is called a "tribe"

Nope ...its called a "herd" and a gathering is called a "trip" The rig looks great , btw
;)

[Panther6834]

Originally Posted by themountain

Nope ...its called a "herd" and a gathering is called a "trip" The rig looks great , though. ;)

According to multiple sites, "trip" and "tribe" are both correct...but. "herd" isn't.


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place

[themountain]

Originally Posted by Panther6834

According to multiple sites, "trip" and "tribe" are both correct...but. "herd" isn't.

"...Goats are very social creatures and live in groups called herds, which may contain as many as 20 goats in the wild, according to National Geographic...." from https://www.livescience.com/52540-goat-facts.html

[Panther6834]

Well...as had been said for longer than anyone can remember, "All good things must come to an end." Scale Nationals 2020/2021 has finally come & gone, everyone has been back home for at least 2-3 weeks, and it's time to start "planning the future". In the case of CAPbRAstard, that means it's time to do what Johnny 5 wouldn't want - disassemble. Here's what it looks like right now.
But, CAPbRAstard's life really isn't over...like the phoenix, it will be resurrected. However, in this case, it will not become just one new vehicle, but two. With the exception of the skid, cage, body panels, and lights, everything will find its way into these two new vehicles - a new C3 rig w/ 4WS (name as yet to be decided), and a Capra-based rock racer (name: CAPbRAstard Too). The build thread for the new C3 rig has already been started. For those interested, you can follow along here: Episode 4.2 - The Black Cat's Game Changer


~ More peace, love, and kindness would make the world a much better place