Levior* - Becher's Bomber Build

[mikebecher]

THE GOOD:
I took the 1.9's out for their first real trial today and so far I'm pleasantly surprised. The increased clearance of the AR44 differentials almost completely makes up for the smaller tires compared to 2.2's on AR60 axles. The narrower stance makes the rig a bit more tipsy but it's also able to squeeze through smaller gaps. I can't go barreling through the river rock sections like before but I was able to clear all the major obstacles with only minor changes in the lines. The Pitbull Growlers hook up great, dare I say almost as good as my well-worn KLRs (almost). There is one obstacle that is a tire trap though and it swallows up the 1.9's easily. It's going to require a bit of practice. My home-grown CMS trusses didn't falter and overall the setup performed well.

THE BAD:
There were only a couple problems with the rig itself. First, the drag link pulled out of the rod end early on, which I knew was likely. The drag and panhard links are just prototypes that I cut too short. Second, the tires came off the wheels 5 or 6 times. This was also no surprise since I haven't even glued them up. On another sad note, I miss the OD/UD diff gearing available on the AR60 axles. Climbing ability and turn radius are noticeably affected. I recall reading a while back that Axial was going to offer an underdrive version of the AR44 gears but I'm unable to find anything current. Hopefully it's still on the radar because IMO it's one of the best mods there is to improve overall crawling ability.

WHAT'S NEXT:
I'll shorten the wheelbase by 1/2" to 3/4" starting with 3/8" on the front which will afford some clearance to move the CMS servo back a bit. The motor needs a larger pinion since the lower gearing in the diffs and smaller tires reduce the wheelspeed too much. I finished printing my wheels last night so I'll get those installed and widen up the rear axle along with a new drag link.

[mikebecher]

Conversion to 1.9 is complete except for tuning. I modded the stock SCX 10.2 wheels for SLW hubs to be compliant with the updated SORCCA rules. The end result is lighter and looks better than the wheels I was building. New Proline Hyrax tires round out the new wheels nicely. The wheelbase is about 13.4", track width is 10" and the weight has come down to just 1912 g or 4.2 lb. The stock Bomber looks and feels like a monster compared to this one now.

[mikebecher]

Lunch time play time.

[JatoTheRipper]

This is such a nice looking Bomber. It looks light, agile and fun too.

[mikebecher]

Thanks Jato. I haven't made any aesthetic upgrades to this rig, it's all very stock thus far. I am planning to put some SSD Assassins on it however. It could use some weight down low and I don't like the AR44 Beeftubes. After that maybe I'll even skin it and paint the interior dudes.

[Tom_Swanson]

Awesome looking build. This was exactly what I intended to do also.

[mikebecher]

Got my new SSD Assassins today. After putting loctite on all 136 screws they're ready to rock.

[Drm31078]

Why don't you like the beef tubes?

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by Drm31078

Why don't you like the beef tubes?

Just the new design for AR44s..."Due to the machining required on the axle housing to allow the fitment of the Beef Tubes, we will only offer these pre-installed in a new axle housing."

I wear through housings every few months and I don't mind spending $10 or $15 for new ones but $55 a pop is a deal breaker for me.

[mikebecher]

I discovered this monster downstream of the spot I usually crawl. If you look closely on the right side there's some makeshift concrete steps. Weaving in and out of those I was able to find a line to the top. You can spot my rig in the last two photos.

[Brake Weight]

Cool spot for sure.

[mikebecher]

Just a couple photos from yesterday, 2.5 hours and 13,835 vertical feet apart...



(my usual elevation app didn't work at the summit since there's no data connection so I had to use this GPS-based app)

[calcagno45]

There's snow in Hawaii??

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by calcagno45

There's snow in Hawaii??

Mauna Kea gets a fair amount of snow almost every winter.

Google Images

[*Old*]

Originally Posted by mikebecher

Just a couple photos from yesterday, 2.5 hours and 13,835 vertical feet apart...

Attachment 355508
Attachment 355510
(my usual elevation app didn't work at the summit since there's no data connection so I had to use this GPS-based app)

Attachment 355509
Attachment 355511

I'm like, "where is this dude with snow in one pic and palm trees in another?"

Oh, Hawaii

Very interesting concept to your builds. Very nice. Looks like you have a lot of different terrain options to choose from...super jealous

[mikebecher]

Old Lava River...On the way back down from the summit of Mauna Kea last week I saw what looked like a good spot for crawling. It turned out to be a lava river that suddenly cooled. This doesn't happen often, at least at this magnitude, and it's the first one I've seen. The banks have some really interesting features and good challenges while the floor of the river was fairly smooth and even for walking. This would be an ideal spot for an event.









Mauna Kea in the background










Mauna Loa in the background

[Brake Weight]

Looks like a great spot.

Isn't that lava rock high traction?

[Deckard]

I've always liked the look of the PB Growlers. I hear negative things about their performance. I hear great things about Hyrax performance. Have you noticed any hit to crawling ability since switching? I assume almost anything will stick to that lava rock though.

The design of the AR44 Beef Tubes is what is keeping from making the switch. I wonder how hard it actually is to move them to a new housing when the included one wears out?

I really like this rig, the pics, and most importantly the information you packed into this post. This has been a great resource for my 1.9 Bomber build and even my 1.9 Wraith build. Thanks.

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by Brake Weight

Looks like a great spot.

Isn't that lava rock high traction?

Yeah, it's like driving on sandpaper. It's fun but it also eats tires, rod ends and axle housings. I had to replace my AR60 housings every few months. I won't know about the AR44s until this first set wears through.

Originally Posted by Deckard

I've always liked the look of the PB Growlers. I hear negative things about their performance. I hear great things about Hyrax performance. Have you noticed any hit to crawling ability since switching? I assume almost anything will stick to that lava rock though.

The design of the AR44 Beef Tubes is what is keeping from making the switch. I wonder how hard it actually is to move them to a new housing when the included one wears out?

I really like this rig, the pics, and most importantly the information you packed into this post. This has been a great resource for my 1.9 Bomber build and even my 1.9 Wraith build. Thanks.

I run both on this rig, Growlers and Hyrax. For this type of terrain the Growlers are better. The Hyrax outperform if there is any sort of loose material - sand, dirt, mud. The Hyrax do almost as good on this stuff but they will also get torn up faster. The 2.2 KLRs I used to run attest to that fact.

I'm in the same boat with the AR44 Beeftubes - not going to get them if they can't be moved to new housings. Maybe if someone who has some reads this they could chime in. Or I guess I could, gasp, search.

It's good to hear that this thread has been helpful. I've done some outside-the-box stuff on this rig and it seems to be paying off. Even my home-grown CMS is still going strong.

[Brake Weight]

Can you mold a piece of kydex or something similar to protect the diff housings better?