Jkabee's "total noob" TJ build "this should be fun!"

[jkabee]

Originally Posted by klabeaume

Looking good! I can't believe this is your first build. Very clean work!

That means alot, Klabeaume.

I think the main thing is to not rush yourself. I originally thought this would be a 2 week project. I'm glad I didn't actually do it that way. Spending as much or more time actually thinking about and visualizing the build is as important as actually turning a wrench. There are many imperfections in this rig, but perfection wasn't my goal. This will not be a shelf queen. Its getting beat on the day after I get all the electronics installed. I'm really quite happy with the way its turning out, and very gracious of all the compliments. Thanks guys!

[Shinjari]

Originally Posted by jkabee

I think the main thing is to not rush yourself.

But i want it NOW!!!!

But in all seriousness, don't be surprised when you see my build later this year that looks awfully similar to this

I watched your vid and was impressed by the 'throw' test. Do you think the cage will survive tough falls? Dont know if I've seen anyone make a cage out of aluminum before.

[Constant Threat]

My truggy cage is aluminum it holds up just fine. It turned out great Jeremy, nicely done

[Rcc4P]

Did you sharpie the doors, or is it paint?

[jkabee]

Originally Posted by Rcc4P

Did you sharpie the doors, or is it paint?

Fine tip Sharpie is the only way!

[jkabee]

Made a nice multi-purpose bracket for the front. Simple aluminum piece with velcro all over it to hold electronics and also serve as a velcro mount for the body. works pretty good for the limited space under a TJ body.



Since space is so limited, I also covered the rock sliders with velcro for electronics/batteries.



Talk about snug... TJ bodies make real estate under the body in short supply. I must have rearrabged this 5 times before I got it allto fit. But here it is... 2 2200mah, 1 800mah, 1 esc, 1 Rx, 1 winch controller...

[jkabee]

Folks.... my first 1.9 Jeep TJ build... I am officially a proud father!











Thanks for tuning in! See you on the trails!

[jkabee]

So after the first outting, I knew it was time for improvements. First of all, I had "serious" electronic issues when steering under throttle. Simply put, my powerful Savox steering servo was drawing too many amps for the stock esc bec (AX-2).

A CC BEC will allow your power hungry steering servo to get the draw it needs without causing your ESC to flip out on you. For those that are wondering what the symptoms are, I'll describe what you should look out for: When under throttle, any full turn of steering or steering under resistance will cause your ESC to stop supplying power to your motor momentarily. It will act very erratic and you will not regain power to your motor until you release throttle and reapply. This stoppage of power to your motor is due to the demand being placed on your limited capacity ESC to supply power to both the servo and the motor. By default, the servo wins everytime. This behavior can be easily corrected with a BEC though, so have no fear.

Luckily, I'd done some reading on the forums and I immediately knew what the problem was.. and more importantly, how to fix it. I stopped by my LHS (HobbyTown in Asheville NC) and as luck would have it, they had one Castle Creations BEC left. Snagged it for $21


Here is a short tutorial on hooking up your BEC!

Installing a CC BEC on SCX-10 - YouTube

[jkabee]

Moving things around....

Another thing I noticed is that the 3 batteries I was running on the chassis were way too top heavy for serious wheeling. I was running two 2200mah, one on each rock slider peice, and 1 800mah on my center bracket for the winch. While I may keep the 800mah, the two 2200s are overkill. One 2200 will last for about an hour or two of mild usage, and the extra battery is just adding to the top-heavy aspect. So here is my new setup, currently only one battery installed, but I'll find a place for the 800 should I put the winch back on.