This is a Monster....Yeti XL is a fitting name!!!

[redsawacs]

Originally Posted by Rjohn929

I thought the same thing on the cage. Thought I screwed up somewhere so I painted the body pieces and mounted them up. When I put the cage back on everything lined up perfect. Not sure what changed but everything was where it needed to be.

My only real issue was mounting the tired. The bead does not sit in the wheel very well at all. I couldn't get them glued tight to the wheel at all.

Wonder what changed when you mounted the panels!? Thats odd but I'll cross my fingers hoping the same will work for me as well.

I was looking at the tires the other day. They do fit snug on the wheels as is but I'm still considering bead locks. i am leary only because that will add more "rotational mass" to the already sketchy differentials on the truck.

JBryant, I agree with you about the manual having issues! One thing I noticed, the digital manual on the Axial website is different than the one I received in the box. Apparently, they found some issues with the first production run and decided to make the changes available online - I'll take that!

[jhautz]

I just finished my build last night and I saw all of the same issues that you guys ran into. They really need a proof reader for the manual. So may wrong part numbers and wrong descriptions with the hardware it was almost comical. The first few I ran into I circled in the manual thinking I would send them a note so they could at least fix it in future print runs, but then there were so many mistakes I stopped bothering to keep track. I will note that all of the pictures of the hardware and parts seemed to be correct so if you are building and run into some confusing numbers, go with the picture. The hardware is drawn at 1:1 scale so you can just lay the screw on top of the picture and if its the same size, you have the right screw. I thought this was a very nice feature.

For my beast, I wound up going with 6s and an older gen 1 RX8 and 1350kv truggy motor I pulled from a long retired race truggy. I made an attempt to waterproof it by disassembling it and spraying it down with ZF1 waterproofer. I did the same with the 7954SH Hitec servo I picked up for this. I put the CC BEC in the receiver box to keep it dry. I don't plan to go swamping with this or anything, but I don't want a random puddle to fry it either. My waterproofing attempt was more precautionary than necessary.

The one thing I will note is that a massively powerful servo really seems to be wasted on this truck with the uber flexible steering system it has. With my truck sitting on carpeting I can turn the radio wheel lock to lock and the servo moves full travel but the wheels only go about 2/3 of the way to the lock point because the whole drag link and pivot arms and everything flex so much. If there is one upgrade point I see right out of the box the steering components are it. I may look into the aluminum drag links and see what other parts might be available to make the steering a little more robust. Of course, I haven't driven it yet either. It may be just fine and the flexibility may just improve the durability on a truck this big and heavy. I'll wait and see once I get some run time on it.

Like you guys, I am seeing some misalignment in the body posts and the body. Although I don't think mine is as bad as what you pictured, just slightly off. I am going to slightly heat and bend the body posts a little to get them better aligned. If I ruin them, there were spares in the kit so no harm. I am also thinking about putting the proline thumb screw style body mounts on this thing. I saw them on the RCN build thread and thought they looked nice.

I built it with the 10wt oil in the back shocks as the manual indicated and it does seem awfully bouncy. My instinct says it should be stiffer, but I am going to give it a run first with the shock package the manual states before deciding to make any changes.

Here are a few pictures of my final result. Simple paint job. Just a strip of masking and a simple paint scheme. I spent more time painting the heads than I did painting the body. LOL. (The truggy in the background is the donor of the esc and motor)

[skeeler]

Nice work on the drivers and the fire extinguisher. Can you offer any guidance about how you did the extinguisher? What kind of paint did you use for the heads/helmets and the extinguisher?

[jhautz]

Hi Thanks. I just used plain Testors paints for plastic model kits from the hobby shop, a brush and a little patience.

For the heads, I glued the head halves together, put a light coat of grey primer on them then painted them with a brush. After the paint dried, I added a coat of Model Masters Ultra Gloss Clearcoat to give them some shine.

I also build models from time to time so I already had what I needed and figured why not.

[jhautz]

Pretty happy with how the wiring turned out too...

Used Castle 6.5mm bullets because this beast will likely pull some heavy current when running through a grassy field.

[skeeler]

Thanks for the information.

[Jeepincwby]

Good lookin Rig Redsawacs! The Yeti XL will be my next build!

[cmbscx10]

Originally Posted by redsawacs

**EDIT** When posting with a quote, please remove any pictures inside that quote unless they are relevent to the current post so we aren't cluttering the thread with tons of pictures being reposted. Those with slow computers and weak graphic cards will thank us all!! Thanks a ton and enjoy!

OH MY LORD! This thing is HUGE! 7.3" tires?!?! REALLY!!?!?!?!
Started my build last night and I got the front and rear diffs build and installed. I have to say, with the 2 shims on each pinion, this is the best feeling diff I have ever built!!! BUTTER SMOOTH!

I'm going to use the 20,000 diff fluid but I'm not happy that the top on the bottle popped off 2 times spewing diff oil all over my hands and workbench!

Errors in the manual I have found so far:
1) the diff bearings are listed as 8x16x5 but it is suppose to be 10x16x5
2) Front body mount to front shock tower mounting screws are not listed in the build section, I had to reference the exploded view in the rear for a part number and size
3) AX31298 .2mm shims for the front axle just behind the 17mm hub are not listed in the manual I got - BUT, they are listed in the ELECTRONIC manual ONLINE!

My Kit is on the way and reading wha ti can to be prepared. Good catch on the bearing. Question on the bearing? Are the correct bearings actually there and just a misprint or do we need to order them? Sorry if i misunderstood.

[fornowagain]

From others comments all the correct bearings are there, it's just a misprint.

[redsawacs]

All the correct bearings and hardware are there....I noticed when building the cage that I was missing 2 18mm screws but I had 2 extra 20mm screws....I figured out what needed what and moved on - no issues other than some initial confusion.....i mean frustration!

Oh, I almost forgot. I HATE GLUING TIRES!!!!!!

[cmbscx10]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I haven't glued tires in 10+ years. Really Really looking forward to it.

[redsawacs]

Originally Posted by cmbscx10

I haven't glued tires in 10+ years. Really Really looking forward to it.

You're a sick and twisted individual and you should have your brain examined!!

[redsawacs]

Shake down run complete. My steering link from the servo to the steering rack is hitting the steering cover plate when I turn right, the steering isn't what I was hoping for, radius wise, the front right wheel jumps off the ground every time I touch the throttle, super easy to traction roll on anything but dirt, front suspension is too soft and it doesn't have as much top speed on 4s as I would have liked to see.

The speed may be a product of my Tekin RX8/2000kv system being detuned so I'll look into that later. The suspension DEFINATELY needs tuning; the soft upper coils are completely compressed just sitting on the bench and I think over all the springs and oils are simply too soft. Again, I'll have to look into that as well...maybe simple shock placement will help but I suspect oils and springs will need swapped.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by redsawacs

Oh, I almost forgot. I HATE GLUING TIRES!!!!!!

Are there any 17-mm, 3.8-inch beadlock wheels with the appropriate offset on the market?

[redsawacs]

Axial makes a set of wheels - I'm not sure about the offset but they are Axial and they are 3.8" 17mm.....hmmm

[jhautz]

Originally Posted by redsawacs

Shake down run complete. My steering link from the servo to the steering rack is hitting the steering cover plate when I turn right, the steering isn't what I was hoping for, radius wise, the front right wheel jumps off the ground every time I touch the throttle, super easy to traction roll on anything but dirt, front suspension is too soft and it doesn't have as much top speed on 4s as I would have liked to see.

The speed may be a product of my Tekin RX8/2000kv system being detuned so I'll look into that later. The suspension DEFINATELY needs tuning; the soft upper coils are completely compressed just sitting on the bench and I think over all the springs and oils are simply too soft. Again, I'll have to look into that as well...maybe simple shock placement will help but I suspect oils and springs will need swapped.

I was thinking similarly after a test run yesterday. The 2 stage springs really don't seem to offer much benefit IMO. I want to find some stiffer springs for this thing and am now starting to look for which aluminum steering g components I will get. With as much flex as there is in the steering components a 250oz servo is going to give the same results as a 500oz. All that flex. Is really making the handling mushy feeling.

But its still a blast to drive! Seeing this beast pull the front wheel in the air and kick a roost of dirt and grass is flat-out intimidating with the size of this rig. I. Was. Grinning the whole time I was driving it.

[redsawacs]

The 2 stage springs do provide 2-stage dampening. If they weren't on, it would be a much tougher ride. I think they just need to be a little stiffer.

[skeeler]

Originally Posted by redsawacs

The 2 stage springs do provide 2-stage dampening. If they weren't on, it would be a much tougher ride. I think they just need to be a little stiffer.

The dampers (shocks) provide the damping. The springs on each axle determine the resonant frequency on that end of the car.

[redsawacs]

Originally Posted by skeeler

The dampers (shocks) provide the damping. The springs on each axle determine the resonant frequency on that end of the car.

You are 100% correct, but I think you missed the boat on the conversation. We are talking about only the dual rate spring set up on the Yeti XL and not discussing the absorption of the shock.

Pirate4x4.Com - The largest off roading and 4x4 website in the world.

I may have misspoke when I was talking about dampening when I was trying to reference the progressive action inherent in a dual-rate spring set up. Link to some very technical data above if anyone wants to spend dinner absorbed in tech notes!!

[jhautz]

So after some screwing around testing different things out with the shocks on the truck, I think I arrived at at least a temporary solution I can live with for now.

I spent some time playing with the rear shock locations. I moved the rear shocks from the stock position indicated in the manual (Forward on tower/forward on lower link)

I tried:
*Forward on tower and back on the links
*Rear on tower and forward on links
*Rear tower and rear on links

After trying all of these positions, the rear/rear position was the best in my opinion. It was just the most stable feeling and predictable. I think this is for 2 reasons. First, it reduces the lever effect of the arm on the shock which effectively make the spring act stiffer. Secondly, it reduces the amount of down travel on the rear which reduced the amount of chassis roll it can have in the corners and this helps keep it more planted and feeling less tippy.

This was all great, but the thing that just made the whole truck so much nicer to drive was taking that damn spare tire off of the back. SOOOOOOOO much better. I like the way the tire looks, but wow does it screw up the way the truck drives. Thinking about it, about the worst thing you can do to a car is to put a big heavy thing like that up high on the car.

I never even messed with the oils. Still running the 30 front and 10 rear. I may still go up a little in the back, but I don't think the front needs to change any more. Taking that big weight off of the top of the truck really reduced the amount of pitch the car has in the corners and in braking and acceleration.

Now I wish the kit came with a rear lexan "fan" panel like the the RTR did....