building my own crawler
 

I'm busy building my own crawler so I thought Id share

front and rear hubs , drive shafts from a losi 8 T
motors and gearboxes: Tamiya , geared to 344:1
controller: Hi Tek Ranger II N
shocks: T max 2.5
still to go:Associated ball studs and caps , eBay esc ....

http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/i...u357/crawler2/

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0484.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0483.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0499.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0501.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0485.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0486.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0487.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0488.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0489.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0503.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2/DSCF0504.jpg

sorry to say but that gearbox will never work. the motor is to small the gears will snap. but it is a very nice attempt.

looks like a lot of hard work there.
keep us posted "thumbsup"

did u build that axle?

built it myself
 

yes , built it myself , pics are of the front and rear out of a t bar aluminum piece , hubs and shafts (shortened) are from a losi 8 T , kinda hard to manufacture hubs yourself. The front axle weighs in at about 300 grams , the rear at under 200 grams , so total weight for front and rear is already 500 grams , half a kilogram , in my opinion , all the better for steep inclines and to keep the wheels firmly pressed to the ground ....

if those gearboxes end up not working i would try bolting on some t-maxx diffs or something and run an axial trans.

bench test of the front axle , watch the vid
 

bench test of the front axle , watch the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swR_1DX-buA

been busy
 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...Picture222.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...Picture227.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...Picture231.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...Picture229.jpghttp://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...Picture238.jpg

this setup can articulate to about 40 deg., unfortunately the shocks / springs can only compress up to this point ....

interesting build, im curious to see how it holds up for you

Instead of the shock mounts the way youve got them now,why not make side plates ,as in one peice and a link in between.
Nice job though.

started with the rear suspension
 

getting there
 

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/cw1.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/cw5.jpg

some articulation ...

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/cw2.jpg



http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/cw4.jpg

front clearance 7cm

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/cw3.jpg

center clearance , almost 12 cm

Props for being unique and thinking outside the box!"thumbsup"

I'm going to shorten the arms a bit and move the shocks to a slightly more upright position , Im also going to put a arm in the center of the axle because the only thing keeping the axle from rotating is the shocks.
trail and error but this is my first attempt ,
Ive already got plans to build a 6 wheel drive crawler ...hmmm

"thumbsup" Nice! Good to see some guys still building there own rigs. "thumbsup"

Wow! holy ground clearnce.

In this ARTR crawler world, its great to see someone building a rig from what they have not what there budget will allow them to buy... hats off to you for your valiant effort....

This build just makes me laugh. I love it. It is good to see ppl stepping outside of the box "with a handful of scraps" and building things. I see some issues but can't wait to see a vid of it completed. I just don't thing the gears are going to hold up. I would like to see that I'm wrong, though.

looks interesting , I would like to see this thing woork for you, you got to post a vid when you have it all running on the rocks. What body are you going to use?

hey guys , reading your posts puts a smile on my face ....

well it did run , quite nicely actually , over rocks , steep inclines , building bricks ..... until .....the first gearbox stripped and a then the 2nd one stripped ....lol , so I replaced the stipped gears with a higher ratio and i was back in action , for 2 hours I had great fun .....until ......it stopped dead and wouldn't move , well 2 x 130 mabuchi motors burnt out .....lol

pity there ware no vids ....

one thing that did work better than expected was the articulation , so I think ive got that nailed for now.

so Ive stretched my budget and ordered up a set of 2 x traxxas Erevo diffs , Im thinking of locking the rear and making the front " limited slip" , and 4 x Erevo drive shafts , also , (Im on a budget) , I have bought 2 x cheap electric screw drivers that have 3.6v 380 motors and planetary gearboxes spinning at 250 rpm max , this will all be installed in due course.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...ju357/380s.jpg
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...57/d1da_12.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...2684864_tp.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i...uju357/mk1.jpg