solid rear axle and no shocks on front!

[4x4crawler]

As im a construction worker i daily use JCB's and was looking at the way they flex.
Has any body tried this before.
The rear axle would be totally locked up, no shocks at all.
The front axle would pivot in the centre with possible 90 degrees artic.
It would be stable and very easy to set up!

[TwistedCreations]

yes Cory has done it on his TXT...he said it works great.

I have a simaliar setup ( somewhat) on my new buggy. But I still have suspension front and rear. I just do not have any up and down travel and it seems to work great. On all the shafties I have built, I have always had the rear suspension stiff and let the front do mostly all the work. It seems to help a shafty climb. It does not let it squat in the rear when trying to climb something

Corys truck

[Jamus]

Sorry, I'm new to RC crawling, but have some knowledge of 1:1 suspension. So you lock out the rear with a link instead of a shock. Does the rear flex at all? It looks statically indeterminate, haha big words. And if it doesn't move, why the 4-link and everything else, for easily switching back to shocks? That's what makes me think it does move some, just hindered, and I just had to ask. One last question, how would one center stiff link work? It would help the squat, though messing with link geometry should also do that, and allow a lot of flex. Or is it the torque of the shafty design that is the problem?

[4x4crawler]

cool, but how much flex will it get cos he still has front shocks.

maybe one centrally mounted shock would work too cos it would dampen any "drop off" obsticales.

Im still in the process of mounting my shocks so i might try this setup out.
It would save on all the headaches of shock mounting.
I think torque twist would be minimal because when the front wheel tries lifting the chassis and axle would remain rigid, where as with shocks all round the opposite corner would depress allowing the front wheel to lift more freely.:?

[4x4crawler]

JAMUS, no the rear axle does not flex. It always stays rigid with the chassis.

Only the front axle would flex by pivoting in the centre on a solid link.

Basically if the truck was on a flat surface u wud not be able to push it down with your hand if one front wheel hit an object it would pivot leaving the chassis and rear axle horizontle with the ground!

[Jamus]

Ok, thanks for the quick explanation. I have to get used to these super articulating RC crawlers. In reality, you can get more than enough articulation out of just the front. I've seen a 1:1 buggy like this, locked front, and noone seemed to think it would work at all. Never saw pics of it actually running though, just at a booth, SEMA I think.

[TwistedCreations]

not sure on how much flex he gets. Maybe he will see the post and chime in. My new buggy still has shocks at all 4 corners and a double triangulated 4-link setup. On top of my diff, instead of a limiting strap ( which still allows up and down travel) mine is a solid link. I had a picture of it, but not sure I have it anymore. If not, I'll have to wait til I get it all back together from painting it.

Basically I just looked at the stick and compared my old shafties to it. I had always ran a stiff setup in the rear and it did fine. So I decided to actually do the setup I have now and see how it worked. I can go everywhere my sons' stick can and then some. I am very happy with it. Although it isn't all due to that setup, I have weight put low on my chassis also

also, you can see my buggy in the "Hangover Crawl" video posted in the video section

[4x4crawler]

no problem, im just mounting my rear shocks and links as i speek so lata i might try this setup out andill let u know how it goes!

[EeePee]

Originally Posted by TwistedCreations

not sure on how much flex he gets. Maybe he will see the post and chime in.

Ta Da!

There's hardly any flex in that set up right there. Maybe, 30 degrees.

A Jack of all trades is the Master of none. Now reverse that phrase, and that's how I feel about a truck with no rear movement at all, and having front shocks. That's also how I feel about the Forced Articulation set up I had. They could do a few particular moves better than a normal 4 link and shock/spring could sometimes. Then on other obsticals they struggled badly. Whereas a normal set up may struggle a bit, but still make it?

Sometimes it's better to have a truck that MIGHT make it, than to have a truck that WILL make some stuff, and WON'T make other stuff. It's a purpose_built truck.

On that note, I say go for it, it never hurts to try anyways!