Traxxas mid axle/ PTO axle?

[Brian5582]

Working on piecing together parts for a trials/ expedition type truck. Was going to do just 2 axle using TRX4 axles for the higher clearance of the portals but then got an idea of doing a 3 axle rig. Has anyone seen or done a mod to a TRX axle to use it as a mid axle? I realize it would be a decent amount of work and I have some ideas about how to make it work. Obviously I would need a 4th axle for parts and have to do some milling and such to the axle to make it work... just thoughts. It would be a cool project

[CM9000]

If i had just a housing i could make a pass through housing in tinkercad so it can be printed.

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[Gula]

Just use two rear axles between a 1:1 t case to the trans

[Brian5582]

Originally Posted by CM9000

If i had just a housing i could make a pass through housing in tinkercad so it can be printed.

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I have a housing I could send you. I don’t know what something like that would cost but I would certainly pay you for the time and materials. I would like to get a 3D printer but am not very computer savvy so don’t know how well that would work out. I have a milling machine and am sure I could make one but obviously printing one would be a hell of a lot easier.

[Brian5582]

Originally Posted by Gula

Just use two rear axles between a 1:1 t case to the trans

I have considered doing this and the possibility is still there but I would like to see if I could make it work the “right” way first.

[CM9000]

Originally Posted by Brian5582

I have a housing I could send you. I don’t know what something like that would cost but I would certainly pay you for the time and materials. I would like to get a 3D printer but am not very computer savvy so don’t know how well that would work out. I have a milling machine and am sure I could make one but obviously printing one would be a hell of a lot easier.

I am not a vendor. So i cannot take your money.

If you have a set of calipers, its pretty easy to take a piece and replicate it in a cad program.

I designed a losi housing. And this was printed through shapeways.

If you have a mill.. You could probably do it. But the way you go about doing it is what could make or break the way it works. You have a DRO?

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[Brian5582]

No I don’t have a dro right now. It’s on my list of upgrades, that and a VFD are the 2 major things I would like to do. It’s just a round column RF31 but does the job for the small stuff I do. Been spending all my exta money on RC stuff and rebuilding a SB heavy 10. Been thinking about just buying a Bridgeport J head but they are either beat to hell or in someone’s basement or something and moving it would just be a PITA. The housing are cheap so I a probably going to grab 3-4 and see what I can do. I might screw a couple up but at $10 for the empty housing it’s a cheap experiment. I could just use Axial housings but I really wanted portals and to try something different.

[CM9000]

If you had a DRO.. You could actually do it pretty easy. Basically you would mill halfway down on the non pinion side on one housing just where the diff cover bolts to. And have a second vise setup with the second housing placed the same way. Except you would do the same operation but also milling away the tubes. Then you should be able to put the new "diff cover" on the new milled housing.

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[Brian5582]

That is exactly what I planned on doing it would just take a lot more set up and measuring and I would really have to watch the dials. Although the DRO’s on Amazon are quite reasonable...

[freakinjeeper]

I love the idea of this since I really want to do an old military themed wrecker. If anyone ends up building some, I would be interested in buying one! Very cool thought


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[Brian5582]

I did some measuring and planning this weekend and ordered a couple housing. I will be trying it at some point but between building the rest of the parts, chassis, and body it probably going to be a little bit before I get to actually trying it. I found one other thread on another forum where someone said they were working on building one but the thread looks to be abandoned. It’s not too difficult in theory but we will see how it goes in practice. I will try to document it and take lots of pictures if successful. I wish I had or knew someone with a 3D printer because it would sure make things a lot easier but we shall see either how it goes... good or bad

[CM9000]

If you want it to be printed that bad, i could possibly get a housing so i can take some measurements and put it in tinkercad. After that i could send you the file at no cost so you can get it through shapeways.

However.. I cant guarantee it will be perfect. It could come out good though. I get pretty lucky using my calipers lol.

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[Brian5582]

Oh no worries, I just meant it would probably be a little easier than trying to chop up Traxxas housings but I think I can make it work that way. Some day I hope to get a 3D printer but I don’t have one right now so will try it with what I have available at the present time. If I can’t make the 3rd axle work with what I have available at the present time I will revise plans and just build with 2 until the time comes that I can build the 3rd but in reality I can’t see it being too difficult. After building a couple of the axles this weekend once you take the locker out of the equation by adding a spool it shouldn’t be too hard. Mill one axle down half way between the tubes, do the same on the other but mill the tubes off essentially creating a drop out 3rd member and bolt them together. Might need to come up with some kind of truss or something to stiffen up the tubes. That’s really the only part I am concerned with is weakening the tubes too much and having them snap off. That would be the one part where I think printing would be superior because you could take that into account. The housings are cheap enough though so if it takes me a few tries to get it right than so be it.

[CM9000]

A truss would deffinately be needed.

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