1/7th scale Escalade build Input gladly accepted
 

Ok so I had an XTM X-crawler and it was garbage out of the box. I found a sweet escalade body and mounted it.. it worked for a while but eventually started to break and strip servos. I want to rebuild it right but im pretty clueless. I have all the electronics, 2 brushless systems, DX7 remote bunch of lipo's etc... the part I need help with is setting up the suspension and mounting the body on the chassis, and probably making a new chassis.. Ill post some pictures and would appreciate any tips or input. or if anyone lives local, ill buy beer for some help lol I live in plymouth MA.. maybe there is a super class chassis out there that would work ?? I see so many great builds on here, I build scratch planes no problem, but when it comes to crawlers I draw a blank.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1449.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1451.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1452.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1455.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1456.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1457.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1458.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1459.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1461.jpghttp://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1463.jpg

Ok first off lose the zip ties. I suggest that you use same shocks front and back and have them either vertical or tilted in slightly like the blue ones you have on there right now. The black ones are angled in the wrong direction. Also I would stay away from mounting the shocks to the links ( tends to slip, move angle, etc) mount it on the axle. Now I'm sure your axles are locked so you need a strong servo to push those big wheels and tires left and right. Also make sure the servo does not humm while not turning. Good luck, looks good.

Also try to keep the entire chassis symmetrical, front back, sides.

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

I really like the look of that lade on that rig. But it is going to be heavy and those axles are going to cry. I would shy away from dual brushless, Sync problems can lead to over heating and with how heavy this rig is, there is no place for it to slip away the difference. We tried this on a monster imex crawler and it kept sending one of the BL's in to error mode if it went in a strait lined for more then a minute. I would personal sugest staying brushed. You are not really going to compete with that body so you are better off having fun, not problems.

(Note: I am not saying BL systems do not work on MOA rigs, Just when they are this big/heavy it is like having two motor spinning one spur, It rarely works properly.)

That is so important. You can get away with different springs and pistons, But that comes down to fine tuning.

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

Thanks for all the input guys.. For the brushless, its all I have for now, and it hasnt caused any problems in the few packs i ran through it, so I'll deal with that for now and keep an eye out for a brushed setup. It was a pain setting up the 2 esc's to both want to move at the same time. At first I had one set of wheels staying locked when trying to reverse.. pain in the butt.. but i worked it all out and it drove ok. The zip ties are limiting the travel, ghetto I know thats why I need work on the chassis... Ill start doing some work and report back with some progress.. One more thing, any suggestions on how to mount 1/4 scale servos ?? I have 2 kicking around I could use. I would hate to burn up my 7955tg.. it almost fits but the bottom of the servo is resting on one of the 4 links

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1467.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1465.jpg.

As far as your .25 servo goes, you could get some 1" angle aluminum and make a servo mount out of that. For width reasons you may have to stand it upright close to the middle of the axle, that way you don't limit up travel

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

Ok I have some L brackets some where I'll try that.. as for suspension I started to mock it up a little different

Before http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1472.jpg



After

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1473.jpg


Is this looking more how it should ? its all mock up now, once I get it all in order im going to mount it more securely..

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

Shocks look better , your going to want to make cross members for the ends of the chassis,. as for the 1/4 scale servo have you thought about mounting it on the chassis?

You're right on having to beef up the chassis. The angle stock is aluminum and after a litttle suspension testing it started to crack. I'm going to have to redo it with either thicker aluminum or steel... should I go steel with some aluminum bracing ? as for the servo on the chassis, I'm not sure how that would work can you explain or is there a picture of it done some where ? I've only ever seen them on the axle of crawlers. With all the travel I cant even think of how to mount it on the chassis.

it seems to be flexing ok... ill have to test again with batteries and servos obviously.. but it has about the right stance and height i want... i might swap out the wheels eventually and maybe lower it for a more scale look. but im trying to do it on the cheap for now.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1479.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1481.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1483.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1487.jpg

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

I started chasing some wires down and got all the lights working, I wonder how hard it is it get an LED to flash.. Hmm??

New Bright bodies are sweet. It has a speaker in the back that i wired a 3.5mm jack into so it can play music from an MP3 player. I just need to swipe a small battery powered amp from a set of portable speakers to get it louder.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1488.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...7/IMG_1491.jpg

Looks better. Yeah I would use aluminum angle to brace the two ends if the chassis. I would not be too concerned with the chassis mounted servo. It would cause more problems, and you are using MOA axles so they are not very scale

eBay has some awesome small amps you can buy. Come from china so may take a week or two to get to you but <$10 Bux shipped

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

Quick update... I decided on the new chassis material. I'm going to stick with aluminum, but I went a much thicker stock. I went from 1/20" X 1/2" to 1/8" x 3/4"


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...ps98f8d4fc.jpg


Hopefully I will get some time this weekend to start getting it together.

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

Good going. Really getting there.

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

So it's been a long time, and I redid the suspension and a few other things again on this Escalade. Here are a few recent pictures and a video of it pulling one of my children without breaking a sweat. I love the torque on this thing.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psmossf3i9.jpg

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...psbj2qgstj.jpg

you tube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBY0hmgJdS4

I will get some close pictures up of the recent chassis work I have done soon.

Re: HELP! 1/7th scale ish build need input bad
 

A few pages down, Irishchamp did a truck build that can pull a Radio Flyer wagon with his kid in it, I don't remember what scale it was, possibly 1/5. Looks like yours turned out well. Your little one looks mighty proud of it "thumbsup"