Sumo Crawler

[Gramps]

I have a couple of Orlandoo Hunter's the Jeep & Pajeiro but wanted something a little larger. I have the Rockslide Super Crawler and like the 4ws so I decided to get the 1/24 Sumo Crawler. Ordered it Saturday and the delivery was set for today.


When the UPS man came he left this huge box on my porch. My 1st thought was is that the smallest box they had? But when I picked it up I knew something was wrong, no way could the Sumo. When I opened the box there set Tenacity MT, that is definitaly not what I ordered and it will not fit on my indoor crawling course.



So now instead of having a new toy to play with over the HOT 4th of July I have to wait until July 5th.

[EZCompany]

I'd have a hard time sending back a $400 rc if I only paid for a $99 rc... that's like leaving a 2 year old alone with a sharpie and telling them not to write on the walls. I'm sure I would send it back, but I'd be a little bitter I suppose

[Brake Weight]

Naw. I’d order another Sumo.

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by EZCompany

I'd have a hard time sending back a $400 rc if I only paid for a $99 rc... that's like leaving a 2 year old alone with a sharpie and telling them not to write on the walls. I'm sure I would send it back, but I'd be a little bitter I suppose

Oh don't get me wrong, my 1st thought was cool what a deal. Now if it had been a SCX10-2 or TRX4 or a Veterra crawler I think the outcome might have been different. The Monster truck I would just run it a few times, get bored and set it off in the corner until I really wanted something else and then sell it. Guess I just felt like being a nice guy today.

[Gramps]

I'm pretty sure I won't be happy with the performance of the Sumo running normal AAA 1.5v batteries. Trying to decide between a conventional 2S Lipo and the AAA Li-Ion 3.7v, figured I'd rewire the battery holder so it would work with one battery in each side using something like these. https://www.amazon.com/10440-Lithium...0440+AAA&psc=1 The other option is to cut the battery holder and use a 2S lipo like these https://www.amazon.com/Turnigy-nano-...2s+lipo+300mah

Thoughts?

[R.Billy Rob]

Funny, but when I bought my first Sumo I didn’t even think to try the AAA batteries. The first thing I did was convert it to 2S. Runs very well on 2S.

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by R.Billy Rob

Funny, but when I bought my first Sumo I didn’t even think to try the AAA batteries. The first thing I did was convert it to 2S. Runs very well on 2S.

I'll probably put some AAA's in it just to make sure it all works before I take the knife to it.
I can't find anything in the manual about LCO so do you use an alarm as to not run down the lipo to far?

[1tuffmj]

Sumo are great rigs.lots of mods to be done.just curious what made you go with that rig

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by 1tuffmj

Sumo are great rigs.lots of mods to be done.just curious what made you go with that rig

Was looking for something to use on my indoor crawling course, I like the Orlandoo's but they seem to be on the delicate side. Wanted something a little bigger. I have the Redcat Rockslide Super Crawler and I like the way it crawls and I like the 4WS so I decided to get the Sumo crawler, same basic style 4WS but it doesn't have MOA. Also have a Gen 7 Pro. The biggest issue I have with Redcat is their servos, but their customer support is top notch, contact them and a replacement is in the mail the same day. Also figured the Sumo could be taken outside where as I don't take the Orlandoo's outside.

[Gramps]

Tower shipped the correct item this time.


Ran it with the AAA's to see how well it would do. Did alright as long as you didn't apply to much power while you were trying to turn, it was even worse with the 4WS operational. Ordered some rechargeable 3.7v Li-Ion batteries. Will put one on each side down low which should help with the CG. I will make a dummy battery to fill the missing battery. If this doesn't work out then I'll convert it to a 2s lipo.

Big Blue with his little brother Baby Blue

[Brake Weight]

I’ve got a Sumo stadium truck that required 4 AA batteries. I got some 16300, I think the number is, 3.7v and retired the battery boxes to make 2S equivalent. It’d haul ass then. LOL.

[Gramps]

Well that was fun, now the rear servo saver is stripped. I'm almost positive it came that way. Turned in a warranty claim. Usually they are pretty quick in sending replacement parts. While I was waiting I ordered one for a Losi to see it it will fit, was only a couple of $$ so it it doesn't not a big deal.

[sethstiles]

Ive been running a modded Sumo for a year and a half now. Do the 2s conversion - very with it. The ESC can handle it. I got great batteries cheap from hobby king. Also get some RC4WD swamper tires and steel beadlock wheels. makes a huge difference (#1 mod IMO). Gamyrc also has a video out now to show you how to do a metal gear conversion from a mix/match of gear parts. Cut those suspension springs down or take them out completely. I also cut the body down and it looks cooler, more like a scale 1/10 crawler. I also glued an extra set of wheel hexes on the wheel hexes to widen the stance just a bit. Finally, I put a Proline Ambush body on it so I can use it both as a scaler and crawler (though it has links instead of the ladder frame). Just some thoughts from my experience. Enjoy it indoors and out too!

[Gramps]

I get shortening the springs, saw it somewhere. Don't quite get how removing the springs altogether would would. Seems to me then there would be no suspension at all. Got some 2s lipos on the way but I also want to try some Li-ion batteries, I know that other have used the Li-ions. Ordered some and they arrived today but I didn't pay attention and ordered the wrong size.

I did lay down the shocks down to the lower hole both front and back but I can't tell that it made much difference. I have straight lower arms on order should be here in a couple of days. That might make a difference in the spring rate too. I see Redacat has soft springs for it too.

[Gramps]

Decided to scrap the Li-ion battery idea, so I started gutting one of the battery boxes. Got a couple of bought a couple of these https://www.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXFSVC&P=7 Venom Fly lipo 2s 300 mAh the only draw back is it has an extra plug which I will end up cutting it off and shrink wrapping the ends. The battery is only about 39 mm long so it fits well in the gutted battery box. Pushed the battery to the front and put a small piece of foam in the back to keep it from sliding around. Next I will probably gut the other side and put the rx/exc in it.

[TheLetterJ]

I removed the battery boxes altogether, then used sticky-backed Velcro to attach a 250mah 2s to the right side of the transmission. I moved the body mount posts to the existing holes in the vertical part of the chassis, and punched new holes in the body to match. I just recently tidied up the wiring a bit and double-stick taped the esc/rx to the left side of the trans. Surprisingly, moving the tiny esc made an appreciable difference in lowering the center of gravity... goes to show, it's all relative.

Besides cutting the springs and moving the upper shock mounts towards the center of the car, you'll want to make sure that your driveshafts are properly indexed. One of mine was installed 90° off which causes it to surge while driving, surging was gone once the u-joints were properly phased.

I put rc4wd Boggers on mine (my son's) along with some solder wrapped around the wheels and they too made a significant improvement. If I had it to do it over again, I would have bought the same setup that I put on my other son's micro: some of Fungi's 3d printed 6mm offset wheels from Shapeways that allow you to put 3/8" washers (up to 3 of them, which weighs more than the amount of solder I was able to fit inside the Sumo's beadlocks) in the backside of the wheels for weight, and the taller/softer rc4wd Goodyear mt/r's which work MUCH better, without being too big. Another bonus for the consumer is that Fungi removed all of his profit from his Shapeways store, so a set of wheels is only ~$15 now.

[Gramps]

Originally Posted by TheLetterJ

Besides cutting the springs and moving the upper shock mounts towards the center of the car, you'll want to make sure that your driveshafts are properly indexed. One of mine was installed 90° off which causes it to surge while driving, surging was gone once the u-joints were properly phased.

I didn't think to check the driveshaft index, definitely need to do that.

Tonight I gutted the other battery box and put the rx/esc in it. Switch ended up in the front, didn't feel like extending the wires so it would go in the back. Might have to do that it's a pain up front. The only thing I don't like about this set up is that you can no longer see the power light on the esc.

Instead of cutting the springs I ordered the Redcat soft springs to see how they do. I have the shocks in the 3rd hole which points the shocks more towards the center.

$15 for a set of wheels is pretty reasonable. Bet the MT tires looks pretty cool on it.

[Brake Weight]

If I can’t reasonably mount the switch I’ll just snip the wire off close to the ESC and solder them together. A little heat shrink and done.

Have you seen the $6 tires on Banggood for that 1/18? I put a set on my Goat chassis den they do OK.


$6 tires/RC4WD Scrambler/MiClow

[Gramps]

The switch mounted fine, it's just hard to reach in the front. That's what I normally do when the switch starts giving me trouble. Sometimes I think it's better to not have a switch, less likely to leave the battery plugged in and drain the battery.

Not sure those tires will fit my Sumo, it's 1/24th scale. I do like the looks of those tires.

[Brake Weight]

Those all use 1” wheels.