Rc4wd beast ii question

[malickie]

Just a couple questions as I am getting a beast ii kit that should be to me Monday. What is a good motor to put in it turn wise. Half thinking brushless but I think that may be a tad overkill unless someone has ideas on what kv will keep it from being too fast. Most likely going with Holmes either way.

Second. Are there any performance mods I should be aware of that will help it out in the trails/rocks.


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[malickie]

I should mention that the electronics going into are an hh ble pro, shv500 and a protek for the 2 speed trans. With that being said I can go either way with motors without issues.

Rx/tx duties will be a futaba 4pv.

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[the_ghetto_rig]

I'm running a rebuildable 35 turn brushed motor in mine. Low end in first gear is slow and smooth, and second gear has enough wheel speed to make it quick but still scale.

While building the cab, I filled the lower recesses with BBs and Spray Foam to add some scale weight, and still keeping a low CG

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[the_ghetto_rig]

Oh, and I'm running 3s

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[malickie]

Ok. New question. How in the world are you all plugging electronics in. The motor leads on the axial 21t I am putting in temporarily are of course short and the leads from my esc are no where near long enough to reach. Wondering how to deal with that.

I probably should mention the esc I am using is an hh ble pro running of course in brushed mode

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[Rock Dodger]

Hi guys. I'm paying attention to this discussion since I'm currently building a Beast II. I have the chassis completely assembled with no electronics and will soon have some paint and glue to get started on the body. Still trying to decide on the electronics.

I'm mostly impressed with the design and quality of the chassis, though there were some problems that I had to work around. I think I was short a couple of screws but possibly borrowed from latter assembly. The instructions don't include a parts inventory so not exactly sure what I'm supposed to have. The most challenging were the 2 drive shaft pins that simply would not insert into the drive shaft holes. I sanded the anodizing off which clearanced the pins enough to fit but the threads wouldn't engage. Other 3mm set screws threaded okay so I improvised a threading die from a 3mm nut, back-pulliing the pin through the nut to straighten and clear the pin threads. Anyway, the driveshaft pins are now installed.

I hear Loctite is your friend with this kit, so I used it everywhere screws go into metal.

I removed the differential covers to check the gears for grease. They had some but I added some more and Loctited those cover bolts too. Didn't break into the transmission or transfer case, so hoping those are properly assembled. Everything turns right and feels solid.

Hopefully we can share some tips, findings, and suggestions on this thread. Hope I didn't hijack it.

[the_ghetto_rig]

Originally Posted by malickie

Ok. New question. How in the world are you all plugging electronics in. The motor leads on the axial 21t I am putting in temporarily are of course short and the leads from my esc are no where near long enough to reach. Wondering how to deal with that.

I probably should mention the esc I am using is an hh ble pro running of course in brushed mode

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Here's some pics of my elecs. It's a bit messy right now as I've got a winch, 14 LED's and an ESS1 system all hooked up to it. Cleaning it up once I finish the trailer lights

I had to solder on 13" of motor leads to reach my ESC..

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[the_ghetto_rig]

Originally Posted by Rock Dodger

Hi guys. I'm paying attention to this discussion since I'm currently building a Beast II. I have the chassis completely assembled with no electronics and will soon have some paint and glue to get started on the body. Still trying to decide on the electronics.

I'm mostly impressed with the design and quality of the chassis, though there were some problems that I had to work around. I think I was short a couple of screws but possibly borrowed from latter assembly. The instructions don't include a parts inventory so not exactly sure what I'm supposed to have. The most challenging were the 2 drive shaft pins that simply would not insert into the drive shaft holes. I sanded the anodizing off which clearanced the pins enough to fit but the threads wouldn't engage. Other 3mm set screws threaded okay so I improvised a threading die from a 3mm nut, back-pulliing the pin through the nut to straighten and clear the pin threads. Anyway, the driveshaft pins are now installed.

I hear Loctite is your friend with this kit, so I used it everywhere screws go into metal.

I removed the differential covers to check the gears for grease. They had some but I added some more and Loctited those cover bolts too. Didn't break into the transmission or transfer case, so hoping those are properly assembled. Everything turns right and feels solid.

Hopefully we can share some tips, findings, and suggestions on this thread. Hope I didn't hijack it.

My kit didn't have any issues with the drive pins that I can recall..I don't remember having to mod anything there...

My biggest suggestion is to take your time building the cab. Use Plastruct Plastic weld, and painter's tape to hold everything square as you're building. If your angles are even a little off, you'll be doing some extra sanding when the roof goes on. Trust me, I know

And the more you can visualize the finished project before you start building (especially extra lights, etc), the better. This is not a forgiving build for "adding stuff later". In order to install the LED's for my front lightbuckets, I had to drill into the body and up into the cab to run the wires. I was nervous as hell, as everything was already finished and painted..

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[the_ghetto_rig]

All in all, I'm very happy with the quality and performance of this kit. Worth every penny.. All 50,000 of them

One flaw, however, is the VERY brittle metal front bumper. It seems to be the same material as that old Tamiya cast pot-metal.

A shackle-mount snapped off on its maiden outdoor run. Culprit: rock.

On another run, the bumper cracked in half when I dinged the corner on a curb..

I was able to order a replacement bumper for $35 from RC4WD, but it's not listed in the "orderable" parts list. And they don't stock it in the states, so I had to wait a few weeks to get it from Asia..

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[the_ghetto_rig]

Anyways, here's the finished project (thus far

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[Rock Dodger]

The Ghetto Rig - really appreciate the close-up pictures.

I'm not quite sure the order of things concerning body assembly and paint - like should I paint pieces then assemble or assemble then paint sections. I have a feeling it will be all of the above, just need to figure out which is which.

I want to do an interior, so a magnetic detachable roof is a must. I might build some jigs to square up right-angled pieces. It's all good fun.

[Basicbilly]

Originally Posted by the_ghetto_rig

All in all, I'm very happy with the quality and performance of this kit. Worth every penny.. All 50,000 of them

One flaw, however, is the VERY brittle metal front bumper. It seems to be the same material as that old Tamiya cast pot-metal.

A shackle-mount snapped off on its maiden outdoor run. Culprit: rock.

On another run, the bumper cracked in half when I dinged the corner on a curb..

I was able to order a replacement bumper for $35 from RC4WD, but it's not listed in the "orderable" parts list. And they don't stock it in the states, so I had to wait a few weeks to get it from Asia..

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I broke the 3 link mount on the front axle, I contacted RC4wd support and apparently they have a warranty on their kits. I was outside my warranty (took me over a year to finish the kit), but they let me order the part even though it was not listed on their website.

Did you reach out to RC4wd in regards to your bumper?

[the_ghetto_rig]

Originally Posted by Rock Dodger

The Ghetto Rig - really appreciate the close-up pictures.

I'm not quite sure the order of things concerning body assembly and paint - like should I paint pieces then assemble or assemble then paint sections. I have a feeling it will be all of the above, just need to figure out which is which.

I want to do an interior, so a magnetic detachable roof is a must. I might build some jigs to square up right-angled pieces. It's all good fun.

No problem!

Yeah, it really was a little of all of the above . For mine, I pre-painted everything first, except the larger "structural" parts.. basically that's everything red in my build. There was a LOT of taping, painting, waiting, repeat.



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[the_ghetto_rig]

Originally Posted by Basicbilly

I broke the 3 link mount on the front axle, I contacted RC4wd support and apparently they have a warranty on their kits. I was outside my warranty (took me over a year to finish the kit), but they let me order the part even though it was not listed on their website.

Did you reach out to RC4wd in regards to your bumper?

I did, but unfortunately they didn't mention anything about a warranty, and I didn't think to ask...

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[malickie]

Did anyone have issues with the rear axle and the upper rear links being too long. Had to trim mine down almost 1/2 inch or so to get the rear axle to sit at the correct angle.


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[malickie]

Think I am going to put my rc4wd hazard beadlocks on the tires. Darn stock wheels keep losing screws and I really do not feel like going around and putting them back together. Just need to find 2 more hazard wheels to round it out. Most likely just going to have to bite the bullet and find someplace still selling the set of 4 which would leave me with 2 spare wheels.


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[Rock Dodger]

Originally Posted by malickie

Did anyone have issues with the rear axle and the upper rear links being too long. Had to trim mine down almost 1/2 inch or so to get the rear axle to sit at the correct angle.
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If it's not too late now, I would say make sure you have the correct rod ends, they are different lengths.

I had 3 of the 4 links installed before I figured out the forth wouldn't fit because my axle was upside-down. I got 2 links installed on the second axle before I figured out it was upside-down too. Doh!

Originally Posted by malickie

Think I am going to put my rc4wd hazard beadlocks on the tires. Darn stock wheels keep losing screws and I really do not feel like going around and putting them back together. Just need to find 2 more hazard wheels to round it out. Most likely just going to have to bite the bullet and find someplace still selling the set of 4 which would leave me with 2 spare wheels.
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Or 1 extra wheel if you use one as a spare. Speaking of spares, I'm a little bummed that the kit version doesn't include a spare tire/wheel whereas the RTR version does. They're a bit dear in the first place, and in the second place RC4WD doesn't keep them well in stock. So what I'm getting to is - there may be a market for some of your OEM wheels and or tires, should you decide to go a non-stock route.

About those wheel nuts and bolts, what size nut is that anyway? I heard it is 1.6mm. I mostly got away with using a 1.5mm driver but it's a touch too small. There's that Loctite again, really, each and every one of those little buggers.

How about those axle nuts? Well the nuts are standard 7mm but the recess in the wheel is so tight that none of my wrenches are small enough external diameter to fit. Had to resort to needle nose pliers.

[malickie]

Mip 7mm driver worked well. Had enough clearance though even that was a tad tighter than I was used too. Definitely not friendly beadlocks for sure.

As far as the wheel nuts/bolts to secure the tire. I’m guessing it is probably American standard most like .050” driver.


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