New to crawling burning out servos

[Shelburnite]

Hello, new to crawling and these forums. So Im an avid hiker and I spend a lot of time hiking in the Appalachian mountains of New England. My brother recently got me in to rock crawlers. I then decided to start taking my rc crawler on hikes with me. These are long hikes several miles several hours on rough trails and always a mountain. Problem Im having is I keep burning out steering servos, I recently burnt out a savox sw-0231mg steering servo. Still a “budget” servo. Before I just throw money that I don’t really have at a problem. Do I simply need to use a better servo or is what im trying to do with my poor Everest 10 crawler a bit much. I plan in upgrading but for now this is what I have to work with.
Ive searched around and haven’t found any threads that match my situation.

[Greatscott]

For tires that big, you really want a servo with at least 300oz of torque.

[durok]

For your situation, if you need to stay below $50 :

https://www.amazon.com/Power-HD-WP-2.../dp/B06XBS18YZ

[snapon boy]

Promoddler v5 is what I would recommend, or hitec 7955 or 7954

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[CoolRunning]

I have to say that it depends on the binds you put it in as to how crazy a servo you need.

If you've properly set the end points so it's not binding up without actually going in a rock bind (it'll get hot just turning and eventually burn out if you're forcing it to jam doing nothing) and you're needs are modest, many servos will do.

For example, if you don't need it to muscle a big heavy truck (or simply don't care if it's less precise and has less hold), try something affordable by all means. I have run a couple of super fast .06s 177oz/in 6v servos in a Bomber and SCX10 and 7 months later after MANY miles, they are still going strong. They aren't setting the world on fire but they have got wet and are kicking goals. End point settings are important for a happy servo no matter than power.

[HumboldtEF]

I burned up a few servos by leaving the truck on while the servo was fighting to straighten the wheels. If you're taking breaks with the truck on just shut it off. I hear that higher end servos have protection against this, but cheaper ones don't.

[Shelburnite]

i set the steering so it isn't trying to turn beyond what the wheels can do so it isn't needlessly straining to turn the wheels farther.Not sure how heavy my truck is but recently got some rock claw tires that cut down on the weight quite a bit but still burnt a servo.

Endurance here is what im looking for. The most recent burnout started while under way at a good steady walking pace had already been at it for a good two hours. It really started to go at the top of steep climb the servo was almost too hot to touch. No serous high speed bashing im not hammering it through rocks but a few good cartwheels and rolls down one or two trail sections. Everything else on the truck seems to be just fine except the servo's. So my best guess here is better servo with more torque.

Thanks for the reply's.

[durok]

While I definitely agree the Promodeler is incredible (I just bought one!), $100 is a lot to spend for a servo on an Exceed.

Hence my $43 PowerHD 23KG Waterproof recommendation.

320oz-in of torque at 6.6v.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by durok

While I definitely agree the Promodeler is incredible (I just bought one!), $100 is a lot to spend for a servo on an Exceed.

Hence my $43 PowerHD 23KG Waterproof recommendation.

320oz-in of torque at 6.6v.

Exactly! One that buys an Exceed is probably not going to spend $100 on a servo especially when you consider that's probably half the cost of the vehicle.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by durok

While I definitely agree the Promodeler is incredible (I just bought one!), $100 is a lot to spend for a servo on an Exceed.

Hence my $43 PowerHD 23KG Waterproof recommendation.

320oz-in of torque at 6.6v.

Couple this with CCBEC and Holmes Hobbies bypass harness for more power if needed.

[CoolRunning]

Feel your servo with your finger and if it's hot, just cruise around on the flat 'til it's again cool. It's easy to get even powerful servos hot; let's face it, they have little motors and no real cooling.

[spaceman5280]

I realize this is an unpopular opinion on this forum, but I recommend modifying driving style before continuing to buy and burn out servos.

First step is to check for any mechanical resistance and then look for damaged wires or plugs.

Next, set endpoints if you can and finally, let off the steering when in a bind and don't crank the wheel lock to lock.

Get used to steering only as much as you need.

I have been into RC for almost a decade, I have 5 SC bashers, a couple on road cars, and 7 crawlers and I have only ever burned up one servo, it was a stock Traxxas Slash servo that was bashed hard for 5 years.

I only run "budget" servos and still use my original JR servo from my first gen AX-10.



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[fyrstormer]

I use the Hitec HS-7955TG in all my crawlers, and even in my T-Maxx and Summit. It's a great servo. The worst malfunction I've ever had was when a drop of water leaked in and temporarily shorted-out the driver board on one of them; after I opened it and removed the drop of water it worked fine again. I coated the driver board in nail polish to prevent that from happening again.

You can get the HS-7955TG for about $70 on eBay, and I know from experience that it's strong enough to survive "flying dismounts" off rocks without a servo-saver for at least 3 years. (that's how old my Wraith is now.)

There's no reason you can't use an expensive servo in a cheap vehicle -- you can just transplant it into a better vehicle when you get one.

[HumboldtEF]

My motto with cheap stuff "it ain't cheap when you end up buying it twice" (cheap stuff breaks easier) mileage may vary

Not advise just an anecdote

[Shelburnite]

Would something like a servo saver help? i have an aluminum servo horn and metal rods for steering which has basically no give. So would a servo save help in reducing stress?

[HumboldtEF]

I think servo savers are mostly to protect against collisions. With crawlers servo savers are generally not used because ideally you want direct control over the wheels. It has the potential to help but I personally wouldn't want one on my trail truck or crawler.
Hopefully others can chime in too as I'm just a Newbie, but I'm learning.

[mudholestomper]

I'd like to second the comments that have been made involving the importance of setting the endpoints so that the servo is not trying to turn farther than it is mechanically/physically able to

A servo that is set to continue to try and turn after the steering parts have reached their mechanical limits is a sure way to destroy servo motors


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[Killerbyrd14]

The mg996r is a good extremely cheap servo. Had mine for 3 years on an ascender that I kid with and it still works. But has anyone considered that there might be some factory defect in the esc. Maybe it's giving the servos too much voltage? Just a thought.


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[fyrstormer]

If the voltage is high enough to burn-out servos, it should be causing problems for the receiver too.