Come meet "The Duke"

[Grizzly4x4]

Here is my Mod Clod, The Duke. I named it after John Wayne, the toughest sumbich to ever breathe air IMO.

The frame is all 16Ga, MIG welded, 1/2" box steel, that is what I like to work with cuz I can weld it. I still need to finish the roll cage though.
For the suspension, I wanted something unique and functional. I like the idea of cantilevered coilovers but dont like what they do to the spring
rate so I decided to separate them. The Duke runs a coil spring suspension and not the traditional coilover shock/spring.
The coils are mounted between the frame and axles while the shocks are horizontally mounted on the frame with a cantilever system.
The cantilevers were made from airplane nosewheel steering blocks and arms. They give about a 2:1 ratio.
This setup gives me alot of suspension droop,in fact the axles droop more than they compress.
The springs are 2.5" Losi springs and are held in place by shock spring cups turned upside down.
I am still experimenting, but softer springs (pink) in the rear really seemed to hurt performance.

I made the lower link axle mounts myself. They bolt to the axle tube with a u-bolt (inspired by Ace). The rear links are much longer than the front
so the links are not symmetrical about the center of the chassis. This was done to keep as much weight on the front axle as possible.
Front links are mounted below the skidplate because they are so short but the rear links mount above to keep a smooth surface for sliding
over sharp breakovers. Both sets of lower links are bent for clearance to allow the tires to catch rocks before the links hit.
Luck has played a big part in the link geometry, the lower link angles look pretty steep but everything seems to be ok.
I wont pretend that I calculated it all out, I just took a best guess.
Traxxes 4 Tec battery cups locate the battery to a plastic plate on top of the frame over the front axle and as far forward as possible.

Some general stuff: Mag Mayhems, Rooster, JB Lockers, 8T Rear 9T front pinions, Ace-built wheel adaptors, Imex Maxx Outlaw wheels,
Savage Tyres (sometimes BFT's).
Wheelbase: 14"
Overall Width: 13.75"
Overall Height: 11.5" w/ Bronco body
Overall length: 20.25"

Have a look at the pics, comments, questions, and criticism are welcome. Thanks.

[Ace]

Hmmm, not bad for a Clod

[Fishmaxx]

VERY NICE.........................

Ol Duke needs 4ws

[Ace]

I find full time 4ws to be a pain in the arse.

Only way I'd add 4ws is on a third channel.

[RcRock-Guru]

Lookin good! I really like the suspension, very unique.

[DirkDigler]

I love the Duke. It's a real performer too guys!

As for 4ws: I wouldn't highly recommend it. I use it on my Digler truck because it is so ****in big! 17 inches of wheel base, 16 inches wide, Jumbo Kongs.....it needs all the help it can get while turning. On my other truck, I don't use it. However, it does help alot in tight, rolling terrain. When you are in very large rocks, it helps but it sometimes hurts more than helps. However, however....if you have a radio that allows you to run the rear locked out, crab steer and regular 4ws, then it might be perfect. Hmmmmm.....I guess I'm still undecided......

[mat]

Original design man!! nice work

[DirkDigler]

I wish everyone could see Griz's and Ace's trucks in person to appreciate how good the work is on these trucks. Not only are they innovative and look good, they simply work awesome!

[Grizzly4x4]

Thanks for the props guys, I really appreciate it.

My take on 4ws is I have only wished I had it like 1% of the time. The truck is very maneuvorable cuz of the 14" wb. When I see a serious need for it I will put it on, like if some serious competitions start up, but like Dirk and Ace point out, it will only be on a 3rd channel. I am toying with the idea of the motor disconnect idea just to try it.

Thanks for the love Dirk, Ace an I were really worried that our rigs wouldn't stack up to the rest when we first went to meet. The only thing we had to compare to was each other and our trucks are so similar. Again, thanks and glad ya'll like it.

[boohoo583]

Now that is awsome! It is really scale! I love the suspension set up! Hell ya!

[SR5Dave]

Hey, this looks a lot like a PM I got recently?

Its awesome, great work

[Grizzly4x4]

Thanks boohoo glad ya like it. Thanks Dave, after I wrote this up to send to you I decided to post it. I hope it gives all of you some ideas. Here are some of my favorite action shots so far, you guys have seen them but probly never noticed the suspension. No poser shots either.

[crippler]

hallo, i´m from germany, i´m 15 years old and i like your page
sorry for my bad english.

i like the duke, it looks great.
i´m going to build my own rock crawler with the help of the pic´s from you guys

thanks a lot

[MaxxZilla]

Welcome to the site, there is sooo much knowledge here, you could just about build anything. Do you know what kind of axles you are going to be running for your project?

[SR5Dave]

Originally Posted by crippler

hallo, i´m from germany, i´m 15 years old and i like your page
sorry for my bad english.

i like the duke, it looks great.
i´m going to build my own rock crawler with the help of the pic´s from you guys

thanks a lot

Actually thats better english than most of us use! You know, a while ago some web pages were posted and they were all in german.. I'll look for them and send you the links.. You could probably make good use of them. They make some neat stuff over there!! Welcome

[Grizzly4x4]

crippler, glad to see you join us and that you like my rig. There is alot of information floating around here so be sure and read the old posts as well as the tech articles on the main page. There are lots of people willing to help out as well. I hope you decide to build a Clod

[Destroyer]

Wow-Awesome rig! It looks so "real" with the coils and chassis like that! How are the bent lower links holding up? I had links like that on my clod and the tended to spin around which defeated their purpose. How do you keep them in the same position? Excellent job there!

Destroyer

[Grizzly4x4]

Hey Destroyer, thanks for the good words.
If you look really close at the links in the pics you can see a jam nut between the end of the link and the rod end. I tighten up the jam nut against the link when I get it positioned. The link rotates a little because of the rod end but not enough to cause a problem. The high clearance links have worked great so far, they are 3/16" x 0.039?) wall tube. This size is perfect for a 6-32 tap with no drilling. I bent one at Jason's house the other weekend, I was trying to hop up a steep rock face and after about a dozen times of landing on the rear axle, the link bent. I straightened it out am an still running it with no problems.

[Janders]

I like the options that setup gives you in terms of separating spring rate from dampening. Probably more adjustability options than I could use! lol

looks good

[Grizzly4x4]

Thanks Janders, and you are right about the tuning options . There are so many spring and shock options out there and I have not even begun to scratch the surface . Plus I can adjust my cantilevers for more droop or compression. There a few things I really liked about the suspension setup. Most important was that it kept the spring rate linear, when you put the springs on the shock with a cantilever, it make the spring rate progressive. Something I felt would not be helpful.

Thanks skoolbus, I was wondering if you had noticed it . I'm not sure what you meant by The Duke having "to go", I assure you it's gonna be around, along with several other clones I am making for others.
I think you meant that you were going to displace it from the food chain with your new truck.
All I can say is I love a challenge, so "Git R Done!!!!". Is The Duke a world class RIG? I dont know, I have not met enough other rigs to make a claim like that. But it does werk pretty darn good.
Lastly, my friend has 1:1 Jeep called "Wild Oats" and on the back is a phrase I'd like to leave you with:

"Pack a lunch, and bring a flashlight" :P
Thanks guys.