My first crawler. What shoul I do?

[TheNewbie]

Hi I am new to the crawling scence. I am getting a TLT-1 I eventuly want to make it a TLT-10 but that is in the future. OK so what should I do to my tlt first off?
I here a lot of people get rid of the stock tranny and put in a standped? What does that do?
What about shocks? What kind of shocks do the pros use (pros that is you guys).
I also want to get a lot of articulation so how do I get that?

Sorry so many question. Thanks

[jordanator62]

your name suites you well, just search around, youll find all the answers to your questions...

jorDANK

[TheNewbie]

Thanks for answering some of my questions

[pedesrule]

dont get an attitude with the guy he was just sayin you asked alot of questions that are already answered here on this board. Im sure the guy has the ablility to answer all of your questions but why should he when you can look them up yourself?

[Plays_with_Toys]

Pede tranny = gears, which is stronger

Shocks are anything that are longer, maxx shocks, losi, ae, whatever you can find.

Get ball bearings for the truck... And do it before you build. It'll save you time.

As for articulation... that is a search question.

[firstumustcrawl]

umm well articulation we would need determine once you complete the truck so we can see what you did but usually the closer you mount the shock bottom to the chassis the more art. you get.

[Wookie]

OK, here are some answers to your quesitons.

I don't mind answer them for you, after all this is a forum to ask questions and if everybody just did a search then it would just be a FAQ board, what good is that?

First thing you must do to your TLT is lock out your center differential. It is not needed at all. You can use several methods to lock it out. I used JB Weld and two screws to lock mine out, but you can also use Traxxas Slipper pegs if you want. The slipper pegs can be removed if for some reason you want to unlock it.

The easiest way to do this would be JB Weld and slipper pegs. It would be locked permenently, but as I said before it's just not needed.

The Stampede tranny is nice because it uses the Traxxas Sliders, which makes stretching your TLT easier. With the sliders you don't have to build your stretch aroung a specific length dogbone. The sliders also allow greater angles in the driveline which allows you to get more ground clearance in your TLT. With dogbones if you try and get too great of an angle you get a lot of binding in the drivetrain.

Generally when switching to a Stampede tranny most people just build thier own chassis. This is what I did with mine. It just gave me a cleaner looking chassis since I didn't hack up the stock aluminum one.

To start with, after locking the center differential, I would suggest bigger tires. Look around and see what you want to use. Since you are wanting to do a TLT-10 in the future I'd look big to begin with. My suggstions would be Proline Masher 2000's, IMEX Swamp Dawg, J-Hawg or Puller tires or CEN MT2 tires. These are all between 4.75 and 5.25" tall and range from 2.25" to 3" wide.

This will give your TLT a bigger look to start with, give it more ground clearance and make it ready for a big stretch when you want to do that.

Wheels, any 2.2" hex type rim will work. I personally like the HPI Super Star rims (non associated ones). They have lots of offset and look pretty good also.

After doing this you can decided how long your want to make your TLT, whether it's going to be a crawler or all around truck, whether you want to widen it or not, etc.

Length can go anywhere from an additional inch to a wheelbase of 13" which is where mine is currently at.

If it's going to be a crawler, lock all of your differentails out including the axles. If it's for general all around use you might just want to lock the rear differential out or just leave the axle differentials open.

For a crawler the only motor I'd suggest is the Integy 55 Turn motor. For general useage any good stock class to 19 turn motor will work.

Anyway, I hope this helps you out some. If you have any other questions let me know.

[TheNewbie]

Thanks a bunch!

I guess Jord dont like new people to the hobby. :?

Wookie can I put a pede tranny in the stock chassis? If not what other trannies can I put in the stock chassis?

Thanks

[Wookie]

You can put a Stampede tranny in the stock chassis, it just requires a little dremel work. The reason I went to a custom chassis is because I didn't like the link locations I was left with after cutting .75" off of the bottom of the chassis and I didn't like the hacked up look of it.

You can also find Stampede trannys on Ebay for around $25.00 shipped (complete with gears and ball bearings).

[pedesrule]

You have no reason to say jord doesnt like new people in the hobby. The main problem with newbies is they dont want to actually look for information that is already posted. I dont know about others on this board but i only have a very limited ammount of time to "cruise" all the boards i am on and post replies. If we were to restate information like you requested it wastes time that can be used for updates on projects and actual progress on the board.

Jord was not offensive at all with his post. All he said was that all the answers to your questions are right in front of you. All you would have to do is look.

If jord does have a problem with newbies its probably because of people like you who want everyone to tell you how to do something and repost it so you dont have to go looking for information.

[TheNewbie]

Who makes a bearing kit for the TLT-1?

[Wookie]

Check Ebay for bearing kits, that's where I picked up mine. It was really cheap, I just had to wait a week or so to get it.

[DUDE]

Just get sealed ones for the tranny and outer bearings on the axle, it will save alittle. $$$$