My First Rock Crawler Buildup w/ Losi Night Crawler

[ravencr]

Hey guys,

Please be kind with my ability level and knowledge of this sport, but I have to admit it's fun as heck! I got a Losi Night Crawler today for Christmas, and I put one of my Venom 5000 mah 40c Lipos in it and ran it bone stock. Within 20 minutes of running on some firewood, the stock steering servo was toast...lol. Luckily, thanks to all of you, my wife also bought be a Hitec 7955 servo and Castle Creations BEC, so I was back running in no time flat. I haven't installed the BEC yet, but with just the servo alone, I've experienced zero binding so far that others have mentioned having problems with.

Me and all our relatives have had a blast today driving this thing around on some stacks of firewood, because that's all we had to make a course somewhat. It's pretty amazing what it will do, to say the least. But, like any toy I've ever had, and I'm sure everyone on here can attest to, we can't leave anything stock, that's for sure. Here's a short video of even my wife having a blast doing it too, so this is a really good thing too:

Jamie Log Crawling with our Losi Night Crawler - YouTube

Here's some of my plans, and I'm sure a lot of this will expand, but these are the first things I'm thinking about. Now, get to work helping me spending my money.

1st Upgrade
- After breaking the stock servo in less than 20 minutes, I upgraded to one of the recommended Hitec 7955 Titanium Geared servos.

1st Adjustment
- I lower the front suspension as low as it would go, but I've noticed that folks are running some sort of internal springs so the tires don't hit, which I'd say is something I'll be doing soon too along with flipping the shocks over to lower the center of gravity even more.

Planned Upgrades
- Install the Castle Creations BEC, but I'd like a way to install a secondary switch that will shut off power to the BEC, as well, so I can leave the battery connected when everything is off. Anybody know where I can get a switch just like you turn the truck on and off?
- Based on how much we got hung up on the lower links, I'd say the DluxFab lower bent control arms are definitely a must for the little bit of added clearance they'll give me.
- Knuckle weights from DLuxFab - I think the more the better here, and possibly weights in the wheels too, depending, but I'll start with the most knuckle when I can get from Erik to start.
- I'm definitely wanting to get some better tires. I'm thinking the super soft versions of the Hot Bodies Rovers. I'm not sure which way to go on foams, so I'll probably just start with the stock foams that come with them.
- The other big thing is I want to get some smaller batteries that I can mount lower and up front somehow...either on the upper links or on a custom tray off the axle/servo mount somehow. Getting that huge weight of the 6 cell lipo out of the tray will help a ton, I bet.

So, that's all I can think of right now. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I'm excited about playing with this thing.

Chris

[ravencr]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to order some batteries, and I was wondering if anyone is running these or has a better recommendation, by chance? Sky Lipo 1300mAh 7.4V 40C or http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...ck-74V-1650mAh I like the Losi, because it has the correct connector for the Night Crawler, so I wouldn't have to modify anything...but they're a lot more money. I also found these at Hobbypartz: http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-25c-1300-2s1p.html

Thanks,

Chris

[ravencr]

I alos emailed Erik at DluxFab the following questions before I place my order with him:

- Brass Knuckle Weights - SKU 00012 - Do I need to order weights only or the complete kit? Do I need to order two sets of these for the front and the rear, or just one set for the front? If these knuckle weights are just for the front, do you make something similar for the rear? Do I order the .100 or .300 brass rings, or the steel rings with the knuckle weights for stock loss wheels? You had mentioned something about having to cut the steel rings if I added them to the knuckle weights, but I'm not clear on what you mean by this exactly? Does this offset the front wheels more than stock for more lock to lock clearance of the shocks?
- Can you explain what the pins are for?
- I don't see a listing for the HD Worm gears or the Rear adjustable link mount on the website

I'll post his reply or Erik you can just reply on here if you'd like too.

Chris

[ravencr]

Also, I was wondering if I need anything to be able to flip the shocks upside down? Or, do I just flip them over and everything works the same?

Chris

[rockjoc24]

Originally Posted by ravencr

I alos emailed Erik at DluxFab the following questions before I place my order with him:

- Brass Knuckle Weights - SKU 00012 - Do I need to order weights only or the complete kit? Do I need to order two sets of these for the front and the rear, or just one set for the front? If these knuckle weights are just for the front, do you make something similar for the rear? Do I order the .100 or .300 brass rings, or the steel rings with the knuckle weights for stock loss wheels? You had mentioned something about having to cut the steel rings if I added them to the knuckle weights, but I'm not clear on what you mean by this exactly? Does this offset the front wheels more than stock for more lock to lock clearance of the shocks?
- Can you explain what the pins are for?
- I don't see a listing for the HD Worm gears or the Rear adjustable link mount on the website

I'll post his reply or Erik you can just reply on here if you'd like too.

Chris

Erik will set you straight everything Dlux makes is awesome ....

On the front knuckle weights with the stock wheels you can't run any extra rings.

On the rear for weights you'll have to get something like the CDW rear weight holding rings to run the Dlux weight rings in the rear but I'm not sure how many rings can be put on with the stock wheels I would ask Erik about that.

[ravencr]

Thanks for the help. Erik did say you can run the steel rings up front with some modifications apparently. He didn't say anything about the rear yet.

Chris

[ravencr]

So, I got some time to wheel this weekend and do some upgrades too. Here's a couple poser shots after rock crawling under some bridges. Fun times!







So, I swapped on some White Rover's, and 4 ounces of weight in the front and 2.5 ounces of weight in the rear, and the difference is amazing. Not that this is a huge accomplishment or anything, but I couldn't climb a curb before, but now I can with the added weight and larger tires. And, talk about sticky...these Rover's are insanely sticky compared to the stock tires, and the flex on the rocks is way way better. I can't wait to get the knuckle weights, steel rings, and bent lower control arms from Dluxfab and switch the tires from front to rear. I'll have 8.2 ounces up front then and 4 ounces in the rear.

Chris

[Tortured Witt]

Your plans are solid. Don't forget to grease your worms !

[ravencr]

Thanks...I've got grease to do it. Any other recommendations?

Chris

[ravencr]

Here's a video of the Night Crawler underneath a bridge in Maryville, TN. It was a blast watching what this thing would crawl up.

Chris (Ravencr)'s First Rock Crawling Runs with Losi Night Crawler - YouTube

Chris

[ravencr]

Here's a video of Jeremy's SCX10 in the same area.

Jeremy (JTeffey)'s First Rock Crawling Runs with Axial SCX10 Trail Honcho - YouTube

Chris

[Bart bender]

To answer a couple question,

I run the Gens Ace 1300 lipos. Cheap and hold up just as good as the more expensive ones.
Get that battery low and forward. That will help more than anything.

I see you went with the white Rover and not Pink. Nova foams hands down

[ravencr]

Originally Posted by Bart bender

To answer a couple question,

I run the Gens Ace 1300 lipos. Cheap and hold up just as good as the more expensive ones.
Get that battery low and forward. That will help more than anything.

I see you went with the white Rover and not Pink. Nova foams hands down

Thanks for the link to the Gens Ace Batteries. I saw those at Hobbypartz, but I wasn't sure what type of connections it had on it? Any chance you could tell me, so I can determine if I need to mod the connections at all? Yeah, I went with the white rover's, because that's all the hobby store had in stock when I was there. Where do I get the Nova foams? When you say get the battery low and forward as much as possible, do you have any pics of how to do this effectively, because I'm at a loss so far on what would be the best place to do it? Thanks,

Chris

[Bart bender]

They come with bullets. I use the 4 pin micro deans, but the ultra's are the most popular. The best place for the battery is on the axle. It's tight but possible with some fab work. I have a MOA LCC but I did modify a friends LCC for him to this configuration. It's here

[ravencr]

Thanks man. So, nobody really makes a plate for the servo and battery to fit on the axle like you're showing in the other thread, huh? Do you have a finished design of the plate you made for your buddies and how it all fits up on that plate, by chance? Or still working on it? I'd like to put it all up front on the axle as you mention, but my fab tools for this scale of a vehicle or minimal at best. I guess I could fab up something though. Are folks just shifting the steering servo to one side and the battery on the other...any particular way?

Chris

[Bart bender]

Yes servo on opposite side of battery. Havn't seen anyone produce them. I only have this one made. They are easy to make. Just get some delrin and transfer the hole patterns and cut it out.

[ravencr]

k, where can I get the delrin at? What do you use to cut it with?

Chris

[Bart bender]

Grainger or MacMaster Carr carry it. It's also called Acetal. I use my Band saw. It cuts like butter. You could use a hack saw too and smooth it up with files.

[ravencr]

K, sounds good. I'll figure it out and post up whatever I come up with. Is this stuff pretty stout or pretty flexible? Would you recommend 1/8" thick or do I need to go thicker than that? What are folks using for the shorter steering link? And, what about one that's higher up out of the rocks too?

Chris

[Bart bender]

You can use 1/4 rod and thread it for the drag link. Lot of guys use Traxxas links from there LHS. That is if you have a well stocked LHS or know what lengths you need. The servo needs to be linked to the opposite side knuckle. It will be too short if you go to the same side. Delrin/Acetal is pretty stiff stout stuff in sheet form. The round rods are kinda flexy if you get some of that for links or steering links.