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Old 01-04-2023, 02:22 PM   #1
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Default The Telluride Project

In a never ending quest to build something trail worthy out of a random RC vehicle for no apparent reason, I came across this gem on FB. I've been thinking of another stab at an IS crawler since converting over the T-maxx. I was kinda thinking about a Slash 4x4 since there's a million hops up out there and with all the different chassis and suspension arms, I figure I could mix and match up something interesting. Never even thought of the old Telluride - it's a short, narrower Slash 4x4. Hmmm... Couple of issues to work out - weight balance, gearing, etc. but I've got some ideas....

So, an hour drive and a reasonable lightening of the wallet later and I had myself a Telly with some honkin' 2.8 wheels but mostly intact. ..came with a Slash chassis, diffs, and suspension. 2 wheelbases and 2 widths - options are good! Although when I got home, I realized it was actually another short WB chassis, but it did have Slash width suspension arms. Interesting.



This is not my first rodeo with the Telluride, I bought a roller and built it up with a clear body 8 years ago(!!), but I sold it before I ever put power to it. I do that a lot, I'm not sure why.


First thing I always do when buying something well used is strip it all the way down to the hardware and give it a bath. This one was a piece, owned by someone who really wasn't into RC per-se and used a few hardware bits here and there. Thankfully, between both chassis I have enough parts for a decent rebuild. All the gears got cleaned and re-greased, all the bearings cleaned and re-lubed...rebuilding used RC's is one of my favorite things to do.


Thankfully, the Telly came with diff lockers already installed and the gears looked new so it's all good there. Out back I used the spare front shock tower ilo the rear one so both front and rear used the same size shocks, about 90mm. Well, what do you know? I have a few of those laying around...so I used some Icons ilo the stockers sine I have a ton of springs for them. Built a while ago with some Traxxas x-rings IIRC, they are smooth and surprisingly leak free.


Up front, much of the same. The truck came with the aluminum steering bits, so I've got that going for me which is nice. Between the 2 trucks I fudged up all the turnbuckles though they are slightly different up front side to side - one is longer with shorter rod ends for some reason.


Fudged with the steering a bit and got a pretty good angle for an IS truck. I could probably go a bit further, but I'm worried about the joints up front. Should be good enough to get rolling, I'll wait and see how it does.


And finally, boom. The chassis is actually pretty cool to mess with, but the body is just hideous. That's what turned me off to the first one, even with custom paint. So I dug around and found this little Danchee Ridgerock body which is almost a perfect fit. Now it's a rock buggy! Kinda what I had in mind when I picked up the chassis, and it basically dropped right on. Wish all of my wacky ideas worked out so easily. The decals are ON there, not sure what they are, but not your normal vinyl decal. Not sure what I'm going to do there yet, though the colors of the body are spot on for me. I do have to use 2.2/3.0 wheels. Yuk. I thought I could get away with some high offset 2.2's but I can't get the steering angle with them. I'll trade a bit less scale wheel for more steering any day - I'm a pragmatic. Threw on some old SC wheels I had just to get it on 4 wheels but I've got another set coming.


I think the WB and width (280 and 280mm) work out pretty much spot on. Good to know I can wide track it if needed.


Wouldn't be any kind of crawler without a flex shot. It's got about 2" travel front and 2.5" rear with the 90mm shocks. Not bad at all.


And the HCG chassis has 2.5" of breakover clearance - again, not bad!


Thought it was a pretty worthy project so I ordered a few goodies for it this morning. More to come!
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Old 01-04-2023, 06:21 PM   #2
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

thats really cool i love that body lol

i sugest you reinforce the bottom edge its really week there
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Old 01-06-2023, 08:17 AM   #3
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

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Originally Posted by ferp420 View Post
i sugest you reinforce the bottom edge its really week there
Thanks, I think it's coming along way better than I had hoped! Bottom edge? of the body?

Got the electronics sorted out... I made a foam cradle to hold my 3S packs and keep them towards the front of the chassis. Modified the radio box to hold the ESC instead as I wanted it up front for weight balance. Also I snuck in a few lead bits under the ESC tray adding about .75g...not much, but every bit helps. Just trying to get as much weight forward as I can to offset the motor being out back.


Holmes Crawlmaster is my go to motor, no exception here! I've got it paired with a 3:1 reduction and a 20t pinion for a gear ratio of 35.43:1 - not as low as I would like, but it's in the ballpark for a trail rig...the stock truck came with a 19:1 ratio, so that's a decent improvement. The motor is sitting on the chassis, I'd have to clearance a bit to go any lower, I'll wait and see how it does before modding any more. It still has the plastic center shaft though, I forgot to order the aluminum one. It's on the list! I'm waiting on a gear cover, it's the only piece missing from the chassis and then its test drive time!
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Old 01-06-2023, 01:45 PM   #4
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Cool looking little ride man, great job on getting it together!!!
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Old 01-07-2023, 08:30 AM   #5
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Thanks, it's coming together way better than I had hoped.

Killing time while waiting for parts. Finally got all the decals off, it looks 100% better imo.


After I took the pics, I was looking at the roof and I'm not sure why it was blue up front... odd. I flipped it and now the colors line up much better and my OCD is satisfied.


Messed with the shocks, I've set them up for a dual rate setup. The small spring handles most of the travel somewhat softly and when its compressed, it bangs into the red springs which are much harder. So the suspension is pretty soft until the chassis is about to bottom out, then it gets substantially harder. Maybe not the best setup for trail duty, not sure (Great for bashing though.) I think a softer single spring and swaybars might be a better, more consistent way to go but I'll drive it and see. Odd opening up Icons and actually finding oil, but it was still in there.... dumped out the 30wt and went with 50 up front and 60 out back.


And late last night the UPS fairy dropped off some goodies! Going to be a good day tomorrow!

Last edited by OSRC; 01-07-2023 at 08:35 AM.
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Old 01-08-2023, 10:09 AM   #6
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Boy, that makes a difference! Took a chance on some RC4WD beadlocks and tall-ish Proline tires, wasn't sure if the beads would work out but they went together pretty easily. They are not crawler compound, but they feel pretty decent. I trimmed the foams a bit so they'd be softer.


'Pede light bar up front


And taillights in the back. Really don't like the bumper - it kind of sticks out there. Not sure what I want to do with it yet since it has the lights and swaybar mount on it.



There's a gaping hole in the body too, not sure what I want to do there yet.
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Old 01-08-2023, 10:20 AM   #7
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

That looks awesome! Okay, all but that rear bumper.
I agree, it really does not fit the build very much and sticks way out there.

Interested to see what you come up with.
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Old 01-08-2023, 10:21 AM   #8
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

I love it when a radical kit-bash comes together this well...

Very nice work!
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Old 01-09-2023, 01:45 PM   #9
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

If you want lower gearing with the tall tires brushed stampede's come with deeper ring and pinion gears. I currently have a brushless slash that started life as a brushed stampede so I kept the wider arms and such and went to slash chassis and taller tire to make up for gearing.
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Old 01-10-2023, 07:39 AM   #10
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

THanks for the comments, stoked with how it's coming along!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla View Post
If you want lower gearing with the tall tires brushed stampede's come with deeper ring and pinion gears.
Really? I thought they were all the same. Very interesting, I'll have to do some research...my gearing is in the ballpark, but that could lead to some OD/UD possibilities. Good to know, thanks!
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Old 01-10-2023, 08:25 AM   #11
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Finally it was test drive time. Wow. All I can say, I am shocked at how well this drives...who knew? Didn't even break a sweat on my usual test spots in the backyard, the dual springs seemed to work out really well, the suspension is pretty active to a point and then stiffens up - it just kinda floats along. Gearing was fine with a 20t pinion, low speed resolution was excellent. Tires need some break in, but they were better than I expected even in the cold which PL tires never like.


Breakover is great, my solid axle trucks get hung up here constantly. Breezed right over.



The hard springs will compress under weight, but they do a good job of keeping the diffs up and out of the way.


Sidehill king...



Just had one issue - the truck was getting kinda loud so I shut down and checked it out. The bearing in the GRU worked its way out and was up against the pinion. I just added some 3mm shims behind the pinion and it's nice and smooth again. Can't wait to get it out on the trail and give it a real test.
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Old 01-10-2023, 09:04 AM   #12
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

thats really cool

i took out my rig with that body it took a flying leap and landed on its roof and shattered the body i think i got all the peices picked up lol so i can glue it back together but maybe the hole body needs reinforced cause its definitly week
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Old 01-10-2023, 09:23 AM   #13
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Gotcha, I've got quite a bit of black duck tape under there, that helps!
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Old 01-10-2023, 09:43 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 350TacoZilla View Post
If you want lower gearing with the tall tires brushed stampede's come with deeper ring and pinion gears.
This is great info, thanks! I had no idea, I assumed they were all the same. I never stop learning in this hobby.

Did some research: There are 2 ratios: 2.84 (Telly, Slash 4x4) and 3.91 ('pede).. I'm not even sure what I have in the truck but I'm wondering if I already have the 3.91 gears.

All of my math is based off the Telluride gears listed in the parts list, but it doesn't drive at all like 32:1 - feels much taller... With 3.91 gears I'd be at 44:1 and that sounds much better and honestly that's how it drives. I'm wondering if the OP swapped in diffs since it came with a bunch of parts, and somewhere along the way lockers were installed. I'll have to look at what's in there and see what's what. Time to count some teeth.

By my math if I mix and match I'm looking at about a 38% OD up front. Not sure I want to go that tall but good to know.
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Old 01-11-2023, 07:30 PM   #15
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Hey I hope it helps man. This build is killer like most your stuff! Always neat to see a project thats unusual, some of them fail for sure but some end up working so much better than you dare hope for.

One nice thing with these is how the drivetrain is tucked up in with a pretty flat belly so even if it doesn't have the clearance of the solid axle trucks it might be able to just slide over obstacle that would hook on solid axle. I wish I could find a cheap inline 2spd trans. That way I could keep my current speed most of time then drop into a low gear for tight areas, that was my idea with the slummit project but it was just so big and heavy that it wasn't a good fit for running with my buddies much simpler slash 4x4 I built him out of a telly lol.
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Old 01-12-2023, 08:03 AM   #16
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Thank you good sir! This is indeed a fun platform to work with, not sure why I never tried it earlier. The only negative on the bottom is that the steering is somewhat exposed. I'm thinking a small skid would cover it right up... it's on the list. Otherwise it's smooth and tucked up high - perfect!

Just ordered some new driveshafts, really the only thing I need before hitting the trail. The originals are flat worn out - running locked diffs and 2.8 tires in its previous life has stretched out the holes and there's a lot of play in the driveline. They are pretty tough, but they are still plastic. Took a chance on some steel Slash 4x4 ones, I just hope they compress enough to work with the narrower Telluride arms. Otherwise, it's wide track time.

I did check into the gears, I have the taller Slash ratios. I'm not sure where my math is off, it doesn't drive like it's a 30:1 ratio. Maybe the smoothness of the 5 pole just makes up for it, not sure.
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Old 01-12-2023, 08:23 AM   #17
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

You might be able to trim them to collapse more but I'm not sure on that, I use the cheapo plastic stuff just for ability to grab them off shelf but with telluride getting discontinued I'm not sure how long its parts will be around. The nice thing about telly arms are they are the same L&R so you can use spares any corner, slash,bandit & stampede are all L&R marked and also have some toe in made into the arms. To get rid of it I bought hubs with 1 or 1.5 degree of toe in and flipped them side for side to negate the factory toe.


In pic it almost looks like Telluride is the one with toe but that"s because how they mount to chassis.
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Old 01-20-2023, 05:48 AM   #18
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Nice pic of the arms - never thought about Bandit arms, that would really narrow things up. Interesting!

Well, I can say they do not compress.... so either I've got to cut them down, or swap over to a Slash suspension. Think I might do the swap and change the offset on the wheels. Should turn out ok...I hope. Got a ton of parts in yesterday, time to get wrenching!
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Old 01-20-2023, 06:16 AM   #19
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Default Re: The Telluride Project

Cool looking rig! Always like seeing old dirty neglected rigs cleaned up and brought back to life! Nice choice on the body! Looks great and much better than the body it came with.
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Old 01-21-2023, 12:12 PM   #20
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THanks B-Mow! It's been fun wrenching on something different.

Prepare to see double...


Picked up another roller, this one is a Stampede 4x4. Figured it had some good parts on it, and could raid the deeper ratio diffs and what not for the crawler then use the leftovers for a backyard basher. Win/win! So I ordered a few odds and ends and when it all came in I started tearing it all down.


But not all went to plan. At all. Picked up some steel CVD's on the cheap since I figured I'd have to cut them down for the narrower Telluride suspension. Which I did....and it took off the knurled part inside and made them useless. Ooops. And it turns out the Stampede I got had the same diff gears I already had for some reason, so pretty much my entire plan was shot to hell.


After taking a break and noodling on it a bit, I decided to swap over the entire suspension from the new roller over to the crawler. Wasn't crazy about adding extra width, but I have the CVD's and arms, so may was well put them to good use.


Pretty easy swap, I cleaned them up, lubed the CVD's and bearings on everything bolted right on. I swapped the RC4WD hubs for the narrower ones, so my overall track width is about +20mm. I can live with that.


I was at 49.2/50.8 front/rear balance before doing the swap, so I played around with the turnbuckles a bit. I added aluminum ones out back and went with both steel up front. I didn't measure, but I should be really, really close to a 50/50 balance - not bad at all for a rear motor platform.



The aluminum arms and steel CVD's give it much more heft down low, it feels really nice. Just need some rear light buckets and it's ready to go, I can't wait to get it out and try it on a trail.

Last edited by OSRC; 01-21-2023 at 12:17 PM.
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