Things to know before you start building your Ascender...

[Natedog]

When I got my first Ascender my LHS actually had already opened all thiers to find out, they were all with HD pinions and driveshafts. RPP Hobby | Radio Controlled Cars, Trucks, Boats, Helis, Planes, Plastic Models has newer stock and the one I got from them months ago has HD.

However HD pinions are only $10 per pair
Vaterra HD Pinion Drive Gear 13T (2)

HD driveshafts are only $12 for the pair (front and rear)
Vaterra Ascender HD Molded Center Driveshaft Set Short/Long

RTR Blazer
Vaterra 1/10 1986 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Ascender 4WD RTR

Kit Blazer
Vaterra 1986 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Ascender 1/10 4WD Kit

RTR Bronco
Vaterra 1/10 1972 Ford Bronco 4x4 Ascender RTR

RPP Hobby coupon codes, these guys have great customer service, prices and fast shipping!
http://www.rpphobby.com/Articles.asp?ID=247

I bought spare set of HD pinions, HD driveshafts, steel shims, and spur gears when I bought mine. It's always good to have trail spares.

Edit: As of 3/15/17 I have not needed any of the spares that I bought!

[northern hooligan]

Very much appreciated Natedog,

I will just have to do it and buy the kit, I like your idea of just buying a few extras "spares" as well. All I need to do is pick out a controller/RX (That is a whole lot more reading). Already have a motor / ESC and reading up on the battery tray mod.

[Natedog]

YOu're welcome, here's a great radio at a great price:
FLY SKY GT3C 2.4ghz 3-Channel Radio Transmitter and Receiver w/ LCD+Lipo Battery and Charger

[NickDanger]

I second the Flysky. Great radio with all kinds of options at an entry level price.

I ended up ordering my Ascender kit through the shop at my local short course/buggy track, so it wasn't something they stocked but he said he could order it and sell it at $299.99 instead of the normal $319.99 retail and have it in two days. So, I was able to get the most up to date kit and it was less money with no shipping or anything!

[northern hooligan]

Just a quick update:
Although I have not made up my mind if i am going the RTR Bronco (this summer) or Blazer Kit ( Winter project ) route. Prices are finally coming down @ the LHS, so I can wait for another month or 3 before I decide. For fellow noobs looking at the Ascender, here are a few great threads to get some info on.

Nates: Natedog's Vaterra ASCENDER
Italia83: My baby blazer
Pete959:Newbie
northernerbill: Bill's G6 comp rig on a sensible budget

I figured as its a sticky thread, it would be ok to share the links.

[Jeepiac]

I've gotta say that this has been one of the easiest and fastest building kits I've ever seen. Took just under 2 hours to get it to roller status. I did have an issue with it though. One of the pins for the lower links was to big of a diameter to pass through the ball-ends. Haven't heard any mention of this, but if there's one in a million that screwed up, I'll get it every time. Other than that, what an awesome kit.
Hats off to Horizon while I'm at it. I bought the Vaterra Bronco body, and when it arrived the decals were missing. They went above and beyond to rectify the issue.

[Ascenderfreak]

Just got done with my Ascender kit, its a rolling chassis now waiting for electrics. While overall the kit did go together pretty quickly, after reading this entire thread I am still not clear on what the lengths of all of the front links should be. There is much contradicting info on this thread.. So, is it that the two front links that attach to the center plastic skid should be made with the longer 66 mm shafts and two spacers, and BOTH the third chassis link and panhard bar should be made with the shorter 61 mm shaft and only one spacer?
The kit is not very clear in a few places and the drawings aren't the best, Vaterra should have done a better job with the manual..

[northern hooligan]

In the build manuals ( Bronco - Blazer kit or rtr - 72 K10 PU) it lists the the following info:

Short WB use a 30 mm Servo link # VTR234026
Long WB use a 38 mm Servo link # VTR234026

Steering Linkage Set: ASN | HorizonHobby

* For now, the kit only comes with the 38mm link.*

Email - (Shortened to the point):

" Thank you for contacting Horizon Hobby.

Hello Gerry,

The part number VTR234026 was intended to come with both size of linkage, but currently it only comes with the 38mm. We are aware of this and are currently working to have the 30mm included with the VTR234026 or making it available separately. "

Fast response from customer service from my when I sent it.

[Natedog]

I was looking around and found the Twin Hammers kit manual, this
should be helpful for ordering all the proper parts and assembling the
Ascender two-speed transmission setup!

http://www.horizonhobby.com/pdf/VTR03001_Manual.pdf

[Chris83]

I have recently added an ascender to my collection and so far have run into a couple issues myself. I know its common sense but in the instructions there is no mention of lubing the transmission gears at all which I thought was odd. Then we move on the the front diff assembly where now I am at a stop until vaterra/horizon receives a call in the morning because my ring gear in the kit is not machined properly and there is no spot to install a bearing on the gear side. I haven't read anywhere of people having this issue so maybe its just my luck that I got a bunk gear. The kit still came with the paper asking for the shims to both be installed on the gear side and one driveshaft pin was a really tight fit in the yoke.

[Sepulveda87]

does anyone have issues with the servo horn hitting the lower steering link? mine hits and prevents it from full flex!? its quite annoying. any info would be greatly appreciated.

[OldNTired]

Originally Posted by Sepulveda87

does anyone have issues with the servo horn hitting the lower steering link? mine hits and prevents it from full flex!? its quite annoying. any info would be greatly appreciated.

What wheel base did you build? How is the servo sitting in the chassis?

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by Chris83

I have recently added an ascender to my collection and so far have run into a couple issues myself. I know its common sense but in the instructions there is no mention of lubing the transmission gears at all which I thought was odd. Then we move on the the front diff assembly where now I am at a stop until vaterra/horizon receives a call in the morning because my ring gear in the kit is not machined properly and there is no spot to install a bearing on the gear side. I haven't read anywhere of people having this issue so maybe its just my luck that I got a bunk gear. The kit still came with the paper asking for the shims to both be installed on the gear side and one driveshaft pin was a really tight fit in the yoke.

Welcome to the Ascender club! Did Horizon/Vaterra take care of you with your malformed gear?

Originally Posted by Sepulveda87

does anyone have issues with the servo horn hitting the lower steering link? mine hits and prevents it from full flex!? its quite annoying. any info would be greatly appreciated.

On the WB1 and WB2 with servo crossways across the chassis the tie-rod contacts the servo horn about 3mm before the shocks bottom out (vertical compression). In actual crawling and flexing it seems ok, but this bothers me too. I placed my steering servo on top of the servo mounts and ran my draglink to the top of the right knuckle, tie-rod below the knuckle. It's close but does not rub my Vaterra TSLs on stock wheels, SSD or RC4WD steel beadlocks.

The servo mounts can be flipped upside down in the frame rails to slightly alter servo height too (this will raise the servo if it's under the mounts stock mounting position). If the servo is on top of the mounts it will lower it too, giving four different servo mounting heights. I'm playing with the different heights too. Different brands and models of servos have different deck heights so that comes into play too. I'm running Hitec HS7950TH. Different servo horns, clampiing or not and arm thickness and offset matter too. Check my build thread for pics and more details.

Originally Posted by OldNTired

What wheel base did you build? How is the servo sitting in the chassis?

X2

[Sepulveda87]

Originally Posted by Natedog

Welcome to the Ascender club! Did Horizon/Vaterra take care of you with your malformed gear?



On the WB1 and WB2 with servo crossways across the chassis the tie-rod contacts the servo horn about 3mm before the shocks bottom out (vertical compression). In actual crawling and flexing it seems ok, but this bothers me too. I placed my steering servo on top of the servo mounts and ran my draglink to the top of the right knuckle, tie-rod below the knuckle. It's close but does not rub my Vaterra TSLs on stock wheels, SSD or RC4WD steel beadlocks.

The servo mounts can be flipped upside down in the frame rails to slightly alter servo height too (this will raise the servo if it's under the mounts stock mounting position). If the servo is on top of the mounts it will lower it too, giving four different servo mounting heights. I'm playing with the different heights too. Different brands and models of servos have different deck heights so that comes into play too. I'm running Hitec HS7950TH. Different servo horns, clampiing or not and arm thickness and offset matter too. Check my build thread for pics and more details.



X2

Natedog,

i have the servo sg1210wp. the servos is in the wb4 position. i have about .375 left until full compression. i will try the mount flip to see if that gives me any more room. pic of your drag link after the servo mount flip?

[Natedog]

Servo mount flip is for wb1 and wb2 cross chassis mounting. Wb3 and wb4 mounts lengthwise and I don't think servo mount flip will work. Try lower profile aluminum servo horn, non-clamping type, Dynamite and Hudy make good quality and Hudy is super low profile. My Blazer setup with Dynamite horn just barely touches as suspension is completely compressed. Iirc I posted pictures a couple pages back in this thread, they are all in my build thread with part numbers and explanations.

EDIT: I checked and WB2 can also run steering servo in longitudinal (WB3/WB4) configuration! Will probably need to make your own draglink and slightly longer. I like to run it to the top of right side knuckle.

[luckster]

Got my kit today. I've read the entire thread. The kit looks nice. Yippy Skippy, here we go. Thanks to all that have posted all the good advice. And my buddy Jeepiac for talking me into the Ascender.

[Joonatin]

Has there been a change in the axle housings at some point? I was building my axles this morning and it seemed impossible to fit the shims on both sides of the ring gear. It would have stuck really bad if I had forced the gear into the slot. It felt fine without the shims though.

[Natedog]

It seems there may have been an improvement in tightening this tolerance. The axles in my latest kit from couple months ago are little too tight and crunchy if you just install the shims for the ring gear (spool), I need to pull it apart and re-shim it a little looser.

Edit, I still used both factory shims, but moved around with my one added (slightly thinner) shim to smooth the gear mesh. It's best to setup so that it the spool doesn't just fall into the housing, but is slightly snug.

[imthatguy]

Originally Posted by Natedog

It seems there may have been an improvement in tightening this tolerance. The axles in my latest kit from couple months ago are little too tight and crunchy if you just install the shims for the ring gear (spool), I need to pull it apart and re-shim it a little looser.

A note to add to this point, if you upgrade to the Vanquish axles, you will not be able to fit the shims either. Tolerances are much tighter with the new bearing cups.

[eddieaim]

Hi Guys,
I'm new in this Forum, I'm writing from Italy.
I bought an Ascender Vaterra and I'm almost finished to build it, but i'm having some issue.
First of all I have 3 rings left... I red all threads about Vaterra and I know that are about pinions and drive shafts, but in my manual (5/16 4269.1) are not indicated maybe "I hope" my kit is fine without it?

Other noising thing is that the front axle is off center and the left suspension is touching the chassie side I had to unscrew the panhard bar about 4 mm to get it centered! is that normal?


Here the pics -> https://photos.app.goo.gl/QnYRvJFVfF7yeQg62


Thanks for any replay.