Ascender Tonka FPV Bronco Project

[Maraxusofkeld]

Started a "scale" FPV project about a month ago.

Ascender Kit- wheelbase shortened to 10.4"
HH torquemaster 35T
1980's Tonka Steel Bronco
Fat Shark Dominator V2 goggles w/Trinity Head tracker
Fat Shark pan/tilt/roll Mount
RMRC 700tvl camera
RMRC 1.3ghz 800mw video RX and TX
Turnigy x9 radio
EzUHF JR module
EzUHF receiver

Due to busy schedule, babies and such, I've only gotten this far.
-Shortened the Ascender Chassis WB
-Removed the steel bottom of the Tonka
-Fitted and trimmed the interior of the Tonka to sit as low as possible on the Chassis.

Still trying to decide on wheels...Stock Ascender wheels....or 1.7 scalers... and then figure out how to organized all of the new electronics that will go on here... I'll update as the project moves along.

[SMFtwstdHICK]

That is awesome man.. Nice job..

[Koldham]

i did that with a sawback. the weight will be hell on those axles. going to follow this one

[lil' bear 4wd]

1.9s look best the 1.7s look to small imo

[Maraxusofkeld]

Got a chance to do a little more work this weekend.

I made a mount for the camera... Carved up some 2x4







Figured out where I'm going to mount my Lipo and ESC..
Took a strip of aluminum and mounted it to the Ascenders servo mounts.
ESC will be taped right next to the servo.




And mounted the VTX with "Outdoor strength" Velcro Stuff. Seems to be a pretty good hold.







I quit after I was trying to test the whole setup and found my hobbywing ezrun 1060 was getting smoking hot after being plugged in... it just kept getting hotter and hotter even when the motor wasn't running...Anyone know whats up with that? Its my second one of those...

Anyway I need to buy a New ESC and a BEC for the Ezuhf Reciever + camera servos + Steering Servo...

Whats a reccomendation for a nice budget ESC for this thing?

[Maraxusofkeld]

Seems Like most people with this 800mw VTX are removing the outer case to reduce the size and weight of it. I'll try to do that this weekend.

I also placed an order for a HH TorqueMaster BR-XL, the 5A internal BEC should be enough so I don't need an external BEC... So I'll have to test that out when it arrives.

[Maraxusofkeld]

Its been awhile but good news I've started working on the Tonka again.

Made a hinge so that I can easily get to the main battery easier.





Probably should take it back apart and give it some paint... But it's not gonna happen until i "finish" most everything.

Also changed out the stock springs they were way to soft... I haven't weighed the truck yet but its gotta be close to 10lbs... These AE springs fit perfect and are $3-4 bucks a pair instead of the ridiculously priced Vaterra ones. Grey 2.33 springs in the rear, blue 2.55 in the front, Stock springs are shown also for comparison.



Removed the electronics box and made a sytrene plate to hold my Video TX Battery.






Also decided for cable management purposes and better airflow it will be easier to have the esc mounted near the transmission. It will sit right where the gear shift lever would be in the cabin.. I made an angled mount out of styrene that screws down into the transmission case.






Next step will be management layout type mods and probably a light bar...more to come

[Maraxusofkeld]

Installed Battery Voltage displays in the dashboard and made a little sunshade for them.

[Natedog]

Sounds nice, but pics not working for me today.

[SMFtwstdHICK]

No pic worky here either..

[Maraxusofkeld]

Originally Posted by SMFtwstdHICK

No pic worky here either..

Sorry dudes....they are showing on my machines and when I use my phone....Are all of the pics broken or is it just the recent posts?

and are you trying to view from an IOS device?

[SMFtwstdHICK]

I think it's just this thread. You click on it and it just spins. You try open in a different tab or window, you get a forbidden text.. and we don't have access.

[johnnyluv]

I just see grey boxes, from while viewing from Tapatalk on this Android.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Maraxusofkeld]

I think I fixed it.... newb move... I didn't setup the sharing setting in google drive to allow anyone to view them.

Thanks for letting me know... I'm one step closer to being a competent forum user.

[Natedog]

Works now, yes usually not set for proper share permissions. Forgot to say it looks great!

[SMFtwstdHICK]

Yeah, they work . Looks awesome man.. Nice work.

[RMNixon]

Those voltage meters came out great! I've got the same body sitting on my shelf for a Tonka Summit FPV project. Have you driven this rig around much? I'm curious how the Ascender handles the extra weight.

[Metalhed2434]

I really like how you integrated the volt meters into the dash, looks awesome! Will you be able to see them through the FPV system?

[Maraxusofkeld]

Originally Posted by RMNixon

Those voltage meters came out great! I've got the same body sitting on my shelf for a Tonka Summit FPV project. Have you driven this rig around much? I'm curious how the Ascender handles the extra weight.

So... the issue I have currently is figuring out how to setup the suspension. I have to weigh the truck now that its all setup. I'd guess its near 10lbs.

I have to make another post soon with the springs I've tried. I bought some Associated springs which fit on the stock Ascender shocks. I'll post the specifics up when I have everything in front of me.

But the results we not good. The weight of the new body really makes the truck sway badly. If the truck is perpendicular to a hill the body will hang over severely. It doesn't drive well at all. I have to do some thinking on this...

If anyone has any ideas I'm open too them.... I may need to make a sway bar to compensate for all that additional weight. That sounds like a fun project.

[Maraxusofkeld]

Originally Posted by Metalhed2434

I really like how you integrated the volt meters into the dash, looks awesome! Will you be able to see them through the FPV system?

Yea I can view the voltmeters from the goggles during a drive, it's pretty cool. Though It's hard to make out the display in the sun even with the sun shade I made. Another issue is viewing the voltmeter display from the goggles is the "flicker effect" because of the framerate of the camera and the voltmeter display. It still does work, but its not perfect.