on the Creeper wagon,,,,

[rmdesignworks]

I got the new CKRC wheels mounted up with my White Dot Rovers and Paradox foams,,,these wheels are a bit wider than the Eritex Comp Heavy wheels I had on,,,and definitely lighter,,,gotta get out tomorrow and see how they do.



Also made a couple upgrades for the rear axle. I fab'd a new rear axle plate that is just a little bigger than the last one I made,,it makes the rear axle rotate outward just a little more which increases the pinion angle, the new plate also spreads the upper links apart just a little more,,they are almost parallel now.

I noticed at the last comp that the rear differential housing hung up a couple times so hopefully the new diff skid will help with that. It is made from a piece of black poly pipe and cut to fit around the axle housing and is secured by a single screw behind the axle plate.

[HwnElf]

Woah...this is great...really informative. Messed around with the rear links on my Creeper and more or less got the same results. So I tried messing around with the front links. I found that raising the links on the front axle didnt make any noticeable difference on my rig. But it did give me more room for a BTA steering.

[rmdesignworks]

You didnt see a noticable difference because the front links need to be arranged in reverse form the rear links as far as their relation to the lower links on parallel...to get a similar result on the front axle the front upper links need to rise from the axle to the chassis whereas the rear upper links rise from the chassis to the axle,,its due to the reverse rotational forces of the front axle in relation to the chassis.

[HwnElf]

Did that also. While the upper links were in the stock position on the axle, I extended the links, drilled a couple holes and moved the chassis end higher. Might be different with another rig, but with mines it didn't make any noticeable difference, for me anyway. Used a board with no-skid tape placed at 60+ degrees to test each setup.

[rmdesignworks]

Originally Posted by HwnElf

Did that also. While the upper links were in the stock position on the axle, I extended the links, drilled a couple holes and moved the chassis end higher. Might be different with another rig, but with mines it didn't make any noticeable difference, for me anyway. Used a board with no-skid tape placed at 60+ degrees to test each setup.

For the Rear upper links:::: The links need to spread apart and raise at the axle. To get rid of TT you need more anti-squat. You get more anti-squat by relocating the links like I did.

For the front upper links:::: The links need to be spread apart at the axle but kept low while at the chassis side they just need to rise. This is a bit contriversial though,,different opinions arise about this. I havent moved my front links as the front end is really soft and highly reactive.

What kind of board did you use. Because at 60+ degrees without something to get traction on the rig wouldnt climb...if you got your to climb 60 degrees without traction Id like to see some video. I have a traction board with wir mesh on it and at 59 degrees my rig complete loses all traction on the wire.

[rmdesignworks]

I know we all have a problem with steering for one reason or another. Some people want BTA, some want more angle. Some just dont want it stock. Either way, one thing in the way is the shocks especially if you are like me and want the front upper links to stay in the stock location. In order to do this I need to get more room where the shocks are... or get the shocks out of the way... or create something that just gives me more room.

I started after the latter. Im a designer. I design...well ok I sit and stare at stuff for long periods of time then do a lot of dootling, maybe some cad.

This time though I just started taking parts off and testng some others to see what I could come up with...

Here are some pics of what Im tinkering with.

[rmdesignworks]

So,,,the link up front definitely makes more room than a shock in the same location. Im workin on how to mount the shock to the top of the tranny or the chassis. I do need to move the scissor link down so it isnt so high,,right now its up into the body at the windshield. It is very smooth though. This was inspired my my scissor link set up on my Bully axled GX2 comp chassis.

More pics and testing soon

[rmdesignworks]

Ive decided to wait for now on the cantilever/scissor link set up,,,the stock chassis just doesnt have enough adjustability to it to do this kind of set up properly.

NNNNNNNNNG DAMN,,,,Im chompin at the bit to see the new chassis made. Its badass in cad.

[rmdesignworks]

I took off the OTA drag link,,it was just too sloppy. It was too tallfor how I had t mounted. As the servo would push or pull against the link it would deflect way too much, I was losing way too much steering.

So now I have the BTA link back on,,the only problem is in the current set up the BTA link hits the upper links under flex. This will be fixed by a small bend in eahc of the two front upper links.

Pics tomorrow.

[rmdesignworks]

Im a little behind on pics I know,,,sorry. i will get some pics of the front upper links up this weekend along with some pics of my latest endeavor,,,,,,front axle winch down. I had a spare HS645 servo and I am modding it for 360 rotation and will mount it with zipties to an aluminum plate on the right side of the tranny. i am using some small pulleys to route the winch cord.

[rmdesignworks]

Here are osme pics of the HS645 mounted to the top of the tranny. It wouldnt clear the body being mounted on the side of the tranny. The ears were broken off of the 645 so some zipties and a bent piece of aluminum keeps it from pulling away. They are kind of hard to see but the front upper links (stock) are now bent to clear the BTA steering link. They are bent about 30*, just like a high clearance lower link. The only thing left to do is get the front shocks a little closer to verticle to help clear everything.

[rmdesignworks]

I have an update from some testing on my rig but first here is this for some people to think about,,,,

"To be creative you have to contribute something different from what you've done before. Your results need not be original to the world; few results truly meet that criterion. In fact, most results are built on the work of others."

— Lynne C. Levesque
Breakthrough Creativity

[rmdesignworks]

The weather turned on me,,started raining just when things were getting interesting. All of the mods Ive done including the winch down for the front axle are working just as I had hoped they would.

Our local crawl spot known as Metal Mountain cuz of its internal metal frame work poses all sorts of different traction and angles with a mix of concrete and rock of all type minus maybe sandstone, but the concrete slabs are pretty close to sandstone.

Anyway the VC climbed the lines I wanted. Took some at different angles than I was previously able to take. The winch down allows me to settle the rig even when its shifted with one tire undercut and a front high in the air. On extreme angles the front end can be tucked down to change to COG and it bites and climbs. Ive got just a few pics but nothin special, just some shots before the rain hit that I thought were pretty cool shots. Ill get them uploaded soon. Im gonna try to get an extra set of eyes and hands over to the comp spot tomorrow with the video camera. I didnt realize the batteries were dead and I didnt have any extras with me.

[rmdesignworks]

I am anxious to get back out tomorrow and do some more testing after the way the VC ran today for the little time I had...

Heres a few pics...its hard to see in the pics(Video,Video,Video)but these pics are of a tight off camber turn and an undercut breakover on concrete.

[rmdesignworks]

Ive been struggling to find what niche I wanted my logo to fit into and it finally hit me early this morning. I didnt want a skull,,,too many of those already,,,so the jester/joker it is. It took a bit to draw up but iI think it turned out sick,,,what do you guys think?

[freemachinist]

From what I know of you, it is to evil.

[rmdesignworks]

Shouldnt you be sittin in a dark greasey room somewhere dremeling aluminum,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[freemachinist]

I should be sitting in a dark corner MACHINING aluminum. Dremeling is for people who have no access to machines.

I like the scissor set up, why did you ditch it? I felt you were on to something.

[rmdesignworks]

Ill tell ya when I get home today,,,

[rmdesignworks]

Originally Posted by freemachinist

I like the scissor set up, why did you ditch it? I felt you were on to something.

The scissor is a viable option however the stock chassis just doesnt work with the application....maybe one of my designs but not the stock. it will be looked at more,,possibly even design a chassis specifically for the scissor set up.