Introduction and Build Thread

[conedog]

Hey guys my name is Jon. I just started messing with my RC stuff again, and after seeing some of the scale builds, I knew I had to have a crawler. Just ordered the Venom Creeper and according to UPS it should be here next Friday. Here's what I've got now:
First, the 1:1 Jeep

and my other RC, Duratrax Evader running Traxxas waterproof electronics and the Velinion brushless system

Anyways, on to the Creeper. I ordered it yesterday from amainhobbies along with a Novak Terra Claw 55t motor. Plans for now are to keep it simple and run it stock with an LRP ESC and a Traxxas servo and 2.4GHz receiver which I already have. As I use it more I'm sure I'll find its weaknesses and upgrade accordingly. I've already read through the T&T's threads and saw many ideas that will probably be implemented at some point.

[rmdesignworks]

Welcome to the Creeper Realm,,first thing you WILL want to do to avoid the headaches that you WILL encounter...drive shafts and axle shafts...and a set of tires.

[conedog]

The Creeper got here last Friday and I built it over the weekend. It is completely stock at the moment except for the shocks. For the shocks I rebuilt some spares I had for the Evader using the shock shafts and springs from the Creeper. It is pretty much ready to go except for the steering. The last few peices I need should be here Monday. I ordered a Hitec 645mg, aluminum servo horn, CC BEC and some paint for the body.

My first impression from just messing around with it in my house with no steering is the torque twist is bad. My first planned mods are HR rear lockouts and fabbing some sort of rear link plate or ordering one from rmdw. All the snow is gone so I should have this thing out on the rocks some time next week.

[venomcrawlerdud]

welcome to the creeper nation bro. your venom looks good. im hoping to see some shots of it on the rocks soon.

[rollerman]

Your Venom looks good!....so does the Evader!....so does the Jeep!

Whats the reason for useing the Duratrax shocks?
Just to get away from the Venow kits plastic ones?

[conedog]

Originally Posted by rollerman

Whats the reason for useing the Duratrax shocks? Just to get away from the Venow kits plastic ones?

Pretty much, since I already had them I figured I'd use them. They're also a bit shorter than the creeper shocks, about the same length as the creeper shocks with the 19mm spacer inside.

Painted my body yesterday, didn' turn out too bad. The paint bled under the tape in a few spots but aside from that I'm happy with it. Besides it's only going to get beat up anyway.

I built a small course on an old foundation behind my house and had it out in the rocks for the first time today. Nothing broke, the only issue I had was I lost 2 body clips. I did notice the need for upgrades in a few places though. Wheel weights, a rear link plate, and some better tires are pretty high on my list right now. I also need to look at some different battery mounting options, the 7 cell nimh up top really kills the COG. Here are a few pics, I have a video that is uploading too, I'll post a link once it is done.

[venomcrawlerdud]

i like the shelf of old shit 4clyender motor parts. it adds that kind of car guy look to the crawling spot

[1mopar]

Ya I think you should integrate some of those intake manifolds and engine blocks into your course lol.

[conedog]

Originally Posted by venomcrawlerdud

i like the shelf of old shit 4clyender motor parts. it adds that kind of car guy look to the crawling spot

Originally Posted by 1mopar

Ya I think you should integrate some of those intake manifolds and engine blocks into your course lol.

Yeah, there is a bunch of crap back there that I really need to get rid of when the weather gets warmer. I like the idea of adding some of it to the course, should make for some pretty sweet gates and things.

I finished up some mods today and took the Creeper out again.
List of mods:
- removed the front axle skid
- trimmed the rear axle skid and put it in front of the axle
- raised the steering up over the knuckle
- made a rear link plate/battery mount
- mounted all of the electronics in the stock battery tray
- also found some long body clips that seem to stay in better and would be easier to find if they did fall out

It definately crawled much better than last time. With the rear upper links moved and the weight of the battery moved to the rear axle it made it over things a lot easier. It is still quite obvious that I need to add weight to the front wheels. I was real happy with the way things were going until the servo died, I guess its time to get a good one, probably a JR DS8711.

There are still a few more things I need/want to do
- wire up the BEC
- add weight to front wheels
- currently working on BTA steering

Here's a few pics
body clips

steering

rear link plate


rear axle skid

[asw27x]

i would say if you have not cut all the small lugs off the stock tires and they really work a lot better after that i did that to mine and there on my scaler and work great and look good

[conedog]

I'll keep that in mind. When I do the wheel weights I'm also going to drill some holes in the wheels and cut the foams. After I see where that puts me I'll look into siping/modifying the tires.

I took the servo apart and I did strip a few teeth off one of the gears. I was able to get it working again by rotating the gear so it doesn't reach the stripped part in the servos range of motion.

[conedog]

I added some weight to the front wheels using six 5/8" washers in each front wheel. Four fit nicely on the outside of the wheel and I have two on the inner side of the wheel. I haven't weighed them yet but I figure I have about 5 - 5.5 oz in each front wheel. I also got some HR lockouts. I didn't have anything on hand to shim them to prevent binding so I used some Traxxas hexes which fit perfect with no binding. I was going to test it today but my servo is shot. While searching for a new servo I ended up ordering a bunch of other stuff also. Along with the JR DS8711, I also ordered some Rovers, some Lipos, a new charger and a Castle link to set my BEC.
Here's a few pics of the washers and the lockouts

[conedog]

Parts got here yesterday and everything is just about ready to go. The only thing left to do is program and wire in the BEC. I can't wait to get this thing on the rocks again with the Rovers and weight in the front wheels, hopefully tomorrow sometime

[conedog]

I got everything back together Thursday afternoon and ran it on Friday and again today and all I can say is wow. With the rovers and weight in the front wheels it is so much more capable than it was before. I think I still need to add a bit more weight to the front wheels and I need to get some Traxxas shafts. I haven't broken a stock driveshaft yet but the yokes refuse to stay attached to the rear axle. Video is uploading now, I'll add it once its done

[Charlie-III]

Hmmm....Monticello.....NY?? There are others sorta nearby. We all look to help out.

My son Calvin (asw27x) is running ~7.5oz/front wheel on stock plastic rims.

I believe Traxxas driveshafts are in your future.

Maybe you can meet us in Middletown (where both of us fly sailplanes) to share setups.

[conedog]

I never realized anyone was that close, I checked out the NY forum on here but it seems pretty dead. I'd definately be willing to meet up some time when you're in the area.

Here is the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGylA5TvpVk

[rybredd]

i miss that scenery! i lived up state in 1000 islands on grindstone......nearest real town was clayton....no way i could convince the wife to move up there HAHA!

Nice vid!