First Crawler and First post/thread

[P3nland]

Whats up guys, I'm new to this whole posting thing but not new to rccrawler forums. I've been using tons of y'alls ideas for my build. Me and my roommate decided we wanted to build some rc crawlers so we decided to start or relativity cheap and we each got the venom creeper. I've taken some pictures during my build so I'll try to keep them in order and list all the parts/mods. I decide to make a tuber but then thought it wasn't really scale more comp looking so went back to the way it came...

Parts List:
venom creeper
stage 2 suspension
integy lathe 55t
2 hitec ultra torque servos
junfac 19mm wheel spacers
tazer 15t esc
1800mAH 7.2v battery
3ch futaba controller and receiver

Mod List:
8oz in ea front tire
homemade skid plate
dual servo front steer
19mm wheel widers
homemade dual servo bracket
moved the tie rod on the knuckle

will add photos once i figure out how...stay tuned

[P3nland]

i have a lot less pictures than i thought i did, no pictures of the build but a few after.


skid plate

tuber


hanging on the wall

Ill try to get some pics of the dual servos and wheel spaces here in a bit.

[P3nland]

the reason why i decided to go with the dual servo was because after adding the wheel spacers, the one servo was not strong enough to turn the wheels all the way. i think i could have added a bec but im not really sure how they work and i dont think i have the right kind of battery.

dual servos and bracket


i decide to move the tie rod location further in because my servo's end point would not increase any further. i wanted to maximize my turn radius so i drilled into the knuckle and as far as i can tell its working fine, no lose of power with the two servos. plus they looks cool and added weight to the front.

close look at the knuckle and wheel spacer

left steer

right steer


i bought the stage 2 kit and it came with a set of gray springs for the rear and a set of black springs for the front but the black springs were an inch to short. my friend got nice gold springs for his front so this kinda pissed me off...so i called them and they said you are supposed to stretch them so i did...and they are still complete crap. so i doubled up my stock springs for the front and its great.

flex

[AlvaCracker]

The white body looks sharp and dual servo set up is a good idea. Where did you get the wheel wideners from?

[P3nland]

it was actually a very light green body but the lighting is bad. it started to chip the first time it rolled so scraped it all out and repainted yellow. i got the spacers from ckrccrawlers but they came in a baggy that said they were from jucfan.com which has way more selection and hex enlargers from larger rims. with the spacer on i am right under 12in. wide.

[AlvaCracker]

Yeah I'm building a scale truck so I think 12 inches would be too wide but I'll check on junfac.com and see if they have some narrower stuff. Thanks for the response.

[P3nland]

also if anyone has any idea why I'm still having a little trouble with my servos not turning all the way i need some advice.

[AlvaCracker]

I'd try longer servo horns or make you steering rod a couple mm's longer.

[P3nland]

servo arm is as long as it can be but making the arm longer might work i havent tried it since ive added the dual servo

crawler with body on. cut the wheels a little today and took out the battery tray. finally decided it need to to go.

[ratterd]

Originally Posted by P3nland

also if anyone has any idea why I'm still having a little trouble with my servos not turning all the way i need some advice.

Try moveing your drag link back down to the same nut and bolt as the tie rod as it is now there is no leverage.

[P3nland]

yeah that would work but then i lose a lot of my steer. adding the wheel spacers took a lot away in my opinion i dont wanna lose any more

[kart45]

don't slap me for asking but endpoints adjusted correctly on the tx. I've been building my safari that's been hell on electronics and find myself constantly changing radio settings...

[P3nland]

now quite sure exactly what are are asking so ill just say say some stuff and hope its right. the only way i found to adjust my endpoints was on my controller. i don't know if there are other places to adjust or not but on my controller there is a knob that allows you to make your servo turn a little or a lot when you try to turn. in my case i need a lot plus some and i cant get any more. there is also a second knob that adjust the steer so that you can straighten up your front wheels. let me know if i helped at all with your question. if not ill try again.

[kart45]

haha sorry for the confusion, yeah I was referring the endpoint adjustment on your transmitter's steering channel. You've already added a longer arm for more throw, past that its a matter of geometry & clearances, sorry I can't be any more help I'll dig into mine and see if I can find any room for improvement that you haven't already found.

[P3nland]

alright thanks man. i was debating changing the dual servo front to a rear steer but that still doesnt help me that much because i lose a lot of power up front

[meatmonkey]

Even ignoring the linkages mechanical motion ratio, which you have worsened by moving the drag link closer to the steering knuckles pivot point, you have two things working against you.

The first is those damn wheel spacers. They put a ton more stress on your axles and steering servos by adding scrub and leverage against the servo.

The second is a general lack of servo torque. Even two Hitec 645's running through the esc's internal BEC will have about half the torque of a Hitec 7954 powered straight from the battery, which is what I run on my Creeper.

Truck looks pretty good. What happened to the stock body? You roll it into a fire or something. lol.

[Exocaged]

I run the 645's front and rear on mine. Sometimes I feel they need to be stronger but for the other 97% of the time they are fine. I don't run wheel spacers either, don't really see a need for them for what I do, not to mention the leverage issues they cause. What 3ch radio? I run the futaba 3PM 2.4G MX and I have my EPA's turned down as they are too much at 100%. Plus with 4ws it turns on a dime and cyclones are fun!

[P3nland]

Yeah I like my spacers but they do add a whole lot of stress. Moved the linkages back to stock position for now still tweaking it here and there. I feel like I'm trying to reinvent the wheel with my steering but I'll learn one way or another. The main thing I need in remote dig which would do wonders. But as far as radios goes I have a Futaba 3ch 2.4. Not sure the model number though. the body is a longgggg story but I feel turned out fine.