WarMachine's Super Rock Farce

[WarMachine]

Alright, I was hesitant about even posting this. I will preface with the facts that it was done out of boredom, late at night, using only what I had on hand, and while drinking....but what the hell. Ya know, that really sounds like the beginning of a story about every weekend for me about 20 years ago...but I digress.

After slapping together a completely stock rock force and running it around for a day, I got bored and decided to try something different. Using only parts I had laying around, I put together the Super Rock Farce. Basically this was done in about an hour, and just for kicks. It was more of a proof of theory type build, it can be done easily, and on the cheap. "thumbsup"

Stats:
17"wb
12.5"tw f&r
TCS NN chassis
55t
23t pinion
86t spur
15:1 gearset
Crap reservoir shocks 30w/white softies
Moab XL's
Narrowed 40 series axials
Custom hex's (easily made)
Modified Maxx shafts
9.6v 1600mah 8cell pack
Novak Super Duty esc
TQ4 4 channel 2.4ghz tx/rx
TowerPro servo steering
Futaba servo dig

Enter crap cell phone pics:

Overall:
I do feel these axles are more than capable of handling duties in a super class crawler, just not in the configuration I had them in. I will keep playing with it.
The dig sucks, a 40 series tire rolls quite a distance before the plate locks.
The gearing is not correct for the 40 series, not near enough on the low end for power.
The steering and dig servos are not nearly what they should be for this size of rig.

Perhaps it's time to try it in an MOA style...:twisted:

 

[EeePee]

and while drinking....but what the hell.

Good man!

How about using the 30:1 axle gear set?

Dig super sucks, try Reflection's dig plate, vendor section. No experience myself.

And get a real motor. :mrgreen:

 

[danielk]

Needs, new motor, old gears, losi trans, new shocks, real battery, and i guess some new servos would help.

 

[WarMachine]

Good man!

How about using the 30:1 axle gear set?

Dig super sucks, try Reflection's dig plate, vendor section. No experience myself.

And get a real motor. :mrgreen:

Definitely think the 30:1's are worth trying, the dig is :roll:...well....they tried right? Have a whole pile of pinions/spurs sitting idle for the last how many years,

Needs, new motor, old gears, losi trans, new shocks, real battery, and i guess some new servos would help.

:| Yup, possibly, not a snowball's chance, have some, works good, and already covered.
What, no mention of plowboys or the likes, some high end wheels, a new chassis, a body, matching hardware....this was a quick build with what I had man. Unless your donating those aforementioned goodies to the cause. "thumbsup"

 

[Crawln Coles]

I like it!

For just throwing stuff that you had together you did a good job.

I was just talking about building a Rock Force Super. Our club could use another super and I would enjoy running it. The axles should be up to it.

Does your rig measure 12.5" from outside of the tires? If not, what is the total width?

Now get out and beat on it , and keep us updated, so I can get some ideas for my build "thumbsup"

 

[WarMachine]

Total overall track width from outside of tire to outside of tire is 12.5" on front and back. With the right offset wheel, someone could dial it even narrower if they wanted.

 

[nismotuningrocks]

haha, this thing is awesome, I just feel like 40 series are too big for a rf, I have wanted to build a rf 14-15" wb rig on 2.8 or 3.2 wheels for a while now. Keep it up man!

 

[WarMachine]

My only concerns with the axles are at the knuckles. The knuckles themselves are pretty hoaky, and no cvd's at the pivot. :-( Never have been a fan of the dog bone style axle shaft. Otherwise I think they are capable of taking a serious beating.

Have yet to see anyone running anything other than stock metal shafts (could have just not noticed). But with modified Maxx shafts and the stock pinion/spur trans, a 10" wb is just as doable as 17". 18" is not an option without finding something longer. Does Traxxas make a shaft setup longer than E-T/Maxx?

Honestly, I'd wager to say that Maxx shafts are a good alternative to replace the stock metal. You'd have to cut the splined (and the outter shaft) down a bit to work for a 12-12.5" wb.

 

[STEEL_CITY_CRAWLER]

Does Traxxas make a shaft setup longer than E-T/Maxx?

yup, REVO....

and you can drop a nuke on 'em and they laugh at you....8)

 

[WarMachine]

Well the rock force has gone from 2.2 to Super, back to 2.2, now back to Super. I decided to try it in a different setup this time. Gone is the NN chassis, in favor of a Hustler. Gone are the res. shocks, now traxxas big bores (droop w/internal limit springs in the rear). Narrowed axials ditched for full width prolines. Also outed was the narrow 17mm hex set, replaced with wide mofo 23mm's. BTA steering using stock parts as well.

18" wb
14" track
3 3/8" belly clearance



Keep it or try something else?

 

[Aussie Nerd]

I myself would go to a smaller rim size like 3.2 similar to the super bergs. Other than that it looks like if would work fairly well if you can get the gearing to work. Also MOA, Shafty, or just the good old push along?

Kieren

 

[Psychomonkey RC]

SUPER super

Keep it that way! Looks awesome Mike. Just makes me want to get mine together that much more.
Chad

 

[El Matador]

I thinkyou should go to a smaller size rim, but keep the taller tire so the tire will flex around the rocks.
The rig looks bad a@# they way it sits.

 

[WarMachine]

I'd consider going to a 3.2 wheel, but as it stands now, the 23mm widener/adapters put the tires at just about the right distance away from the axles to clear my lower links. I can't seem to drum up any 14 or 17's that will move the wheels out far enough for a tall tire to clear.

With the narrowed axials and 17mm adapters I made for the first version, it worked good simply because the NN chassis allowed for the lower links to be on the inside of the axle mounting point. Not so for the Hustler.

 

[WarMachine]

Just a few shots of the mock up of the stock trans. Fit is tight, but couldn't ask for things to line up better. You'll have to overlook the different drive shafts for now, forgot to put the revo shaft back on for the front before I took pictures.

 

[Psychomonkey RC]

Mike,
Will you be going to the next comp in Omaha next weekend? If you are you should bring this.
Chad

 

[WarMachine]

Will definitely try and be there. It most likely won't be much more than a roller. But I'll bring it along. Will try and run the LCC again, maybe the second time is the charm.

There is a definite + and - to building things out of just what I have laying around (read: crawler budget is at an all time low so lots of parts swapping). Creativity becomes the name of the game, but when you've only got old out dated parts to work with...well, it gets old fast! LOL

I either need to sell off some things and reinvest the $ into lipo's, a charger, servos, and tires....or win the lotto. Anyone need a spare kidney?

 

[WarMachine]

Only got a small amount accomplished tonight:

De-chromed the prolines

Got them narrowed up a tad

Helped a bit on link clearance at full lock, now I can adjust the adapters to narrow it up, or leave it wide if the day comes that I can get my hands on some *real* tires. In the mean time, I sipped the moab xl's, makes a big difference.

Still undecided on what color to dye the wheels, was thinking maybe a dark red, kinda dig the off white/cream color though. Made some temp. body panels, thinking of changing to the panels to some other color, then just matching the wheels to them. Any input?

 

[Psychomonkey RC]

Looks great Mike."thumbsup" Cant wait to see it up close. I like the all black look. I would think that some dark orange on those wheels would be sick. Catch ya later.

 

[hulmt]

That is going to be a Bad Dude, what axles are you using? I am getting my Hustler soon and it has Clods with RCP upgrades? New at this so we will see how it goes. Any recommendations would be much appreciated.