1SLWMoFo's Marlin

[1SLWMoFo]

Hello guys! I'm very new to the rc crawler scene, but have very good background on 1/10 stadium gas truck racing. I've always been very captivated by the scale aspect of the crawlers and always wanted to get one, but could not do it up until now. Just got the RC4WD Marlin and I'm really having tons of fun with it. Been reading up a lot on these TF2 and the common mods done to them, specifically on the leaf spring suspension. I can honestly say that RCCrawler is definitely the place to go for everything crawler. Thank you guys for providing everyone with so much know-how and inspiration.

I'll leave you with some pics of my Marlin, and the first few mods I've done to it so far...

Front...
Installed Revolver and Z-boxes shackles
Removed smallest helper leaf only, filled shocks with 60wt, and using internal springs. Suspension is a bit stiffer than the rear but give the rig a stable feel while still flexing almost the full travel of the shocks.

Rear...
Removed both helpers, filled shocks with 60wt, and also using internal springs.
Flex is really good with full shock travel. Leaf spring tends to warp due to axle wrap and large amounts of front/back wobble on the whole rear drivetrain is noticeable, which relates to the axle wrap. I dealt with this by making a set of traction bars.

Fabbed some traction bars for the rear using 1"x1" square tubing for the axle hangers, some straight and angled rod ends, and a set of Associated short titanium turnbuckles. Used the cross member under the receiver box as the mounting point. Virtually eliminated all axle wrap (very minimal still left, but not affecting anything at the moment).

Due to the increased travel from adding the Teraflex shackle set, I started having a hell of a lot of issues with my driveshafts popping off. So, when I got fed up with it, I started checking for different driveshaft options. RC4WD's seem good although I read that not all of the different models work well. Checked the MIP's but theirs I didn't like (personal preference). Saw a web store (can't remember the name) that had some with a rotating sleeve on the outer part of the shaft which I really liked, but have been out of stock since forever. So, after checking a few others out and not liking the price too much, ended up at the only other place to find stuff... ��
After browsing through a lot of crappy options and others with different dimensions, I found what seemed to be a decent option. Chinese... Yes, Chinese... Kyx brand CVD style shafts. Not scale looking at all, but all steal construction and at a veeeery affordable price point. And to my surprise, found out when they got home they have a rotating outer sleeve as well!!! I think they are 110mm-140mm... No binding!!!

There is a bunch of stuff that I want to do on this truck. Been reading up on the t-case flip for front overdrive and other more involved mods, but for sure will be getting the most important upgrades like longer shocks and a winch. Not sure if fabbing my own set of sliders and a rear bumper out of 3/16 rod, since my welding skills are none-existant, but do have access to a torch set and some silver sticks.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[1SLWMoFo]

Mail came in today!!!

RCAddict t-case skid plate. Really nice build and holes/threads are spot on. No issues whatsoever mounting the plate, but for the price I would have expected to have some hardware included with it. Yet, still a really nice piece , simple, light, tough, and really tucks in that t-case. Still need to put it through some real-world tests, but I don't doubt for a second that it will perform.

Like I said, that t-case is really up there. It also brings up the driveshafts, increasing their angle and, although these cvd style shafts don't seem to be affected, could also I troduce some binding and weird pinion angles with other driveshaft setups.

From the looks of it, could give some problems on rocks getting hanged on them in the space between the shafts and the plate itself. But that would also help me become a better driver and learn how to select the best path on the rocks.

10mm (~13/32") of clearance from the stock feeling skid plate, and even more when compared to the original TF2 aluminum skid.

Lastly, I had seen a vid about some simple mod that can be done to the TF2, and one of them was to flip the battery tray so the battery weight lays forward on the chassis. As soon as I flipped ot, I noticed that the tray was hitting the upper joint of the driveshafts. The new skid plate raised the t-case so much that the shafts now come up past the frame level. I didn't want to mod the battery tray by cutting it or making any clearance holes plus, the holes wouldn't have work cause the shafts would end up hitting the battery itself. So I took some M3 locknuts and drilled them out to 1/8" and used them as spacers under the battery tray to raise it enough to clear the shafts. Worked sweet!!!

I'm dying to take the truck to the rocks and give it a good test. Still waiting for one more part... And then to order some more, cause it never ends

 

[Natedog]

Sweet 10mm ground clearance increase with simple skidplate change and the Marlin skid is already higher than OG TF2. Nice use of drilled out nuts for battery tray spacers. Is there room to remove the spacers if you slide the tray forward a little or is the tranny in the way? Maybe switch to smaller lipo battery?

 

[1SLWMoFo]

Sweet 10mm ground clearance increase with simple skidplate change and the Marlin skid is already higher than OG TF2. Nice use of drilled out nuts for battery tray spacers. Is there room to remove the spacers if you slide the tray forward a little or is the tranny in the way? Maybe switch to smaller lipo battery?

I moved the tray as forward as I could on the frame. There are no more screw hole available and the frame hoops aren't going to let you move any forward either. I'm still using the stock NIMH RTR batery, but I don't think a smaller one would do any good as its not a matter of battery spacing, but more of a driveshaft clearance issue due to the increased angle when using this plate. The shafts hit the tray underneath and don't let the tray sit flush on the frame. This skid plate, and I think that the bowhouse rc plate as well, basically rotates the t-case upward using the input shaft as the pivot point and raising the output shafts more in-line with the inputs (the wording's getting kinda crazy, I know!!!) and thus giving you that 10mm clearance.
Hope you could understand me.

 

[1SLWMoFo]

One more upgrade showed up in the mail....

BowhouseRC leaf spring 3D printed mounts. It's so funny how back in the day we killed our pockets to buy upgrade aluminum parts to replace plastic ones, and now it's the other way around :shock:

Compared to the stock TF2 mounts...

They increase the angle (don't know by how much since I couldn't find my small protractor) on the mount and prevent the shackles (be them the stock or upgrades like the Teraflex's) from binding.

BowhouseRC mounts vs stock TF2's.
Stock in the foreground... Check how straight up and down that shackle is. It basically never pivots and I can see how the leaf spring is already starting to flatten out.

BowhouseRC up front...
Here you can see how the new mount has introduced some angle to the shackle and the possibility to flex. Very inexpensive upgrade that makes a world of difference.

Installation was fairly easy. You need to drill out the mounting holes with a 3/32 bit and then start your screws before actually mounting the parts to the frame. This will help tremendously on the install. I found out that the holes where the shackes mount need to be drilled out so that the shoulder screw, or in my case the cilynder spacer for the M3 screw, can slide in. Apparently, the 3D printing process leaves residue or is not as exact as needs be, either way not a biggie.

I finished the install late last night and haven't had the chance to test them out properly (work has been brutal lately), but I'm building a small (and I mean very small) backyard course out of scrap cinder blocks and old logs. If I'm done with it by this weekend, ill have some pics to post.
Hope this helps anybody looking into these...

 

[1SLWMoFo]

Hey guys, been super bussy with work and the kids got the flu last week. Haven't had the chance to go anywhere with the Marlin but got some pics of it on my backyard "course". Nothing too fancy, just a few scrap masonry blocks that I broke into small pieces and threw them into a pile and kind of spread them to make a hill, using a pair of 5 gallon buckets. I also put some leftover fire logs at the start kind of uneven to test inclination angle.
Anyways, some pics...

After a few runs... My kid started feeling sorry for the truck cause the diffs were getting all scratched up and it had already lost a turn lamp, but I cheered him right up by giving him a turn at the wheel

Really pleased with the clearance gained by the t-case skid. Nice little inexpensive mod that really proves to be very efficient. Compared with the way those diffs look vs how very little damage the skid got, I'd say it proofed itself.

And a few flex shots, cause it wouldn't be a build post without them...

Still with the stock NiMH 3000 that it comes with, so run right when the crawling is getting fun, the battery starts dying out. Got a LiPo and a few more upgrades on the mail coming in this week that should really take the truck to a very competitive level. My plans, as you would have guessed, are to make this truck a very reliable and fun rock/trail truck that can perform really well at comps but still has enough realistic feel to it that me and my kids will be able to enjoy it at any moment.

 

[Ben from Iowa]

Great documentation, looks like a really fun truck. I've been thinking about the TF2 Marlin. If I go that way, I'll definitely refer back to this thread for some early mods. "thumbsup"