Alexei's leafspring Trail King Hilux

[Alexei]

showing my build of my leafspring Trail King. this is also my first off road RC, so this is totally new to me. the goal is a scale trail truck, nothing for competition.

with some SSD axle parts im able to use the RC4WD leafspring conversion kit.
i also added the SSD Pro44 metal axle clamps to the mix.
since the body is a pickup truck, i got some Xtraspeed cantilever rear shocks as i dont want to cut holes in the truck bed.

 

[Alexei]

start of the assembly.
im using ShrinkRC bodymounts for my build. the motor is a Holmes Hobbies Crawl Master 5-slot 13 turns. for ESC i got a Hobbywing QuickRun WP1080.

 

[Alexei]

update 2, inspected by cat.
just as i started taking photos, our cat wanted to look.
i have the rear drive shaft mounted incorrect, so that have to be switched around.

 

[smc-93]

with some SSD axle parts im able to use the RC4WD leafspring conversion kit.

I'm interested to see what parts you're going to use, I couldn't find the RC4WD SCX10II conversion kit anywhere and I think they just discontinued the D90/D110 kit.

I'm thinking of switching the rear axle on my knight Runner to a leaf sprung Pro44 but the only mounting option I seem to be able to find are custom made or the JEC racing one which are currently out of stock.

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[Alexei]

I'm interested to see what parts you're going to use, I couldn't find the RC4WD SCX10II conversion kit anywhere and I think they just discontinued the D90/D110 kit.

I'm thinking of switching the rear axle on my knight Runner to a leaf sprung Pro44 but the only mounting option I seem to be able to find are custom made or the JEC racing one which are currently out of stock.

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im using the RC4WD Z-C0054 Conversion kit for SCX10 II. they kind of disappeared at the time i bought my set. i dont know the reasons why, they had only been on the market for a very short time.

 

[smc-93]

im using the RC4WD Z-C0054 Conversion kit for SCX10 II. they kind of disappeared at the time i bought my set. i dont know the reasons why, they had only been on the market for a very short time.

That's sucks. By the time I discovered the kit I already couldn't find them without paying nearly double the price.

Do the shackle mounts with that kit look like these by chance? https://store.rc4wd.com/Leaf-Spring-Mounts-for-Axial-AR44-Single-Piece-Axle-Housing_p_7775.html
I'm not familiar enough with Axial axles to know if the any major differences between the single piece and the three piece/Pro44 style housing

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[Alexei]

That's sucks. By the time I discovered the kit I already couldn't find them without paying nearly double the price.

Do the shackle mounts with that kit look like these by chance? https://store.rc4wd.com/Leaf-Spring-Mounts-for-Axial-AR44-Single-Piece-Axle-Housing_p_7775.html
I'm not familiar enough with Axial axles to know if the any major differences between the single piece and the three piece/Pro44 style housing

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those shackle mounts on the frame rails looks exactly the same, both front and rear.
but the mounts for the axles are definitely different.

 

[smc-93]

those shackle mounts on the frame rails looks exactly the same, both front and rear.
but the mounts for the axles are definitely different.

Okay so I most likely cannot use those axle mounts on a Pro44. Thanks for the help. I'll have to figure something else out.

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[Alexei]

this is how the Trail King looks like at the moment.
servo installed, i went with an SRT W45. rear drive shaft orientation was corrected, and front shocks mounted.
panhard was also installed, along with a front link. not sure about the front link, if it is any use, or even making problems instead.

the body has also been test fitted. front axles are centered nicely, but the rear wheels is quite off center, so will have to do something about that.

i still dont have any wheels, the original plan was to go with 1.55'' wheels. but the test fit of the body also shows it sitting a bit taller than i expected, so i need to reconsider a couple of things.
looking around at other options, i found that i can probably use 1.9'' wheels with some smaller outer diameter (at 90mm to 100mm) without having it looking oversized.

 

[computernut]

Nice clean build!

 

[Speedy-Triple]

good looking built ... definetely great to see a trail king with leaf sprung suspension. specially keeping the pro44's under the leaves. Looking forward seeing the progress.

 

[Alexei]

thanks guys 8)
here is some close ups, still current state mid October.

next i need to buy is wheels/tires, receiver (already ordered), aluminium servo arm.

 

[Screwfly]

I'd suggest removing the panhard link on the front axle. The leaf springs should do the job of keeping the axle centered. Plus, the link may cause bonding in the suspension movement.
Really sweet build!!

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[Speedy-Triple]

also you should be able to use the frame extension included in the trail king kit so you can move the axle a couple of mounting holes back to align the axle to the wheel wells. I am unsure how much can the splines on the driveshaft will allow you to extend.

 

[Alexei]

I'd suggest removing the panhard link on the front axle. The leaf springs should do the job of keeping the axle centered. Plus, the link may cause bonding in the suspension movement.
Really sweet build!!

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the idea was to have them for anti axle wrap, but i dont know if this would work. they probably will get removed later.

also you should be able to use the frame extension included in the trail king kit so you can move the axle a couple of mounting holes back to align the axle to the wheel wells. I am unsure how much can the splines on the driveshaft will allow you to extend.

i did think about doing that, but the way this conversion kit is designed is not that smartly thought out. the distance between the mounting holes in the shackle mounts is longer than most of the holes in the chassis rails, so i dont have much adaptability.
if i use the chassis extensions, then the axle will move a lot further back, much more than i need. the rear shackle mounts need to mount at the rear bumper provided with the conversion kit too. on ther other hand, it is possible to take the shackle mounts and reverse them.

 

[smc-93]

the idea was to have them for anti axle wrap, but i dont know if this would work.

)I'm no suspension expert, take my word with a grain of salt)

I don't think a link running parallel to you axle would work very well as an anti wrap bar. I think the rod ends/pivot ball would still allow your axle to twist (to a degree)

You can however, install and use the intended top link. The fixed length won't allow the axle to rotate, as is it's partial function in the stock linked configuration.

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[Alexei]

)I'm no suspension expert, take my word with a grain of salt)

I don't think a link running parallel to you axle would work very well as an anti wrap bar. I think the rod ends/pivot ball would still allow your axle to twist (to a degree)

You can however, install and use the intended top link. The fixed length won't allow the axle to rotate, as is it's partial function in the stock linked configuration.

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i think you are right.
installing the link and and panhard was also some sort of experiment to see how things move or work.

but the leaf springs are still to stiff to get a good idea of the movement.

 

[Alexei]

time for update. got some parts:

an RC4WD interior set.

MST 1.9 tires and SSD servo horn.

Boomracing SV5 1.9 wheels and different offset hubs

just bought the Futaba receiver, the rest is something i have had for a while now. just didnt get photos of them.

i bought the GRC bumper in case i would need an small offset front bumper to have room for the body, but the stock one in the SSD kit is even less offset, so most likely i wont need the GRC bumper.

 

[Alexei]

the plan at first was to use 1.55'' wheels, but seeing i would need some bigger outer diameter tires than first expected to make it look right, i could go up to 1.9'' and still it would look fine.
provided i could get the right sized tires, but i found some.

so i mounted the tires on Boomracing 1.9'' SV5 wheels, with 1mm offset hubs, and they dont poke out too much that i would want to use overfenders. and i still have hubs that gives a little less offset.

the SSD aluminium servo horn was also installed.

now that the wheels are mounted, i can also see how much the wheelbase are off in the back. that is the next thing to figure out, and i have a few ideas.

 

[Speedy-Triple]

looking good... definitely needs the wheelbase adjusted ... if i remember correctly there is a set of leaves that are longer ... bruiser? someone will chime in ... that might help you extend the wheel base a few mm. without modifying the existing mounts.