Tedo’s 1.9 Moon Buggy

[tedo]

Well. I took some time off and got the itch to get back into it. My heart has always been with the real Rock Crawlers of The W.E. Rock series. Lightweight small technical crawling. Almost artistic.

So I picked up this buggy from Jaime (Warriorsimi). It’s super cool. Many will remember his build and his cool, surprisingly simple steering set up.

Stripped it down to bare rolling chassis:

The steering is super cool but had some slight interference with front pumpkin at full compression. So I shortened the upper link to angle axle back ever so slightly and removed two tiny diff cover screws and now there is full unobstructed motion. It’s close but free of contact. The steering again is super cool. Jaime deserves much props.

Build thread will include:
- RC4WD R2 trans: nice and low. Can hide all electronics under driver (I hope).
- Roc412 3100 geared low.
- Mamba Micro x crawler esc.

Will be using 1300 3s which I hope to fit in the rear underneath a faux mid-engine motor cover/plate. I think I can make something work.

It’s winter here in Vermont so it will be my winter project. Slow and right. Hopefully I can aesthetically make this look as cool as possible hiding all electronics. It’s super hard with small tubers but definitely can be done.

Stay tuned!!!! Rock Crawlin’ rules!!!





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[Du4designs]

DUDE! that steering set up is sick!!

 

[mrexclusive]

Love the build

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[distinctive pd]

Wish I could claim it. Very cool buggy. Built a few Moon buggies but not this one....

 

[tedo]

Wish I could claim it. Very cool buggy. Built a few Moon buggies but not this one....

Oh man, sorry Braydon, I was having a senior moment! My bad. I had you both on my mind. Edited.

 

[Nova's Ark]

Sweet rig. "thumbsup"

I'd like to build something similar with portals.

 

[tedo]

Made a little battery cover. Using a faux small block cover. Distributor cap is a plastic axial wheel hub cover attached some necklace wire for the spark plug wires. Air filter is some spare Tamiya parts tree plastic with some corrugated styrene.

Also made a simple muffler out of various copper diameters, a vice, and styrene.

Will sit pretty flush once I get my 3/16 body pins to secure it to buggy.

This will be easy hidden access for battery swaps!

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[chino63]

Love it! There needs to be a moon buggy class, super scale comp! "thumbsup"

 

[tedo]

DUDE! that steering set up is sick!!

Yes, Warriorsimi did an awesome job. Its so simple and super durable.

Love the build

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Thanks! I didn't build the tuber. I am just strapping and making parts for it! I cant braze very well...

Sweet rig. "thumbsup"

I'd like to build something similar with portals.

Yes, with belly-draggers portals would help for sure. SSD is making them now (i think)

Love it! There needs to be a moon buggy class, super scale comp! "thumbsup"

"Real" competition rock crawlers. They are so cool and capable. U4 is cool (don't get me wrong), but tech crawling is awesome.

 

[tedo]

So. I got my r2 trans and Mamba X Micro. And just as I suspected everything fits great.

The low trans makes it easy to find space for the ESC. The micro is small!!! Obviously.

I will make a 2-d interior to cover the mess.

I had to remake battery tray in rear due to motor extending behind the cab. No biggie.

Also bought some 100 ultra scale shocks. I have had these before and they totally suck for bashing, however the purpose of this rig is slow and steady. Added a tad of Losi 40wt in each shock to lube them up. The springs are notorious for being soft, which is fine as I want mostly droop on this rig.

Oh. And check out the flex!!!! Haha.

Took it out under a local bridge here in snowy Vermont and holy awesome. I gotta tune the Micro X once I find a PC...




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[eric113]

Ted, you could do castle B-link. Do the programming off your phone.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/castle-creations-b-link-bluetooth-adapter-cse011-0135-00/p764913

 

[tedo]

Ted, you could do castle B-link. Do the programming off your phone.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/castle-creations-b-link-bluetooth-adapter-cse011-0135-00/p764913

Oh. M. Gee. Thank you Eric. That will do!

Man you leave the scene for a while, and all hell breaks loose with new tech! Love it.

 

[Szczerba]

Awesome build up.

One suggestion would be to swap out those awwful rock snagging diff covers, ask me how I know. Literally grab every rock.

 

[tedo]

Awesome build up.

One suggestion would be to swap out those awwful rock snagging diff covers, ask me how I know. Literally grab every rock.

Thanks Shane for the heads up. Is it the tiny hex screws that bite into the rocks? I need some more drive time. I absolutely love the look of these axles. Swap to the alloy diff covers? Or diamond center? Hmmmm.

Took it out on the rocks again today and damn. She does pretty dang good. The 100mm soft shocks really hug the rocks. It was quite capable.

Now I just gotta get that blue tooth castle link! And detail interior.

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[tedo]

So update time. Went for a quick test drive under a bridge by my house. We got hit with late March snowstorm.

Got some new Predator Compound BFGs and they rule. So sticky, soft, and a tad taller which is good as this is 90% droop. Perfect for a dedicated comp crawler. Night and day better traction then the Treps.

Also added the B Link for my Mamba Micro. Fine tuned the esc from my phone and holy cow this thing can creep with a ton of control.

Added a driver, 2-d cockpit, and new body panels. Not the best. But good enough for me.

Over-all super happy with how this thing performs. Can’t wait for snow to melt and get this little buggy out and about.

Steering works so good on this. Great design.

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[Nova's Ark]

Nice update"thumbsup"

What does it weigh RTR?

 

[tedo]

Nice update"thumbsup"

What does it weigh RTR?

Not sure. But it’s pretty light. Not much to her with the little 1300 battery. Those new 1.9s look massive in scale proportions from the old Treps. I removed cheap front wheel weights too. She grips just fine w/o them.

If I had to guess around 6 rtr.




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[Surfish]

Killer rig! Very unique looking. What are the body panels made of? Thanks


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[RotnWays]

That Looks great, but damn that must have some real bump steer.

 

[tedo]

Took the little buggy out today to the local damn. And damn she crwals great. Very impressed.

The damn is a rock crawlers paradise. Lines everywhere.

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