Project RockEater TXT-1

[MT Dude]

Hey all,

Like the title states, I am starting a rockcrawler project from a TXT-1. I am planning to make this thing HUGE and unstoppable. I'll be posting pics as I progress along with the build-up. The following is somewhat of an idea of what Im planning to do:

-use all aluminum parts for beefyness
-lock diffs of course
-use JUMBO KONG tires and aluminum wheels
-new era skids
-custom chassis
-1/4 scale servos (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...?&I=LXLN93&P=ML)
-emaxx tranny
-permax 600 motors (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LXEXU3&P=7)
-super chicken
-clod buster battery (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bi...p?&I=LXJZ87&P=7)
-jeep body

you get the idea... big, powerful, and unique

anyway, this is the start so far:

http://mediaservice.photoisland.com...05192053157.jpg

...locked diff, bearings, and grease hehe

i ordered a stainless steel screwset for the project (courtesy of RC4WD), it should be in soon

anywayz ill keep yall posted on the progress and hopefully this will turn out to be one sweet ride!!

later
-Chris

[MT Dude]

yall let me know what yall think about this whole thingy...

anyway here is some more pics:

the super chicken:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047255837603963616779.jpg

the promax motors:
http://mediaservice.photoisland.com/auction/Jul/20047257786555747882060.jpg

I decided to wire them in series because of longer run times and higher torque, the downside to this is slower rpm, but with big circumference of the jumbo kongs and the semi-low gearing of the emaxx tranny, it still should be decently quick for a crawler

as soon as the screw set comes in (should be tommorow), ill be set to start the axle construction

oh yea, in case yall have any questions or anything like that, my email is: Merovingian14@hotmail.com

ill keep yall posted
-Chris

[mjohnston39]

Sounds great, a lot of crawlers are getting good results with narrowed Kongs on narowed rims. Try rccrawler.com for more info. If you are going to use Kongs as is, you might want to use a wheel widener from Thundertech racing? Also, you might want to consider increasing the wheel base of the the truck, should make a more stable crawler.

Mike.

[MT Dude]

yea i am planning on ordering some custom links from defianceracing.com to help compensate for the tires and the aluminum wheels that i am planning on using are these: http://rc4wd.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=682

if you look at the pictures, they are crazily offset so i think they should work

i just realized that the first link to the photo is not working...
its because it only works if the photo is saved on my account at photoisland.com and because my camera does 6.1 megapixel, i can only save around 9 pictures at photoisland so i am going to have to set the camera it at the lowest setting (which is 1.7 megapixel)

anywayz, just lettin yall know whats up and why the links arent working

-Chris

[MT Dude]

Alright, I know i havent updated this project in a while but now that I got the pics to work, here it is so far:

bare axle with just bearings, locked diffs, and grease:

[MT Dude]

screw set:
(courtesy of RC4WD)

[MT Dude]

here is one of the partially complete axle with the new shiny screws:

notice the aluminum bulks for beefyness, hehe

[MT Dude]

here are a few more axle shots with aluminum parts:

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

a few details about the truck so far:
-the ballends are heavy duty kyosho
-the link mounts are from InetRC.com
-that green bridge-looking thing drawn on my table is a bridge design i used for a physics project

I am planning on using the stock 4-links and just add a few nuts and/or washers to them to make them slightly longer, this should help compensate the wheelbase for the big tires. Speaking of tires, heres one with the Aluminum Jumbo Clod wheels from RC4WD:

[MT Dude]

another/ better angle:

[MT Dude]

one more with a straght view of the wheel design:

[mjohnston39]

Wow, those are huge tires, looks awsome so far.

Mike.

[Spoon37]

U may need new links, a few washers etc wont increase the length much, unless you were gonna use some long threaded rod, and use alot of nuts/washers etc.....

I was thinking iof running kongs on my Clod (14" wheelbase), but realised the tyres are so huge I'd need to make it a few inches longer before it would really work.

but good plan so far, looks like it will crawl with the best of them. I dunno about the series wiring, thsoe permax motors fly at 14.4v, but wont be exactly fast at 7.2v, so paralell may still be the way to go, but try series anyway, its easy enought to swap over if you dont like it.

:D

[MT Dude]

i got the servos, here they are next to a 540 motor for size comparison:

[MT Dude]

another pic of servo:

[MT Dude]

I got have totally completed one axle so far, here is what it looks like:

[MT Dude]

another pic of complete axle:

[MT Dude]

front view:

[MT Dude]

one last pic:

[microrcdude]

wow, this is awesome so far. I cant wait to see it done!

[-=ADA$=-]

its great, i love the part where the 1/4 scale servo fills whole front skid :D

[MT Dude]

yea its been coming along great so far...
ive done alot since my last post about this so here are alot of new pics:

both axles completely finished!!!

[MT Dude]

more:

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

heres a close up of one:

[MT Dude]

both again:

[MT Dude]

heres the emaxx tranny with stainless screws
i had to shave of some of the sides of the motor plate so it would fit in the chassis

[MT Dude]

rear view of tranny:

[MT Dude]

heres the battery that i am going to use:

its 4400mah D-cell sized!! (but weighs a ton)

[MT Dude]

the promax 600 sized motors (wired in series):

[MT Dude]

another shot of motors:

[MT Dude]

I really wish someone would create a good 8-tooth pinion these days...
I know bolink did have some but they were just cast aluminum which didnt really hold up after a while

anyway, here is what im using: (robinson racing 9-tooth)

[MT Dude]

and of course, the almighty super rooster:

[MT Dude]

here is another pic for size comparison of the Jumbo Kongs sitting next to a stock clod tire:

[MT Dude]

and here are the nice and shiny jumbo aluminum wheels that came in from RC4WD.com:

very nice!!

[MT Dude]

well, thats enough for now i guess so next ill be building the chassis and mounting all of this kewl stuff on there
ill let yall know how it goes and as always, deliver the pics hehe

-Chris

[mbbaj2001]

I though you were building something to eat the TXT-1. From what I see you are building a suped up TXT-1. I built a 1/5 monster truck to eat all TXT-1.

[RC10racer89]

Well all I can say is WOW! This looks like a great project, and I'm loving all these pictures you've posted. Looks like you have some money to throw around too :D That always helps when your building something like this. Keep up the good work, and be sure to keep filling us in. Looks Awsome! :D

[MT Dude]

hey all

thanx for all the good comments about my project, i really appreciate them
but i would rather take in helpful comments or criticism that i could learn from to make this truck even better than i plan to im not saying that complements are helpful because they are in the form of encourgement but its just that i feel like im on this alone without any suggestions just a thought

anyway,
because of simplicity and durability reasons, i am choosing to use the stock chassis as the foundation of the frame

i have custom cut it as shown below because i am going for a link-mounted shock design (similar to the RokClod series)

here are the pics:

[MT Dude]

heres another at an angle:

as you can see, i drilled 4 extra holes on each plate the 2 that are on top is to mount the electronics tray, which im planning on using a lexan sheet

the other 2 holes on the side of the top beam of the plate is for the body mounts, i am going for a sideways mounting style (similar to the thundertech ripper chassis for clod)

let me know what yall think about this
thanx
-Chris

[Spoon37]

there is only one problem with constructive comments - you seem to already have everything worked out and are sorting it out so quick by the time we've seen one thing to comment on you've made a bunch of other parts.

I have already critically comemented that IMO you will need much longer links for kongs, and the series wiring will not give enough torque..yet you gave no acknowledgement...I may as well have said nothing.... :rolleyes:

as for the 8 tooth pinions I have used some made by RW, but they are no better than the bolinks, there is such little material for the grub screw to thread into that you can split the gear by overtightening so unless you can find a machinist who can work out a really really tough design I dont think your gonna get much lower....

this is the 2nd TXT chassis I have seen cut like that, it makes for a very clean look and good articulation too. the TTR style mountings are ok but be aware that some body mouldings are pretty thin at the sides where you would attach, so this method works better with thicker lexan bodies....

oh and IMO the stock TXT tranny is better for crawling as the ratios are better suited to the axle(stock 34:1 and as low as 56:1) and it has no slop unlike the 2 speed Maxx tranny. but again this is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted - you've already chosen the maxx tranny so these constructive comments are wasted somewhat.

;)

[MT Dude]

spoon-

you got a good point there, i have basically gone through this pretty fast without acknowleging the few comments that have been made my bad

but for the extended link suggestion that you made, i actually used 2 4mm locknuts on each end of the bottom links to help compensate this will extend the overall wheelbase around 3/4 inches making it around 15 inches hopefully this will work, my biggest concern so far is the width, i know that the aluminum wheels have a huge offset but i realize that this truck is going to be like 22-23 inches long so it will need to be atleast 17 inches or so wide just to appear in scale

im actually in florida on vacation right now and wont be back until the 15th so i wont have any pics to update it until then but anyways, ill keep yall posted

-Chris

[MT Dude]

i just got back from vacation and ive been working on the truck continuosly
here are all the pics of what i have completed so far, it is both axles complete with the chassis and the emaxx tranny mounted in it the driveshafts and 4-links have also been mounted

so pretty much all that is left to mount is the radio plate and electronics and battery and tires

anyway, enough talking heres the pics:

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

again:

[MT Dude]

some more:

[MT Dude]

here is a side view when im done, it should have 5 inches of center ground clearance

[MT Dude]

close up:

[MT Dude]

top view:

[MT Dude]

bottom:

[MT Dude]

bottom view from an angle:

[MT Dude]

side close up:

[badtodabone]

we need pics with the tires and wheels on!

[RC10racer89]

Looks awsome, any idea what body is going to go on that think yet? Can't wait till you get that think up and running. I want some action shots!

[MT Dude]

actually i have recently completed the jeep body i am going to use, i was going to save it for last but here it is:

[MT Dude]

back side:

[MT Dude]

and side view:

[4wdmt]

sweet body.

[MT Dude]

ok, here is the most recent pics of the truck (95% complete!!):

battery mounted on sides of chassis to lower cg:

[MT Dude]

close up of radio plate:

[MT Dude]

near completion:

[MT Dude]

angled view:

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

and side view:

[MT Dude]

so really all thats left to do is wire the battery, charge the battery, mount the receiver and servo reverser, glue the tires, program the steering, mount the antenna and get some stiffer springs to hold up this beast! Ill keep yall posted on how it goes and hopefully it will be done tommorow.

-Chris

[Simen123]

Looks cool!
How about a pic with the body on? :)

[MT Dude]

ok, HERE IT IS!!!! COMPLETE!!!!

lots of pics, here we go:

[MT Dude]

more

[MT Dude]

more:

[MT Dude]

more;

[MT Dude]

showing off that groud clearance:

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

front view:

[MT Dude]

and now, the moment you have waited for....
Pics with the body on!!

[MT Dude]

another one:

[MT Dude]

upward front view:

[MT Dude]

profile view:

[MT Dude]

again:

[MT Dude]

another;

[MT Dude]

back view:

[MT Dude]

pics

[MT Dude]

and the best for last:

[monyet fangkeh]

wow:cool: very nice. what about some action pics? it would be very cool to see that thing crawl....:cool:

[-=ADA$=-]

i love the way the kongs look on TXT :D its like a perfect match!!! make it crawl and make it dirty now :D:D

[MT Dude]

sorry, i kinda left this thread hangin' for a while
college just started and im so busy with things now but heres the story:
took it for its first run at my friends dads companys dirt pit, that place is HUGE! anyway, the terrain was mostly hard-packed dirt with lots of rough areas and some really neat mini-canyons and a few boulders surrounded by river bed mud (i wanted to get some pics but forgot the camera at home)
so, early on in the run, i was crawling up some steep canyon wall but the tires kept slipping on the hardpacked dirt so i edged toward a more rocky area where traction wouldnt be such an issue i found a very nice rock line and decided to try it about half way up, the motors suddenly spooled up really fast, it was obvious something in the drivetrain had given up
i first instinct was that one of the pinions came loose and so the other motor would just take up all of the juice and spin (thats what series wiring does) anyway, a closer examination proved that wasnt the case, so it had to be a gear or some other shaft a gear sits on i still havent taken the tranny apart to see for sure what broke but im thinking it was the idler gear, ive heard alot of stuff about those breaking (especially with brushless)

so, once i find out the problem, ill let yall know with pics and hopefully solve it quickly

-Chris

[MT Dude]

ok, like i anticipated, the idler gear stripped

thanx to Unlimited Engineerng, there are these:
https://www.ssl-stormerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/seekpart.pl?pn=UE13407
which are on their way right now

should have it up and running in a few days

-Chris

[MT Dude]

yay!!! they finally came in!!!

ill let yall know how they hold up as soon as i get 'em installed

-Chris

[MT Dude]

***UPDATE***

upon driving the RockEater TXT-1 on its second run, I realized that the hardened steel idler gears are AWESOME! they are quiet and insanely durable, i am fully convinced they will last a loooooooooong time, anyway, about 5 minutes into the run, i noticed the drivetrain giving into the next weakest link: the 2.5 driveshafts at first, the rear slider shaft started to twist and about 30 seconds later, the shaft snapped in half. After the rear shaft broke, i drove the truck in reverse so it would be atleast rear-wheel drive, only to encounter the same thing. So, that being said, i ordered a set of Revo shafts which ive heard are quite impressive. After they arrived, i found out that they are indeed impressive. I have just finished installing them on the truck as it takes some modifications.

-Chris

Here is one of the yokes that snapped:

[MT Dude]

Comparison shot of Revo shaft vs. 2.5 shaft:

[MT Dude]

Both Revo shafts installed on the truck:

[MT Dude]

here they are guys, enjoy:

first, the infamous curb:

[MT Dude]

3 tires on it:

[MT Dude]

and up the curb:

[MT Dude]

ok, now for the rock crawling pics:

(all pics are actual action pics, meaning that none were posed and then taken)

txt-1 entering the terrain:

[MT Dude]

the rock path:

[MT Dude]

articulation:

[MT Dude]

ascending:

[MT Dude]

same

[MT Dude]

plowing some shrubs:

[MT Dude]

side view:

[MT Dude]

taking on some more rocks:

[MT Dude]

showin' off that rubber:

[MT Dude]

crawlin':

[MT Dude]

steep line:

[MT Dude]

approaching the jungle:

[MT Dude]

thicker into the jungle:

[MT Dude]

the ascent out of the jungle:

[MT Dude]

the ground that was covered:

[MT Dude]

another view of the terrain with the creek:

[MT Dude]

a farther look down the creek which leads to a larger area with scattered rocks in shallow water, that will be the terrain for run #4:

[MT Dude]

let me know what yall think about the action pics along with any suggestions

i should have run #4 pics up around thursday or so

i hope yall enjoyed 'em!
-Chris

[microrcdude]

It looks awesome! how much articulation do you get?

[MT Dude]

i get around 13" of articulation i believe, here are some pics:

[MT Dude]

better angle:

[MT Dude]

rear articulation:

[MT Dude]

both:

[MT Dude]

my dad went on a 2 week long business trip in Wisconsin and he took the camera with him so i was out of luck for a while. But anyway, i took the RockEater on the 4th run down on the rock ditch near the creek. The trial was goin great until i hear this hissing sound and i see smoke! I quickly ran over to the truck to discover it was not the esc or the motors, but the battery. So here is what it looks like currently:

-Chris

[MT Dude]

other side:

[MT Dude]

so, with the battery decomposing like it did, i knew the truck would be out of commission for a while. Thats when i decided to enhance/modify/improve anything about the truck (mechanically) that i didnt totally like. And so my goal here now is to make the truck more capable.

*Step 1*
raise ground clearance

I did this by mounting the lower links on the upper part of the bulkhead instead of the lower part. This definitely increased the gc and decreased the abuse the lower links would take rock crawling. Because I raised the link mount position, the shocks had to be angled farther out toward the axles to compensate for the raised gc. As a side effect, the truck gained more articulation (around 10 degrees more). To reduce snagging, I also bent the lip on the front and rear skids so they hugged the back of each axle much more closely. This also in turn added about 1/8" of clearance at each axle. Here are some pics:

[MT Dude]

another

[MT Dude]

another1

[MT Dude]

I post step 2 tommorow sometime hopefully which will be gearing. Im goin to bed now, so ill keep yall posted.

-Chris

[MT Dude]

*Step 2*
gearing

The way the truck was geared previously (46.5:1 per motor in series) was low, however, not low enough to make the truck a truly capable crawler. So i got a pair of these:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSL79&P=ML

along with a pair of the 12t pinions to make the reduction 3.75:1

Because the output shaft of the reduction is 5mm, i ordered a set of the smallest 5mm bore pinions i could find (14 tooth).

So with all this installed, the gear ratio will be 112.1:1, which should be way more than plenty of torque for the truck.

Here are a few pics of the current setup with the emaxx tranny and reductions:

-Chris

[MT Dude]

pic2

[MT Dude]

pic3

[MT Dude]

*Step 3*
drive shafts

Because the previous shafts (2.5 shafts) twisted pretty easily, i not only upgraded to REVO shafts but i also beefed those up. First, by securely inserting a wooden dowel into each male slider piece. And second, securely fitting PVC pipe around the other end of each slider.

[MT Dude]

pic2

[MT Dude]

pic3

[-=ADA$=-]

it looks nice, i like the way you modified revo shafts, ill be trying to get them and stretch my wheelbase. Your rockeater looks perfect!!

[MT Dude]

yea, i figured with the lowered gearing that i am going to use, i need to beef up the drivetrain as much as possible its not quite perfect yet though...

*Step 4*
center of gravity

with the 5" ground clearance this thing is going to have, it needs as much of a low center of gravity as it can get to become more stable on uneven terrain

i accomplished this by doing a couple of things:
-cut off the upper beam and supports from the frame
-mount tranny as low as possible
-mount battery and receiver pack on axles

here is a pic of the chassis after being cut:
(the purple marks are showing where the half-way cuts are going to be made in the beam so the tranny will be able to mount directly onto the skidplate for low cg)

[MT Dude]

frame with tranny and cut marks:

[MT Dude]

chassis after the tranny mount cuts were made:

[MT Dude]

ahhh, perfect fit!

[MT Dude]

angled view

[MT Dude]

battery mounted on front axle to reduce center of gravity and increase stability:

[MT Dude]

front:

[MT Dude]

i should have all of the wiring and electronics mounting finished by tommorow and ill keep yall posted until then

-Chris

here is one last pic from the bottom with the tranny mounted and the REVO shafts installed:

[MT Dude]

here it is
nearly complete:

[MT Dude]

pic2

[MT Dude]

pic3

[MT Dude]

pic4

[MT Dude]

pic5

[MT Dude]

with the body on:

[MT Dude]

another with body on:

[MT Dude]

a little over 5" of center clearance

[MT Dude]

the new articulation:

[MT Dude]

pic2

[MT Dude]

pic3

[rpmmaxxed]

Me likey.

[Maxxcrazy]

Ah, now you've got something. I like the ground clearence mods, more clearence is a good thing

Things you should do to make it even better (In my opinion)

1: Narrow the kongs and wheels. Narrowing them would reduce weight and give them more traction. Narrowing the wheels would help your tires flex more. Also, get rid of the foams (if you haven't already)

2: Lower the body. Too high

3: Put the GD600 with motor in a vise. Plug the motor into the battery (no speed control nessecary). Use a file or dremel on the GD600's output shaft until it is 3mm in diameter. Put 9T pinions on it. Gear ratio should be around 180:1 which is good for a crawler. Especially for a crawler with kongs. Mine has a final of 140:1, but I'm using LST tires.

4: Lengthen the wheelbase to 16.5. Because kongs are huge.

You could run one motor, too. Mine runs fine on one motor

[MT Dude]

Once i finally got the truck totally ready to go, i took for its first run. The top speed was around 4mh but the low gearing was excellent for throttle control over curbs and other obstacles. When i finally got around to climbing the steps in front of my house, i heard a loud 'crack' sound. "Great, now what?..."
After a quick inspection of the visible drivetrain, i saw no damaged components, so i figured it had to be the tranny. After the tedious process of removing and dissassembling the tranny, i found out that the problem was the bottom gear; it stripped (which makes sense because it is basically the only non-metal gear in the drivetrain besides the reduction spur and the primary spur. Here is a pic of the gear:
(the stripped teeth are near the top of the image)

[MT Dude]

so, after the bottom gear failed, i quickly searched for someone or some company who makes metal gears for the emaxx tranny. I found a place: wwww.ultramaxxed.com who makes just that
UltraMaxxed currently charges $160 for a complete set of gears for the tranny including the idlers (which i do not need). I emailed the owner (Dan, who is top-notch on customer support) and asked him if there was some way that i could just purchase the bottom gear for 1st gear and the shifter dog. He said yes, so i got them for $75. Thanks Dan! Anyway, here they are:

[MT Dude]

another, with the gear and shifter dog together:

[MT Dude]

MaxxCrazy,

thank you for your comments

1. Personally, i've heard alot concerning the narrowed wheels and tires. It just seems to me that the wider the tire, the more surface area of the tire will be exposed at a given time, thus providing more traction. I do however, agree with the flex theory, so i guess it is a tradeoff. I have seen many RockCrawlers on ****.net (R C M T)that have done this and it does look good and gives the truck a more athletic profile which is nice. Im not quite sure how to narrow the tires and wheels (especially since they are aluminum and i have already glued the tires) but if you could provide some instruction on how to accomplish that, i would be glad to give it a try. And yes, i have removed the foams.

2. I agree the body is still too high up on the truck, but there really isnt anything i can do about it seeing that i have now nearly trimmed it down to the point where it doesnt really look like a jeep anymore. I had to do all of the cutting so it would scrap and hit the tires when the truck articulates.

3. This one was kinda funny because i was literally in my garage grounding down the reduction output shaft just how you described how to do it when i came inside to check the thread and you had posted your message. I was like "hmm... what a coincidence" anyway, im using one motor now to help reduce weight up top and to give the truck more of an rpm range because it has to be wired in parallel. Im using an 8-tooth pinion gear to yield a final drive ratio of 196.27:1 although, it will not quite have the same torque it did when both motors where geared 112:1, it should manage.

4. My wheelbase is currently 14.5", and thats using two 4mm locknuts on each end of each 4-link. If i could find some 4-40 threaded rod longer than 1", i would definitely increase the wheelbase to, like you recommended, 16.5". Unfortunatley, noone around here carrys that and i cannot find anywhere that makes custom 4-links in 5/16" diameter for any length. If you know someone who does, please let me know as i am very interested in that suggestion.

once again, thank you for your comments and input

-Chris

[MT Dude]

back view:

[Maxxcrazy]

Looks good.

Narrowing the tires would decrease the contact patch, so the weight of the truck would be concentrated on a smaller area, thus providing more traction. Narrowing the wheels isn't hard at all, just cut one or two of the beads on the rim off. It may take a little more glue to hold the tire on. To narrow the tires, just cut about 1in out of the center of the tire, and glue the halfs of the tire back together. Make sure you use rubberized CA glue, so the tire will still flex.

Devestator2000 on ****.net (R C M T) makes custom links. I'm sure he could do some in 5/16 rod for you.

Are those tranny gears aluminum or steel? Either way, they'll hold up a lot better than the plastic stock gear.

[MT Dude]

MaxxCrazy,
thats a good point there about the smaller area = more concentrated pressure

i havent thought of it that way, i think i will narrow the tires and wheels...if i can get them un-glued im also checking into the whole putting-bbs-inside-tires thing that seems like a good idea also

when i cut the tires apart, what type of ca should i use, i know you said rubberized, but i mean like, what ca specifically would you recommend? and also: what narrowed kong design would you say works best?
i was thinking about doing the simple paddle tread line up: (tread looks like this)...
|/\|
|/\|
|/\|

let me know

i totally forgot about Devastator 2000... he does make 5/16" custom links, ill check into that

i believe the gears are aluminum, but yes they are holding up excellent so far and hopefully for years to come

-Chris

[-=ADA$=-]

it looks nicer and nicer every time i look in here!! great job!!

[MT Dude]

sweet, thats what im goin for!!!

hehe

Right now i am cutting the wheels so the tire will be slightly narrower than they were. I decided not to cut the tires because it seems like a mod that has too many places to mess up at. Its just too much risk for me.

Has anyone else heard about putting bb's inside the tires? It seems like a really good idea but im not sure if it would be best to put them into all 4 tires or just the front, not sure....

-Chris

[MT Dude]

pic2

[MT Dude]

here's a comparison shot:

[MT Dude]

with the tire on, it makes it about 1/2" narrower than it was

[MT Dude]

another view:

[MT Dude]

here is a pic of the body (now that i have trimmed it up so the tires dont hit it when they articulate):

[MT Dude]

another:

[MT Dude]

I finally finished cutting the wheels. Now, all that is left is the fun process of smoothing each edge with the dremel tool. yay!

[MT Dude]

aluminum bracelets??? anyone??? I have 8 of em!
hehe

[Jeckler]

Wow, I was fighting with myself about cutting the cheap plastic wheels, I'm not sure I could bring myself to do it to a more expensive set of Alu. ones. Looks good.

I'm to lazy right now to look, what's your wheelbase?

Nevermind, it's on this page. :p

[MT Dude]

14.5"

-Chris

[Jeckler]

What would you say if I told you how you can add more wheelbase without buying new links? :) You only need to drill two new holes, maybe 4 in your case because of where your shocks are mounted.

[Maxxcrazy]

Nice job. Instead of narrowing the tires, you might want to groove them a little so they flex better.

I run 100, 1/4" steel balls in each front tire of my crawler. It works great, about a 1/2 pound in each tire of bb's or steel balls would work good.

[MT Dude]

Jeckler,
Drilling new holes in the gear case would fix the solution but the problem is that I already have the links mounted on the farthest back hole which is about 1/8" from the edge, so there really isnt any room to make new holes. I did find out that my LHS does actually carry 5/16" stainless steel tubing in 1ft sections. That will be perfert for new longer links.

MaxsCrazy,
I just put 1000 bb's in each front tire. Im guessing that 1000 weighs around 1lb so it should definitly help out the trucks stability. As for the tire shaving, I thought about what you suggested and I think I am either going to shave about a 1/2" groove midway in each tread or just shave every other tread on each tire. Not too sure just yet.

Im taking the truck to my friends huge dirt pit today to test out the overall performance. I will not forget the camera this time though! Ill take tons of pics and have them posted either tonight or tommorow sometime. Peace Out.

-Chris

[Jeckler]

Jeckler,
Drilling new holes in the gear case would fix the solution but the problem is that I already have the links mounted on the farthest back hole which is about 1/8" from the edge, so there really isnt any room to make new holes. I did find out that my LHS does actually carry 5/16" stainless steel tubing in 1ft sections. That will be perfert for new longer links.
-Chris

Who said anything about drilling holes in the gearcase?
I found this mod on RCCrawler, done by rckjeep. I did it on my truck a couple days ago.
Swap the upper links with the lower links. Mount the upper links with the upper shock mount, shown in Red. Drill new holes where indicated in blue, and that's where the lower links go. Now you can cut the lower part of the chassis off for more clearance too. You'll gain about 2.5 inches in wheelbase, and about an inch in ground clearance under the tranny.

[Jeckler]

Here's mine....

http://madebyjenn.com/andy/rc/TXT/done.jpg

[MT Dude]

Jeckler,

That setup is genius! The only thing im wondering is where and how i am going to mount the shocks. But other than that, im really impressed.
Thanks

-Chris

[MT Dude]

Now that the "construction" is over, here are all those pics i promised:
(there are a TON, well, around 60 so this could take a while...)

First, a few pics of the "dirt pit" (this place is huge):

[MT Dude]

scenery

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more

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pic2

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pic3

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pic4

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here are the "dirt channels" that make up great lines to take:

[MT Dude]

ok now for the action shots:
(before i took the TXT-1 on its journey, we figured we should take the "real" vehicles for a spin:

my friend Ryan's new FX4 F-150:

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another:

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another1:

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my friend Jerr's Xterra doing some doughnuts:

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pic2:

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pic3:

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and now for the RockEater pics:

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pic2

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pic3

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pic4

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testing its incline capability:

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overlooking the landscape searching for a new challenge:

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umm, maybe this is a little too tough:

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pic5

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pic6

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pic7

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pic8
(taking on the area of "dirt channels")

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pic9

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pic10

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pic11

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approaching the trench:

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taking the nosedive:

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crawling up and out:

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continuing the path:

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declining to another trench:

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crawling up the trench wall:

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toping the peak:

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pic12

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pic13

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pic14

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pic15

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pic16

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pic17

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pic18

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climbing up a steep line:

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articulating through a "dirt channel":

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pic19

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pic20

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one of my favorites:

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pic21

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pic22

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pic23

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pic24

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edging along a cliff:

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taking on a 9" vertical dirt wall:

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finishing off the wall and taking on another dip and yet another wall:

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and now for the poser shots:

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pic25

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pic26

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my friend ryan behind the RockEater:

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me behind the RockEater:

[MT Dude]

Overall, I was greatly impressed with the truck during this run. I am fortunate that nothing, not even drivetrain, broke. So I was pleased with that. Also, the runtime really got my attention being right around 45 minutes. I need to trim the body down just a little bit more as there was some scraping during full articulation. I am planning on shaving the tires soon to hopefully increase traction. I am also planning adding a few shock spacers to stiffen the suspension a little bit because the body roll is slightly excessive. The bb's (12ozs in each front tire) work excellent, they really helped keep the truck planted during steep inclines. There was only one clearance issue and that was with the front skidplate. The center ground clearance and link clearance was only threatened a few times but never touched the ground. Like I said, I was very pleased with the trucks performance. I hope y'all enjoyed the pics and I will have more from the next run.

Until then,

-Chris

[MT Dude]

After 2 hrs of sanding/shaving with the Dremel tool, I bring you this...

[MT Dude]

tread view:

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side view:

[MT Dude]

one more:

[-=ADA$=-]

looks great, itll surely make them softer and therefore give better traction, im now in proccos of cutting the plates, and than i hope ill make longer wheel base and make it a bit higher ( cantilever links) i know itll rais CG but clearance will be better!! and than revo shafts!!

[microrcdude]

Got any WD 40? i hear spraying the tires with that softens them up

[MT Dude]

-=ADA$=-,

sounds like your making a project truck of your own, lets hear about it...
id love to help and also take any suggestions you might have to offer


microrcdude,

interesting, ill give it a try


-Chris

[MT Dude]

here is another pic of the tire since i have shaved away the center strip:

[Maxxcrazy]

Definatly it should flex better. I've softened tires by using degreaser and then lighting the tires on fire and letting them burn for 20 seconds. A propane torch would work too. But I doubt that you would want to do that on a $100 set of tires. I wouldn't.

If you just use WD40, soak the tread, not the sidewall

[microrcdude]

Are those wheels aluminum or plastic?

[MT Dude]

aluminum

-Chris

[MT Dude]

Here are some more pics now that all 4 tires have been completed. Also, the chassis shown is one i made out of sheet aluminum. My friend Jake did a real nice finish on the plates using a type of rotary steel wool bit. I used the old chassis plates as a template for the size, shape, and placement all of the holes except for the shock mounts and the upper link mounts, which i adopted from Jeckler's idea (works great by the way, thanks). The wheelbase is now a more realistic 15.5 inches because of this mod. To lower the cg even more than was planned, my friend Jake drilled new holes in the GD-600 gear reduction unit to mount the motor upside down and lowering the motor about 1.5". Anyway, Here are the pics:

[MT Dude]

As you can see, the super rooster mounts inside the chassis quite neatly, I was pleased with that. Hopefully I will be able to mount the receiver using that same technique.

[MT Dude]

close up of esc mounting and new lower motor mount:

[MT Dude]

side view of chassis plate: