New Walmart crawlers!!!!!!

[waynehartwig]

With enough creativity and enginuity anything can be transformed into a crawler...but I wouldn't suggest it. You'd have to convert it to electric to get any sort of crawling performance out of it. That 4.6 is an awesome engine, I've got one in my AE MGT, but it's not a 55 turn lathe motor, which is what you want for crawling. Like I said, anything can be made into a crawler, but converting a Savage would take a lot of time, and most likely a lot more money than would be spent buying a "normal" vehicle to base it off of. There is a ton of room for customization on top of Clodbuster or TLT axles. Personally, I prefer the TLT, as they're cheaper, and much, much more realistic and fun. You've probably seen some of the pics I've posted on this board of mine, it's based on a Tamiya TLT.

That's kind of what I thought....
Why isn't a gas engine workable on crawlers? Is it becuase it has a clutch rather than direct drive?
I need parts to fix mine, want to trade parts for installation on the lift?

 

[N-Smooth]

That's kind of what I thought....
Why isn't a gas engine workable on crawlers? Is it becuase it has a clutch rather than direct drive?
I need parts to fix mine, want to trade parts for installation on the lift?

gas are more for top end is what i have always thought. electric has instant torque.
my friend has an e-maxx that we put lower gears and spools in, it crawls and flexes pretty sweet for being independent f/r (no competition for clod or tlt though)
the two speed trans is a nice setup too, it also has a slipper clutch so you can prevent breakage. i broke a shaft, but it was like 7 bucks to replace

 

[waynehartwig]

gas are more for top end is what i have always thought. electric has instant torque.
my friend has an e-maxx that we put lower gears and spools in, it crawls and flexes pretty sweet for being independent f/r (no competition for clod or tlt though)
the two speed trans is a nice setup too, it also has a slipper clutch so you can prevent breakage. i broke a shaft, but it was like 7 bucks to replace

Maintenance is cheap! I just bought a frame and a bunch of other frame components, 3 spd trans w/reverse, battery/servo box, etc for like $150. Try that on your TJ

 

[metalry101]

The main strikes against nitro engines for crawlers are the RPM's needed for power, the clutch, and the fact that they're air-cooled, which means they don't get any cooling if they're crawling. A good big block (like the 4.6) would probably have the torque if you could figure out a clutch/transmission that could get it to the ground, but the main advantage of the electric motors is the finer throttle control that is available. Since they're always connected to the drivetrain, there's no spool up necessary to engage a clutch. Another HUGE advantage is that they have instantaneous reverse. A nitro engine would require a transmission, which would have to be shifted. Electric motors just spin backwards to make the car go backwards. Another advantage is that electric motors have built-in drag braking, especially the 55 turn lathe motors. As xj_punk said, electric motors have their best torque at low rpms. In fact, electric motors produce the most torque at zero rpms. How someone got an E-Maxx to crawl is beyond me. I've had my E-Maxx for like 4 or 5 years now...and I love the thing, but it's terrible crawler. On flat ground (with big rocks) I can see how it'd do alright, but on hills the throttle control isn't smooth enough really. Whatever though...you gotta work with what you have, and apparently he's transformed the truck into a decent crawler.

Oh...and Wayne...I'd love to trade parts for that install. My birthday is at the end of the month...so I'm hoping to get it done then with that money .

 

[waynehartwig]

The main strikes against nitro engines for crawlers are the RPM's needed for power, the clutch, and the fact that they're air-cooled, which means they don't get any cooling if they're crawling. A good big block (like the 4.6) would probably have the torque if you could figure out a clutch/transmission that could get it to the ground, but the main advantage of the electric motors is the finer throttle control that is available. Since they're always connected to the drivetrain, there's no spool up necessary to engage a clutch. Another HUGE advantage is that they have instantaneous reverse. A nitro engine would require a transmission, which would have to be shifted. Electric motors just spin backwards to make the car go backwards. Another advantage is that electric motors have built-in drag braking, especially the 55 turn lathe motors. As xj_punk said, electric motors have their best torque at low rpms. In fact, electric motors produce the most torque at zero rpms. How someone got an E-Maxx to crawl is beyond me. I've had my E-Maxx for like 4 or 5 years now...and I love the thing, but it's terrible crawler. On flat ground (with big rocks) I can see how it'd do alright, but on hills the throttle control isn't smooth enough really. Whatever though...you gotta work with what you have, and apparently he's transformed the truck into a decent crawler.

Oh...and Wayne...I'd love to trade parts for that install. My birthday is at the end of the month...so I'm hoping to get it done then with that money .

Hmmm maybe I'll put the Savage back together and sell it to fund an electric buggy...What's a good one?

 

[metalry101]

Buggy? Like 2WD racing buggy, or 4WD racing buggy? Or? A stadium truck perhaps? Lots of people call them buggies too...

 

[waynehartwig]

Buggy? Like 2WD racing buggy, or 4WD racing buggy? Or? A stadium truck perhaps? Lots of people call them buggies too...

4wd definately... Either a tube buggy or full fender Jeep Wrangler. If money is not an object and then what's good for a budget. Most likely I won't ever use it to compete, but to play around. But I don't want it breaking while I play and I want it to be able to climb things, too. Articulation would most likely be a plus....

 

[metalry101]

Ahh...rock buggy. Gotcha. Sorry...I thought you meant like high speed buggy.

Rock buggies are custom jobs pretty much. No company that I know of makes a "production" buggy. A few guys here and there make and sell the chassis', but you still get to slap electronics in it, axles under it, a tranny in it, and set up the suspension. Most people build their own chassis and then modify and tweak it until it works the way they want it to. So basically it's just like the big ones, minus the exceedingly high prices and the difficulty of finding decent terrain.

 

[waynehartwig]

Ahh...rock buggy. Gotcha. Sorry...I thought you meant like high speed buggy.

Rock buggies are custom jobs pretty much. No company that I know of makes a "production" buggy. A few guys here and there make and sell the chassis', but you still get to slap electronics in it, axles under it, a tranny in it, and set up the suspension. Most people build their own chassis and then modify and tweak it until it works the way they want it to. So basically it's just like the big ones, minus the exceedingly high prices and the difficulty of finding decent terrain.

So how do you make one? I know how to make a real one, just grab the metal, welder and go for it. But now we're talking plastic...How does that work?

 

[metalry101]

Nah, they make the tubers out of metal too. A lot of people just use brake line, but any sort of tubing that you've got laying around will do.

The axle housings are plastic, as is the tranny housing, but the chassis is metal. Most "plate" style chassis' are made out of the aluminum, but the tubers are made out of all sorts of stuff. I've seen steel, brass, aluminum...maybe even others. You have a couple of ways you can go on the links. For the TLT based rigs, most people just use turnbuckles from monster trucks since they're cheap, and all the same length. Some people make their own by cutting rod to length and then drilling and tapping it, but for the smaller trucks (like mine), that's more hassle than it's worth for most people. Other than that, it's really just using production parts and configuring them how you want them.

R/C crawling is the opposite of 1:1 crawling in that you base your choice of rig around the chassis you want and then you pick the drivetrain and such that you want. There aren't enough axle options for that in r/c, so you base everything around the axles. At least that's how it's been done so far....you can change that I suppose, but making axles would probably be somewhat tricky.

 

[waynehartwig]

Nah, they make the tubers out of metal too. A lot of people just use brake line, but any sort of tubing that you've got laying around will do.

The axle housings are plastic, as is the tranny housing, but the chassis is metal. Most "plate" style chassis' are made out of the aluminum, but the tubers are made out of all sorts of stuff. I've seen steel, brass, aluminum...maybe even others. You have a couple of ways you can go on the links. For the TLT based rigs, most people just use turnbuckles from monster trucks since they're cheap, and all the same length. Some people make their own by cutting rod to length and then drilling and tapping it, but for the smaller trucks (like mine), that's more hassle than it's worth for most people. Other than that, it's really just using production parts and configuring them how you want them.

R/C crawling is the opposite of 1:1 crawling in that you base your choice of rig around the chassis you want and then you pick the drivetrain and such that you want. There aren't enough axle options for that in r/c, so you base everything around the axles. At least that's how it's been done so far....you can change that I suppose, but making axles would probably be somewhat tricky.

How does it bolt to the axles? Like on my Savage, I have IFS so my differential has to bolted to a solid plate, so I can see how that would tie into the frame. But what about a solid axle? Does it already have link mounts for you to tie into? I guess if I was into RC's more I would know all of this!

 

[metalry101]

Yes, TLT axles have a lot of places where you can attach a link or where you can attach a mount for a link. I'll try to remember to take some pics of my crawler's axles tomorrow so you can see what I mean a little better.

 

[waynehartwig]

Yes, TLT axles have a lot of places where you can attach a link or where you can attach a mount for a link. I'll try to remember to take some pics of my crawler's axles tomorrow so you can see what I mean a little better.

 

[metalry101]

Here are some pics of my link setup.

 

[waynehartwig]

That does look easy.... Pretty neat, too!
How much would it cost to build that rolling chassis?

 

[Mr.Chevy]

you can buy a full chassi and just have to put all the stuff on it. like this one

I am getting ready to build mine up. I have the clod buster that i am going to be useing for the axels and i am thinking of running this frame.

 

[01XJ]

Finaly got me a 1:6 jeep got it all painted and modified here are some pics used krylon fusion paint it is holding up really well getting a few places with chiping but not to bad