These are pictures of my custom creation. This monster
truck has parts in it from several manufacturers like Losi,
Associated, MRC,
and Traxxas. I started
with a blank graphite plate that had a 20 degree kick up molded
into the front. I also bought a sheet of black fiberglass
for the upper plate. The upper and lower chassis plates are
separated by some plastic cutting board material. It works
great, easy to cut, light, and super strong. The battery retaining
supports are made of this as well.
The rear end is mostly Losi (tranny, arms, hub carriers,
stub axles, etc). I had to lengthen the universal drive shafts
to get a proper fit. I used a piece of Exacto knife handle
to extend them at the universal end (you can see the extension
in the photo 5). This solution proved very strong. They have
not broken after a couple years of abuse. The biggest changes
to the rear end are the presence of 4 shocks, a custom made
anti-sway bar, twin shock towers, and a support brace from
the motor plate to the shock tower(s).
The tranny is a little weak for this big truck, but
I live with it as it seems to be the best solution I've come
up with so far. I placed a hardened aluminum diff gear from
Hammand Ghuman to help with the high stresses.
The new double padded slipper kit from Losi works way better
in this truck than the older unit. But even with these mods
I still melt a center gear just about every trip out. I've
tried using HydraDrives with various viscosities, but this
truck just melts em' so I gave up trying. The center gears
getting eaten up is the only big problem. I suspect that heat
is softening them, then the load does the rest. The top shaft
gets really hot in this truck. If I tighten up the slipper
(until it no longer slips), the top shaft stays cooler, but
the center gear gets eaten even faster because there is no
shock absorption.
The front end was more difficult to put together. Like
the rear end, the inside hinge mounts are associated, while
the arms are Losi. The steering bellcranks are pieces from
the older Losi kits (JRX Pro SE, LXT), but I had to put on
two of the connecting bars because it kept bending with one.
The front shock tower was previously the chassis from my old
RC10 Graphite that I hacked on with a Dremel until I had something
resembling a shock tower. Holding on to the shock tower, the
upper plate, and the main chassis is a bulkhead piece out
of an MRC MT10M. The front end of this rig is stout. I hit
a curb at almost full speed once and all that happened was
a spectacular flip into the neighbors yard, dropping receiver
packs and other electronics along it's flight path. There
was no structural damage. The steering blocks are actually
Associated rear hub carriers from the rear of an RC10. The
front wheels ride on moving axles (just milled down rear axles
without the U on it). The biggest hurdle here was finding
castor blocks that would support such a weird configuration.
Some Traxxas units saved the day. Traxxas makes really burly
parts that do not break easily. I had to mill a little from
the parts but it was a great fit.
T o power this 8 pound monster I chose BIG ponies from Aveox.
This is a brushless, moving magnet motor that produces way
more power than anything with brushes. And it does it at much
lower RPM. The motor is a 1409/3Y. All Aveox motors (and indeed
all brushless motors) require a special speed controller.
I have the M160RC. The new line of speed controller from Aveox
are a big improvement over the first one I purchased 3 years
ago. I run two 6 cell packs in series because these motors
typically use more cells (more voltage) than standard motors.
The power this combo produces is amazing. I can pull wheelies
on the pavement if I tighten up the slipper. For run time,
I get at least ten minutes. This is with the latest 2000Mah
cells. At the track it handles fairly well considering it
is a conglomeration of parts. In a drag race down the back
stretch this truck will hold it's own against any standard
RC car/truck with a modified motor. Most folks have a tendency
to get out of the way when they hear it bearing down on their
car. I once put this motor in my RC10 B2 just to see how it
would work. When I finally found the right gearing I had a
35 tooth pinion and a 72 tooth spur! I was lucky to find both
in stock at a local hobby shop.
For steering power I selected the mighty JR 4721 servo.
This servo has awesome torque. I can turn the huge tires at
a stop on the carpet. I really like the JR line of servos.
The Aveox speed controller does not have a BEC output so I
made up a receiver pack with a switch on it. You can see this
in photo 2. The Aveox motor has brakes that are far too strong.
I can lock up the rear tires (and I mean STOP the wheels from
spinning at all) on dry pavement from full speed. It makes
a schwing sound when the tranny gets a sample of this abuse.
Sounds like khxkhxkhxkskskszing.
I originally had a Dahm's Commando XL8 body on the
truck (see picture 6). After demolishing it doing 30 foot
jumps off of a dirt embankment, I opted to use an old
XXT body I had lying around (photo 1). It is showing it's
wear now also. The tires are off of the Big Brute and Nitro
Crusher kits from Kyosho. They are not nearly as big
as the Clodbuster tires, but they are a heck of a lot bigger
than standard RC truck tires.
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