0RESET0

I want something I can walk along with and drive on the hiking trails and rock formations around where I live. I took the Evader out last week and it did ok but I was barely on the throttle most of the time and sliding the belly on rocks the whole time. I can't raise the ride hight with suspension because the drive lines rub on the a arms. So, I will get my ground clearance with a tire upgrade. For the slow speed and to compensate for the change in tire diameter, I want to stick with changing the gears. I have the stock 20 turn brushed motor in the truck and would like to stick with it if I can.

So, can I gear this thing high enough to slow it down and not smoke the motor or esc?

RustyUs

Interesting. If it were me, I'd start with a 55T motor to slow things down. I don't know what size tires you are talking about, but 5"-ish tall tires; with stock spur gear; 55T motor, and a 6 cell NiMh pack...you will get, approximately, a top speed of 7 ~ 13 mph. That is using pinion gears with 15 teeth ~ 26 teeth.

0RESET0

I was afraid changing the motor was the best option. I will look into a 55 turn. I am not sure what tires I am going to run but 5+" sounds perfect.

Another thought. Are there shorter A-arms and such that fit the Evader? I think narrowing the track.width a bit might make it easier to get thru some terrain. Obviously I can't go too narrow or I will have the front tires leaning into the body when I turn.

0RESET0

Would a 540 size motor work? I found "Powerhobby 540 55T Brushed Motor & Axial AE-5 ESC FOR Rock Crawler SCX10 Wraith" on Amazon for under $50. Having an esc that doesn't mind a little water might be nice. Of course, my receiver and service are still vulnerable.

EXT2Rob

My Feedback: (1)

That motor system would work fine. Put your receiver in a balloon. Some water proof grease around the output shaft on the servo should protect it from splashes. If you're near a hobby store, you could take a suspension arm in to see if you could match it up to a shorter one. But I'm unaware of any suspension parts that fit the Evader. Never thought of turning one into a trail ride, being only 2wd, but at least it's unlikely that you'll break anything at that speed. Good thing since the car is discontinued.

0RESET0

Thanks Rob. I like a challenge and think a 2wd trail truck would make it interesting to drive thru terrain. I agree about breaking things. I have three of these that are still running, one is the wifes, and one parts truck. Of course, the parts truck is missing everything you usually break in a high speed front end collision.

I just picked up a VXL Bandit so I have no need for speed from the Evader.

RustyUs

You will find some 540 sized motors that are black with green heatsinks on the endbell. I personally believe they are all the same motor, just with different brand stickers on them. How much of a markup do you wanna pay?...BoldClash 540/55T Brushed Sensored Motor for 1/10 RC Buggy Car Precision New | eBay

The Duratrax Evader DT has shorter arms (actually Evader BX arms are used on the truck). The problem I see using taller tires in conjunction with shorter arms...the possibility of the tires rubbing the body.

Edit: Also, food for thought on a couple of items. If going with the DT width...you will also need the dog bones(discontinued ), or the CV shafts. I'd run the EXT as is to see if you even like the performance of a 2wd trail truck.

The EXT's gear diff is not sealed. I think your best bet, for traction, would be to use Silly Putty, or Putty Peeps to limit diff action. If for some reason you don't like the EXT as a trail truck, you can always revert back to a normal diff.

RustyUs

I know the EXT and a T4 are not the same, but if you look HERE, you can sort of see what you will have to deal with. When my stadium truck uses all of it's suspension travel, rubbing is an issue . It's not too bad, and only happens at extreme end points. The tires I used are from a Redcat Rockslide.

0RESET0

Your t4 is basically what I see when I imagine where I am going with this idea. I can see clearly in that picture that shorter A-arms is not going to work. I was actually thinking I needed bigger tires but I am not sure how that would work. Maybe I will have to get a buggy body for it.

0RESET0

I think I will stick with the stock A-arms. I hadn't considered "locking" the diff. I do have another diff in the parts truck so I could just glue it and swap it out if I don't keep the "trail truck".

RustyUs

I mentioned using putty as a temporary mod to get a feel for what could be possible with a locked diff. Silly putty is, normally, easy to remove when not needed or not desired anymore. JB Welding, and even gluing, are usually a permanent-done-deal job .

0RESET0

Looks like my plans have changed a little bit. I have found an actual crawler for $150 so I am going to sell off two of my Evader, including the one I was going to convert, and get a purpose built vehicle. Thank you all for the great advice. If any of you are interested in the two evaders, send me a pm.