sketchy_larry

hey guys. hearing a lot about crawlin since i moved to colorado. just wondering whats the cheapest rout to get into it? looking to get into 2.2 class. im nuts about competing in anything, so legal is good. have a wife and kids now, so cost is kind of an issue. plus im running a few (ok, a LOT) of other cars, but looking to sell my nitros. any help you guys can give would be great.

dezfan

Best bet will be to check out e-bay, or wait for the Axial Scorpion to come out.

Another option is the HPI 4x4 Wheely King, it can be modded fairly cheaply into a good crawling platform.

The_Lost_Otter

Get the hpi 4x4 wheely king. The guy at my hobby shop has one with four wheel steering and aluminium shocks and a brushless motor. He doesw backflips in the lhs

dezfan

Back flips in crawling is not exactly a desired characteristic.

makg

lol...x2

sketchy_larry

thanks for the help guys. im seriously thinking about the 4x4 king. what would be the first things i would want to upgrade on it to get crawlin (besides the pinion gears). i want to keep it 2 wheel steer. just things like esc, servos, shocks, ect.

dezfan

First thing you need to do is lock the diffs and lengthen the wheelbase, then you will need crawler tires.

Pro Line Moabs, Mashers, or Axial Rock Lizards.

MikeSSS

Get a 4x4 Wheely King.

Hang the battery under the front, between the chassis sides with velcro. ......OR.....

Or swap the axles front to rear, turn the servo wedge upside down, put the receiver back on top, swap the bell crank on the side of the tranny to the other side, lengthen the steering pushrod from the bellcrank to the bell crank on the axle by unscrewing the rod ends a bit. This moves the stock battery box to the front.

Swap the tires from side to side to give the tread more traction.

Make the diffs 'limited slip' by putting some Poster Putty in the diff capsules inside the axles. Poster Putty is the sticky stuff made for sticking pictures to walls. Got mine at Dollar General, for a dollar. Make sure there is some grease in there with the putty.

Now you can crawl pretty well.

Next is harder but not expensive. Get some 6-32 allthread, a 36" length, some 4-40 allthread, 4-40 x 3/4" bolts, nylock nuts, washers. Buy a package of Traxxas number 1942 ballends, and a package of T Maxx drive shafts (2 in the pkg). Get some aluminum plate about 3/16 or 1/8 thick at the hobby shop or some U shaped channel at Lowes, etc. The U channel is to replace the TLT stays you see on the WK to crawler pics. You can bend these from the aluminum sheet if needed. The axle end of the top links mount to these. The brackets you make bolt to the top of the axle at the ball joint and to the screw below the ball joint. You can use the alum plate or plastic from a pancake flipper (dollar store) to make the servo mount that goes on the front axle. I mount the servo over the center of the axle and space if forward about 1/4" where it bolts to the servo mount. I used 4-40 allthread to make the steering link, it attaches to the back side of the servo saver and to the tie rod. Move the RX forward and velcro to the side of the chassis or use a servo extension for the steering servo.

Drill some of the ball ends so 6-32 will screw in and make top links 5" long from center of eye to center of eye. You need four and all the same length. Make four lower links about 5 5/8" long, eye to eye.

Attach the upper and lower links to the chassis at their stock attack points. I used 4-40 allthread all the way across the chassis for cross bracing just like the stock set up. I used nylock nuts inside and outside the chassis on this cross brace/lower link mount.

I turned the axle saddles upside down and drilled the screw holes all the way through. The shock mounts to the axle saddle on the top, chassis side hole. The lower link mounts to a 4-40 bolt that replaces the saddle screw on the chassis side of the saddle. The bolt replaces one of the screws that clamps the saddles together.

Pry the stock drive shafts off the cross balls, leave the black WK crossballs in the yokes at the axles and transmission. Pry the T Maxx axles over the cross ball studs and the drive shafts are done.

This lengthens the wheelbase to 12.5" to 13". The WK climbs sooo much better with these mods.

To climb even better remove the battery box, now at the front, and cut a cardboard pad to mount the battery on top of the front top links. I use velcro cable ties to hold the battery on and the pad is made too wide with slots on the side to keep the velcro from sliding forward on the links and battery.

For more low end power get a 65T motor, I used Integy but Axiom is said to be better. This motor lets you keep the gearing stock. ***Warning*** my Integy 65T motor was a bit too fat so the spur and pinion teeth would not mesh deeply enough. I had to grind off the paper cover on the motor at the right place and grind a bit off the tranny where the motor body bottoms against the tranny. Now the teeth mesh fully.

Now you have a crawler.

Cost to make it into a crawler is about $40, excluding the motor. $9 for the 1942 ballends, $10 for the T Maxx drive shafts, $3 for the 6-32 allthread, $12 for the 4-40 allthread, screws, nuts and washers.

An Integy 65T motor is about $20, or $26 for an Axiom motor.

Proline 2.2 Masher 2000 tires are about $26 for all four.

Stock gearing is OK so are the stock shocks and springs.

Preload the right rear spring with about 1/2 to 1" of spacers.

After the wheelbase stretch you will have to trim the body to clear the tires during articulation. Trim at a four corners.

That's the deal, it's easier than it sounds.

Best of luck and keep us posted on progress. Ask questions any time. I have a write up with pics on another crawler board, take a look.

sketchy_larry

wow, just wow....... i cant thank you enough. exactly what i was looking for. ill start as soon as the keeper of the checkbook (i.e. my wife) lets me have some fun.

The Real Dogman

Mikesss, good write up, as I was reading that my mind was going a hundred miles per hour as I was following that. Good job I will have to change materials here and there but great job!! Thank you from all of us infant crawlers!!! lol

MikeSSS

My pleasure.

I didn't invent it, I blatantly copied NickRummy and 1RCbasher2NV as well as others. Mostly it's a copy of 1RC's WK.

Didn't think about crediting them till the WK and I were on the slick-rock today.

Life on the Rocks........is good!

rcluke

how much are you looking to spend larry?

The Real Dogman

MikeSSS,

I know own a brand stinking new Wheely King 4x4. What a fun little truck!! I have already made diff lockers plates that took the better part of last night 8pm-3:30AM They work sweet. I will post a pic or 2 when I tear the axles down again. I have eBay scronged Revo Drive shafts I think I'm going to use a set of my Toe rods from my CEN Nemesis since they are thick and heavy to get the COG low. I also plan on sometime this summer splurging on a set RC4WD CNC Wheely King Housings to help the COG since I would like to eventually do a tuber cage. But thats all I have for now.

oh one question, I read somewhere that there is another kit to source a hardened ring and pinion from, anyone know of it???

sketchy_larry

lol, basicly looking to spend as much as my wife will let me. shes deployed right now (im out of the military now. hearing loss) so i kind of get whatevers left after the bills. i think im going to kind of upgrade as i go. get a wk 4x4 then a part here, a few hours on the workbench there. i dont know. anybody giving stuff away? lol

hands without shadows

I believe its the HPI MT2, not 100% sure though.