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Well I caught the crawler bug in late November.... Brrrrr! What an odd time to get a rock crawler....
Didn't have anything but time on my hands because of alll the snow..
Because I wasn't new to the RC ventures... I decided to start researching and adding hop ups to my crawler...
As most of you know.. this can easily become a sickness... some would call it an addiction.....lol
So as I started to hop up the ride... I also started to photograph the fun stuffs...
So.. I now realize that my crawler is almost complete.. 6 months later....
What a journey full of new parts, and engineering endeavors..
I think you will enjoy ... The natural progression of a competition crawler....
Ahhhh... the first purchase.. and AXIAL Scorpion.. RTR
So basic... climbing a kleenex box...lol who doesnt do that when they get their first crawler...
Notice the big fat battery?? Man.. wrong direction is all I have to say.. shoulda got ht saddle packs right off the bat....
Oh well.. time to play a bit...
the shiny new parts... spell binding to most...
Looks fun.... but I dont like the body.. time to trim....
dang it! I trimmed too much.... damned inexperience! Not to bad.. a little bit of "space" theme goin' on here...
but skrew it!.. I wont spend money on a body just yet.. but how about a new controller? How about a new RX? Digital?? Yup.. I think so....
Niiiice ! I scored at my LHS and got this controller for 189.00$ CAD! nice deal indeed! MMMM DIGITAL!! No more RF channels!
How about some aluminum parts? Every one is talking about them! might as well try..
some lower links, some ebay'd steering knuckles, drive shafts..... lets see what I can find...
Ok.. what was I thinking?? now it looks like a Christmas Crawler!
DANG IT! Maybe another color will detract from what i already have.. maybe blue?? Will i make it look like a junkyard crawler right off the bat?? Well its worth a try.. I already have much money invested... lets try blue front links.. just to get away from green and red.... Maybe if I paint the springs blue.. that will help....
SON OF A **** !! now it looks like a box of crayons!
Hmm...
something has to change here...
Ok.. a new motor is needed.. but I dont know too much about electric motors.....
Now that I have asked .. my LHS asked me what I want... wheel speed.. or torque??
Darn! well I said torque of course!!
umm...
nope... but I didnt know that to begin with.. so I purchased an 85t motor... a puller
! but ohhhhhh it.......is.........so..............slow!
FRICK!
Time to change the look substantially!
Its time for a new body, ordered fresh from Proline Racing!! How about the WARTHOG? WOO HOO! Time to paint!~ How about blue and black cammo! cant go wrong there!
oh man.. i like that!!!
Noticed I added a matching flashlight on my LIPO servo plate! Hmm... whats a LIPO? ahhh, who cares... the flashlight will help me see in the dark....
Darn snow... WHEN WILL IT ENDDDDD? oh.. its only January.... :-(
Wish I could get into something cool.... like a local comp... I have been hearing about this guy named "Crawler Ted..."
Supposedly he has some sorta garage going on... I'll have to check that out eventually... sounds cool.....
Well the crawler can do just that! crawl! Look at how it climbs!! But why does that right front tire lift so much...??
Hmm.. turns out to be "Torque Twist..." Ill have to learn more about that.. cause darn that looks silly.. and not very functional!
MMMM! 90 Degree articulation! Thats got to be a competition winner! Woo HOO! (ummmmm nope!) lol
ALLLL RIGHT!! I have been invited to TEDS GARAGE!! Ive been reading about this palce for months, and I gotta tell ya, with all the hop ups I have going on, Im gunna win comps for SURE!! (or so I thought...)
Oh yeah ! lined up with some of the other competitors!
Time to KICK SOME A$$ !!!!
Oh..... oh....
Some of these other rigs are top notch...
and the drivers are pretty experienced....
How come my 85t motor wont even have the wheel speed to climb up the first rock?? Lots of power... but no speed.. I cant climb worth a ****! fill in the blanks...
OMG... im going to be last!! haha Guess I shouldnt have smack-talked on the forums... lol But dang! my truck sure looks purdy
Well, time to go back home.. and back to the drawing board...
Time to lower my center of gravity.. and darn.. I wish I had a DIG...
a definite advantage in the comps...
lets start with the C.O.G
looking better! no flips...!
Time for lower shocks...
Oh? Integy Chromes?? ohhh man.. 75$ cad?? well... if it will help...
oh you say a higher torque steering servo?? Ill take the digital one.. Hitech 6545
Mmmmm.. new Shocks!! this should help too.. less articulation.. but a bigger bore ... less damage? time will tell....
DAMN THIS TRUCK IS COMIN' TOGETHER! ARE THOSE HPI ROCK GRABBER TIRES? yup... they perform time and again at TEDS GARAGE ... HPI should sponsor that guy 4 sure.. hes sold a ton of tires to other competitors
SWEE-EET
Well.. with a new motor (55t) , tires, shocks, and lower C.O.G .. Im certain to win at TEDS...
Ummm... nope
But Im doing better!
Now I can CLIMB the rocks! But darn it again.. im bad driver.. lol
I did place 12th though!
OK.. its been 4 months now...
My Warthog body is all scratched... I want a new chassis to help my skills increase.. and I figure on a Chevy bod.. and a BENDER SWX chassis...
hm.... time to install it all... Fast forward one week......
HELLO BENDER!
Swanky! now is that a Rooster ESC I see?? Yup.. a little drag brake is absolutely necessary! nothing like a down hill descent with no brakes! Looks like some saddle packs too! (batteries)
Ohhhhhhh that chevy body looks fantastic! a much needed over-haul
Oh.. now the LHS is interested int he build Im doing... too cool! lets see how its crawls the RAMP!
Piece of cake!
I NEED A DIG! A sharp turning pivot point for my truck to compete is tight turns!!
RC4WD Transmission will give me an even lower C.O.G and a 3 way dig! Time to lock that back axle! but Ill have to fabricate my DIG servo arm... of to my LHS.. and a little engineering.. annnnnnd... complete!! one working dig!!
AWESOME!
Maybe a chance to take a pic or two down at the creek while it melts....
This is going to work out fine.. but what to do with those colors?? I would like straight aluminum if I could...
whats this?? An experienced bro on a forum knows how to De-anodize with DRAINO?? NO WAY!! IM ON IT!
Oh man.. I love the results!!
All my aluminum is now .... ALUMINUM!
Well now i have a few tricks added to the rig as you can see.. but thats comp stuff ;) Cant give away all my build secrets! hehe
Hope you have enjoyed my thread on the EVOLUTION OF A CRAWLER RIG!
Thanks to all the people that gave me advice while building this amazing piece of engineering!
now to learn how to drive... lol... its only been 6 months.. haha but finally the spring is here... and the snow is melting...
Cheers all..!! Have fun this season!
MEDiC AND HIS AMAZING AXIAL AX-10