What motor for rock crawling

[BIG WHEELER]

Which motor would be best to put in my jug rock crawler,55t lathe motors seem to be the in thing in the states but availability here in uk is poor

[jedzuki(2)]

To add to the question- torque for the Truck Puller is 320Nmm, about 10x that of normal fast motors. Is this correct[?]

[mud4fun]

Any high torque motor will be fine, I have used very cheap 550 motors (NOT same as 540) they are slightly longer and are used in some 9.6v and 14.4v cordless drills. They are similar to the stock 540 silver cans but have half the revs and twice the torque! Add a small reduction unit and you'll have more torque than you can ever need. The reduction units which bolt on to the front of the motors cost only about £20 in your LHS so if they fit in the truck (they add about 30mm to overall motor length) they are the best bet. A 3:1 reduction unit even on a stock 540 will be better than an expensive 55t lathe motor and coupled with a 550 motor and torque ring they are awesome.

[jedzuki(2)]

Thanks.

My mistake, it is 2x not 10x.

[BIG WHEELER]

would i require one or two of these for the jug

[mud4fun]

The Jugg can take two motors and in that case would require two reduction units - however, the Jugg can also run with just a single motor - probably fine if you had a torquey motor and reduction unit. It would give you longer runtime off your battery as well.

[addict again]

i think the best motor for crawling is the integy 55t. Pretty much everyone in orcrc is using that setup with no reductions. Also i have seen many juggy's with one motor with a reduction unit installed. I personally though will be running duel integy's.

Bill

[BIG WHEELER]

What about the truck puller how does it compare to the integy for torque and amperage

[DJTheo]

LRP and Team Orion Truck motors are 80T so should have more torque and less current.

Cheers

[mr_pushrod]

While the 55t lathe motor is popular, I found the Graupner Speed 600 Eo 7.2 had more torque and is half the cost. The only downside is that it's a 550 so has a longer can, it therefore won't fit in some cars without modifications or at all.

[Cul-Tech]

If you are looking to keep it on a budget then just wire your stock motors in series and put on 9t pinions, minimial cost and tons of torque with long run times.[]

If you want to try this do it without the smaller pinion and see what you think knowing that smaller pinions will just make it better.

Mike

[BIG WHEELER]

The motors i have at the moment are revenge of the monster horsepower stock these are 27 turn motors,i was thinking of coupling just one up to a reduction gearbox from a drill any thoughts on this idea greatly apreciated before i spend the next few evenings in the shed putting this together

[mud4fun]

Forget the drill gearbox - I tried this last year and they are just not suitable. Far better to buy a simple little graupner airplane reduction unit for £20. All you need to do is modify a pinion to suit the 4mm dia shaft on the reduction unit. They are simple and reliable little units and can be had in 2.5:1 and 3:1 ratios etc.

[simensays]

I bought the 55t lathe motor for $19.99 from Integys own webstore - I don't understand why ya´ll keep talking about that motor as if it is expensive?

I ordered the new LRP Truck Puller 2 motor a few days ago, which was about $38.

I also don't see any point in getting a motor that is bigger (550 vs 540) that demands mods to be fitted...

[netsmithUK]

Must admit I'm a bit sceptical about reduction units - don't get me wroong I'm not denying the physics of more torque etc I just uncertain about the actual real benefit.

I run two integy 55x lathe motors in my mod clod and a LRP truck puller in my mod TLT. Both have enough torque to keep the machines moving. There is enough torque in them to lift themselves vertically if require. Very rarely get stuck because of lack of torque. Long before this happens you tend to lose traction on the tires etc so they spin instead of you moving. Having more torque wouldn't help in this situation.

Just my opinion.

Cheers

Chris

[addict again]

chris made a good point. You can have all the torque in the world but realy that is only part of the puzzle. Torque without good ground clearance,weight distribution,traction and articulation realy wont do ya a whole lot of good! All of which is very critical to a formidable crawler! oh and a good cg doesnt hurt neither [8D]

[DJTheo]

quote:I also don't see any point in getting a motor that is bigger (550 vs 540) that demands mods to be fitted...

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Just to clear up in case its misunderstood, 550 motors have the same diameter and mounting holes like 540s only are a bit longer and fit without any mod to most off road vehicles.

My personal choice are 80T truck motors for high torque, low speed and long running times or in vehicles where 550s dont fit easily (XC chassis) and 550s (Graupner 600 speed) for high torque and speed and low cost.

Cheers

[mud4fun]

Guys, the reduction unit I fitted to thunderfoot was not to increase torque specifically but to lower the gearing for finer control of the vehicle when crawling over rocks. I'm already running a 550 sized motor with torque ring and 8.4v so torque isn't a concern.

The reduction unit gives me 65:1 overall gearing which allows very, very fine throttle control which is excellent in some situations such as crawling up a bank made from very loose soil/dirt. The wheels don't spin and dig in as easily as when no reduction unti is fitted.

True, they have their downside - the vehicle is too slow to use for anything other than crawling.

We have not yet had a true crawling event with proper rocky sections or tricky terrain. I'm sure the benefits of the reduction units will become more noticeable in close competition in such trial sections. I agree though that for most people a reduction unit is not such a good idea, especially if they are planning on using the truck on large flat surfaces, parking lots etc because the extremely slow top speed will become very annoying!!!

[BIG WHEELER]

Spent this week messing about with a modified drill g/box crawls beautifully but what a horrible noise it makes,going to try a plane unit next think this is belt driven so should be quiet.What is a torque ring[?]

[mud4fun]

The reduction unit you need is an 'inline' geared reduction unit. They good ones have steel gears with ball bearings fitted throughout.

The cordless drill gearboxes aren't proper gearboxes really, they have a set of ball bearings which are adjusted against a pressure plate to increase/decrease torque - it doesn't work very well over sustained running. Mine fell to pieces after an hours use - it too made a horrible ratchet sound whilst running.

The airplane reduction units are better but still make a whining sound but you get used to it after a while!

[BIG WHEELER]

Just bought a MFA olympus toothed belt reduction drive pt no 1092/4 at a cost of £11.95 accepts 540/550 motors.This seems to be a good idea at the moment for use in my jug crawler as it does away with one motor and brings the remaining motor onto the centre line of the chassis i will of corse have to make up a adaptor ring to mount it all off the gearbox will have to post some pics if it works.I didnt use the complete drill gearbox with all the torque adjuster just the planetary gears from inside and machined my own outer case to suit.Almost forgot the ratio for the unit i just bought is 2.3:1[]