mini venom giant 1/18th crawler

[Virus]

hi guys i have brought one of these trucks from http://www.racing-cars.com/usa/products.as...=Mini%20Monster

thses are little crawlers that run 370 motors and run on fixed axles like the tlt-1

how could i go about making this more adgile in its suspension and have any of you crawler guys brought one and modded it

thank you for your answers

Virus

[Razer]

I don't have one, but a friend does & makes servo mounts for them. His page about this mod is here: http://www.swami-rc.com/VMG-01.htm

[Virus]

this is my mini crawler well the one im trying to convert i took some picture to explain an get so opinions and ideas i need to some how modify the axles links in some way as the top one is more of a large triangle plate than the two bars on a tlt or modded clod.

i was thinking of opening the the mount hole where the screw holds the top plate to the axle casing , then some how drill a hole through a ball cup as to hold some threaded 2m bar or even mount two bars to the axle its self, there are two screw beside the center plate mount on the axle i could drill these out and use long threaded ball cups to hold the bars in place on the top of axle and at same time still hold the diff covers together and in place. do you think this would work after you have studyed my pictures

oh i am also changing to a 8cell pack 2/3a size

thank you for looking

Virus

[BiggusDitchus]

I have been thinking how to lengthen mine, links are not a problem but the driveshaft is

[Virus]

i have over come the driveshaft problem biggus i think []

have been looking into using a hpi nitro mt2 dogbone or mardave cobra [] there super long dogbones mate thing is if these are used i can see the shocks being a problem to fit, but thinking over the shock problem that has appeared i was going to use a cantileaver style fitting just like the tlt-1 (f201 uses small right angle units in its shock system ), btw saturady morning 8:50am terestrial english tv is the monster jam, i watched this late last night (gravedigger,superman trucks are ace [] mate its a must watch if you love monster trucks).

last night i removed some of the plastic chassis at the front (thanks for link razer came in very handy [] ) and if i flip the axles over reverese esc motor polarity ([]) and use some servo mounting blocks i could somehow fashion a plate for a micro servo and the center sway bars to fit onto useing a small servo blck thats cut down and adjusted to take two ball joints. i shall try get more better pictures and draw a rough impression.

Virus

[BiggusDitchus]

Driveshaft wise the ball on end of dogbone has to be real small, so normal dogbones wont work.

[Virus]

true biggus i see what you mean

i better get back to the drawing board

Virus

[BiggusDitchus]

I think extending the stock axle is the only answer

[Virus]

it does look it biggus

extending stock dogbones be more easy that faffing about trying to shoehorn other dogbones in. a short steel rod with center drill out couple of holes for grub screws and flat side the two halves of the stock dog bone so the grub screws can hold the dogbone in place and stop it roatating in the extension. i have an old alloy craft knife handle i think will work as the extension.

Virus

[Virus]

well today i salvaged some ball joints and rod ends (from the poor f201) and fitted them in place of the top deck. i had to much side sway so removed them and stuck with the three point link system. while they was off i decided to make the lower links adjustable so taking so large balljoints and some 2m-3m threaded rod made me some adjustable bottom links. its looking cool now i will when i have installed the front adjustable links post a picture of it

Virus

[Virus]

found these sliding uJ's biggus there from the duraxx mini quake

i would say a carefull mod or two would make these ideal for the mini giant as a crawler

any ideas guys do you think it could work?

Virus

[Virus]

well i have been tinkering with this truck and finnished so decided to let all know my thoughts on this 1/20th scale truck from ATECH.

above we have the mini leo x by a-tech.cc

this truck is a 1/20th scale Monster Truck, the model i have runs on 6 AA cells that can be installed in any formation and also come with a li-poly cell pack too.

this little truck from out of the box and running is very good and suprised me some what, the other types of small mini trucks had me expecting this to be a little cumbersome . but i was suprised a set of pinions 11t 12t 14t so we started of with the 11t pinion.

as i brought this truck for myself and my niece to play with we had to take it straight out (i also had some cam footage too) the little truck runs well with my tx cells in but my car stayed still . **** we realy need better cells.hmmmmm poor mini t has to loose its power source so a little squeezing and we had a mini t 6 cell pack in (click here to see it)

after the cells came the love for this truck and my mission started to make this into a real crawler. first of was to gain as mutch infomation on crawlers then i started.

first was to cut away the front servo guard (see picture below) as this would be used later on to protect the steering, thsi space alows for a second servo to be fitted onto the front axle but this will come later on

next was to give the truck some real links as the plastic ones looked very weak at the ball joint ens and the ball joints themselves (see pic below). you will need 8x ball joints & 8x ball end fittings to make the rods use adjustable tie rods form most micros or 1/10th cars and trucks.

above we see the tyres i decided these needed cutting, so taking a craft knife i carefully reamoved chunks from the pattern, this would allow the tyres to grip better as they would colapse once in contact with an object. but it was not to be the rims have no holes in to let the air escape so they become bouncy and we cant have that, after eight drill holes (1mm/ 2mm) later the tyres colapsed well and would also grip better. i then decided the new setups should be tryed out and tested so power up and trotted of out with the now name MGLT-1 meaning mini giant little truck 1 and more crazy ideas.

returning from the front garden bash i decided a servo had to be fitted to the front axle. while the truck would climb rocks,bricks and the odd kerb it had a tendancy to turn the front rims (wheels) when climb and this would have to be sorted out. so i then started on removing the rear battery plate and casing, i also took my time and removed most of the rear chassis plastic. Now there was no turning back it had to be compleated . the picture below shows the rear battery holder removed and a mini t cell pack suspended from the rear body mounting deck plate at rear of truck.you can also se the space that is taken up by the full size steering servo and the center diff casing

now comes the steering modification.

i shall start with a list of items most hobbyists will have laying around for some of you guys you will need to spend a small amount of cash to get these parts or you can ask a friend if he/she has some.

1 micro servo

4 small screws you get with full sizes servos (thin type)

2 servo blocks (tamiya ones are best, these hold servos to chassis's)

4 ball joints

4 ball end cups

2 steering links (these will need cutting down if long)

2 screws to hold servo in place on mounts

well here we go.

i followed the steps from this site called Swami rc as you can see you need to remove the front diff and follow the step in this link "HERE". this explains how to get full steering just follow the steps or you can allways come and ask me.as i will always help out as best i can

next is the mounts themselves we can go to swami and buy his alloy ones i will say they look very strong and but we have to be on a budget, so this is where the servo blocks come in to play. the picture below show the shock mounts on the axle looking at your giant from the front you will see the bottoms of the shocks connect to the axles clamp plate and has two areas that you can use you need to adjust the shocks so they sit in a more uprite position so move them back towards the center of the chassis,now take a servo block and place it inbetween the front part of the shock mount and front of the alxes gearbox use two of the small screws to hold the servo blocks to the shock mounts (bottom ones closest to front alxe). the picture bellow shows the mounted servo and block screwed in place on the shock mount/s. i shaved of the stub so the blocks would fit these usualy give strength for the shock screw but we wont need this.

one thing i noticed was the ball joint cups rubbed on the tyres so i decided to shift the over on the rim as there is a second rib the tyres will grip problem solved and a picture below to show it works. you could also removethis piece of rim and glue the tyre in place you will also notice the hub carriers have been cut to allow the steering to work.

Looking at how i mounted the battery was bad and needed to be reworks so i decided the best place was to replace the fullsize servo with the battery pack, this allows the COG (center of gravity) to be more equal and stop the truck being rear heavy, with the top deck still in place and the servo block still fitted i slipped the cell pack in and screwed all down tight the picture below shows the cell pack in place

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v725/Tam...sidecutaway.jpg

the final thing i decided was the shocks i had worked out the best place to put them giving a little more ride hight from the bottom of the chassis this reals makes the truck sit higher, it also allows for a better crawl down and up kerbs as the chassis wont catch on the kerb anymore the picture below shows where i decided the lowest point the shock could be mounted ok i fib i did mount the shocks this low but they need to be oil shocks and have softer springs

in all i have taken lost of plastic away and this truck still functions well, to be honnest very well. you could go the bigger route and find a fron gearbox/axle this could be fitted to the rear and give 4ws (four wheel steering) you would require a new four channel radio system another mini servo plus sapce so it would have to be a micro 4 channel rx. this truck has now been made into a go anywhere crawler it climbs realistic size obsticals with ease .

i know we are on a budget but the othe extras like a better cell pack will in the end give a more stable truck. the steering on the starndard truck does let it down but once a few changes take place like the fron servo it unleashes this trucks power in a way you would not believe in. let me just also say this truck will take a mamba but i myself will just say dont do it it will be nothing but a out off control truck. its not realy built for racing but more for going slow and in mini trails sections. diffs can also be locked for the ultimate grip factor. i have lock the rear diff but not the front.

if you crawler guys have any ideas on extra things i could do and also where i can find 1/20 scale bodys from for this i would be greatful. i also made a mistake the truck is a 1/20th scale. it now uses a ripmax no limit esc and a accoms rx (fullsize). and i used two tamiya parts (servo block mounts)

Virus

[jozza]

Some good information there, thanks Virus, I've had one of these since they were first released and it's a brilliant little truck. I like the way your mods are all low/zero cost too. I don't think I'll be modding my current one as a crawler, as it's already been hopped up for speed, but at the price they are selling for I might get another one to convert to proper crawler status, so this info will come in very handy.

[Virus]

thanks jozza

am glad it will help. to be honnest i couldnt afford a clod and then mod it up so decided my little 1/20th scale should have the treatment[]. it worked out well too, the stock shocks let the truck down for crawling but if i find some softer springs i think that will help untill i find a nice set of alloy oils for it. i have slammed in a 540 no limit esc and full size rx so it is still alittle top heavy but i will change that another time. yes they are cheap i when i brought mine it was £65 is ok standard but stick in a mini t 6 cell pack or a better esc and 7/8 gp1100 cells and it flys with a 400 graupner motor in it [].just need to find me a good micro servo saver and im away to rock heaven

i will get some video of the little curtain crawler and post a link here for you guys to view if i allowed (will check rule book incase)

[]

Virus

[Virus]

with the help from biggusditchus i have now made the top links biggus came up with the idea of using a captive ball link settup to solve lateral movement in the axles using my old method . the poor f201 is no more its been ravaged for parts to help on this project crawler. next will be the motor reduction

hope this helps you guys out thinking of doing this to your mini truck.

Virus

[BiggusDitchus]

hehe, completely unesserary and daft mods I LIKE IT!!!, see at least I stick to 1/18th and make it easier on myself.

[Virus]

quote:Originally posted by BiggusDitchus

hehe,see at least I stick to 1/18th and make it easier on myself.

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you cheat []. i bet you waiting for me to finnish an see what problems come along when modding it. your right i should have stuck with 1/18th scale... NOT lol.

Virus

[mud4fun]

Nice work Virus!

[Virus]

thank you M4F

here it is nearly finnishe i need to extaend the base more to be honnest. i this having a short wheelbase makes articulation less. plus the stock shocks are rubbish. with what you guys have gave in infomation has made me want to try a bigger scale. i think i will get anothe tlt-1 first and try some new ideas out i have.

sorry about the picture quality i am still learning how to work my camcorder [:I] its not like my point and click camera

Virus

[Virus]

well guys the running off the crawler is taking its toll on the servo after stripping it i had a problem alot of teeth missing from gears so i have modded the actual servo itself. i now have full turning left and right, coming to a conclusion that the twin arm steering setup was to fault i decided to have a compleate change to the steering setup. using the clodbuster,tlt,txt,and other crawlers for a base line i made a steering link using there principle and OMG does it work well. i think i will try and use a rc18t servo saver on and see if this can help but they are slightly sloppy and we dont need that with a crawler as it can cause steering problems.

Virus

[mud4fun]

It is coming along well Virus. Only thing I can see as a problem is the rather extreme angle of the link from servo to steering arm. Doesn't this cause a loss in steering travel in one direction? Could you not angle the servo down a bit or put a long arm on? I had this same problem on thunderfoot to begin with then I angled the servo downwards and got it looking like this:

Looking foward to seeing it after the wheelbase stretch! [8D]

[Virus]

yes it does make it turn more in one direction mudforfun [:I]

but using your idea you have show in your pictures it has sorted out the steering problem []

cant wait to find some suitable extension bars but the problem will be the micro sized dogbones, but am thinking a alloy rod with center drilled out and a grub screw to hold dogbone in the extended shaft may work. was looking at an extra 4inch in overal base length [}]

Virus

[Virus]

thank you westy

yeah he has one cool stretched out mini truck []

TC

[Virus]

i brought a mini t baja shell to set the crawlers scale better. as it was a 1/20th i thought it would look better if the wheels filled the arches better on the small shells. paint job uses a colbolt metalic blue and a base white, silly me ran out of masking tape while spraying so it didnt end up as quite the spray i was aiming for. but the next one will look like a sand scorcher i hope []

Virus

[BiggusDitchus]

Thats cool fella, would look good with my Monster Beetle version.