6x6 CC01: ideas gathering

[Mad Ax 9312]

An idea came to me a week or two ago that the CC01 could be a good donor for a diminutive 6x6 build.  I had originally planned to do a 6x6 conversion on my GMade BOM, but I love it enough as it is (there's a Peter Sellers film about that), and ultimately I'll try to build a proper capable 6x6 from an Element Enduro builder's kit that I picked up a couple of weeks ago.  But the CC01 still seems like a good idea for a quicker project.

This thread is really just an open forum for me to jot some ideas down and perhaps get some feedback or alternative perspectives before I start making irreversible changes to my chassis.  I actually have a couple of spare CC01 chassis lying around so it wouldn't cost much to get started on this, although I'll have to budget for some appropriate wheels and tyres somewhere down the line.

Ideas

Something smaller.  Possibly the front half of an old Blackfoot body with a flatbed.

Small tyres.  Smaller than stock CC01, possibly similar diameter to the Landfreeder tyres, but with a wider, more balloon appearance.  Possibly 1.55 or 1.7 inch.  TLT wheel/tyre combo is a possibility but tyres are a bit too wide and not quite scale enough.  I could narrow them, which would save a fortune as I have loads of TLT wheel and tyre sets lying around.

Not going for a rock crawler look, more of an Icelandic balloon tyre rig - the concept being to spread the weight so it doesn't sink into snow.  I've been watching the Netflix series Katla recently and there's a mid-90s F150 or similar with a flatbed and 6x6 conversion, wearing little balloon tyres.

Transfer box to split the transmission output into two.  I actually have a transfer box already, so no additional expense.  Rear axle will be flipped upside down because drive is reversed out of the transfer box.  Should reduce torque twist.  It doesn't seem possible to make a pass-thru out of two CC01 axle cases.  I briefly considered using TLT axles (it looks quite simple to make a TLT with a pass-thru using two input halves screwed together) but these are getting thin on the ground, plus I'm not sure the FDR is the same as the CC01, which would cause issues with the CC01 front axle.

Probably 4-linked rear suspension.  I'm not going for massive articulation so I can deal with short links.  I thought about walking beam but on an RC with low weight and high torque this can make the middle axle lift off the ground, which just looks plain silly and totally voids the point of having 6 wheel drive.  I might anchor the links to a common mount between the axles (like the big-rigs) to maintain symmetrical axle movement.

I have seen photos of a "walking shock mount" arrangement, where the axles are 4-linked but the shock tops are bolted to a walking beam.  This means as one axle rises the shocks compress the other axle down.  In my head, this seems to solve the dilemma of the walking beam - there is still a mechanical transfer of force from a compressing axle into the opposite axle (with 4-links and independent shock mounts, if one axle is lifted by an obstacle it unloads the other axle, just like on an independently-sprung axle if one wheel is compressed the opposite wheel is unloaded, hence why solid axles are better on crawlers).  In my head, I can't see that the torque will cause the middle axle to unload, since the rear axle is rotationally tied to the entire chassis, so it will try to lift the entire chassis.  If it succeeds (i.e. if it's got enough torque and traction to lift the front of the truck), the rear axle suspension will compress but this will transfer the force into the middle axle - so it seems to be a best-of-all-worlds solution...

Short wheelbase.  The TRX-6 and SCX10 6x6 models are very long, but I want something shorter.  The middle axle will probably be the same as a stock SWB CC01, or maybe shorter, depending on how well the body fits.

Chopped brick and aftermarket steering, possibly my own custom design this time.

Retain IFS.  This is a dillemical one, for me.  Would anyone build a 1:1 6x6 with IFS?  It doesn't seem logical that you'd go to all the effort of building a 6x6 truck but not fit a solid front axle.  But that's a bit mod for a CC01 and requires a whole load of additional thought.  I want the truck to be low and compact, so I don't think a solid front axle will ever work.  Besides, once I've started doing that I'll be looking at a different transmission and very little of the original chassis, so it wouldn't really be a CC01.  And at that point I'm beyond needing to stick with CC01 rear axles either, I could go TLT or Maverick Scout all round, and then it's not a CC01 at all.

So - who thinks this is a great idea?  Who think it's pointless?  Who thinks I should forget it and just get on with the Enduro build?

Who has some neat suggestions to make about axles, transfer cases, shaft routing, 1:1 vehicle inspiration, wheel and tyre options..?

[OldSchoolRC1 983]

You'd have to retain the IFS - it's not a CC01 without it! 

It's fairly easy to hack off the back of the chassis and graft on an entirely different rear end. I don't have measurements handy but picturing it in my head I'm wondering if a Tamiya Semi rear chassis/suspension could be grafted on... that would certainly be unique.  

A dual output transfer case and CC01 axles seems to be the best bet. There's plenty of room under the chassis for it. Here's my "t-case" setup for my 2.2 - a larger unit has plenty of room under there. 

However, now that I think about it, using an RC4WD hammer t-case could change the gear ratio inline to the rear axles.... it has a 1:1.47 ratio so that would bring you out to 2.69 at the rear to match the front, and now you are in SCX10 V1 axle territory (stock SCX axles are 13/38, or 2.92.) Easily converted to dual output and can be found fairly cheap (built mine out of spares I had laying around) not to mention easy to link up. 

Interesting thoughts... doesn't have to make sense or have a point to build something. Sometimes the best projects come out of the strangest ideas. 

[Mad Ax 9312]

On 8/20/2021 at 1:57 PM, OldSchoolRC1 said:

Interesting thoughts... doesn't have to make sense or have a point to build something. Sometimes the best projects come out of the strangest ideas. 

There is that   I'm trying to avoid something too daft because I already have a King Blackfoot body on a G6-01 - that's a silly 6x6 truck, but it's made for bashing, it's not supposed to be scale, unless it's a scale monster truck with 6 wheels.

I think you're right about the IFS.  I know there is a 3D printed front axle conversion but I think a lot needs to change in terms of transmission, and then it sort of stops being a CC01 and becomes just another solid axle crawler.  And after all the time and expense, I'd be better off building the Enduro as a 6x6 (which I will probably do anyway, some time down the line).

I think the CC01 axles are the way to go right now.  I don't want to go too wide (I want wide tyres and don't want to have to widen the body too much to cover them).  I know CC01 axles aren't the easiest to mount but they are readily available (I already have two assembled CC01s sitting around waiting for me to start doing something with).

I was also looking at wheel and tyre options.  I don't want this to be a big-budget build, so I'm looking at what I've got, and what I've got is loads of TLT wheels.  I think I can narrow the wheels to get a balloon effect on the tyres.  I was looking at similar-sized wheels and tyres but there's really not much out there.  This means my tread won't be great for performance, so maybe I have to think about cutting the chevrons for a more aggressive pattern or inserting the tread from something else.