The Ultimate Crawler

[PastryLikeDood]

I REALLY!!! want to build a rock crawler but havent decided on which truck to buy.. I'm thinking of starting off with the XTM X-Factor 2 due to the suspension set-up but was wondering if there was another truck that has the upgrades that you guys think would help get me started on my ultimate rock crawler. I'm planing on running a nitro due to the need of power but could an electric be the way to go? Of course if i were to go electric i would probably use this chassis. http://www.clodparts.com/products/chassis/48.html

 

[sj410kid]

personally i am going w/ the T-maxx then i am getting lower gears and lowers ring and pinion gears

 

[oldcars]

hey at that clodparts website those frames are cool are those for any car so you can put you crap on it or are they conversion kits for certain cars?

 

[ImBroken]

If you ask anyone into rock crawling, ELECTRIC is the way to go. There's no need for speed when crawling. It's all Torque, & electric seems to be the way to go...

 

[phootbag]

Unless you water cool your nitro engine you need speed to keep air moving over the cylinder head. Electric will give more low end torque and control anyway. Plus, you can drive it in your house.

 

[Mudduck]

Well I have a few words to ad to this topic. A T-Maxx would be and is a good choice for a nitro rockcrawler. As with any custum or purpose built truck there will be mods that will have to be done, and parts that need to be made that are not available off the shelf. Some of the things that need to be done to a Maxx is To make it a bit wider, either the 1st gen. or the 2nd gen. It all depends on how wide you need or want it to be. I have a 1st gen Maxx and it is about 2 inches wider from when I started. Some of the widening came from Clod tire adapters. The reason for the extra width is for more ground clearance and suspesion travel.You can make your own a-arms out of 1/2" lexan. It takes a bit to do but it works nice. A few other mods are locked diffs front and rear, with this 4 wheel sterring is a nice thing to have and a longer chassis helps as well. As for the cooling problim I use a Small PC fan to do the cooling so I dont have to run full tilt to keep the temps down. The gearing has to be a lower to help with the speed issue, There are a lot of differant clutch bells out there to choose from, you just have to find the one that works best for what you want. Of course the lower you get the better the power you can get to the ground. With the lower speeds you would want the clutch to grab at a lower speed than normal I have ran with out the clutch shoe spring in place as well cut the shoes a bit to respond a bit more. If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Steve

 

[spm33x1033]

go to swamirc.com, they have some videos with amazing rock crawling and i think he uses the clodbuster* electric is the way to go for rock crawling, also get many batterypacks, or i also have a suggestion for a mod. replace the battery pack with a battery (AA) holder like in the reciever of the T-maxx, and use the radio shack ic3 batteries, 15 minute recharge time, with a special charger, rather expensive for AA or AAA batteries but use can use them for other things as well.