Been wanting a crawler any suggestions...

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My TRX4 Sport kit build is getting close to being finished. The motor arrived yesterday, so I finally have all of the parts. Will probably finish the build tonight. I don't know how people say that it is a 3-hour build. I probably have about 15 hours into it already when I add up the time spent building the kit, painting the body and accessories, decalling the body, soldering esc and motor, modifying the tires and tire foam, etc. Loved every minute of it and will be a bit sad to have it complete. I don't know that I will be able to buy an rtr again; building one is so much more rewarding...

I was able to get a quick balance check after getting the motor in. With the esc on the left (stock location) and the battery on the right (in place of the stock receiver box), the truck is perfectly balanced left to right. Seems to be ideal, but I still plan to do some testing on an incline board once I get the truck assembled. I'll measure the tip angle of the truck in each orientation (up, down, left, and right) with the battery in various locations (right floor board, up front, stock location). Should be fun and informative.
 
Lets not forget to show a little love to the SCX24's highly upgradable and a great little rig for indoor/outdoor fun and travel. :)

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I finished the TRX build last night and did some tip testing today. Interesting, but not necessarily earth shattering results. I expected bigger differences with moving the battery position; probably because my 1500mah pack isn't that heavy.

I measured the static tip angle for the up, down, right, and left truck orientations with the battery mounted in various positions (stock tray, right floor board, front). I repeated each cycle to confirm results. The numbers below are the angles at which the wheels just lifted off of the ground.

Results:
Stock: U63/D65/R47/L45
Floor: U64/D64/R45/L48
Front: U66/D63/R47/L46

I was really expected the lower COG floor position to provide better side hill stability, but all it did was flip the R/L bias. Based on these results, I am leaning towards the front mounted battery position. Not being an experienced crawler, I want to make sure that I am drawing the right conclusion. Based on the numbers above, which battery placement would you choose?
 
Got my beadlocks and new tires today😍 the tires are great, nice and soft and some more nobbies than the stock set especially on the outer edge which is what I wanted for better grip. First time putting beadlocks together and man am I thankful the already installed the front plates as damn it was still a ton of screws and tightening for 4 damn tires let alone another 30 screws per rim. Absolutely love the look also and lucked out as the red on the rims is almost an identical match to the body🤩 also adds another 1 3/8 oz per wheel over the stock set which will help for better COG.
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Before
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After
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Got my beadlocks and new tires today😍 the tires are great, nice and soft and some more nobbies than the stock set especially on the outer edge which is what I wanted for better grip. First time putting beadlocks together and man am I thankful the already installed the front plates as damn it was still a ton of screws and tightening for 4 damn tires let alone another 30 screws per rim. Absolutely love the look also and lucked out as the red on the rims is almost an identical match to the body🤩 also adds another 1 3/8 oz per wheel over the stock set which will help for better COG. View attachment 168183View attachment 168184
BeforeView attachment 168187AfterView attachment 168188View attachment 168189
Awesome. I would put some TL on those wheel nuts.
 
@Edough13 I just put in all those little screws in my scx24 rims and they are even smaller! I think there is about 26 screws in each rim x 4. You got lucky!
Ya I'm definitely thankful they were already put on and I just had to give them all a little tightening is all. I bet that was a pain for sure on the scx24 what size screws like .5mm? They have to be super tiny even these were 1.5mm which is small.
 
Ya I'm definitely thankful they were already put on and I just had to give them all a little tightening is all. I bet that was a pain for sure on the scx24 what size screws like .5mm? They have to be super tiny even these were 1.5mm which is small.
Yep .5mm, I was at the kitchen table, my wife was on the couch, she could hear every time I dropped one on the table (and no I wasn't swearing oddly enough) but she asked me why I keep dropping them. I asked her if she would like to give it a try? She declined. :ROFLMAO: Considering how many there were I really didn't drop that many, and I managed to keep them all from hitting the floor. (y)
 
OK guys here's my first little look at the new crawler stock out of the box. Did amazing for a "cheap" value rig I'd say. Now with the few little things I've done it's insane how well it does and would bet it holds its own with crawlers over double the price. Son did video but did pretty good not horrible by any means. Now have a radio mount for the GoPro so lot better footage coming soon👍🏼
 
@Edough13 Coolness! Gonna be a fun rig. :) Quick tip, when shooting your vids be aware of your lighting and where your shadows fall.
Yes I know that lol but my boy was shooting for me, he's still got some learning to do 😂 next video you'll see I recorded lol and from my remote so some better shots👍🏼
 
I finished the TRX build last night and did some tip testing today. Interesting, but not necessarily earth shattering results. I expected bigger differences with moving the battery position; probably because my 1500mah pack isn't that heavy.

I measured the static tip angle for the up, down, right, and left truck orientations with the battery mounted in various positions (stock tray, right floor board, front). I repeated each cycle to confirm results. The numbers below are the angles at which the wheels just lifted off of the ground.

Results:
Stock: U63/D65/R47/L45
Floor: U64/D64/R45/L48
Front: U66/D63/R47/L46

I was really expected the lower COG floor position to provide better side hill stability, but all it did was flip the R/L bias. Based on these results, I am leaning towards the front mounted battery position. Not being an experienced crawler, I want to make sure that I am drawing the right conclusion. Based on the numbers above, which battery placement would you choose?
I follow your setup technique. How I did it even with a Crossweight digital scale. All I can say is keep weight as low as you can to prevent camber rolling when side hilling. Tires play an important part with this. They squat and the rig leans over. I used Crawler innovation tuning discs placed inside the outer walls of the front tires. Where my rig is heaviest. Can't get it perfect. Just want your rig to be great all around on most features of terrain.
 
I finished the TRX build last night and did some tip testing today. Interesting, but not necessarily earth shattering results. I expected bigger differences with moving the battery position; probably because my 1500mah pack isn't that heavy.

I measured the static tip angle for the up, down, right, and left truck orientations with the battery mounted in various positions (stock tray, right floor board, front). I repeated each cycle to confirm results. The numbers below are the angles at which the wheels just lifted off of the ground.

Results:
Stock: U63/D65/R47/L45
Floor: U64/D64/R45/L48
Front: U66/D63/R47/L46

I was really expected the lower COG floor position to provide better side hill stability, but all it did was flip the R/L bias. Based on these results, I am leaning towards the front mounted battery position. Not being an experienced crawler, I want to make sure that I am drawing the right conclusion. Based on the numbers above, which battery placement would you choose?
Tip over angles are good reference but don’t tell the whole story. They will change while the truck is under power and suspension loading and unloading. @SrC is spot on aboth as well...

@Edough13 Those wheels look amazing on that rig. I’ve got the 2.2” that style on my rgt Rock hammer.
 
So few changes I've made are definitely making a big difference. Look forward to hopefully end of this week or early next week getting the metal steering parts for it also. Climbing ability on steep incline is just crazy now and also roll over has changed dramatically. This first pic is a good example and just insane it didn't roll over😱
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Seeing how it does on a steep incline and I'd say not too shabby considering nothing for grip. 45° angle and truck does it no problem👍🏼 I want to lay some carpet or something on the board for grip and see how much more it can do but pretty awesome with just some added weight, beadlocks and new tires. Should see a little more improvement when I get and install the metal steering and caster mounts also.
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So.... to vent or not to vent..??? Tyres that is 🤔
My new wheels/tyres etc arrived yesterday and just wondering should I vent the tyres like I do on my bashers, what's yous guys opinions ??
@SrC @Pat_ranch @Doom! and to any other crawler guys..!!
 
I say yes always. I tried both ways. A crawler runs more true to scale w/ vented. Allows the foams to do all the work like they should. Trapped air inside the tire will never be consistent from tire to tire, and due to atmosperic pressure and ambient temps.. Much like scale tires. They have to be checked and adjusted. Not realistic with Crawler tires. Some like to Crawl in the wet/mud. And never vent them for this reason and to keep the foams dry. Tire traction will suffer for sure. If running $better$ "Closed" cell foam, water wont affect them. But the cheap "open cell" foams Absorb water and will rot and get moldy without question. Just part of Crawling in the wet. Foams are consumables anyway. Crawler tires last and last for the most part. Yet I am on several sets of open cell foams already. I still have My Crawler Innovations Closed cell ones. Don't absorb water.
Just you will never see a hard core Comp Crawler "Not" vented.
If I have a set of OE Crawler tires here that suck being too stiff, I will mount them without any foams. But still vent them. It can work for some lighter Crawlers. My rather stock 1/10 Deadbolt one example. Tires run fine, better traction without foams. Water is then a non issue.
 
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