center gear cover?

[Crab]

noticed some pretty good scratches on chassis after letting kids and lady drive the outcast. was impressed how good she held up/ i need to order some shock springs to help from bottoming out. but. the drive gear sticks thru the bottom of chassis. does anyone have a cover for this? a couple of scraps went right thru that area. and i wonder how many rocks bounce off the gear while playing.
thoughts?
Crab

 

[Buck]

Not uncommon for spur to be exposed on RC's.
As you'll notice it is slightly recessed relative to the chassis plate, even if so by only a millimetre or two.
As such, any bottoming out generally does not exert any impact to the gear.
Now, running in thick brush or something may induce the likelihood of something getting snagged up, but doubtful.
Think of it like trying to throw something through the spokes on a bicycle wheel when it's spinning quickly, even though there is lots of space for an object to go through, the rotational speed of the spokes create a 'barrier'. The spur is spinning so quickly, that anything that does make it up in there is repelled back out. Even if something does make its way up in there, it is displaced inside the chassis, no harm no foul.
Wouldn't worry about it...and to answer your question it is not common practice to encapsulate the spur gear bottom chassis side. Is there a risk of damage...sure, but nothing you should be consistently worried about.
Just run the truck and enjoy brother!

 

[Qwin]

I covered up that slot on another rc, ended being a big mistake. A small stone got trapped between spur gear and the cover I made causing motor to jam and burn out. I keep it open now. Just my 2 cents

 

[Crab]

Thanks guys. Was worried after first real bashing. It had some deep grooves right thru gear area. I'll leave her alone. Lol.
Crab

 

[tobyjoe]

Go ahead and get a couple of spare pinions and a spare spur. Then bash happily and stress-free!