Finally got it mostly together!

[bluenosegoat]

bluenose....in general it looks good. I'm sorta ":shock:" on your servo to knuckle angles....... Could you flip the servo arm and get a lesser angle from the servo to the knuckle??
I understand you need to clear the front shock.....but......wow.

Maybe my son, asw27x, will chime in later. I'm still a n00b in crawlers...8)

Ya I'm not to happy with the angles on the steering arm but have to see how it does in the real world of rocks. In the kitchen it seems to work fairly well, I do need some adjustment though as I have more steering to the right than the left. The 8/32 allthread is pretty strong though so I think it will work. Its a start anyhow on getting those links out of the way. I will see how it does on the rocks tomorrow but I plan on an OTA setup soon. I like the BTL from rmdw but I see alot of clearance issues- like i dont have enough already!

 

[bluenosegoat]

I made a little video before the latest changes- let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0lgQ_MVuWo

 

[Charlie-III]

I do need some adjustment though as I have more steering to the right than the left.

That is likely due to the way it's set-up. You may need the servo arm offset (not straight down) and lengthen the link from servo to knuckle to fix your current issue. Getting the link closer to the tie link would be better.

 

[CREEPERBOB]

I made a little video before the latest changes- let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0lgQ_MVuWo

LOOKS LIKE YOUR GETTIN' IT FIGURED OUT. "thumbsup" PAPAGO IS AN AWSOME PLACE TOO.
I LIKE THE NEW BTL PLATE, HAVE'NT GOT IT ON THE ROCKS YET, STILL WAITING ON MY SERVO ARM, BUT I THINK ITS GONNA WORK FINE. THERE WILL BE SOME MINOR ADJUSTMENTS HERE AND THERE , CAN'T WAIT TO TRY IT OUT. I'VE STILL GOT TO GET MY BTL PLATE MOUNTED ON MY RIG TOO. MY WIFE AND I WILL BE CRAWLING TOGETHER REAL SOON:mrgreen:.

 

[asw27x]

looks good man

i think that u should maybe you should rotate the srevo arm toward the knuckle that it is conected to

 

[jojo303d]

the BTL dose not have any clearance issues at all if you set it up right. it works great "thumbsup"and I will never look back at any other steering mod.

 

[asw27x]

the BTL dose not have any clearance issues at all if you set it up right. it works great "thumbsup"and I will never look back at any other steering mod.

x2 on that the only think i dont like is the battery is way out in the open

 

[bluenosegoat]

So i got to the rocks the other day to see how the bta steering works. It was alright, did hang up a couple times but easy enough to wiggle the tires a little to get off the rock. The aproach angles were much better though. I added some more weight to my front tires- to much now I think. I added 3 5/8 washers to each wheel behind the lock ring and my servo didnt like it to much! Weight will be coming out and I've decided to make my btl steering set up- I ran out of alluminum for the plate so will have to wait until tomorrow. Also while running I popped a shock cap off, I was able to thread back on and finish the day so for a quick fix I put some heat shrink tube over the caps. See how long that lasts- Need some losi shocks for sure now! This is my start for the btl- links relocated. I added a little piece of alluminum for some different upper link placements at the chassis. Hopefully I get it all together tomorrow!

 

[rybredd]

looks good "thumbsup"

 

[bluenosegoat]

I know I stole RMDW's idea on the BTL plate (I wont be making them for anyone) but work has been slow and I have lots of time to tinker and not much money to tinker with!

So I'm stoked! the btl plate i made seems like it will work great. I also made a little extension for the servo arm to get max steering out of it and things line up really well. No binding or rubbing anywhere, makes me think I did something wrong! lol. The tie rod is 8/32 all thread wraped in brass tubing which is surprisingly strong. I use it for most of my links and have never bent one yet. I will see how i like having the battery in the front, my only concern is rock rash. I will probably make a cover/guard for it if I like the way it performs. The tires just barely clear the battery at max steer- 2200mah 3s. I like the run time of about an hour but I might get some smaller batteries in the future.

O and i got some paint on my Bicycle too!

 

[bluenosegoat]

Got out to Papago on sunday to see how the steering and link changes work and man I'm happy with it! Getting the upper front links higher on the chassis really helped with the TT just like RMDW's diagram shows. The steering is great- I now have full lock to lock with the servo extention and no more chewed up servo horn and catching the steering links on the rocks. I know this truck will probably never truly be finished but I'm really happy with its performance now. Having the battery on the front axle works out really well also and my body covers it just enough to protect it for the most part. Unfortunately we were taking some video and the battery died on the camera! Next time out I'll get some vid of my two trucks and my cousins rig- hope to take them all camping this weekend.

 

[CREEPERBOB]

GLAD TO HEAR YOUR HAPPY WITH YOUR CREEPER MAN, KNEW YOU'DE LOVE IT ONECE YA GOT HER FIRGURED OUT "thumbsup"

 

[Charlie-III]

Got out to Papago on sunday to see how the steering and link changes work and man I'm happy with it!

Not that Im a Creeper Driver, but I would suggest getting the steering link on the BOTTOM of the servo arm to lessen the angle to the knuckle. It will likely reduce the loads on the servo & knuckle making it work better and last longer.
Just a suggestion. Not sure if you have the clearance (without modding other stuff).

 

[asw27x]

na thats fine the way it is mines on top of the servo horn

 

[bluenosegoat]

I tried to get under the arm to lessen the angle but it just wont happen. The clearances now are perfect and they are tight! I plan on doing a similar set up on my other rig- maybe in that process I'll see what I can do to lessen the angles but I'm super happy with the way its working now. I didnt seem to loose much servo torque with the extension but I'm thinking I would like to try a better servo- right now its a TP 946 (I think thats it) but shocks come first, like I said it will probably never done! but thats what I love about these crawlers- always something to mod and tinker with.

 

[bluenosegoat]

Went out to Mt Ord this past weekend for night of camping/drinking/crawling. All was successful but had some carnage on the creeper! I lost my steering servo first- replaced it- then I broke an axle and munched my front diff gears. Hard to see in the pics but the spider gears blew a few teeth. I have been using the shim method of locking the diffs but I got a bit carried away in a bind with the 3s lipo (sure the beers had a little to do with it) and parts just went. You can also see how where the splines of the locker go in started to elongate the holes in the plastic diff housing. Makes me reconsider the shim method of locking the diff. Major bummer but I had my Crawler king based truck along also as back up so the fun continued! Instead of ordering the xvd's and a gear set I just ordered another creeper kit for parts. For now I JB welded the front diff , it has some nice flat spots now for the JB weld to bond to! I'll wait for the kit to arrive for the new axle. Hopefully its here by the weekend to go romp some more!
ps the the btl steering kicks butt, just need a better quality servo. Any recomendations for less than 50 bucks?

 

[jojo303d]

looking good man i like it keep up the good work"thumbsup"

 

[CREEPERBOB]

LOOKS LIKE YA HAD A GOOD TIME, THE WEATHER 'S STILL NICE FOR NOW. THE JB DIFFS IN MINE HAVE HELD UP FOR 6 MONTHS SO FAR, AND I HAVE 8 SPARE AXLE SHAFTS FOR BACKUP."thumbsup" ALONG WITH C HUBS AND KNUCKLE BEARINGS.

 

[bluenosegoat]

LOOKS LIKE YA HAD A GOOD TIME, THE WEATHER 'S STILL NICE FOR NOW. THE JB DIFFS IN MINE HAVE HELD UP FOR 6 MONTHS SO FAR, AND I HAVE 8 SPARE AXLE SHAFTS FOR BACKUP."thumbsup" ALONG WITH C HUBS AND KNUCKLE BEARINGS.

Ya I figure by the time I order spare parts it would be cheaper to just order another Creeper! Good to hear on the JB diffs. I cant find the Flm lockers that people on here talk about- guess they really are hard to find. I was going to weld it but I'm afraid of the alignment with the axle shafts so I'll give the Jb a shot and I'll have two complete spare axles for parts soon! I might send my buddy up in Denver one of the diff assemblies and have him make me some lockers out of alluminum that will fill the housing. If he has time to do it I'll have him make me a batch and get them out there. He runs a cnc mill up there and has made some killer wheels so I know he can do it, just finding the time ya know.

The weather was perfect! If I can get it back together in time we're goin back this coming weekend-- before its 117 out there! RRRRGGG just means its time to head to Co for some rocks! lol:ror:

 

[asw27x]

for less then 50 for a steering servo would be a 625 but just get the 7954 for 100 and not have to worry about torque and gears