mash914
Pebble Pounder
I really like all of the SSD parts that I have for my Enduro and my TRX-4 so I wanted to try the Trail King - luckily my wife bought me one for my birthday. Unfortunately I haven't been able to decide what direction I want to go with it. After a summer of watching YT videos and reading posts here I've developed a pretty strong desire to try out an LCG build.
So I decided to try merging my Trail King with a V3 chassis rails kit. There were a few things I was sort of worried about with the new chassis, the main one being getting the transmission situated. I decided to buy the V3 kit that included the basic skid, sliders, servo mount etc. I also added chassis spacers and the extra "versatile" panhard mount. The goal was to see how much I could use from both kits to make a cool truck.
Over the weekend I started to mock up most of the parts to see how I want everything to go together. The SSD skid mostly fits. There are small nubs need to be trimmed and then the rails can pull in tight to the skid. Lower link locations are in almost the same spot as the V3 skid, so the axles end up where they belong. Rear upper links obviously have a whole bunch of locations so that will be super easy to put them where i want them. The front is slightly more complicated, but not too bad. The SSD skid partially blocks the chassis mount location for the upper link, so I had to shave that down (if i ultimately use this skid I'll trim all of that extra stuff off). Surprisingly the SSD panhard mount fits perfectly and seems to put the axle right in the center.
So far everything seems to be going swimmingly.
Here are the areas that will still need attention - oddly, the SSD driveshaft is just a tick too long. It shouldn’t be because the skid, transmission, and links are all the same. The only real hard point mounting difference is that the upper link is mounted to a slightly different spot (it really isn’t far off stock SSD though). Probably the real culprit is that the extra tilt provided by the angled V3 skid combined with the lowered ride height puts the axle in a location that the Trail King never would be. I debated trying to shorten the driveshaft, but SSD specs have a extension range of about 10mm - based on normal arc, this is cutting it close if i don’t get it right. I decided to try the Incision driveshafts because they have a range that that’s a bit shorter on the low end. It’s not a total loss as I can most likely use the SSD shafts on my enduro. The other thing I still need to get right is the transmission mounting. I’ve mocked up a few different things, but haven’t decided on anything yet. Luckily this will be totally doable with minimal fabrication. I’m thinking some spacers to lift it up and angle it to slightly more level, then putting a couple of holes in the chassis rails to attach the front mounts.
One other thing I’ll need to address is the shocks. The SSD shocks are really stiff for this setup. I ordered the SSD soft springs (only $5 for a full set!!!). The truck sits too high, but also they just seem a bit stiff. I still need to take them apart, grease everything, fill them, etc. - I’m hopeful with a bit of fiddling they’ll loosen up. Really beautifully built though - just based on looks they make the Enduro shocks look very toy-like.
Ok, enough talking here are some pictures as it sits...
So I decided to try merging my Trail King with a V3 chassis rails kit. There were a few things I was sort of worried about with the new chassis, the main one being getting the transmission situated. I decided to buy the V3 kit that included the basic skid, sliders, servo mount etc. I also added chassis spacers and the extra "versatile" panhard mount. The goal was to see how much I could use from both kits to make a cool truck.
Over the weekend I started to mock up most of the parts to see how I want everything to go together. The SSD skid mostly fits. There are small nubs need to be trimmed and then the rails can pull in tight to the skid. Lower link locations are in almost the same spot as the V3 skid, so the axles end up where they belong. Rear upper links obviously have a whole bunch of locations so that will be super easy to put them where i want them. The front is slightly more complicated, but not too bad. The SSD skid partially blocks the chassis mount location for the upper link, so I had to shave that down (if i ultimately use this skid I'll trim all of that extra stuff off). Surprisingly the SSD panhard mount fits perfectly and seems to put the axle right in the center.
So far everything seems to be going swimmingly.
Here are the areas that will still need attention - oddly, the SSD driveshaft is just a tick too long. It shouldn’t be because the skid, transmission, and links are all the same. The only real hard point mounting difference is that the upper link is mounted to a slightly different spot (it really isn’t far off stock SSD though). Probably the real culprit is that the extra tilt provided by the angled V3 skid combined with the lowered ride height puts the axle in a location that the Trail King never would be. I debated trying to shorten the driveshaft, but SSD specs have a extension range of about 10mm - based on normal arc, this is cutting it close if i don’t get it right. I decided to try the Incision driveshafts because they have a range that that’s a bit shorter on the low end. It’s not a total loss as I can most likely use the SSD shafts on my enduro. The other thing I still need to get right is the transmission mounting. I’ve mocked up a few different things, but haven’t decided on anything yet. Luckily this will be totally doable with minimal fabrication. I’m thinking some spacers to lift it up and angle it to slightly more level, then putting a couple of holes in the chassis rails to attach the front mounts.
One other thing I’ll need to address is the shocks. The SSD shocks are really stiff for this setup. I ordered the SSD soft springs (only $5 for a full set!!!). The truck sits too high, but also they just seem a bit stiff. I still need to take them apart, grease everything, fill them, etc. - I’m hopeful with a bit of fiddling they’ll loosen up. Really beautifully built though - just based on looks they make the Enduro shocks look very toy-like.
Ok, enough talking here are some pictures as it sits...
