Maxstone 16: The cheap crawler

[Hyde802]

Ive had a few PMs about this cheap little crawler, so I decided to make a "build" thread about it. I got the Maxstone16 after having good luck with my Madcrawler 10, and wanting to try a shafty. So As of right now, including the exploder body, I have under $100 into this crawler. I bought it in sept '11 and have extemely good luck with it. Haven't broken A THING yet. Its mostly stock, but parts have been adjusted.

The first issue to address was the torque twist. Fixed this by outboarding the shocks to the outside of the frame in the rear and inside the frame on the front.

I also put the stock RX and ESC in a baloon to "waterproof" them. Ive sunk this thing many times and everything is still working good!

I never ran the stock body. I found this Explorer police body at Big Lots for $13, so far, this is the only thing I have bought for the crawler. Axle bumpers have been pulled off and I greased everything because it was dry and loud!

I still need to take the dremel to the bottom of the axle to clean it up.

Ran that body for 3 months but it was very top heavy to I put the hard springs on it. Its mounted with stock body mounts from the MadCrawler, with a screw in the end of them.

Then the Madcrawler body got trimmed to fit. It was lighter and I could make it sit lower. The explorer body was also getting pretty beat.

And the most recent adjustment is I made the front shocks into dual rate and cut the tires up a bit.

With the Madcrawler body being lighter I didnt need a full set of hard springs. Figured id give this a try. Im running the longer soft springs on the bottom and the shorter ha rdspring on top. So now I have a nice flexy front and full hard springs on the back to keep it stable. Works really well.

Extended

Compressed.


And for the tires I cut out ever other lug to help the tire conform to objects better. The beadlocks on this are fake, and I didnt want to unglue the tires to cut the foam. So far its awesome. The stock tires are very stiff and dont move alot, so this is a huge improvement.

Thats all for now, more snow pics soon.

 

[Hyde802]

Teaser. Will have the rest by the end of the weekend.

 

[y2kgtp]

You seem pretty happy with it overall. I keep looking at these for my kids to play on the rocks with....

 

[meatmonkey]

I want pics of beat explorer body.

Is the top speed at least walking pace?

What's the wheelbase?

What parts of the drivetrain are plastic? And which are steel/other metal?

For some reason the cut tires remind me of comp'd BFG Krawlers.


And, how about I let you drive my SCX and I'll drive your maxstoner and we'll see which one gets broke first.

 

[Hyde802]

I want pics of beat explorer body.
Its all zpitied. Ive had to re attach sections. Ill take a pic of what the inside look like.
Is the top speed at least walking pace?
If you hava bum leg, its walking pace.

What's the wheelbase?
9.25 inches.

What parts of the drivetrain are plastic? And which are steel/other metal?
Has a metal motor plate with plastic and metal gears in the transmission. Drive shafts have metal yokes on plastic shafts,
Steering is all plastic, Links are aluminum.
Axles are plastic, I havent been inside the axles yet, but I believe it has metal R&P with a plastic spool.

For some reason the cut tires remind me of comp'd BFG Krawlers.
Haha. Kind of. I bet they could be copied pretty easy

And, how about I let you drive my SCX and I'll drive your maxstoner and we'll see which one gets broke first.
Sounds good to me. Giver her hell

"thumbsup"

 

[Hyde802]

Photos:

Exploder body:

The MadCrawler body. Took it out when it was -2 and the back part cracked on a flop...so it too got the zipties.

Stock body lowered and cut.

Naked :

Thats all for now. :mrgreen:

 

[JJBTEXAS]

I've been testing out different set-ups on my maxstone and found running droop up front to be very advantageous. I also relocated the esc to the rear axel and I'm using a smaller lipo tucked under the stock battery location. Now i just need new wheels/tires cause I trashed mine trying to unglue them. Just a tip, acetone dissolves the wheel and boiling makes them too soft, causing them to warp.

 

[y2kgtp]

How is your run time with the battery they give you?

 

[Hyde802]

Hour+ in the summer, 45ish Min when its 0* out. The stock 260 motor is pretty efficient.

 

[Hyde802]

Still running about 2 packs through this a week. Only breakage was the gear on the motor wore down causing some binding. easy 4$ fix and its back up and running.

The new gear vs the worn gear.

 

[IWantATurbo]

can you get a better pic or explain how you did the balloon water proofing? just bought one for my son and he would love it 100% more if he can play in the water with it.

looks like a fun crawler so far!

 

[Hyde802]

Look at the very first pic in the thread. That the ESC and RX in the balloons. I just stretch them over them and zip tie the balloon closed, then zip tied them to the plate...

 

[IWantATurbo]

yea saw that after i posted! i think im going to try that tonight. you have never melted the balloons?

 

[ScaleFreak93]

yea saw that after i posted! i think im going to try that tonight. you have never melted the balloons?

If your electronics are getting that hot than melted balloons will be the least of your concerns.

 

[2k3r1]

Would you suggest this as a newbie crawler?

 

[Hyde802]

Ive never had a balloon melt or get hot, but if left in the sun, they do dry rot.

Its a good entry level crawler. Its low budget and is easy to make it crawl well. Leaving the drive train stock is my key to it lasting so long. Its slow, yes but hasent broken yet. The 260 motor stalls out before anything breaks. Never when climbing, just when tires are jammed between things.

 

[jayman43]

Hyde if you don't want those bodies to crack any more at the end of the cracks make a small hole with body reamer.

 

[crawlhog]

if you sipe the tires they will work even better, cutting the lugs only helps a little.

 

[Hyde802]

Still going strong! "thumbsup"

Had to replace the steering servo, and the front axle housing because the upper knuckle screw stripped out. Replaced both with stock pieces and keep on truckin.

 

[kgb424]

Here is mine, I put in a Brushless Novak Micro Pro esc and a 18.5 turn 380 motor, had to shave, file, sand, use a shoe horn too make it fit, had to make my own motor mount, it took some time, but it was worth it.