Micro Racer's 6x6 Build

[micro racer]

After running my truck a few times over my rock pile, it was quickly apparent that I would need some rock sliders. Besides holding a couple of boxes on each side, the sliders protect the fuel tanks from being ripped off. Unfortunately, I lost a fair bit of ground clearance; however, as they do in fact slide over the rocks, a good blip of the throttle normally kicks the truck over.









In the picture above, you might notice that the middle tire is compressed almost all the way to the rim. I might need to talk with Crawler Innovations about some foam to better support the tires, since the front goes flat just sitting on the bench...

Right now I am at a bit of a lull in chassis building; I need to order several parts before I can start the rear bed and roll cage as well as the front bumper. In the mean time, I will continue finishing up the body work. Last week, I received the final parts tree (grill and headlight buckets) that I needed in order to finish the body, save some custom work for the exhaust stacks and mirrors.



Finally, I mounted my radiator and housing to the back of the body.



I still need to sleeve a few of the all-thread links, and the front lowers need to be completely redone (all-thread and sleeving) because they are too short. For my rear winch, I recently saw a thread posted about a (relatively) new K2 winch by KMS, one that outputs 480 oz-in of torque, which seems perfect for the bed winch of my 6x6. Along with the bed winch, I will be running a less powerful front winch, probably a KMS K2 or K3 180 (keeping costs down and the main winch is supposed to be in the rear) depending on where I will mount it.

 

[Sarra]

What are you going to do with the rear? Car hauler, box, etc.?

 

[micro racer]

What are you going to do with the rear? Car hauler, box, etc.?

I will be building a flat bed with a rally style roll cage. Towards the front, the cage will hold two spare tires and some fuel tanks. The middle of the bed will be a bit open, filled in with some scaleaccessories. The end of the cage will protect the rear winch, and the sides of the cage will hold a pair of sand ladders.

I am going for a light- to medium-duty recovery style. I am not building an exocage, but something to fill the bed area and protect the body and bed accessories.

 

[new2rocks]

What are you going to do with the rear? Car hauler, box, etc.?

Good question. I haven't decided yet. Lots of options, and I want to stay as scale as I can
with it. Canopies and munitions seem to be very common. The possibilities are almost endless, though, which is one of the coolest things about this kit.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[kstowe]

I just started a trailer build out of 1/4 tube that I'm brazing together (which is a first) definitely gives me some confidence in material choice!

Enough about me though, this build is sofa king awesome! I think that all of your choices with the body (& the whole build) have been spot on, that color fits so well. "thumbsup"

Just curious, how is that thing on weight with a pack in it?

Keep up the killer work! I can't imagine what you have in store for the bed, but I want to find out!

 

[micro racer]

Unfortunately, this build stalled a bit since I diverted most of my attention and money to making my B4.2 race-ready, but I should be back to my 6x6 soon. I hope to order the KMS K2 480 in a few weeks, then I can get the bed/rollcage built.

I just started a trailer build out of 1/4 tube that I'm brazing together (which is a first) definitely gives me some confidence in material choice!

Enough about me though, this build is sofa king awesome! I think that all of your choices with the body (& the whole build) have been spot on, that color fits so well. "thumbsup"

Just curious, how is that thing on weight with a pack in it?

Keep up the killer work! I can't imagine what you have in store for the bed, but I want to find out!

Thanks for the compliments kstowe! I tried to find a paint that closely matched the local dirt, giving it a not-camo-but-camo look. After its last run, I think I will need to find a small bottle of paint to cover scratches with :roll:.

I don't have a scale right now, but I would venture to say that this weighs about 10lbs fully loaded. It is a couple lbs more than my scx10, which has been weighed at about 6-7lbs.

 

[micro racer]

I finally was able to weigh my truck; 8.6lbs as it sits with a battery. It is still sans a bumper, two winches, a rear roll cage and flat bed, a light controller and accompanying pound of wiring, and a few general accessories.

I have three days of finals starting tomorrow, then I will be out of school until September (Woo-hoo!!). I really want to get this going again...

 

[micro racer]

Updates!! Stuff happened! Now that Axialfest has passed, I can devote most of my attention to this truck instead of my SCX10.

Unfortunately, I already need to deal with durability while still building this truck. At the front of my truck (and throughout), I am using RC4WD's Yota 2 cast axles; apparently the cast doesn't hold threads very well since a knuckle screw literally ripped out of the housing. Look ma, no threads!!



So, instead of buying a new housing, I will drill and tap M4 threads into the housing (for all knuckle screws). I hope that the larger threads hold better...

Next, I will be needing a new bottom gear/diff in my transmission. While the Robinson Racing seems to be holding up well to power, the set screws in the plastic Traxxas yokes do not. This is really a problem with the soft plastic giving way and letting the screw loosen, but a set pin wouldn't have had this problem in the first place. Thus, Robinson out and Holmes extended output spool in; the extended outputs solve some minor rubbing of the driveshaft yoke on the spur gear.

Besides actual mechanical failures, I dropped the cab broke off a corner of the side slats (?).



I am debating ordering a new piece and sanding/filling/painting as needed or just cutting a corner from a piece of styrene...

On to the good news... "thumbsup"

After picking up a few more days of work over the summer (still in high school), a winch is a bit more attainable now than during school. Expect some KMS goodies in a couple weeks...

My light controller is nearing completion; it took a little longer than expected (I might elaborate later) but it looks like it should be done soon...

I managed to get quite a bit fabricating done over the past few days:

Shaped bumper with lights test-fit...



Painted...



Bracing for the bed...



More bracing/frame work...



Making sure it all fits...



Shiny...



With the cab on (before I broke it)...



New exhaust stacks...



Finally, I have one other thing that doesn't have pictures (yet). The rear cage!! So far, two 51" lengths of 1/4" brake line have been cut and bent into pieces of the cage. This is just the overall shape and main bracing; I haven't cut any of the crossmembers or smaller braces yet. Instead of having to work around a cumbersome cage welded to the frame when working on the winch (which will be approximately in the middle of the bed), the cage will be welded to a rectangle of steel strips that will securely bolt to the frame (now all of that bracing for a flimsy piece of diamond plate makes sense, right?) and can be easily removed for bed-work (Te-hee)... :roll:

Anyway, that's all for this update. I will try to get the cage done this weekend, but work will probably interfere. If anyone knows of steering bushings (that go in the knuckle) that allow for M4 screws, I would greatly appreciate a heads-up "thumbsup".

 

[Szczerba]

Coming along nicely.

 

[micro racer]

Coming along nicely.

Thanks Szczerba!

I actually have most of my cage-work done right now, but I don't feel like messing with Photobucket right now; it seems to be having a bad day and is even slower than normal.

Warning: when the cage pics are posted, those who enjoy the art of tube-builds might want to look away. :roll: I only have access to a MIG and that is definitely not the best for welding brake-line to ANYTHING. There has been a lot of clean up done to the welds, but it still looks pretty bad... :roll:

 

[micro racer]

Quick update: I found some Ofna (presumably) 1/8 scale bushings that clear m4 screws. Those should be here by Wednesday or so and, if they indeed do work, I hope have my truck back up and running by next weekend. "thumbsup"

I also decided to just replace the side panel that I broke. I decided that the few hours of filing, sanding, trimming, and filling are worth more to me than $4 for a new set (or I am just lazy)... "thumbsup"

The cage is almost done as well; I just have two more main pieces to add and then some general bracing and "art" stuff. I have been slacking a bit because welding in mid 90 degree temperatures is not fun. Instead, I finished Far Cry 4... :roll: And started over... :roll::ror:

 

[micro racer]

Wow! I haven't updated this in a while...

Nothing much has actually happened with this build for the same while, unfortunately, and I have not been able to run it for the same amount of time. I did, however, manage to fill in the back corners of the cab and repaint it. Well, it is almost repainted; I stopped at the tan main color and haven't got a chance to mask off the roof and paint it gray. I have also been working on the wiring harness for the LEDs; yes, it is basically a full wiring harness. I will take some pictures and post them eventually... (hopefully this next weekend)

Anyway, this is just a quick update to say that this build hasn't died :roll:; I had some 1:1 car stuff to take care of and then I had to build up the B5 I got for Christmas... "thumbsup"

 

[micro racer]

What the what?!? How have I not posted any roll cage pictures yet? Commence photo-dump...

As it sits today:





The driver side spare tire bracket fell off; I blame it on a practice weld :roll:. This does open up the possibility of an asymmetrical design, though. Instead of having the spares opposite each other, I can mount them on the same side either staggered or side by side. I am a bit of a perfectionist and having them opposite makes me feel better, but I think I can do a cooler layout in the bed with them on the same side.



Passenger side still firmly attached, I must have used up the beginners' luck on this side...



So... two identical sides of this might get boring. That is why I am now thinking of putting both spares on the passenger side. Then I can stack the sand ladders in two pairs for variety (I have four that I don't particularly want embedding into my thigh through my pocket).



Blah... This is what I am talking about (please wear sunglasses):



Holy spaghetti wiring, Batman! And I still need to wire in a light bar with a pair of strobing circuits...



"Rat's nest" you say? Do you not see the zipties? It's organized... (I keep telling myself). I have some expanding-mesh wire-keeper that I plan to use, but the zipties make moving stuff around a bit easier for now.



This picture makes me conjure up a horrific image of all these wires catching on a rock or branch and get ripped out of the truck.

...

Hmmm....

...

Excuse me while I go fabricate a skid plate for my wiring harness... :lmao:



(I wrote out the skid plate joke and then considered that it was actually a pretty good idea. I might do that now...:roll:"thumbsup")

Here is the repair I did to the rear corner of the body. Instead of replacing or trying to fix the vane extending off, I peeled it off (poor glue job) and filled it with a strip of styrene. It looks okay in my ultra bland-definition picture, but the edge of the filler strip dips in a bit and the paint is a little bubbled. However, I am not going to mess with it for a while. Don't let perfection be the enemy of (barely) good work.



And last but not least- actually yes, least- the axles. I have to say, these are pretty disappointing. They don't steer worth anything, the are very sloppy, and at least one knuckle screw had stripped the housing from factory. This is my solution to the stripped screw (drill and tap to M4, use an OFNA 1/8 steering bushing), but the bushing is already wearing down the knuckle. I am in the process of looking through my spare parts to swap to SCX10 axles...

Since I have to use stock housings for the pass-through mod, should I bother putting SSD D60s at either end, or just go stock housings throughout?



Before anybody freaks out, I didn't cut the radiator off (it had screws) and it will go back on as soon as I repaint the roof. I need to work on the exhaust stacks to keep them from falling apart (I likely just need to sand off some chrome and glue them together properly), and then figure out how to put some mirrors on. I have the pieces for the standard Knight Hauler mirrors in my box, but I haven't figured out how to mount them.

The light bar will likely be on the front of the roof instead of across the "eyebrow" of the windshield. I also want to put some pod lights on the hood, but I think that doing so might clutter it a bit.

Unfortunately, I still have neither a front nor back winch. Fortunately, SSD just came out with an amazing new scale servo winch, which I really like. This truck will have at least one...

Along with a winch in/on the bed, I want to put a storage box for my second 3s 4000. I might set it on some scale pallets to make it look like a giant transport crate... I have some fabric that would make a great canvas cover.

Something that I hadn't really planned to add to this build was a new radio. I had managed to squeeze about 6 channels out of my DX4s for this build, but I am still missing some key freedoms and functions that really would make this awesome. So, I am just going to say two words for a solution: DX6r, July. :mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

(I WILL have one.)

 

[rcdriftmasterj]

Great build! You mentioned you got 6 channels out of you dx4s, how did you do that? I am running into channel shortages on my 8x8 build and more channels would be great!

 

[micro racer]

Great build! You mentioned you got 6 channels out of you dx4s, how did you do that? I am running into channel shortages on my 8x8 build and more channels would be great!

Well, it is actually a pseudo 6 channel; I am still only using four channels but have six different "channels" of control. For my winches, I have one Heyok conrroller going to a 3 position switch to change from front to none to rear. For my lights, I can click "up" to toggle the strobes on and off, and then down to toggle the headlights on, then headlights with light bar.

Sorry to disappoint (possibly), but I haven't found any electronics wizardry... With the DX6r, I would keep the lights as is (no reason to change) but buy a second winch controller to have independent control of the winches.

 

[micro racer]

**Expletive, expletive, expletive***

I am not too happy with RC3WD's parts right now... Back when I first got the Yota II axles, one of the front knuckle screws had already stripped the housing :lmao:; when I took the pre-assembled axles apart to check everything, the majority of the screws were either too tight or falling out. However, I must admit, the gears DID have grease on them :roll:. Now, after about four actual runs through this truck, I have utterly destroyed the driveshaft output cup.

Hmmm... What's that ticking noise?


Ahh. I see. That doesn't look too good.



Uh-huh. Okay then.



What the loose pins is this??



Both sides of the cup look like they peeled off the shaft.





There is still a nub of shaft that sat between the two output halves; the shattered edge/face isn't jagged like an actual break. Also, the bearing is super gritty and stuck on the shaft. This truck has never run in water.



And here I was worried about the cast pot-metal gears stripping teeth... I end up breaking a machined part.

No, I am not going to replace this. I am going to follow Shinjari's How-to for narrowing AR60s and go that route. The AR60s will give me a few options to help shorten my turn radius (rear steer, dual rear steer, open diffs) but I am just going to build them in a "stock" configuration for now. For the upper 4-link mount, I am going to design and have a friend 3D print them. If the PLA isn't strong enough, I'll have Shapeways print it (his printer won't do ABS).

 

[marc.]

sweet looking build! sorry if i've missed it somewhere, but are you going to cover the cage in the back? it would looks pretty awesome with a weathered canvas tent over it.. kind of like a military transport truck.

 

[micro racer]

Thanks, Marc! I don't think I have really talked about that, so you haven't missed anything!

I have been debating a covered/uncovered bed for this entire build... I like the idea of a tarp flapping in the wind while rolling down the trail, but I think that there will be too many functional items in the bed so that a cover becomes annoying. If I do the "asymmetrical" bed design I posted about earlier, then I may run a tarp over the middle and down one side of the bed.

I meant for this to be more of a civilian, heavy-duty recovery truck, but the color choice and overall style has given it a more militaristic look. I think the chrome accents on the cab and shiny diamond plate are the only details keeping the look on the civilian side of things...

 

[marc.]

whoa you're right about the image thing. i've never thought about it. googled "civilian canvas transport truck" and every image was military vehicles. either way.. looks amazing! can't wait to get the freedom to start building again.

 

[micro racer]

I feel like this build is going backwards for some reason...



So, I am back to no link mounts and no transmission mount, sliding chassis, and empty axle housings to top it off. While peeling the axles that shall not be named from the bottom of the truck, and then test fitting the cut down AR60's, I realized that none of the current link mounts lined up well enough to even try and reuse. Which sucks, a lot. Instead of trying to fab and cut out 2 new pairs of plates (transmission and rear shark fins), I have decided to take this opportunity to try something new. I have already been messing around with CAD for several years now, but have never actually had a legitimate use for it. But I do now! I will be drawing up the braces and sending them to Shapeways to have them 3d printed, which should be interesting.

This is still a slow build, since I am trying to get ready for Axialfest next month and will have zero funds as well after buying the DX6r... (I WILL HAVE IT!!)