Natedog's Vaterra ASCENDER

[Itali83]

I'd like to know how that articulates after adding the sway bar. You only did it to help with the torque twist right? I know the 1:1 guys always ditch the sway bars to help with flex. Are those axial parts on the ascender!? Shame shame lol
Ben

 

[Natedog]

Any swaybar limits articulation, that is how they work, they key is not to limit it too much...all a balancing act. A proper swaybar should not limit vertical travel, this truck has plenty of flex maybe a bit more than needed. I find trucks crawl better when the front does more of the flexing in scale rc and 1:1. Why yes, yes they are, thanks lol. "thumbsup" I went to LHS and looked at every swaybar they had for all scales of vehicles and this seemed best so far. I also bought couple different sizes of music wire to make my own bars for tuning it. I have plenty of swaybar parts now.

 

[Itali83]

Nice. I'll keep that in mind for someday. I've got to get some softer foams but going to tires and foams when I get my new beadlock wheels but will probably wait for Santa to bring those for me lol. I do mostly loose dirt and rock crawling and the stock tires don't flex much at all to help grab the rocks. Still having fu. With it as it for sure though!
Be

 

[Natedog]

I'm loving the stock tires with the little heavier RC4WD stamped steel wagon wheels, perfect 1.9 wheel/tire weight imo, with CI DW foams for Pitbull Rockbeast tires, works perfect. I really like the look of RC4WD 1.9 IROKs too, but have not tried them.

 

[Natedog]

I started with the stiffest wraith rear bat,but after testing settled on the softest for now. I used 5mm thick axial spacers on the swaybar arms between the am and upper endlink (green spacers). The endlinks are 48mm eye to eye using parts from the slash swaybar kit, there is zero binding and it crawls much better with this setup. I was rereading some threads on ascender swaybars and noticed that Metalry101 used axial bent plastic link ends to prevent binding at the lower end links instead of what I did. The wraith swaybar is 89mm long, I bought 2mm (3/32") and 2.38mm (1/8", 0.125") music wire and may make my own bar for the axial arms with a bar length of 110mm to effectively soften the bar and prevent binding at end links. My setup for now is working well and no binding! More testing and pics later.

I haven't played with swaybars much so I'm not sure what effect changing link length has on bars effectiveness. Different link length will change the angle of the bar and links, logic says a neutral bar and link position at ride height would be best imo.

Need to thicken front shock oil or get new pistons and drill holes same size as I did for rears. Now that the rear swaybar is working well, when braking or fast let off the gas on descent the front right dives and the left rear lifts.

 

[Natedog]

Soldered up some flexible, waterproof, 3M self-adhesive backed red LEDs that I got from Professorcake, thanks again! After soldering, I dabbed a little E6000 around the leads, solder joints and the led end, then shrinkwrapped it just in case and provide strain relief for the wires. These are for rock lights, I've always wanted to try red after always using standard white light leds for this, for looks and to help with night vision and glare.

IMG_0607


Six LED headlight/marker light harness. I'm going to ShoeGoo this down the middle of the underside of hood pretty much as it sits, then crimp a RX plug on the end of the two wire leads. I've been doing a bunch of lexan body reinforcement using drywall mesh tape and E6000, this body has been taking a beating, but I want it to last as long as possible.

IMG_0608


Y-harness plugged to RX and threaded out from the box to plug two light harnesses into.

IMG_0609


Rocklights, one strip of three LEDs front and one strip of three in the rear powered by 2S.

IMG_0610

IMG_0611


One SuperBright LEDS soft white dot LEDs just in the rear for comparizon, these are great on 3S, but as you can see kinda meh on 2s...not bright enough.
IMG_0612

IMG_0613

 

[Itali83]

Nice I was just thinking of under body lights at some point. I'm dying waiting for my light kit that I ordered from my local hobby shop. I got the realistic light kit that has headlights low and high beam, turn signals, brake and park lights. Hopefully I can figure out how to wire them in. I never thought of red under body lights but that's bad a$$!

I'm thinking of powering mine with a 9 volt and remote led controller/dimmer that's on ebay. That way it's not pulling power from my 2s battery pack and I can thru. Them on and off without having to unplug them or cool with wiring. I'd love to see your set up all out up headlights and all. The days are getting shorter so they'll come in handy for sure.

Where did you get the red lights, another member or online somewhere? Also, what is the stuff you and I think many dip their electronics in to water proof them? I'm not at ranger to nearly shrink and have plenty but nothing else. Thanks!
Ben

 

[Natedog]

Hey Ben,
Thanks for the kind words. Your light setup should be nice too, I'm waiting to see when you get it done.

I thought about 9volt battery too, but I hate buying any non-rechargeable battery. It's easier, less junk and less weight to just wire into your receiver, lipo balance tap, battery main power wires, or if you want separate battery, buy small 800 - 1000mah lipo dedicated to lights. Yes, less daylight and we go back to standard time first Sunday in November, so that has lit a fire under me to finish lights.

I got the lights from Professorcake in a great deal for a second set of Ascender tires, LED strip and wiring and plugs. I forget where he bought them, but there's a couple links below. "thumbsup" Our LHS sells all the different colors by the foot at reasonable prices.
R/C Country Hobbies - 15 Photos - Hobby Shops - East Sacramento - Sacramento, CA - Reviews - Yelp

HobbyKing stocks all colors too, great price too. Here's the red:
Turnigy High Density R/C LED Flexible Strip-Red (1mtr)

Turnigy High Density R/C LED Flexible Strip-Red (1mtr)
60 LED's per meter!!
LED's are arranged in sets of 3, you can cut the strip and make new strips or extend strips to make any combination of 3 lights!

Features:
Comes with adhesive tape backing for easy mounting
Flexible enough to be bent at any angle
Easy to use. Just peel and stick!
Large voltage input range up to 12V DC! (Great for 2-3S Lipoly)

Specifications:
Standard length: 1 meter
Strip width: 8mm
LED quantity per strip(1 mtr): 60 LEDs
Working voltage: DC12V
Working current(1mtr): 400mA
Wire length(1mtr): 10cm
Weight including wire(1mtr): 11g
Certification: CE & Rohs

Vaterra LED Light Bar Insert Slickrock (PART NUMBER: VTR310000) is a great pre-wired setup for rocklights (white, not red color) and can be used in their plastic housing (or make your own from styrene) as a forward facing lightbar on the bumper or roof.
Vaterra LED Light Bar Insert Slickrock

Vaterra Light Bar Housing Slickrock (PART NUMBER: VTR210014):
Vaterra Light Bar Housing Slickrock

Waterproofing electronics I've use MCG Products conformal coating spray (it can be sprayed into a small cup or jar and brushed on too). It works very well and is what most OEM waterproofers use. Corrosion X is something your dip the parts into, it does not dry, and must be re-applied periodically. I have not used Corrosion X, but others said it works very well. Do not use Plasti-Dip for waterproofing directly on electronics, it's way too invasive, messy, holds in too much heat, and can crack parts off of the circuit board in extreme heat/cold temperature changes.

 

[Natedog]

Crawled again yesterday testing some rear swaybars on and noticed that during articulation the rear axle looks a little too far forward in the wells, probably about the 3/16" like CarterFab moved his.
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vaterra-ascender/546965-dont-touch-my-jimmy-gmc-jimmy-build-cfm.html

Wraith rear swaybar works great and the torque twist has gone to almost nil using the softest bar in the kit. It measures 0.047" at thinnest center and overall is 0.098" at the thicker part, it is still a bit too stiff imo for lightweight rig like mine. I have several sizes of music wire and am going to cut one from 0.078", 0.062", and 0.055" and sleeve the ends where the arms clamp with some aluminum or brass tubing. The crawling was greatly improved! Still seems like maybe try some 10mm internal limiters, not sure it really needs this much suspension travel. Also have several ideas for raising the front axle panhard mount and steering linkage to match.

Swaybar doing it's thing!

IMG_0614

IMG_0615

IMG_0616

IMG_0617

IMG_0618

IMG_0619

IMG_0620

IMG_0621

IMG_0622

 

[Johnnysplits]

Love those rocks!

 

[Natedog]

Love those rocks!

Thanks!


IMG_0623

IMG_0624

IMG_0625

IMG_0626

IMG_0627

IMG_0628


Little carnage...gotta admit I like to push this things limits, it's had a few long tumbles and it's kinda like a rental truck when hanging out with friends without a cralwer.

IMG_0629

Salida...

IMG_0630


Carnage exam in the workshop

IMG_0631

IMG_0632

Repairing, cut off the little hanging on plastic where the screw head ripped through the rear bumper, dug in ma box and found some old Losi race buggy shock ends that were press fit. Drilled all the way through, cut off the loop, trimmed, pressed into bumper with little CA on it, trimmed flush, drilled out to M3 screw slip fit, going to buy some 3x40mm buttonhead screws to replace the stock 3x30mm since the bumper mount area is now considerably thicker. Probably cut some old Axial lower links at an angle to act as 'washer's so the peice can't pull through again just in case the CA doesn't hold. The plastic should be thicker down in these holes so that the screw heads don't pull through like this.

 

[Itali83]

Beautiful pictures! That things just loves to climb! That sucks about the bumper but at least you've got it fixed. If I break mine it'll give me an excuse to buy the chrome metal ones that look like the factory bumpers. Pricy but good looks for sure!
Ben

 

[OSRC]

Beautiful scenery! And good lord, how old is that lighter?

I limited my shocks 10mm internally - best handling move I've made. Much more stable now, it was way too flexy before.

Great work on that swaybar, I might have to give that a shot as well. I just narrowed my axles and the TT is back in a big way (though it tucks perfectly in my smaller Bronco body)

Good stuff, keep it coming!

 

[Big Bill]

Well thats it, I just went thru your whole thread. I am going to pick up one this week, love my Axials but I need a change all of my rigs have become rinse and repeat. Seeing how they can take a beating this last weekend and talking with Rich from Vaterra has me convinced that I need one. Now the big question for me is Bronco or Blazer. Going to a GTG at Folsom this Sat., how about you?? Anyway thanks for taking the time to write and report on your trip with the Blazer.

 

[Natedog]

Beautiful pictures! That things just loves to climb! That sucks about the bumper but at least you've got it fixed. If I break mine it'll give me an excuse to buy the chrome metal ones that look like the factory bumpers. Pricy but good looks for sure!
Ben

Yes, it loves to climb. Re-thought my bumper fix a bit last night after digging through my parts box, it was going to be a pita to make an angled washer and I didn't like the look, so I drilled/carved out the holes so that they are flat just like before but the screw head is just below the bumper surface like before. Temporarily screwed back together with stock 3x30mm screws, ordered 3x40mm buttonheads since LHS didn't have any in stock.

Team Losi Racing 3x40mm Button Head Screws (qty 4) [part number TLR5907]
Team Losi Racing 3x40mm Button Head Screws (4) [TLR5907] | Parts - AMain Performance Hobbies - AMain Performance Hobbies

Beautiful scenery! And good lord, how old is that lighter?

I limited my shocks 10mm internally - best handling move I've made. Much more stable now, it was way too flexy before.

Great work on that swaybar, I might have to give that a shot as well. I just narrowed my axles and the TT is back in a big way (though it tucks perfectly in my smaller Bronco body)

Good stuff, keep it coming!

Hehehe, I was wondering who would catch that Kasey Kahne lighter, bought it and put it in my soldering box otherwise it would be long gone. I've found that if you keep them too long the flint turns to powder....wth? So if you keep emergency lighter for survival, it's good to test and swap it out after years of sitting. I threw away a couple that this happened to, still full of butane. :evil: Sometimes matches are better. I keep a book of waterproof matches with it just in case. "thumbsup" I'm thinking part of the sidehill problem is the longer shocks, although this is much improved with the swaybar. Did you limit all four shocks?

Thanks, swaybar is huge and mandatory imo, try it you'll like it. Narrowed axles created more TT? Going to look for your narrowed axles now, love how the tires tuck in this Blazer body. EDIT: Found your Bronco bodied thread here:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vaterra-ascender/509950-os-builds-ascender.html

Yes, I really like how your Bronco turned out! "thumbsup"

Well thats it, I just went thru your whole thread. I am going to pick up one this week, love my Axials but I need a change all of my rigs have become rinse and repeat. Seeing how they can take a beating this last weekend and talking with Rich from Vaterra has me convinced that I need one. Now the big question for me is Bronco or Blazer. Going to a GTG at Folsom this Sat., how about you?? Anyway thanks for taking the time to write and report on your trip with the Blazer.

Thanks for taking the time to read it, I try to document all my stuff to help others. "thumbsup" Glad to hear that you're going to get one too! "thumbsup" Hmmm....Blazer and Bronco??? :lmao:8) I've been watching to see what other body to buy for this so that I can swap bodies with Blazer wheelbase. Might even run my Deadbolt body on it sometimes just to confuse people, but that body is so narrow I prefer closer to the actual width of the truck. When and where is the GTG at Folsom this weekend? I might come out, but getting ready for Crawl For A Cure the next weekend so less likely for this weekend. If were both there, you're welcome to test drive my Blazer. "thumbsup"

Crawl For A Cure:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/competitions/544089-crawl-cure-2015-a.html

 

[truckbob]

Great pics man.And your idea will be used on mine.Im still running no sway bar and its getting on my nerves.I was out yesterday to a similar spot with the Bronco and the blazer"thumbsup"I think the swampers that come with these trucks are every bit as good as any tire out there

 

[Natedog]

Rear bumper mounted after repair, buttonheads about flush with bumper face and should be much stronger. Rear swaybar etc at ride height.

IMG_0633

 

[Natedog]

Great pics man.And your idea will be used on mine.Im still running no sway bar and its getting on my nerves.I was out yesterday to a similar spot with the Bronco and the blazer"thumbsup"I think the swampers that come with these trucks are every bit as good as any tire out there

Thanks...and do it, you'll love it! "thumbsup" Yes, these Swampers are great tires, I have a couple sets now, need to buy more RC4WD Wagon Wheels to mount them on!

 

[Johnnysplits]

It's all looking good man!

 

[Big Bill]

Natedog the GTG is SAt. at 10. Beals Pt., you know the last parking lot past the Dottons turnoff? I am also going to the Crawl for a Cure"thumbsup". Maybe I will see you Sat. or at The Cure.