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Vader Products Gen 7 skid plate for Everest 10 install/fitment

well i finally got the Vader skid on the truck... I dont know if it was just me but it was a B**** to get everything mounted back up, the skid sits the motor over to the side and closer to the battery tray so i had to move the lower links to a different hole because the bolt n nut kept the tranny holes from matching up. I had to take off the bridge that the esc and receiver mounts to since the tranny is higher now it wouldn't bolt back up. Top links hit the bottom of the battery tray now before full compression and all said n done I ended up with a 13-1/4" wheelbase now. Looks cool but was kinda wanting to stick to scale for wheel base for other bodies so know i got to try to figure out how to get it back to the correct wheelbase without screwing something up. And one more thing sure would have been nice if you could get to the grub screw for the links without having to take the whole skid plate loose.. So what all did i do wrong to cause all this trouble?? took me like 4 hours to get every thing back together that seems like it shouldn't have been a 45min or less job..
 
It's not just you. I installed a Vader skid on my younger son's gen7 over the weekend and was cussin' at it the whole time. Rod end pockets are way too loose for Revo rod ends, more like Axial ball sized. Only 3 of the 4 tranny mount holes lined up. Counter sink holes are way too deep. Skid sits well ABOVE the bottom of the frame rails (which defeats the purpose of a flat skid as noww the frame becomes a snag point) which made the trans hit the electronics bridge, so I had to put a slight bend in the bridge. Front upper links would collide with lowers if trying to use factory mounting points, could not use rearmost upper mount since the motor had shifted forward, so had to cut 16mm off of the front uppers to make them work in the only available mount position.

All said and done, I got everything working well but I could (and have) made a better fitting skid with a drill, hacksaw, and a donor cutting board. I already used one of these skids on my older son's custom chassis'd E10 and anticipated that I'd have to make a few minor mods there, but I wrongly ASSumed it would be a bolt-in affair on the Gen7 that it was allegedly designed for.

In short: Either save your money and make your own, or contact Thelawman(?) to see what he can 3d print to actually fit. I DO NOT recommend the Vader Products skid for the Gen7.
 
TheLetterJ said:
It's not just you. I installed a Vader skid on my younger son's gen7 over the weekend and was cussin' at it the whole time. Rod end pockets are way too loose for Revo rod ends, more like Axial ball sized. Only 3 of the 4 tranny mount holes lined up. Counter sink holes are way too deep. Skid sits well ABOVE the bottom of the frame rails (which defeats the purpose of a flat skid as noww the frame becomes a snag point) which made the trans hit the electronics bridge, so I had to put a slight bend in the bridge. Front upper links would collide with lowers if trying to use factory mounting points, could not use rearmost upper mount since the motor had shifted forward, so had to cut 16mm off of the front uppers to make them work in the only available mount position.

All said and done, I got everything working well but I could (and have) made a better fitting skid with a drill, hacksaw, and a donor cutting board. I already used one of these skids on my older son's custom chassis'd E10 and anticipated that I'd have to make a few minor mods there, but I wrongly ASSumed it would be a bolt-in affair on the Gen7 that it was allegedly designed for.

In short: Either save your money and make your own, or contact Thelawman(?) to see what he can 3d print to actually fit. I DO NOT recommend the Vader Products skid for the Gen7.
Click to expand...


Like you I finally got it all worked out I just need to get the wheelbase back to stock. I used RC4WD links with the Axial sized balls and they were loose. I had to pop them out and use some Revo sized balls I had and they fit perfect. All holes lined up perfect for me, all in all i'm happy with it. I just didn't see it taking that long just to replace a skid plate and hook up 4 links :lmao: I think the back is good but as you can see i'm gonna have to do a lil work on the front :lmao::lmao:
26509384897_11ab1529a8_b.jpg
[/url]IMG_20180409_174751 by Blake Love, on Flickr[/IMG]

IMG_20180409_174834 by Blake Love, on Flickr​
 
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I need to see pics since no one has addressed these issues before, like the Revo rod ends having slop, tranny holes not lining up and the relocation of the electronics?
 
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fshnut007 said:
I need to see pics since no one has addressed these issues before, like the Revo rod ends having slop, tranny holes not lining up and the relocation of the electronics?
Click to expand...

I had no problems with the Revo balls fitting loose. So far the only problems I encountered was the skid moved the motor and tranny over and back, so first problem was I had to relocate the top links to different location, second problem was since the motor and tranny got moved the electronics bridge wouldn't bolt up because it was hitting the top of the tranny. I was going to do the mods to relocate the electrics and stuff but wasn't planning on having to do it all at once. Im currently switching out rod ends and working on getting my wheelbase to 313mm..

4 by Blake Love, on Flickr

8 by Blake Love, on Flickr​
 
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I dont why you had issues with the electronics cause the redcat that we did the R and D on didn't move any electronics, yes it's a tight fit getting it in. If you go to my Facebook page you can see with all my stuff I give detailed info on my product. This is the only place where I've heard anything about problems and I've sold lots of these, nothing but positive from people. Like If said ibefore there is always chance of modification when using aftermarket parts.
 
This may help on the rod end issue. I bought my Vader for an e10 due to the fact it is drilled for both redcat and axial transmissions, but ultimately used and aluminum integy piece.
In any case, this is a stock revo link, rod end, and pivot ball on the right. Fits snug with no slop.
A stock e10 link, rod end, pivot ball on the left.
The Vader appears to be about .5 mm too narrow for the redcat pieces without a bit of filing.
I don’t have stock axial pieces for comparison, nor am I going to install the Vader to check transmission location on an e10, but thought this might help in some way.
5eaf872e73d503f1ae16fea95ff759c9.jpg




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Well that vader skid is pretty cool for suspension articulation. Other then that it sucks. I just put one on my gen7 and my sons gen7. No matter which side you put the motor on it completely limits the mounting holes on one of your upper links mounts. I used ssd m3 short bent rod ends. They look just like revo rod ends. The ssd have the standard 7.4mm width ball . The traxxas revo ball is 7mm wide. I filed the rod end openings of the skid to fit the ssd ends.

I had to move my skid plate to the front hole of the 3 mounting holes on the chassis so i could atleast have access to 4 of the right rear upper link mounting holes.
pV0FisC.jpg


I had already shortened all my front links but after the skid intsall they were still too long. My drive shafts were hitting the lower links. The fix was to turn the links sideways. Which made my wb even longer.

GTaCt5K.jpg


WtBd2Bc.jpg


The plus side is I can take advantage of all the travel the 120mm shocks have. Its got insane flex.
Q1p3gwel.jpg


4PM9QTg.jpg
 
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I mounted my skid in the normal position and had no problem not being able to get to the link mounting holes. since the pic i posted above i've changed all my links out to the SSD short links and have got my wheelbase down to 313mm. like you i also enlarged the slots in the skid for the ssd rod ends to fit...
 
fshnut007 said:
I dont why you had issues with the electronics cause the redcat that we did the R and D on didn't move any electronics, yes it's a tight fit getting it in. If you go to my Facebook page you can see with all my stuff I give detailed info on my product. This is the only place where I've heard anything about problems and I've sold lots of these, nothing but positive from people. Like If said ibefore there is always chance of modification when using aftermarket parts.
Click to expand...

was no way i could mount the original electrics bridge after i installed the skid... i've got another gen7 i'll take the electrics mount off it and try to mount it to mine and get you some pics...
 
@Crawl-N-Clod

Do you have a smaller spur gear then stock? It looks like you motor is clocked further away fron the chassis to give room for the upper link mounts.

This is on my sons gen7 with motor in stock location. I had to move the skid to the rear mounting holes on the chassis so I could squeeze the upper link mount back in and its right against the motor.

2uB5rDN.jpg


Then on mine with the motor flipped, I had to move the skid to the front mounting holes on the chassis and my right rear upper link is right against the motor and blocks 2 of the holes. The motor is touching the frame too.

rSoTjjc.jpg


LGuOL9V.jpg
 
@Nobody79 Spur gear not the stock but it is the same size, I did the mod to add the slipper clutch to mine.. I'll try to get some pics up of my mounting locations.
 
FYI, one thing I noticed with this skid plate is it positions the transmission much closer to the right side vertical plate on the E10. This allows a larger pinion gear to be used if desired. The stock skid plate allows a max pinion size of 17T before the motor starts hitting the left side vertical plate. I just installed a 20T pinion on my son's E10 that uses the vader skid and there is room for a larger one if I wanted.
 
There is a guy in this forum who made a realy nice skid for the e10 it lowers everything below the chassie plates and gives you much better suspention geomitry in my opinion thats the biggest issue with the e10 i would imagine it would work for the gen 7 also i made my own skid and chassie but his ends up with almost the same geomitry ive never used anyone elses skid but from the looks of it ill bet its leaps and bounds over stock
 
Yeah, I'm pretty sure he got the banhammer for trying to fly under the radar without a vendor's star. I agree, Thelawman01's skid looked to have much better fitment, though it was 3d printed as opposed to machined delrin.
 
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