After selling Project Anomaly (yes it was sold) I thought I was over the rock crawling bug.  Well I was wrong.  I set out to build the ultimate crawler using today's techniques and did a lot of research.  Using the axles and transmission out of the Axial Scorpion, we are going to build a very capable rig.  With our love for all things Batman and what with this vehicle having both purple and green parts, the name sort of picked itself.  May we present:  Project Joker.

 
001.jpg (65883 bytes)Here are the Axial components that will be used in this build.  The two sets of axles, rear steer eliminator, and transmission.
002.jpg (59607 bytes)Here you can see the difference in drive axles from the front and rear.  The rear steer eliminator uses a single axle shaft that goes to the wheels, while the front uses the more familiar dog bone joint.
003.jpg (70239 bytes)The overall internals of the axles are very straightforward and easily assembled.
004.jpg (69196 bytes)Here the front and rear axles are shown in their fully assembled state.  You can easily see the difference between the two.
005.jpg (84356 bytes)The transmission isn't so simple.  We decided to go with the Visionary Fabrication's Dig add-on unit.  This will make the crawler more maneuverable on the rock courses. 
006.jpg (59422 bytes)For the most part the transmission starts pretty basically.  The outdrives however are the beginning of the conversion.
007.jpg (67102 bytes)The dig unit is almost completed here and the slider and dig engagements are fully lubed up with white grease with Teflon.
008.jpg (59321 bytes)The slider unit and rear outdrive is inserted into the rear portion of the dig housing.  It is important to make sure that all surfaces are properly lubricated so that it minimizes wear and tear since there are quite a few surfaces that will engage.
009.jpg (71033 bytes)The whole unit is bolted together.  You can see the holder on top for the servo that will engage and disengage the dig unit.  It is perfectly sized for a Hitec HS-225 servo.
010.jpg (69156 bytes)The unit is completed with the motor installed.  The whole transmission is very compact and ready for action.
011.jpg (47976 bytes) 012.jpg (42661 bytes)The chassis finally arrived and I was able to mount the transmission into it.  This was also when the servo (Hitec HS-225) for the dig unit was programmed into the radio.  Took awhile but we finally got the EPA just right.  Turns out we had to turn the EPA's down quite a bit as the servo was starting to get warm.
013.jpg (51758 bytes)The driveshafts are made from Traxxas steel yokes and standard issue Rustler/Stampede axles.  The steel yokes will hold much tighter than stock plastic ones.
014.jpg (81373 bytes)The parts from The Crawler Store came in which consisted of the front and rear upper link mounts as well as axle mounted battery plates.  We chose to go with the black delrin versions instead of the aluminum to go with the overall black color theme of the truck.  Temporary blue aluminum servo mounts are used but will eventually be replaced with black or green servo mounts soon.
015.jpg (81078 bytes)The axles are mounted up and everything is checked for alignment.  A Hitec 5955TG servo is used for steering chores and will provide more than adequate torque for the duty.
016.jpg (60944 bytes) 017.jpg (80412 bytes)Scrap lexan was used to make a custom electronics shelf.  Not only would this provide a safe place for the ESC and receiver to sit, but it would allow them to sit as low as possible to help keep the COG low.  It is mounted between the frame rails and just touches the upper links at full compression.  You can also see the blue aluminum servo mounts have been switched out to green ones to match the truck better.
018.jpg (59809 bytes)The speed control and receiver are installed on the lexan shelf utilizing the small space between the chassis supports and keeping the weight low.  A temporary link can be seen keeping the steering blocks in place.
019.jpg (69756 bytes)What was needed was a couple of battery packs for the crawler but we didn't want to use the ones that are readily available, but something that offered a bit lower of a CG.
020.jpg (70026 bytes)Here is one of the completed packs showing the flat low CG.  Wire was kept to a minimum and Deans plugs are used.
021.jpg (62939 bytes)The battery is mounted using velcro on top of the TCS battery plates.  The battery weight is well below the top of the servo and this should help with the weight location of the overall crawler.

You can also see the custom delrin links used for the steering linkage.  They are very tough and will slide over the rocks easier than stock Axial aluminum links will.