Mini Rock Crawlers
17/03/26(Tue)13:54


I guess I should start a new thread for the mini rock crawlers, so here we are :D

In the photo we have the original Traxxas TRX4M Chassis and a Carbon Fibre Competition Style Chassis.

I'll update in this thread as parts show up and the builds progress. They really are super tiny but should still be fun and capable rock crawlers.

Parts are cheap and there's a huge array of 3rd party bits to put on these cars. It should be fun trying out different things.

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25/04/26(Sat)17:33

Don't get me started! I'll end up buying a 3rd chassis for the few spares I have and then end up buying even more parts to complete that build!?!? XD

25/04/26(Sat)00:09

You're changing so much, you have a spare car in the end ;)

23/04/26(Thu)10:22
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More parts for the mini competition rock crawler

Carbon battery holder
59mm Shocks with 2 pairs of springs and brass bottom parts for better centre of gravity
2x metal front portal axles with helical gears and ballrace bearings for buttery smooth performance

Still waiting on some parts for this one, but it should be pretty sweet once I get it built.

20/04/26(Mon)13:01
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I haven't really run it much yet because of the esc and motor connector issue I mentioned before, but from what I have done it drives great. I expect it's going to want some more weight low down to improve handling and I've already swapped the springs to the softer ones. I've got most of the wiring tidied up, I just need to sort out the lighting wires now.

18/04/26(Sat)19:20

okay, THAT looks wicked good!

18/04/26(Sat)15:10
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1/18th Vs 1/10th

18/04/26(Sat)15:07
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Father and Son

18/04/26(Sat)15:05
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Axle articulation isn't too bad

It has a decent amount of axle articulation, but these springs are too stiff for good rock crawling, best for trail driving really. Thankfully the shocks I bought include a second set of softer springs which will hopefully be better for rock crawling.

18/04/26(Sat)15:02
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18/04/26(Sat)15:01
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And just like that a baby rock crawler is born

Mr Amazon was just kind enough to visit so I could finally attach the wheels and steering link to complete the build... ...kind of XD

I still have a bit of work to do tidying up cables and I need to get new fittings for the esc and motor as they both have 2 pin female JST conectors!?!? I temporarily tested with some wires to jump between them and it runs really nicely. Slow speed control is quite good considering it's a stock brushed motor and super cheap generic esc.

18/04/26(Sat)14:56
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Clipless bodies are a great idea!

Similar to my big rock crawler this one has a clipless design and swings fully open. The big rock crawler only swing open enough for you to disconnect the battery.

18/04/26(Sat)14:53
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Looks Noice

18/04/26(Sat)14:52
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Building the body

Instead of stock body I went with an Injora IR-40. Which just like my big rock crawler is a copy of a Toyota FJ40 or FJ45 Land Cruiser.

18/04/26(Sat)14:50
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Now I can put the battery holder back in

18/04/26(Sat)14:48
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Sorted!

18/04/26(Sat)14:47
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Motor, Gearbox & Driveshafts

Having half built the bloody thing I realised you can't fit the motor wit the gearbox installed! I also noticed it would be hard to fit the driveshafts tot the gearbox too.

18/04/26(Sat)14:45
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18/04/26(Sat)14:44
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Axles fitted

15/04/26(Wed)12:05

I don't remember winning the jackpot, but I'm pretty sure I spent it XD

That's just the script for my infomercial when I open my new store, JC's Custom TRX4M Parts Emporium

14/04/26(Tue)15:41

Cheesus, did you won the jackpot?

And who's "we"?

13/04/26(Mon)16:35
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we got 1.0" aluminium & brass wheels,
we got 1.3" all brass wheels,
we got tyres for both types of wheels,
we got a body shell,
we got a 7.2V battery,
we got a 11.1v battery,
we got pinion gears,
we got a brushless motor,
we got a brushless esc,
we got a brushless esc programmer,
we got a brushed esc,
we got a brushed motor,
we got a set of driveshafts,
we got a carbon comp chassis,
we got stainless steel straight links,
we got 24.4:1 gears,
we got a gearbox case,
we got a stock front axle,
we got a stock servo holder,
we got a stock chassis,
we got stainless steel bent links,
we got a stock gearbox and gears,
we got a stock rear axle,
we got servos,
we got 53mm shocks,
we got proper ballrace bearings for everything (none of that bushing shit),
we got radio receivers,
we got a bank balance that may have taken a little bit of a hit XD.

We're waiting on more driveshafts,
we're waiting on more axles,
we're waiting on a carbon fibre battery holder.

We haven't decided on a set of shocks for the carbon comp chassis.

Yeah, just a little bit of stuff :D

13/04/26(Mon)15:29
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I have most of the parts I need now, ordered if not received. Still deciding on whether to get standard 53mm shocks or extended 59mm shocks for the carbon comp chassis.

I wanted to get in to building the stock chassis car over the weekend, but I just wasn't feeling up to it. Been feeling pretty shit the past couple of weeks :/

I'll take some photos soon and you can see all the parts I've got. It'll be nice to build one of these cars soon too, just struggling with a brain and body that refuse to function lately.

25/03/26(Wed)13:12

>>39656 Yeah, the cheeky little buggers tried to escape! XD

24/03/26(Tue)08:40

EEK! THEY LIVE!

23/03/26(Mon)12:19
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Have you ever wondered why they call them rock crawlers?

20/03/26(Fri)12:50
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This is the body I'm going to put on the stock chassis. It's a close copy of a Toyota FJ40. I'm also thinking I'll 3D print some bodies for these cars in the future.

20/03/26(Fri)12:48
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The stock cars use 180 brushed motors, but performance at low rpm is apparently not great. Running a brushless motor is preferable.

I've ordered a super cheap open-source ESC from China, called an AM32, and a cheap brushless motor to try out. All in about £24!

The stock ESC is built in to the Traxxas ECM, which also contains the receiver. I don't want to use the Traxxas radio gear so I'm looking to see if I can find a cheap little brushed esc so I can check all that out.

The standard battery is a 750mah 7.4V lipo. The best performance using a brushless motor is to gear down and use 3S, 11.1V lipo instead. I'm not sure how room there will be under the body of the stock chassis currently so I'm waiting for that to arrive so I can measure up and find a battery to fit.

18/03/26(Wed)16:17

Do they normally use brushed or brushless motors? And what battery will fit?

18/03/26(Wed)14:46
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Transmission for the stock chassis

It's a stock transmission and plastic gears, but I've already replaced the sintered bushings with ball-race bearings. I have some metal gears ordered too which are a different ratio and will be better for slow rock crawling than these stock gears.

18/03/26(Wed)14:43
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The stock chassis gets links

But no axles to link to currently :D

The links for the carbon chassis arrived too, but I can't fit them until the skid plate arrives for that one.

17/03/26(Tue)21:40

Neat!

17/03/26(Tue)13:54
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17/03/26(Tue)13:54
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