John and the crew at HPI convert a WK...

[JasonC]

...into a crawler. :D

http://www.hpiracing.com/news/2007061801.html

Good deal! Great to see.

[Greg B]

I made a Wheely King purchase today that I will be converting to a rock crawler. I never knew that going so slow was that fun ! It totally amazes me at what these trucks can do.

Greg B.

[JasonC]

Most racers look at crawling as a joke - too slow.

I can't count the number of times I've handed guys a controller and laughed as they continually tried to find the right line through a section of rocks.

It's addictive. I think the attraction lies in doing the seemingly impossible.

[Greg B]

My Wheely King project is underway. I have replaced the stock arm rods (HPI part #85263) with Traxxas #5338 toe links and #5347 rod ends with hollow balls from the Traxxas Revo. This gives the King a wheelbase of 12.2" versus stock at 9.4". A longer steering rod was created by using 4-40 threaded rod, hollow aluminum tube with rod ends. This provides a clean factory look .
The suspension rod set or what I would call the torsion bar was extended by using the same threaded rod with aluminum tubing. I gave the front and rear some double nutting on the threaded rod and left a little extra rod for possible caster adjustments and to pivot the axle to alter driveline angles.
Next I went into the front and rear differentials and gave them a good bath in liquid steel. This will provide the King with ultimate 4 wheel drive action without the cost of buying lockers.
The driveshafts and lower gearing are on order from the local hobby shop. I will post another picture once the King is finished.

Greg B.

[JasonC]

Greg,

You can use the stock WK yokes and pop in some Traxxas TRA4951X shafts between them.

[Damage Inflictor]

:( Ya mean I am going to have to buy another cool vehicle.

My wife will probably divorce me.....

[Greg B]

Jason, Thanks for the tip. The Wheely King is turning out to be a fun project.
Since I began this project, I have all the locals wanting one.

Greg B.

[johnboy72]

yeah, I'm feeling that too!

[Greg B]

Between being busy and vacation, I finally finished up my Wheely King for now.
Crawler version on the left, stock on the right.


Greg B.

[Greg B]

Oh, Did I mention it floats ....



Greg B.

[JasonC]

They'll float until the tires take on water...then they tend to roll onto their backs. :)

Throttle and steering will get you back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUFnTavAL8Y

[Greg B]

Jason,
I noticed that once my tires took on some water it gave the truck some much needed weight and balanced out the high center of gravity on the wheely king. Made the truck stick very well while climbing.
Adding some weights around the inside of the rim may be a good solution for me to try once I change to a different set of tires and wheels. I am currently thinking of Moab tires with beadlock wheels.
Up next is to improve the steering and mock up a roll cage so I can ditch the factory body.
I have raced and bashed for a very long time. I enjoy all sorts of RC fun but this rock crawling is for real folks. I have had a blast not only on rocks but crawling over plowed ground is a real challenge. I have also found that piles of old lumber at construction sites can be alot of fun and can be found about anywhere. Just be sure to have permission and watch for nails! They hurt the feet.
If you are looking for something new and thought about crawling my advice is TRY IT, you really have nothing to lose.
RC Driver is dedicated to the crawler nation and now that Jason is full time,the sky will be the limit to what he can do for the magazine, each and every month.
Keep them articles coming Jason.

Greg B.

[JasonC]

Thanks, Greg.

Try some Masher 2Ks before you try the Moabs. They tend to do better than the 2.2 Moabs in a wider range of terrain.

The new Losi Claws are killer as well.

[DaveC]

Nice puss.....cat.

[Greg B]

Yeah, that cat has to be in on all the action around here. He will play with my electrics but runs once the Savage is fired up.


Greg B.

[master_of_desaster]

look into losi claws! or maybe even rc4wd's boggin tire...oops brain fart..name escapes me!

[Zrazer]

Oh, Did I mention it floats ....



Greg B.

and why did you test that and cool and how

[randy944]

how do ou get those things to float anyway

[SavageGoZoom]

how do ou get those things to float anyway

Fill your tires with hopes and dreams:cool:

Big tires on light cars often float since they are very boyants. Puts some jumbo kongs on and you float all day.

[Taqrin]

Jason,
I noticed that once my tires took on some water it gave the truck some much needed weight and balanced out the high center of gravity on the wheely king. Made the truck stick very well while climbing.
Adding some weights around the inside of the rim may be a good solution for me to try once I change to a different set of tires and wheels. I am currently thinking of Moab tires with beadlock wheels.


You may want to try lead shot, used in shot gun shells, in the front tires to help hold the front end down while crawling.

Nice converrsion BTW!

[SnoopMaxx]

Here is my Wheely King
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z198/SnoopMaxx/HPIM1213.jpg

and a crawler video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLoXeyc2toI

A trail/crawl video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcXSM5bfHhc&feature=user

regards

[master_of_desaster]

awesome!!!!! looks good!

[dezertrat94]

How hard is it to convert one of these WKs into a Crawler? I'm pretty mechanically inclined, and from what HPI's instructions say, it can't be that hard. Of course, I'm not going to rush into this...

Do you guys think someone with average mechanical skills could do this project? It really looks fun, and it seems to be cheaper than building the Axial I am also thinking about. Personally, I want to do this, but if you guys have any advice, let me know.

dezertrat

[Hoss]

try this
http://www.rccarreviews.com/rc-reviews/wheely-king-to-rc-rock-crawler.htm

[dezertrat94]

That's nice stuff, and it's definitely easier than the way the HPI guys go it. I would go with that conversion all the way. What does it mean when you put the suspension stays on the side though? I couldn't see a clear picture of what they meant by this.

dezertrat

[master_of_desaster]

hey check this out! this is my king and i mtretched it about a total of 1 3/4". its an overall 11 3/4" wheelbase.

http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u233/Panthers_21/wheely%20king%20build%20up/?action=view&current=6ac862f1.pbr

any questions...let me know!

[Hoss]

Not sure how the stays are mounted but this is the one i will be doing. I think this will be e-z
http://ukrcrc.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=48&Itemid=43

[countryboy4life]

Hey Greg B you have 2 rc's in 1, it's a boat and a crawler!!! lol. jk. :rolleyes:

[bugz2002]

It's addictive. I think the attraction lies in doing the seemingly impossible.

i 2nd that it is addictive and i love the feeling after i made it to the top of a hill the i didnt think i could make it up.

[Taylor]

Hpi now makes a conversion kit, i have no idea how it works yet cuase its not out yet, but i think i might get it for my new wheely king. hope this helped.