Thanks for the input :yes: - I like the FG beetle as well, but I was also giving some thought to the FG Jeep - we'll see.


And for the on-road stuff, maybe that will have to wait till my next build - who knows?

Doh I forgot to put the jeep in my post. Knew I was forgetting something. Only bad thing about the beetle with full fenders is finding the right size tires and keeping them off the fenders when the suspension is compressed. I'm pretty picky about the bottom of the body covering the chassis though, making that part a little harder. FYI, the width is just about right for a monster truck suspension with standard offset wheels.

I'm really starting to like the FG Jeep body after looking at more pics:


http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...eep_2Small.jpg


The FG truck has a wheelbase of 475mm (18.7in):
FG Monster Jeep


Looking at this pic, the Jeep Body seems to have a slightly shorter wheelbase than the truck itself:

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/y...largeSmall.jpg

So I'm thinking that I could build my truck an inch shorter - 17.5 in wheelbase - and have it fit nicely under that body. But I'm still open to other ideas.

Well, unfortunately it looks like these FG Jeep bodies are currently unavailable from US suppliers. I sent out some emails over the weekend, but am being told that they're not being supplied right now. So unless something turns up, I'll probably have to go in another direction.

Brian, where about did you get your axle extenders from? are they a 23mm hex as well???

From Trevor's (can't beat the price on these):

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Line-23mm-He...item230e21fdc9

yep - 23mm hex

Edit: and they have held up great - no problems with these at all.

THANKS A LOT BUD! THAT IS A CRAZY CHEAP PRICE!!!

As i am thinking about running baja rear tyres all around, i was thinking of just running the extenders on teh rear like i did with my XL Savage axles... gave good turn in and drifiting ability as it had a slightly wider track in the rear... Ill buy 4 any way at that price just in case... have you broken them yet with any of your jumps? they must obviously taking their toll on your bearings right?

No problems with these extenders at all - and I've done plenty of cartwheels. But you see why I've added a bearing to each of my carriers to help support the axles.

I run these all the way around for the greater stability while driving. I have to really try to make this thing roll over. My rear wheels are wider and slightly offset so the rear is slightly wider than the front.

Mate you have done some great things to this buggy along the way, i like the idea of the 23mm hex and using the Baja wheels did you ever run it with the losi wheels?

Thanks, I decided pretty early on in the build that I really liked the look and size of the baja wheels, so I've only used them. I got around to weighing them recently and the fronts are each 460g and the rears 560g - so they definitely add some weight to the buggy.

WOW they sure do, i have some Baja wheels just not sure if i want to use them because of the wieght and whats invovled in fitting them, but it looks like from what you have done it's not that hard.

WOW THAT IS A LOT OF ADDED WEIGHT!

i bet that weight is because of the beadlock wheels and not the tyres them selves! HMMMM there must be other light normal style glue wheels we can use that accept the baja tyre???

you havent weighed the wheels and tyres separetly by any chance have you??

THat is a lot more weight than i really want to add honestly... My alloy spi and badland tyres weigh 310grams per corner... i wouldnt mind going to 450grams per corner with the added power... but 560g!!!!!! nearly double!!! it does look like your truck has no prob pushing the heavy tyres around, but i will really have to think about it... may ask around and see if there are any other normal wheels...

Have you just used the beadlocks to lock the tyre to the wheel??? i was thinking that brushless power would be too much for beadlocks and you would need to glue as well as use the beadlocks to hold the tyre on??? have you had any probs?

No glue, just the beadlocks - and no problems. We'll see how well they hold up to people running the MMXL/2028 combo, but I've read of no complaints. I'm not sure that the fact that they are beadlocks really adds that much weight to them - they are just very beefy all around. When I had them apart to tape them last summer I should have weighed them, but didn't.

@Jahay
You might want to try those Baja wheels then. Glued with no beadlock. Front wheel wheighs 370gr and rear one 475gr. I'm using them also with the afore mentioned 23mm wheel extenders on my Baja/Truggy build.

But i had to shave some plastic off the wheels as the extenders thread is not long enough to securly mount those wheels. Not an optimal solution either if you want proper concentricity.

Without modifications to the wheels it looked that way:
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/atta...1&d=1298079487

When using those extenders you will have to wrap the hex with some thin Alu foil (brian015 already mentioned that. I cut some strips from a can of coke) otherwise it will look that way:
http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/atta...1&d=1298079614

@brian015
Always red your thread. Good stuff. Good modifications. Did your beadlock wheels fit properly to the extenders?

othello - thanks for the links to those wheels - I wouldn't mind some lighter ones in the future, too.

The nuts on my wheel extenders do not thread on all the way (as in your pic) - but I crank them down pretty good (with a 23mm socket and a long bar!) and I've never had one come loose on me.