Mini E-Revo MERV Chassis Brace?
 

Hey guys... apparently I'm not the only one this has happened to... but recently I was jumping the little guy gingerly around the yard, and snapped my rear bulkhead and chassis in half. Nothing brutal either. It was totally unexpected!! It appears there are a couple different options to remedy this.

A. Don't jump the MERV ever.

B. Buy The Toyz delrin rear chassis brace.

C. Buy the T-Bone chassis brace (and maybe the bumpers and wheelie bar for good measure).

So... what do you guys think? I'm not sure ANY of it is a good option really. I think the best option might be the T-Bone chassis tray, but it seems rather unsightly looking.

It's strange though how if you so much as look at a MERV wrong, the rear bulk and chassis snap in half!

Thanks!
Jason

just use a tie rod from the rear shock mount to the wing mount, cheep and easy fix, just like the 1/10 scale revo

A MERV tie rod or you need one from something else?

whatever rod is the right length! On the full size revo I was able to use a Revo push rod tube, I have no idea on the mini though

end to end it is 60mm, im not sure what the tunbuckle im useing came off of, looks like a tamiya car (ta05 or ta03 mostlikely...........maybe m03 :lol: )

you will also need longer screws, that depends on what rod ends you use

Ok, I'll look for one. But Is this theory just a guess? Because I don't remember people snapping their chassis and rear bulks in half on the full scale Revo. I thought the rod mod (ha!) was to help prevent breaking rear towers?

It doesn't seem like a rod will stop the rear from snapping, but then again, it just might prevent the flex from doing just that?

I think I have some steel rods/buckles from my Pede/Rusty. I'll look and report back! Thanks!

Jason

It was a combination of bracing the rear mount and the chassis,there was a pic around somewhere of a revo after a REALLY hard landing and the support was bent at about 30 degrees,it pretty much summed up that the chassis flex to remain durable, but sometmes it's just not up to bashing standards--Josh

Josh... one typo and I'm lost. What are you talking about, when you say "it pretty much summed up that the chassis flex to remain durable...." Did you mean to say "chassis needs flex"? In the case of the MERV... there isn't really any flex. If there is more than just a little, the back end of the truck snaps in two, bulks and all.

the chassis does need flex.............just not there


the rod will help alot but the best thing you can do is learn what brakes it and how to land so that you dont

Sorry,I'm trying to type off an iPhone and I'm obviously not very good at it.I meant to say the chassis needs to flex (atleast on the larger scales) for durabilitys sake. I could be wrong though but in any case, the tie rod mod should help atleast a little--Josh

Yes, I agree that the chassis has to flex a little. Not to be a smart ass... But yeah, figuring out what causes the chassis to snap would be a good idea! ;)

My point is that there is something specific to this design that makes it unusually EASY to do.

its traxxas,what did you expect? LOL,all kidding aside,why not try some Al skids,tierod mod,or some other bracing as a quick fix? if none of that works,id just try adjusting your driving style to suit its weak rear bulk --josh

Yes sir. I have the Full Force F/R skids, but not the center skid plate. Annodiyzed shock shafts, black springs, alum rods and links, etc. I had jumped with it, but the jumps weren't anything spectacular. I certainly didn't expect the damage that was done, that's for sure. Unless the Delrin rear brace, or the under carriage skid works, the rule of thumb should be "jump at your own risk" with this truck. Heck even my MiniT's are stronger than this thing! It's a shame too, cuz they are pretty fun little trucks. Crazy fast on 3s and they handle great.

it snaps because the bulkhead should be longer and mount to a point on the chassis with more structure than a 2.5mm thick piece of plastic, but because the battery box is so long there isn't room, it a major flaw even on the 1/10 scale and right now the best fix is a for sale sign.

on my 1/10 scale platinum conversion i an using a one piece titanium skid plate plus a rod and i haven't broken a rear bulkhead but i have stripped out afew shock mount screws so i know I'm coming close (the fix for that is brass inserts)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...s/DSCN1156.jpg

three other things you can do

use rpm arms and heavier shock springs and fluid and let the arm take up alittle of the flex and reduce bottoming out wich is the main cause of brakeages.

the second is reduce the weight of the truck, lighter batterys and lighter wheels and tires will go along way in makeing everything last longer not just reduceing stress on the read bulkhead.

theird boil the bulk heads, this will soften them alittle and let them flex more before brakeing

"Is that a pickle in yer pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

Neither... I just noticed yer skid plate! Where did u get that!? It's awesome! I bet it won't fit on an ERBE will it? Funny... I've never broken a chassis or a bulk on my ERBE (knock on wood). That being said, I'm not an extreme jumper either. I rarely will even do flips. Why? Well because it takes a bit of feel and practice, and I hate breaking stuff to do that. So I stick with low, long jumps and rarely wreck or break anything.

That being said, I think I'm gonna build a nice stunt ramp, and use my trampoline as a cushion. That way I can practice without breaking stuff! I have also thought of a way to string either a net or a tarp in a giant square about 3ft off the ground to do the same thing. If it's plush enough, I'll be able to do bombastic ariels and not break "much".

Say what you will, but that's how moto guys practice. Or, how about a tethered swing mounted to the sides of the truck? Ha!

Boiling bulkheads... That's a cool idea. I want to do the "rod mod" to my ERBE but keep forgetting to find out how long the turnbuckle should be. I sure do like that skid u have though!

Thanks for the info!

J

that skid plate was made by Hardcore Racing, saddly they stoped making rc parts and they only made them for the revo 2.5 and 3.3

quick update


i found this, looks like it should stop or limit the rear flex so that you arent brakeing bulkheads

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...f/fa7d272c.jpg

You can still find the full-length HCR Ti Skid for the Revo...the 3.3 length is a bit harder to find, but you can cut a 2.5 length skid in the right place and it works perfectly! I am running a strategically cut HCR Ti Revo 2.5 Length Skid on my Extended Vantage Racing Carbon-Fiber Revo 3.3 Chassis and it is awesome! All I do is extreme jumping and extreme jump tricks and I have never broken a bulkhead. I also run a T-Maxx 2.5 rear turnbuckle as a brace between the rear body-post cross-brace and the rear shock-mount (with Tekno Swaybars installed).

http://pics.offroadextremes.com/rc/revo/revo_brace.jpg

http://pics.offroadextremes.com/rc/revo/revo_skid.jpg

All that white on the skids is the white paint from my ramp rubbing off onto the skids!

Oh cool. I hadn't even thought of a roll bar. I wonder just how well that will work? I can't tell where it attaches. But yeah... if that is far enuff back, then it would work well!

J

Oh, one more thing... I was checking out my rear shock mount... and was wondering if I mount the tie rod end using one of the existing screws...just finding a longer one? Or if I am supposed to buy some kind of aftermarket shock mount that has a center screw hole?

I believe that the other tie rod end goes where rear body posts attach to the chassis, in the center.

That New Era Roll bar is only $16!

Check this out guys...

http://monster.traxxas.com/showthread.php?t=494856

If you can't visit that link, It's an Anti-Rollover Antenna from TheToyz... which is essentially a stiff antenna on the top center of the car. So when you flip the truck, it always lays on it's side.. .which allows you to throttle your way back onto all fours I think. Seems like the concept works, but this dude used a different antenna from a Spektrum radio. There is a vid clip of it here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Mon2Sol#p/a

Looks it works.

This guy, Papino built his own Alum frame/rollbar and mounted the antenna to it.

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/y...g?t=1265435666

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/y...g?t=1265435689

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/y...g?t=1265435735

http://i777.photobucket.com/albums/y...g?t=1265435784

Images belong to Papino from the Traxxas Forum.

i used longer screws


that cage in the pictures is a new era cage

it mounts to the rear post, like the turnbuckle mod and then to the transmission and the front radio box mount

Semi... Yes, that is the New Era cage... But on the traxxas thread, he made his own as well. I'm gonna get the roll bar instead of the full cage. I'm gonna try to measure to see how long of a buckle/rod will be needed to mount to the shock mount and tower. Might be unneeded if I get the roll bar?.

Also, when companies give you the length of a turnbuckle, is it from end to end including the ends, or is it just the length of the rod itself from end to end, not counting the end you screw on?

it wouldnt hirt to use both, normaly the turnbuckles are listed as the length without the end installed, but you can cut them down with a dremmel pretty easly (thats a tool every rc guy should have in his box and get good at useing).

i dont think the cage would be much help since it onlt ties the body monts together

Yeah, I have a nice dremel.. but then wouldn't you have to rethread the ends? I think I have that stuff too.. but I know for sure that i have TAPS. I'm just not sure about the threading taps.

I'm not saying cut all the threads off,just that if its close you can always cut it down to size, if you wanted to keep it simple just use threaded rod