We hope you enjoy "Project Rock Ripper". We started this project as rock crawling newbies and still have a lot to learn. Throughout the project pages, you will see what we did with our truck and we will also try to list some alternatives to get the job done. Our hope is that by providing some alternate methods to acheive the same end goal, more people will tackle a project like this and get into crawling!

Getting the tires, wheels and wheels adaptors installed will let us know exactly we are working with will make the chassis fabrication much easier. It will allow us to identify and resolve any interference problems.

WHEEL ADAPTORS
The stock Clod axles will not work with T-Maxx wheels without an adaptor. There are many out there but the ones we liked the best were from The Crawler Store. These were an excellent addition to our project as it opens the door for countless rim and tire combinations.

They are made from Delrin, a very strong and lightweight plastic. The quality of fit on these adaptors to the Clod axle and to the various wheels we tried was perfect. Very snug and very strong.

TIRES
We spent hours perusing various crawler forums and chatting with members of the BYT Forum. It was quick to see that Team Losi Claw MT tires were the hot setup. We ordered a brand new set of these from Horizon Hobbies.

The foams will not be used and that will allow the tire to conform to the terrain better, putting more rubber on the ground and increasing the crawling ability.

TIRE WEIGHTS
Keeping the weight low on a crawler is key to top performance. We added 8 ounces of BB's inside of each tire.

One Tire and wheel alone = 15.7 oz.
One Tire and wheel w/ 8 oz of BB's = 16.5 oz

The beautiful thing about using BB's is that they roll and are always at the bottom of the tire, in the lowest possible position. We may adjust the weight a little at a later date but for now, this is a starting point. The Maximizer Bead Lock rims will easily allow us to crack them open and make adjustments as required.

WHEELS – Our original plan was to use stock LST wheels however the width of the truck was inadequate. It was too narrow for our liking. A wheel widener would have worked however we opted for a better, stronger option, offset wheels. We also foresaw the potential for some interference between the tires and shocks/axle links. Being that we also wanted to try different tires in the future and play with different weights, offset bead lock wheels were the perfect answer.

AJS Machine sells Maximizer X-75 Bead Lock Rims at a great price and the X-75 wheels add a .75” offset at each wheel. That makes the truck 1.5” wider overall and gave us more clearance between the tires and shocks.

The Maximizer Bead Lock wheel design is air tight! We drilled two 1/8” holes in the rims (through the rims and inside spacers) to let the air inside the tire escape, allowing the rubber to conform to the terrain better. If you are going to use BB's and drill your tires, just be sure your air hole is not large enough for the BB's to come out or get lodged in the hole! In our past experience with RC tires in general, 1/8" is a good hole size to use.