RC Bashers

So, I wanted to make one of these for a long time..... Something that wasn't traditional and wasn't just a bodiless truck slamming around. So.....



This is my try at a hollow steel tube cage. It started as the db-17 in this video, and after a serious beating on 6s to make sure everything was good, I started bending and welding. It's steel welded hollow tubing.



The cage went together pretty well, and I got it supported on 4 points to take the crash pressure off the body mount posts. There's a double tube bar just behind the front shock tower that sits directly on top of the frame, right on top of the front TVP attaching bolts. In the rear, there's a bar right across the top of the rear shock tower that sits right on it, so the crashing pressure will be taken up by that. These 4 points of contact also make it sit nice and level and it feels tight. Got some paint on it after the cleanup, and here's the look bare.



The front and rear body mounts look exactly the same. The front body posts are shown here. It's a single line of tubing that goes right down into the mount holes in the shock towers. I just drilled a little hole for the body clip in the stock position, and it can't go anywhere. Best news is that the shock towers won't be flexing everywhere now... and I can tell driving it. I have to do a total re-tune on the shocks real bad now.



The bare cage itself weighs a couple of grams more than a .060 think lexan body. Not heavy at all. And way stronger.



The panels are just cut out of a sheet of .060 lexan I had around, and after trimming and hole locations, I back-sprayed them with a dusting of silver, then the same green. It makes a bright flakey sort of a color, very nice in the sun... it's a real attractive color outside, and looks black in the shadows. Sort of cool. Add stickers and go.



And here's the finished truck.... although none of these things are ever finished.... I'm going to make a cover for my 5s brick (the 6s was just too much to have fun with... just toooooo much) I think the cover will be another lexan sheet with a dash/wheel and seat stuck in there also. Shouldn't be too hard.

Thats really kool! Be curious to see how it goes over some time, many have tried making roll cages over the years with failed results, the best one was the delrin ones which I had a hand in making from a guy that started the whole deal but he went off the deep end and gave up rc last I heard.

that is pretty cool. i like what you have done.

savage why or what are reasons for the failed results with these?

Well meant metal ones have come and gone cause they bend and cont handle the impact. Even delrin had a hard time with me lol

Here was the guy I knew first go at a metal cage, I bought it then bent it and he went to delrin after that deciding metal wasnt the stuff to use. Its to bad he disappeared cause he was the first to bring lcg tvps to the market then everyone copied him from then even HPI then others went after his delrin cages and improved on them which im sure he would have got a really good design figured out if he continued.

What about a 3D plate design using the same aluminum you make those chassis plates out of? Similar to the G-Made Stealth.

this cage is super canadian tough. I have a video I'm editting here, and when done I'll post it up. THe thing takes a golf club size divet out of the lawn a few times from major high speed crashes and tumbles, and the cage is fine. It seems to be shifted about 1/8th inch forward from before, but that's nothing to worry about. Very tough cage, turns out.

thats good to hear. Maybe one that a body will fit?
ALso see my other post below this one?

To quiet in here, hows the cage holding up?

actually it's holding well. I added one little cross tube for the rear mount section, and that's all. It's super tough, super tough for sure. Amazing. And light. Could be the best thing I did to this truck since new. Never any worries about the body or mounts flying off!
I'll get my video posted one of these days.

Please do like to see it taking some abuse I still have a bunch of black delrin rod from when I was making a cage on my older savage and been thinking about making another but I dont weld and would need mounts again. I like yours to but my concern is how much dirt and what not could get inside without a body? Especially with a esc and a fan, for instance im going to the beach here soon and to think how much sand would get inside without a body! Gets alot even with a lid lol.
Really anxious to see the center diff thats gonna be a nice addition

Any updates? Will you offer these to others at some point? Not totally liking my body from redcat and this would be a simpler option altho I use LST shocks so...

I'm not going to offer cages to the world. Not any time soon. Got a way full plate, as you can see by me taking 8 days to answer this post. I had the notice in my inbox for that long.
I got really ticked with this video that was perfectly edited and then crashed, and didn't save, so I have not bothered to repost it. I might some time, but no time for a video rebuild right now. It's there, but a mess!
haha

That stinks! Well thought id ask dint forget about us tho like to see the updates as they come, hoping that center diff is coming soon to