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FTX Mauler Rock Crawler Owners Thread


johninderby

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Hey guys matty here, I'm new to the RC rock crawling scene and cant wait to pick up my FTX Mauler later this week. I have been doing some research online and through YouTube. The servo is the first thing that needs to be upgraded. Secondly the bar that connects to the servo joining both wheels up (I dont know the name of it ) ideally needs to be a curved one to allow that extra turning angle without this bar hitting the wheel axle. Possibly a lipo bigger battery as well from what everyone has been saying and finally I am looking at either removing the foam out of the tires or getting better rims and tires all round for really sensitive rock crawling. Could you guys (if you dont mind) list some parts and where to get them please. I cant find decently recommended parts online for these upgrades. Maybe with your knowledge and experience you could send me some links to purchase said upgrades. Thank you all. Cant wait to get stuck in !.

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On 05/06/2019 at 13:21, Matty Lee said:

Hey guys matty here, I'm new to the RC rock crawling scene and cant wait to pick up my FTX Mauler later this week. I have been doing some research online and through YouTube. The servo is the first thing that needs to be upgraded. Secondly the bar that connects to the servo joining both wheels up (I dont know the name of it ) ideally needs to be a curved one to allow that extra turning angle without this bar hitting the wheel axle. Possibly a lipo bigger battery as well from what everyone has been saying and finally I am looking at either removing the foam out of the tires or getting better rims and tires all round for really sensitive rock crawling. Could you guys (if you dont mind) list some parts and where to get them please. I cant find decently recommended parts online for these upgrades. Maybe with your knowledge and experience you could send me some links to purchase said upgrades. Thank you all. Cant wait to get stuck in !.

 Hey Matty. 
That bar isn't what limits the steering angle initially. It's plastic bits that stick out and prevent the steering knuckles turning any more but i heard of some people modifying them by cutting the plastic part off.
The tyres aren't actually all that bad stock for crawling but i you might wish to change the motor as i found that a more limiting factor.

The parts i used on mines were the following

Power HD 20KG servo £17 
Much more torque, and metal gears as well
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-HD-LW-20MG-20Kg-Waterproof-Digital-Servo-w-Metal-Gear-for-RC-Car-Q5V2/183810550152?epid=9031864947&hash=item2acbf66988:g:8hgAAOSwMalc0aIB

Hobbywing 1060 ESC £12.96
Much smoother for low speed driving and runs much cooler
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hobbywing-QuicRun-1060-60A-Brushed-ESC-Electronic-Speed-Controller-Set-RC-Car/173912454670?hash=item287dfd760e:g:WvkAAOSwyzdcg7VX

A Hobbywing 3A BEC £1.92
Makes sure the steering servo is always getting enough power. Not water proof as standard, but can be made waterproof with some Silicone Conformal Coating (check Ebay and Youtube)
Helps keep the ESC running cooler on 3s Lipo as well
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOBBYWING-RC-UBEC-Switch-Regulator-5V-6V-3A-Max-5A-2-6S-Mode-Lowest-Noise-RF-BEC/352634518076?hash=item521aa7ba3c:g:ZnUAAOSwJihcpbHu

21T 550 motor £6.55
This is a little slower rpm than the stock motor but has gobs more torque and runs much cooler and is much better for crawling.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SURPASS-HOBBY-550-Brushed-Motor-21T-7-4V-13000RPM-600W-RC-Motor-for-HSP-HPI-S9F3/254258684540?epid=14020832539&hash=item3b32ffa27c:g:4xMAAOSwztdc~ReY&frcectupt=true

Turnigy 3s 2200mah lipo £8.63
I run all my stuff on 3s. It gives much more torque and more speed. With this, the motor and ESC linked above on stock gearing i could crawl much much better than stock but still do donuts on wet tarmac with the power and wheelspeed.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-2200mah-3s-25c-lipo-pack.html?countrycode=GB&gclid=CLD15Oac3eICFQpB0wodKXUMGg&gclsrc=aw.ds

25t metal servo horn 99p
Better in the long run
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EW-25T-M3-Metal-RC-Servo-Arm-Horn-for-Futaba-Savox-Xcore-HL-HSP-HD-Power-Blue-HH/162365919642?epid=867549026&hash=item25cdc3519a:g:4QUAAOSwnDZT7IGH&frcectupt=true


I just use my own 1 radio on all my rigs just now so i just put a receiver into it.
Run time was great, top speed was faster than stock raw power and torque and low speed control were all worlds better than stock and despite having plastic lockers i didn't break anything right away although i'd probably expect the plastic lockers to wear out quicker.

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2 minutes ago, Matty Lee said:

Wow, thank you so much for taking your time to reply to my post with tons of useful information and parts. I guess I best get purchasing then 😉. Thank you!!


No problem at all. Maybe run it a little first and then see how you feel with it then go for some of the upgrades above if you feel you want more. I wish i took some videos of mines running with all the parts. It was a lot of fun

 

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  • 1 month later...

hi guys, just bought one today, with the immediate intention of not leaving it alone. mostly i have a bunch of other projects that this mauler is going to be parted out for.... but it would be a shame to not play a bit first.  - i do have one immediate concern with it, on the rear diff, and chassis connection there is a very flexible plastic part both holding the axle in postion and dealing with the torque. on the front axle, this is connected to the steering servo plate and is made a lot stronger. im going to just 3d print a brace for it and see how it goes, but it seems to me kinda crappy design.  - i also had to adjust the front suspension links so that the servo clears the battery tray...

 

also, has anyone messed with putting slightly larger shocks on it? not massive, id start worrying about the prop popping out, but maybe 5/10mm longer?

 

thanks guys

Edited by mcneil_iom
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  • 1 month later...

Hi guys, I'm stumped with the separate receiver available for the Mauler. I've popped a Hobbywing 1060 in there and fitted the separate receiver for the factory radio.

 

Does anyone run one? I can't figure out how to bind it?

 

I've put the bind plug in the two pins to the left on top, but if there's a bind function on the transmitter I can't seem to find it? Just a slow flashing red LED reminding me that it doesn't work yet :blink:

 

EDIT:

 

Figured it out, incase anyone else has need of it, you pop the bind plug in after powering the receiver. Turn the transmitter on, remove the bind plug and it's done. I was putting the bind plug in before powering on

Edited by Rtsbasic
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  • 1 month later...

Hi everyone,

I've recently bought the RGT version of this car called the Rockhammer. At first I was a little disappointed with the out of the box performance and certain aspects of its looks so decided to try a few things. Firstly my version of the car came with a silver coloured cage which didn't suit the look I wanted. However, I have a buggy made by HSP which is also the OEM of the Rockhammer. Luckily the cages are identical so the silver cage of the RH was swapped with the black one of the buggy. At the same time I removed the moulded drivers because I didn't like them either. This is a crawler not a racer!

I felt the suspension was a little too hard so I removed the pre-load rings which made an improvement. I was disappointed that the tyres were glued to the rims, therefore making changes to the foam inserts ( which I think are too hard) or adding wheel weights problematic without lots of effort. I do have some slightly smaller, softer and grippier wheels/tyres which I may try at a later date. Until then I found that drilling another air vent on the inside of the rims allowed the air to escape a little easier, allowing a little quicker air flow and subsequently more flex from the tyres.

My final mod has been the most work so far though but also the most satisfying. It's still work in progress with more to do but I'm pleased with the result. Essentially my model is now a single seat 1/6 scale crawler. I've included a few very hurriedly taken pics to give the general idea.

RH 2 copy.jpg

RH 1 copy.jpg

RH 3 copy.jpg

Edited by Steve23
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  • 2 months later...

I feel a bit of a U-turn coming on, i started out with an FTX Mauler, the yellow Ford F150 shelled one (you will of seen plenty of pics of it on here) i had a lot of trouble with it chucking drive shafts and it really got to annoy me, near enough every time out it would lose front or rear drive, BUT...i do still feel the mauler is ....or could be a great of roader, so i am really considering a new one, doing some sensible mods to drive line like higher turn motor better shafts but keeping the look of stock or near as dam, i guess watch this space

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

It's a great crawler so long as you grease up the moving parts and spend around £70 extra on better electronics. I run mine with a decent receiver, Hobbywing 1080 ESC, HPI 35T motor and a Turnigy servo. Around 4 hours runtime on a 5200 2S lipo or 1.5 hours on the 2000 NiMH. Maybe find a local crawler group of Facebook and tag along with them, crawling is great and even better with friends.  There are some great FB Mauler groups too. 

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On 11/02/2020 at 16:47, Jack Reacher said:

Pretty well made up my mind to get a newMauler and no it wont stay standard for long, how do i shorten the wheelbase from stock 350mm down to about 310-313mm do i get new shorter rods that go from chassis to axles?

Jack, there's a great FB Mauler owners group with advice on shortening the wheelbase. No need for new rods, just drill a few holes. 

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
On 14/07/2020 at 10:41, EthanFTX said:

Hello everyone,

I am considering on buying a Mauler along with a replacement servo and batteries. 
Does anyone know what the dimensions are on the battery housing, or is there away to secure a 5000Mah Lipo battery?

It'll take a 2s 5200 Floureon no problem. 

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53 minutes ago, Jens said:

Hello everyone,

Greetings on behalf of my son, another FTX Mauler owner.

He loves his Mauler and is very happy with it.

( Apart from the small turning radius )

 

 

Some have converted to 4 wheel steering buddy. Or a stronger servo with shaved lugs on the diff housing, which serves me well. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 19/07/2020 at 13:16, George Clegg said:

Some have converted to 4 wheel steering buddy. Or a stronger servo with shaved lugs on the diff housing, which serves me well. 

Shaved a bit the lugs with a dremel and my son is happy... 👍

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