The Sno-Pede Build

[BaldyDaniels]

The Sno-pede Build

As it has been getting colder here, and the snow will be on it's way in the very near future, (they say 12-15cm this Saturday and more on Sunday) I decided that I don't really want to run another winter on just tires. The snow is quite plentiful here, to put it mildly, and as I recalled all the trudging through the snow last winter to retrieve my pede after the tires sunk into the snow, I thought about how I really despised having to fetch the truck every five minutes.*

I had seen ski kits before from integy, that are said to be okay for going in a straight line, but like a lot of integy stuff they look pretty but obviously don't function very well. Spending 50 bucks on integy parts doesn't seem justifiable to me anyways. Then I saw the full force rc ski kit for 55 bucks, and after watching some vids of how well they performed, I was sold and had to have em.



The aluminum parts for this kit are very well made and look solid, and the skis are nice and wide. (see pics in following post) They are also extremely flexible, which I'm sure will make absolutely no difference when it hits -50 Celsius or colder here. Lol. I might have to start thinking about installing a block heater, interior warmer and a battery blanket in my pede, or it might not fire up in the morning!

The plan is to run the ski kit on it's own dedicated pede build which some of you guys have already seen the start of in the GH aluminum tranny thread I started. So for now I figured I'd start this build thread and show you guys what I've got so far and what is on the way.

The Sno-Pede will be run on Traxxas Velineon waterproof electronics and will be powered by 3s lipos every time, all the time. I have the vxl3s esc already in my parts bin and have a new vxl motor on the way that I will be pairing with it. My spektrum dx3s radio is getting replaced under warranty, and when it returns, I can then either pass down the gt3b for use on the Sno-pede, or I may just use one of my Traxxas 2.4's.

I had chatted with a few members about which tires will be best suited for this build and when the other two sets arrive, I will have lots to choose from. I ordered a set of badlands, a pair of imex 2.8 paddles, and I already own a few sets of stock monster jam tires, a set of trenchers and a set of stock maxx chevrons. Considering the amount of snowfall we experience here, I am fairly sure that the maxx chevrons will be the top performers on the powder, simply because the surface area of the 3 inch wide tire
Will distribute more weight and won't sink as easily.*

Here's a couple pics of some of the parts I have so far:

Parts



Gearing



So now I'm just waiting on the mail for the new chassis, bulkhead, rpm front bumper, body mounts, turnbuckles, links, rubber sealed bearings, vxl motor, front skid and some stainless steel hardware, plus a bunch of other upgrade parts.

I don't really feel the need to buy another swami full brace wheelie bar, just to have the smooth rear deflector for skimming across the snow. I'm pretty sure I won't be pulling crazy amounts of wheelies, and if I do, the wheel bar wheels will be of no use. I will either make my own out of aluminum plate, or I was also thinking maybe I'd try a full belly pan since I won't need the ground clearance. I had been given a suggestion of a good rear skid plate other than the swami, that would work good for the skis, but I can't remember what the name of the manufacturer is.

As this is the first time ever using skis on a pede, I would love to hear any suggestions/recommendations on how I could possibly make this build better suited for running in the snow, and the freezing cold temperatures. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I will be updating the build as the new parts come in. Thanks for checkin it out!

[BaldyDaniels]

I know of a few other members here that are considering the ski kit and would like to see what the kit looks like when installed onto a truck, and since staring at the ski kit on the table is driving me crazy, I installed it on my hot racing pede to see what it looks like. I have to say that it looks like it's gonna be some pretty crazy fun! As you will see below on my Hot Racing Pede, i decided to make my own chassis from 6061-t6 1/4 inch thick aluminum plate. I think it turned out pretty good. The best part about making my own chassis was getting to choose exactly where i wanted everything, so i chose a little bit of a different configuration for the waterproof box and esc. I also made a bracket to hold the servo down which prevents *my Hitec 403/486 oz torque programmable servo from flexing side to side from its own power which inevitably will break the mounting tabs and also makes endpoints hard to set, and can,(and has already) bent the turnbuckles.

[DiggerPede]

That is sweet!! I cant wait to see the pede it will stay on! Makes me wish I had snow or snow that staying long enough. We have been lucky the past couple of years to have flurries at least. 8 yrs ago we had this perfect condition to get snow and we got burried by 12-16inches and stayed for 3-4 days before it totally melted off.

BTW great job on the chassis plate and servo brace.

[neoz28]

This post made me realize that some of you have spent a ton of money on this hobby. I have about $600 in my setup, which is probably nothing compared to some of you guys.

[turok]

i was looking at the ski kit. but i have only ever seen it on hard snow never really soft so i don't know if it really works that well.

[jailbird]

At looks great! Can you take some pics of how the ski mounts attach to the pede itself? I'm curious as to what the mounts look like on the inside. Also, do the skis pivot to follow the terrain or are they fixed solid to the carriers? Thanks!

[turok]

what do you want from them. because you said your truck was getting stuck all the time. but the ski will dig in to the snow when you reverse and even in soft snow going forwards they can dig in. on flat hard snow they look cool but seem to have a poor turning circle. on another note last winter i got some paddle tires for my revo 1/16 and my 1/10th slash 4x4. and all i can say is what a waste of money as the stock tires did a lot better then the paddles. i went with all the hype about SNOW AND PADDLES and i was very let down.

[PEDE-OFF]

Can't wait to see that thing in action! I use chains that I made for the Pede's rear tires... makes a huge difference. Steering doesn't seem to be an issue with no mods to the front tires.... thoughs skies look sick though

Here's mine with Masher 2000's;


With chains;


Do you have snow yet? 23 inches dumped on the mountain I live on this past Saturday night

[QYKSLVR]

This thread is not 56k friendly lol Holy Pic batman!

[turok]

This thread is not 56k friendly lol Holy Pic batman!

i have broadband and the page is still very slow.

[eprc]

Yeah it's not comcast cable friendly either LOL

I don't know what to say? Thank You? Now I gotta spend more money

Man, they are phat!!

[DiggerPede]

Wow!!! Some pics wont load..........need to open the "bandwidth wagon". LRH

[Toddzda]

Man that is dope! Didn't know they made kits like that. Def want to get a pede now.

Hate to jack this but i do have a question. I like to get one and add alum parts to it. Would be wiser to build one than buy a new one? Money wise? I want a grave digger but with bl power.

[pavmentsurfer]

I think the badlands are going to prove to be the hot ticket for the rear baldy... nice looking trucks you have there... thats for sure.

Ill be VERY interested to hear how the ski's perform. I also live in snow country but have always found a full set of badlands to perform great. On 3S my VXL pede would pull wheelies in about 4 inches of snow. I was impressed. Unfortunately, as soon as you let off the throttle it would burry the nose in the snow and id have to go get it. I bet these skis help alot.

I think your idea for a full skid plate from the front of the chassis to the back is a GREAT idea... the way the rear skid is angled down from the chassis at the rear WILL catch on the looser snow and it will cause the truck to get stuck more easily. Maybe you could shape some lexan or plexi or something and mount it between the 2 chassis braces to make the bottom flatter and wider... that way when the truck starts to sink in the snow it will be more likely to slide than to get hung up.

On the other hand, once this is done, you end up with a chassis very much like a rustler... so the question begs to be answered... why not just do it with a rustler chassis in the beginning. Not that I'm a doubter... it was just a question that came to mind.

[jaman]

I think the badlands are going to prove to be the hot ticket for the rear baldy... nice looking trucks you have there... thats for sure.

Ill be VERY interested to hear how the ski's perform. I also live in snow country but have always found a full set of badlands to perform great. On 3S my VXL pede would pull wheelies in about 4 inches of snow. I was impressed. Unfortunately, as soon as you let off the throttle it would burry the nose in the snow and id have to go get it. I bet these skis help alot.

I think your idea for a full skid plate from the front of the chassis to the back is a GREAT idea... the way the rear skid is angled down from the chassis at the rear WILL catch on the looser snow and it will cause the truck to get stuck more easily. Maybe you could shape some lexan or plexi or something and mount it between the 2 chassis braces to make the bottom flatter and wider... that way when the truck starts to sink in the snow it will be more likely to slide than to get hung up.

On the other hand, once this is done, you end up with a chassis very much like a rustler... so the question begs to be answered... why not just do it with a rustler chassis in the beginning. Not that I'm a doubter... it was just a question that came to mind.

You can use a 2L pop bottle instead of heavy lexan and cut it up nice to fit. It will ad literaly no weight and atatch it with zip ties.

[Dirtburner12]

I think that paddle tires would have also been a good choice, and i am interested to see how those tires handle the snow.

[Dirtburner12]

I had a rustler and just converted it to the stampede, because the snow that is about to come. I did this so that all of my electronics are up and out of the snow except for the motor, but that is also waterproof and is the cheapest to replace out of all the other electronics except for the servo. I plan on putting chains on my rear tires, because i do not want to spend that much on paddle tires and skis. That would be the only reason the I think it is better to just put lexan over the bottom.

[turok]

if the snow is sticky then paddles turn into slicks quick. and only a speed run will shift the snow from the tire.

[Captain_Rusty]

This page isn't iPhone internet friendly either. Just finishe reading all the posts and it just stopped loading haha. I would bet the paddles just dig a hole and sink rather than run alon. They're designed for snow where it can't really sink like snow.

[AbSoLooT1]

Awesome digg! Very nicely done.. Looks way sick! Im gonna be tryn out some chains this year. See how that goes. We get a ton of snow here in utah, and it lasts way to long.

Digg, you are the lucky one with no snow u can just use tires . Snow gets old fast imo. Adds to much drive time to work and people in this state stil dont know how to drive in it. If only i had some snow skids for the 1:1 scale vehicle

[BaldyDaniels]

That is sweet!! I cant wait to see the pede it will stay on! Makes me wish I had snow or snow that staying long enough. We have been lucky the past couple of years to have flurries at least. 8 yrs ago we had this perfect condition to get snow and we got burried by 12-16inches and stayed for 3-4 days before it totally melted off.

BTW great job on the chassis plate and servo brace.

Lucky to have flurries?! Lol. You're nuts! Once the snow hits here, it sticks around four 4-5 months before it melts off. I wish I could have unveiled the ski kit on the complete truck instead of on my hot racing pede, but shipping takes so long here, I cant wait that long to try em out. CUZ IT'S SNOWING RIGHT NOW LIKE CRAZY! Lol


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[BaldyDaniels]

At looks great! Can you take some pics of how the ski mounts attach to the pede itself? I'm curious as to what the mounts look like on the inside. Also, do the skis pivot to follow the terrain or are they fixed solid to the carriers? Thanks!

The skis are fixed solid to the carriers and are held there by the axle and hex drive pin and the wheel nut. It is also bolted to the carrier where the steering link attaches using a supplied screw and lock nut that is long enough to go through the carrier, the aluminum ski mount and the steering link rod end. The skis pivot at the point where the aluminum mounting hardware joins to the plastic ski so it follows the contours of the terrain while utilizing the truck's suspension system.


Sorry bout that, I thought I included these pics in the first post.









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[BaldyDaniels]

I think the badlands are going to prove to be the hot ticket for the rear baldy... nice looking trucks you have there... thats for sure.

Ill be VERY interested to hear how the ski's perform. I also live in snow country but have always found a full set of badlands to perform great. On 3S my VXL pede would pull wheelies in about 4 inches of snow. I was impressed. Unfortunately, as soon as you let off the throttle it would burry the nose in the snow and id have to go get it. I bet these skis help alot.

I think your idea for a full skid plate from the front of the chassis to the back is a GREAT idea... the way the rear skid is angled down from the chassis at the rear WILL catch on the looser snow and it will cause the truck to get stuck more easily. Maybe you could shape some lexan or plexi or something and mount it between the 2 chassis braces to make the bottom flatter and wider... that way when the truck starts to sink in the snow it will be more likely to slide than to get hung up.

On the other hand, once this is done, you end up with a chassis very much like a rustler... so the question begs to be answered... why not just do it with a rustler chassis in the beginning. Not that I'm a doubter... it was just a question that came to mind.

Thanks pave, just like you, I take a lot of pride in my pede builds and I appreciate the positive feedback.

The badlands and the paddles still haven't arrived yet, along with many other parts for the build, BUT, the snow is falling like crazy here as I am typing this, so in the morning I'll be out there plowing the powder with the skis on my hot racing pede using the maxx chevrons, then the trenchers, and I'll even give the monster jam tires a go. I think the swami full brace I'm running on the hot racing pede will help slide up and over the snow, but there's only one way to find out! I will post vids tomorrow afternoon after all the 3s packs have been spent! Stayed up late tonight to make sure I got them all fully charged and balanced.


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[Dirtburner12]

As soon as you get some snow you need to make a vid of your pede running, i very curious as to how well the skis will work and they look awesome and fun to use.

[BaldyDaniels]

As soon as you get some snow you need to make a vid of your pede running, i very curious as to how well the skis will work and they look awesome and fun to use.

The snow just hit last night. We got a couple inches, so I'm just doing a little waterproofing and will be going out shortly to test em out. I'll be posting vids this evening.


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[BaldyDaniels]

Well I'd love to be posting videos of how well the skis worked, but since the truck simply sat there and spun the tires, there was really no point in hitting record. I tried with the maxx tires and my trenchers with the same effect. I ran my truck in the snow last year and it did ok until I stopped, but even with 4 tires on, my HR pede won't budge in the snow. I guess I'm stuck (no pun intended) waiting for the parts to complete the Sno-Pede build before I can post any sort of results. I had a feeling that the skis wouldn't work well on the hot racing pede, and that's why I was building another truck closer to stock weight.

Stock pede = 4 pounds

Hot Racing Pede = 7.3 pounds

As much as I would love to see these skis work well on the snow, I could never bring myself to dismantle my HR pede, so sorry guys, as soon as the parts get here, I'll post results.


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[Dirtburner12]

Okay sounds good.

[turok]

so are you saying it didn't really move because of the weight issue.

[BaldyDaniels]

I'm pretty sure it's a combination of the weight and the lack of rear weight distribution from the tires."tr


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[BaldyDaniels]

I have read about the shortcomings of these ski kits on the pede, and how they don't perform well on soft or powder snow, but I'm gonna give it everything I got to try and make it work.


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[maxx919]

I got the MaddTraxx ski kit http://www.maddtraxxrc.com/products.html and I've run it in powder and they perform very well! Ththey camber from side to side to really dig into the snow to turn and are great at high speed.

Just sharing my experiences with skis.

[Captain_Rusty]

You waxed those skis baldy?

[BaldyDaniels]

Yes I did wax them. On the slush thats on the street they work great, and the skis are really good on the wet grass. As for the fresh powder, the skis work fine as long as you have the throttle pinned and don't let off. As soon as the momentum is gone, the truck just plants and spins the wheels. I had higher hopes for the performance of these skis, and am sure they will work better when installed on the stock weight truck. Heck, if I can get them to move around and nearly work with the 7.3 lb HR Pede, they should work on a 4 lb stock truck just fine. If only shipping parts to here was a little faster.


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[AbSoLooT1]

Ur HR pede looks sick baldy. Wonder if chains would help. Really thought those wheels would work thought. Crazy. I bet itl work in compacted snow. Maybe, best of luck brotha. Hope it works out well. I know you and know ul give it all you got and wil get there.

[BaldyDaniels]

UPDATE

Sorry for the delay, but the mild weather we've had recently has made for some serious overtime at work.
I have received most of the parts for this build now, except for the wheels and tires. But since I was going to try the maxx tires and trenchers I already have, I can now run this Sno-Pede and see what it can do.

I got the new chassis (new ribless style), new bulkhead, links, servo and saver, bearings, Jampede body mounts set, and stock skid plates.

The rest of the parts on this build are from the parts bin or were purchased at the start of this build. Such as the protrac towers, protrac rear carriers, stock front steering knuckles, stock bumper, stock suspension arms, misc. hardware, stock big bores with HR aluminum caps, GH aluminum gearbox, stock gear cover, vxl brushless system, half shafts, stub axles, aluminum 14mm hexes, ski kit, body, esc plate, etc.

With this truck being mostly stock parts and weighing in at under 5 Lbs, I'm hoping it will do better than the HR Pede did with the skis. I have the day off today, so I'll try and get some video up today.

Since I have had an extended chassis on my HR Pede and also on my other pede builds, the only two stock sized bodies I have are the digger and the Po-Po-Pede Hummer. So I decided that since it was my favorite body, i will be putting the Hummer back in action for the winter. I bought an extra receiver for the flysky gt3b off eBay for 5 bucks so I could use it for this truck. I wired up the police lights for the Po-Po-Pede again and also threw in a 3rd channel lead from the receiver to power the left to right control on my new dual servo driven fpv camera mount.

It's a pretty straight forward, nearly stock build, which was my goal after seeing how detrimental any extra weight can be to running with the ski kit. It's funny, cuz I have been looking forward to running with the ski kit for a while now, but now that I have the build nearing completion, I'm already thinking about what I will do to the truck when the snow melts!











New Fpv pan and tilt mount and wireless camera with night vision







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[slash116vxl]

Nice sno-pede and camera! Good luck!

[4sdash]

your pede builds are awsome baldy but the maxx tires dont do any thing in the snow their to hard in my opinion i tried the a couple of times in othe snow builds the stock savage21 and 25 tires actually do well and very cheap (ebay)

[BaldyDaniels]

Finally got some video of this thing tearing up the snow. First few mins are using the maxx wheels n tires, after that is the monster jam wheels n tires. As soon as I get a chance I'll try the trenchers and get some vid also. By then hopefully the paddles and badlands will arrive and I'll test them out too. The maxx tires pull so hard that I'm gonna have to throw a wheelie bar on the truck to stop flipping over backwards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2pby...e_gdata_player

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[AbSoLooT1]

Nice baldy. I love it bro Thats always been my favorite body of yours.

Btw. What were your opinions on the Maxx Tires vs MJ tires in regards to performance?

As for your camera.. Thats the control? It needs servos to operate tilt/pan.. Cuz the others ive seen are huge in comparison to that one. Either way, thats way sick for sure!

[BaldyDaniels]

Nice baldy. I love it bro Thats always been my favorite body of yours.

Btw. What were your opinions on the Maxx Tires vs MJ tires in regards to performance?

As for your camera.. Thats the control? It needs servos to operate tilt/pan.. Cuz the others ive seen are huge in comparison to that one. Either way, thats way sick for sure!

Thanks man.

The monster jam tires I used were brand new, but because the lugs on them aren't very big, they lacked in traction and spun the rear around a lot. As for the maxx tires, I switched them out after about ten mins cuz they pull too hard. I hadnt installed a wheelie bar cuz I didn't think I would need it, but the maxx tires would point the skis skyward even in the deeper and softer snow. Running 3s lipos played a role in this too. My new hot racing aluminum/carbon transmission just arrived today, so I think I'm gonna swap it with the golden horizons tranny thats in the Sno-pede currently. I want to get the weight down some more in the rear of the truck and add a little to the front with an alloy bulkhead. Hopefully this will help it carve better as well as keep the rear from sinking if I stop the truck in soft snow. My goal with this build is to have the truck be able to hit 40 mph on the snow, as well as get as much acceleration as possible without sinking. Right now it's just too slow upon take off due to wheel spin, which lessens the fun factor considerably, and the maxx tires are heavier than I'd like and they also make the truck want to roll over when turning hard, which I'm gonna try and remedy with protrac arms. I'm gonna try the trenchers tomorrow and see how they work. I'm also gonna send out some emails and figure out why the heck I haven't received my set of badlands and paddle tires yet.

That pan and tilt camera mount is tiny for sure. The camera is nearly bigger than the mount. Lol there are some tiny pinhole cameras that can be bought to make the whole setup smaller, but the resolution of them lil cameras is lacking to say the least. They claim 720p but I have a couple 720p ones and they are crap. Even the 1080p one I have isn't very good. Oh and that pan tilt camera mount can be bought off eBay for 8 bucks with no servos included, and then a set of two 9 gram servos can be had for 6 bucks. All with free shipping from hong kong.

It works flawlessly for how cheap it costs and the servos are more than powerful enough. The only problem is coming up with the 2 extra receiver channels with tx controls to go with it. I just use the left/right control on the third channel of the gt3b and use the channel 3 button to pan it left and right and use the endpoint adjustment if I want to fine tune the position. But if you think the one I have is tiny, there is pan and tilt mounts with wireless cameras that are made for use on the little mini helicopters. The whole setup is like 1inch x 1inch! Now that I have the contour gps camera on the way, I won't be usin the above camera for very long, but I'll adapt the pan and tilt mount for the contour.


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