Venom Creeper Kit ?
06-03-2010, 08:18 AM
#1
Venom Creeper Kit ?
Was looking into purchasing a crawler kit and seen the venom. How good is the kit and what electronics is need I am just not sure as far as the servos what torque is needed. The motor Ive seen servral kinds but mostly 55T is that the going compition motor.Finaly do you need 2 or 3 channel radio thanks for any and all response ahead of time
06-03-2010, 09:24 AM
#3
The Creeper is a decent crawler to build from especially with the prices that you can find them for now.
For electronics you will need:
1. a high torque steering servo
2. an ESC that has a drag brake in it. (I like the Castle Sidewinder)
3. a 45t or 55t motor (some even run a 35t)
4. a small battery pack, you may even want to to look at some of the smaller 2s and 3s lipo packs
For the radio and the number of channels, that really depends on what you plan to do. To just build the truck and drive it around, you would need a 2 channel radio. If you add a dig unit you would need at least a 3 channel radio. The dig unit for the creeper offers a free wheel position as well as 4wd and dig positions, to utilize this you would need a radio with a 3 position 3rd channel. There is also an optional kit for the Creepers to lock and unlock the differentials. To make use of this feature you would need additional channels.
For electronics you will need:
1. a high torque steering servo
2. an ESC that has a drag brake in it. (I like the Castle Sidewinder)
3. a 45t or 55t motor (some even run a 35t)
4. a small battery pack, you may even want to to look at some of the smaller 2s and 3s lipo packs
For the radio and the number of channels, that really depends on what you plan to do. To just build the truck and drive it around, you would need a 2 channel radio. If you add a dig unit you would need at least a 3 channel radio. The dig unit for the creeper offers a free wheel position as well as 4wd and dig positions, to utilize this you would need a radio with a 3 position 3rd channel. There is also an optional kit for the Creepers to lock and unlock the differentials. To make use of this feature you would need additional channels.
06-03-2010, 02:05 PM
#4
Tech Rookie
You will probably want to replace the tires pretty quick after you get started also as it seems most of the kit tires out there suck. Speed control wise the sidewinder, tekin fxr, and holmes hobbies esc are the most popular although I am using the esc that comes with the losi strike with good results and it's less $ than the others. Get a small lipo and you will be happy. Something like a 1300mah 20 or 25c works well and gets the cog low (very important in crawlers). Servo wise there are tons of options, just need a price range first. Motors-45 and 55 turn are most popular, I'm running a 65 and often wish I had a bit more wheelspeed. Also some people run a sidewinder micro with a small outrunner. This forum has good info but for a seemingly endless vault of crawler info check out rccrawler.com. Most of all have fun.
06-03-2010, 06:46 PM
#5
I just got a SCX10 in a trade. After installing a Tekin fxr ESC and Team Orion high torque servo, I tested it out today. It was a lot of fun but I notice it doesn't have a lot of suspension movement and has a limited approach angle. Maybe a different body would help the approach angle. Anyhow, it seems that a 2.2 crawler would add a lot to the experience. Thus, the Venom Creeper comes into play. It is cheap and seems okay (but not sure).
06-04-2010, 07:39 AM
#6
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I just got a SCX10 in a trade. After installing a Tekin fxr ESC and Team Orion high torque servo, I tested it out today. It was a lot of fun but I notice it doesn't have a lot of suspension movement and has a limited approach angle. Maybe a different body would help the approach angle. Anyhow, it seems that a 2.2 crawler would add a lot to the experience. Thus, the Venom Creeper comes into play. It is cheap and seems okay (but not sure).
06-04-2010, 12:45 PM
#8
I just got one for my 14 yr old.He's been bugging me for about a year for a crawler.Stormer had the creeper on sale for $109.00.I already had a hobbywing 35a esc, sensorless 17.5, and 645MG servo. Tracking says the kit will be delivered today, so I will post how the build goes.
06-05-2010, 05:23 PM
#9
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The build went pretty good.The diffs are a pain.The spider gears were not all the same length .3 out of 8 needed to be shortened on the wide end for the diffs to even work.The first diff went together fine, but the second took some fitting and about 4 tries taking a hair at a time off the 3 spider gears to get everything to fit and work properly when bolted together. Other than that things went together rather well.The peice count is huge on this kit.Mostly hardware.
One tip though, when building bolt the motor in the tranny as you build and set the gear mesh because once the truck is all together it is a pain to adjust gear mesh.You need a flash light and a long motor screw wrench since you have to pass the wrench through the whole trannsmission to get to the motor bolts.
We set it up stock as far as link positions and box stock shocks right down to the included 25wt oil.We ran 3 batteries through the truck today.It performed really well.The stock tires worked well.The truck was pretty stable on the rocks for not running any weight in the front wheels.The shocks did their job quite well also.
The sensorless 17.5 set-up worked great in the truck.I geared it down 3 teeth from the 15t pinion that was included to a 12t just to make sure there was no cogging issues.None at all.With a little drag brake set on the speedo it was actually pretty dialed.
For a crawler that was set-up for under 200.00 including speedo motor and battery I cant complain at all.
I havnt painted the body yet ,so will post pics in a couple days after I get some paint on the shell.
One tip though, when building bolt the motor in the tranny as you build and set the gear mesh because once the truck is all together it is a pain to adjust gear mesh.You need a flash light and a long motor screw wrench since you have to pass the wrench through the whole trannsmission to get to the motor bolts.
We set it up stock as far as link positions and box stock shocks right down to the included 25wt oil.We ran 3 batteries through the truck today.It performed really well.The stock tires worked well.The truck was pretty stable on the rocks for not running any weight in the front wheels.The shocks did their job quite well also.
The sensorless 17.5 set-up worked great in the truck.I geared it down 3 teeth from the 15t pinion that was included to a 12t just to make sure there was no cogging issues.None at all.With a little drag brake set on the speedo it was actually pretty dialed.
For a crawler that was set-up for under 200.00 including speedo motor and battery I cant complain at all.
I havnt painted the body yet ,so will post pics in a couple days after I get some paint on the shell.
06-05-2010, 05:50 PM
#10
I just finished building my new Venom Creeper and I had similar issues with fit and finish. The kit parts are made from quality material, they are just not finished to allow easy assembly. I too had to take the front and rear diffs apart a few times in order to get them to turn freely. I also think the instructions could be more detailed.
Once finished the final product out shines any difficulties with the build. This appears so be a very solid rig, and at the price, it can't be beat
Once finished the final product out shines any difficulties with the build. This appears so be a very solid rig, and at the price, it can't be beat
06-06-2010, 05:47 AM
#11
The build went pretty good.The diffs are a pain.The spider gears were not all the same length .3 out of 8 needed to be shortened on the wide end for the diffs to even work.The first diff went together fine, but the second took some fitting and about 4 tries taking a hair at a time off the 3 spider gears to get everything to fit and work properly when bolted together. Other than that things went together rather well.The peice count is huge on this kit.Mostly hardware.
One tip though, when building bolt the motor in the tranny as you build and set the gear mesh because once the truck is all together it is a pain to adjust gear mesh.You need a flash light and a long motor screw wrench since you have to pass the wrench through the whole trannsmission to get to the motor bolts.
We set it up stock as far as link positions and box stock shocks right down to the included 25wt oil.We ran 3 batteries through the truck today.It performed really well.The stock tires worked well.The truck was pretty stable on the rocks for not running any weight in the front wheels.The shocks did their job quite well also.
The sensorless 17.5 set-up worked great in the truck.I geared it down 3 teeth from the 15t pinion that was included to a 12t just to make sure there was no cogging issues.None at all.With a little drag brake set on the speedo it was actually pretty dialed.
For a crawler that was set-up for under 200.00 including speedo motor and battery I cant complain at all.
I havnt painted the body yet ,so will post pics in a couple days after I get some paint on the shell.
One tip though, when building bolt the motor in the tranny as you build and set the gear mesh because once the truck is all together it is a pain to adjust gear mesh.You need a flash light and a long motor screw wrench since you have to pass the wrench through the whole trannsmission to get to the motor bolts.
We set it up stock as far as link positions and box stock shocks right down to the included 25wt oil.We ran 3 batteries through the truck today.It performed really well.The stock tires worked well.The truck was pretty stable on the rocks for not running any weight in the front wheels.The shocks did their job quite well also.
The sensorless 17.5 set-up worked great in the truck.I geared it down 3 teeth from the 15t pinion that was included to a 12t just to make sure there was no cogging issues.None at all.With a little drag brake set on the speedo it was actually pretty dialed.
For a crawler that was set-up for under 200.00 including speedo motor and battery I cant complain at all.
I havnt painted the body yet ,so will post pics in a couple days after I get some paint on the shell.
06-06-2010, 07:21 AM
#12
I pulled the servo out of my old short course truck and am using it. It's a Team Orion Vortex 1409. It has great torque and is very fast. The only down side is it's price.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Digital-Servo
I'm sure a lesser servo would work just fine.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Digital-Servo
I'm sure a lesser servo would work just fine.
06-06-2010, 07:55 AM
#13
So roughly looking at about a 150-200oz torque servo then?
06-06-2010, 04:52 PM
#14
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Well I had some painting to do anyway so I painted the Creeper shell last night.Turned out Ok.