adding weight for more traction?

[djcrabtree]

I've been wanting to add some weight to the rear of my king but am not sure how to go about it. I've thought about adding bb's to the tires. Another option was to put a cover over the rails and add stick on weights to that. If any one has any other options I'm more than willing to listen Thanks.
Oh my king is only on 18 inch rails so space will be a factor.

[mavrick0]

Aluminum wheels will give you weight over the stock plastic, and I'm assuming you want traction when not pulling a trailer so I would suggest ditching the stock tires if you already haven't and going with something else like the RC4WD tires that are softer and have better tread patterns.

[djcrabtree]

Never thought about wheels. And yes I have some lesu tires all the way around now that have good bite. Thanks for the reply.

[PaulNZ]

I've got 30KG of logs on my trailer that helps with traction, in fact I was going up a steep hill the other day on dirt and it lost power before it spun a wheel, had to back off and have a second go at it and it grunted over and only got a slight bit of wheel spin as it went over the crest and the weight shifted.

Mavrick is right though, ali wheels and heavy cut tires will give you what you need, have a look at a real truck, highway tires for highway trucks and off road tires for off road trucks.

[Exclusive RC]

The guys are all right... me personally, good tires metal wheels and DEF bbs in the tires and I will tell u why.... if u add weight anywhere else it will make the tires drop to the point of looking like they are flat... but with bbs in place it will keep that from happening... and also most importantly LOCK your diffs BOTH of them... contrary to popular belief.... in a toy having both diffs locked will NOT have any negative side effects...

[djcrabtree]

Thanks for your help guys. Both diffs are locked. So in adding bb's I just remove the foams and insert bbs into tire?. I wanted to go awd but when I mocked up a tlt axle in the front it gave it a lift. Not a big fan of a lifted rig...or at least not for this application.

[egronvold]

Originally Posted by Exclusive RC

The guys are all right... me personally, good tires metal wheels and DEF bbs in the tires and I will tell u why.... if u add weight anywhere else it will make the tires drop to the point of looking like they are flat... but with bbs in place it will keep that from happening... and also most importantly LOCK your diffs BOTH of them... contrary to popular belief.... in a toy having both diffs locked will NOT have any negative side effects...

Short wheelbase and locked diffs will affect your turning radius. Had to get an axle with remote locker for my short wb 6x6. The tipper with long wb works very well with both axles locked.

[djcrabtree]

Originally Posted by egronvold

Short wheelbase and locked diffs will affect your turning radius. Had to get an axle with remote locker for my short wb 6x6. The tipper with long wb works very well with both axles locked.

I will have to disagree with this. My wheel base is considerably shorter than a stock king and turns so much better. This is just my opinion though.

[Exclusive RC]

Originally Posted by egronvold

Short wheelbase and locked diffs will affect your turning radius. Had to get an axle with remote locker for my short wb 6x6. The tipper with long wb works very well with both axles locked.

Not sure what u did or didnt do but, it has never made a negative difference on any of my builds....

Originally Posted by djcrabtree

I will have to disagree with this. My wheel base is considerably shorter than a stock king and turns so much better. This is just my opinion though.

I agree, also u have 2 ways of going about it... u can out just bbs in or modify the foams by cutting the inside of them out to use just the outside thin ring as a small cushion and bbs between.. so basically it would be foam, bbs, rim

[djcrabtree]

Thanks guys. Looks like I'm going to run bbs. Think I'll just use a straw to funnel the bbs in and fill the tire completely with bbs.

[djcrabtree]

Well guys I figured I'd come back with a conclusion for those that may be interested in this. I have completely filled all eight rear tires with bbs. I bought a 6000 count pack, and I guess I've used near 5000 of them. My traction is greatly improved and I'm very happy with the results. Thanks for the help fellas.

[Supermario]

That's great to hear and thanks for the update!
Did you fill the steer tires also and did you have to glue the tires to the rims after filling? I need to do the same thing to my dump truck. Front tires are too soft with a heavy load to steer and the drives squat down way too much.

[djcrabtree]

Originally Posted by Supermario

That's great to hear and thanks for the update!
Did you fill the steer tires also and did you have to glue the tires to the rims after filling? I need to do the same thing to my dump truck. Front tires are too soft with a heavy load to steer and the drives squat down way too much.

No I did not fill the steer tires yet, but do plan to when I figure out awd situation. As for gluing tires on I have not. I'm using my king to pull a wagon with my son in along with a cooler etc so no weight is put on the drive tires. For you I'd suggest gluing seeing as you will have weight directly above the tires. I can tell you the only down side is the noise the bbs make while in motion. But if you can fill the tire to where the bbs do not have room to roll around its not a big deal. I've got mi e packed and noise is to a minimum.

[calm n sedated]

Start replacing the aluminum with stainless steel. I use a 3/8 inch thick plate for the cab floor instead of the plastic crap. I also have a 2x4 inch block in my sleeper. I was trying to get more over the front axle to help with steering on heavy load but due to the steering and shifting servo its pretty cramped.

[egronvold]

Originally Posted by Supermario

That's great to hear and thanks for the update!
Did you fill the steer tires also and did you have to glue the tires to the rims after filling? I need to do the same thing to my dump truck. Front tires are too soft with a heavy load to steer and the drives squat down way too much.

When driving in dirt with stock rims, they will start to spin inside the tire if not glued eventually.