Basher BZ-888 buggy

ArduRover Chassis -- deprecated
1

I have just ordered the Basher BZ-888 from hobbyking during the black friday sale:

hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor … ARR.html

which I intend to put a pixhawk onto it and convert it to an ardurover.

First, I plan to replace the wheels with suitable monster truck wheels, and maximize the height of the shocks to maximize ground clearance. I may also need to gear down the motor pinion as a result of increased wheel diameter.

Then which place is best for me to install an extra deck above the chassis? Is it the shock? Or should I just replace the original top plate above the central cardan shaft with a wide fiberglass? In the former case, where can I mount the extra deck, which I can use to fix the cameras, FPV transmission and GPS mast etc?

The nice thing for the 888 chassis is that the chassis does not have side walls, so I can remove the batteries without removing the extra deck.

Actually, is the Basher 888 a suitable chassis for ardurover? I bought it because it was really cheap - USD 95 RTR. If a monster truck were also on discount, I would have got the monster truck instead…

2

@kcleung,
Here are a couple of pictures of my Traxxas 4WD Slash Rover that uses an upper deck above the battery to mount the navigation controller and associated hardware attached below.
Regards,
TCIII AVD

3

Thanks for the photos! So you basically use spacers to fix the top plate on top of the original chassis.

However where can you buy the spacers? Since my batteries are large, I probably need spacers that are 80mm-100mm long but I can’t find such a long spacer.

Also, what is the material of your top deck? And how do you drill the holes? Did you just measure, draw lines and drill yourself on a drill press, or did you do this on CNC milling machine?

Finally, are the holes on the chassis that you use to mount the extra spacer already there? Or did you drill new holes on the chassis? I am really reluctant to drill holes on my chassis.

I am yet to receive my Basher 888, since the supplier runs out of stock. But once I receive it, I will have a look at the posts that are used to affix the body shell, and see if the posts are rigid enough for me to affix the top plate instead. In this way, I can get away without drilling holes on the original chassis.

4

@kcleung,
The spacers are probably around 50 mm and the top plate is made out of 1/8" thick ABS hobby grade plastic.
Jameco.com might have the spacers/standoffs that you need.
You can always screw two of the smaller spacers together to make a longer one.
Regards,
TCIII AVD

5

Thanks! However did you drill any extra holes on the chassis to mount the spacers? I am reluctant to drill any holes on the chassis.

So I am looking into the possibility of mounting the plate onto the posts that are used to affix the bodyshell, but will they be too flimsy?

6

@kcleung,
I was able to tap threads into some existing chassis holes to mount the spacers.
Regards,
TCIII AVD

7

I too bought a Basher BZ-888 in the sale. Its still in the box :frowning: I hope to get to get it up and running in the not too distant future and I’ll post photo’s here when I do.
Thanks, Grant.