My experience thus far.

[Juicebag31]

I bought a Ridgecrest about a month ago. So far my experiences with this RC has not been that great. First off it was already broke when I took it out of the box. I sent it in to hobby services and they returned it about 3 weeks later fixed. I believe they replaced the transmitter and receiver. Two days ago I had the chance to get some run time in after I got it back in the mail, and I was literally crawling over a small rock in my yard and the right steering knuckle broke. I wasn't going fast or abusing it, I was in my yard for crying out loud. I went to my LHS and bought new Vanquish steering knuckles, and while there they stated yeah those Axial knuckles would break just starring at them.

The next day while undoing the screws that hold on the existing knuckles to the C-hub I noticed that the screws were loose and already seemed to be stripped. I installed the Vanquish knuckles went into the yard and did some laps which soon there after my left tire was barely hanging on by the only screw that would stay into the stock C-hubs.

This is my first dip into the RC world, and I figured that when you buy something for 309.99 that is should at least be able to do the bare minimum that it's intended use was for. Such as doing laps in the grass in the back yard, or going over small obstacles. Thus far I have purchased the Ridgecrest which was broke out of the box, Vanquish steering knuckles for 40.00, and now I'm probably going to have to buy new C-hubs. At this point I'm feeling ripped off and regretful that I purchased an Axial product. Here's the pic of the rock I broke it on.

[johnnyh66]

Hey, welcome to RCC.

It sucks that you've had a bad experience with Axial.

It seems to be a common problem with the RTR trucks.
I'm not making any excuses for the company... I'd like to see more reliability from them too.

The best way to have a reliable Axial is to build it yourself.
Many of the stock parts are junk and need to be upgraded right off the bat... it just doesn't make sense to buy a new Axial when you'll just throw half of it away.
But there's no way to know that for someone new to the hobby unless they stumble upon RCC before they buy the truck.

I hate to say this because I love my Axial based rigs (and work on them constantly!) and I'm probablly going to get flamed, but...
If you want a solid, reliable rc to bash around your backyard, buy a Traxxas.

[Man of 5lay]

Originally Posted by Juicebag31

the screws were loose and already seemed to be stripped. I installed the Vanquish knuckles went into the yard and did some laps which soon there after my left tire was barely hanging on by the only screw that would stay into the stock C-hubs.

Try replacing the coarse thread plastic screws with fine threaded machine screws. I know that chagning them out is supposed to help a little bit.

On a side note, Axial vehicles and breaking easily go hand in hand nowadays it seems.

[MudHoncho]

I also have the Ridgecrest and honestly havent had any trouble and I run it HARD to say the least, I hear stories like this but have not had anything happen to mine or my scx10 or my roommates wraith or my other friends scx10......

[Juicebag31]

I understand that overtime people upgrade there truck either from heavy usage or just because they want to, but to buy a RTR truck and have it break with minimal effort definitely seems to be a quality control issue. You shouldn't have to un-box a new truck spend an extra 40.00 or more to get it to run like it was supposed to in the first place. I understand there can be some bad eggs out there. I did write Axial an email lets see if anything comes of it.

[MudHoncho]

I hope they make it right for you! Your absolutely right tho it should be "ready to run" as u bought it......I hope it doesn't change your mind about it.... Keep us updated on what happens and hopefully you can enjoy your truck and axial afterwards? Good luck man

[Solitaire]

Juicebag, who's body is that and what's the wheelbase (before the hacking)?

[scottymac]

Originally Posted by Man of 5lay

Try replacing the coarse thread plastic screws with fine threaded machine screws. I know that chagning them out is supposed to help a little bit.

On a side note, Axial vehicles and breaking easily go hand in hand nowadays it seems.

yep it helps! i added a cone washer as well to increase the clamping area. I used to race 1/8 truggys with plastic hubs and there is no reason this plastic shouldn't hold up. i feel all the breakage is in the hardware.

Juicebag I feel your pain I went through 2 plastic hubs before I made this easy mod. i broke my first hub before my first battery died. the second was like you just cruising around my yard. I also turned my endpoints down (mx3x) and though it don't turn as sharp im not competeing so i don't care if i have to backup a few more times. soon you will find the servo mounts will start becoming loose (hitec 7955) and this cone washer idea works great there as well. now my main gripe is the shocks and steering linkages. my rc budget is non existent so i cant go throwing $100's at this thing to be reliable so i have ideas for the steering besides building my own links.

here's a short clip of a quick beating to show my theory about the hardware. I have beat on it much harder than this.

ridgecrest beating - YouTube

this is oops footage from a much longer video!

[Juicebag31]

It's the Proline 2007 Chevy Silverado Body extra cab. The wheelbase is 11.4"

[Juicebag31]

That's my point! We spent 300 dollars to buy the Ridgecrest, then we have to spend extra money to fix what Axial should have done in the first place.

[RamperMT]

I had the same problem with my right c-hub, just going to replace them and hopefully that works.

[scottymac]

Originally Posted by Juicebag31

That's my point! We spent 300 dollars to buy the Ridgecrest, then we have to spend extra money to fix what Axial should have done in the first place.

it does suck but if manufactures build these things up from the factory it would drive the price through the roof. maybe axial will offer a kit similar to the wraith but include more of the aluminum bits. all in all i am enjoying the truck even with it's minor flaws.

[Solitaire]

Originally Posted by Juicebag31

It's the Proline 2007 Chevy Silverado Body extra cab. The wheelbase is 11.4"

Thanks. Just an inch too short for what I need. Oh well.

[J.DUKE]

Many breakage issues relating to knuckles/c-hubs are because the dogbone pops out of the drive cup...
Maybe that's happening to you...

I've run universals in my Ridgecrest since day one, and it gets beat on almost daily by my 10 yr old.
Also, I tighten screws up routinely, or swap to machine thread screws.

[Areilius]

Originally Posted by J.DUKE

Also, I tighten screws up routinely, or swap to machine thread screws.

IMO this is key. A friend of mine broke the exact same parts you did on his ridgecrest. Went through all the screws and found most of them needing to be tightened. With this in mind the first thing i did after buying one for my son is loctite everything. So far no problems, and this is with a 3yr old thrashing it.

Sorry to hear about your problems. Would hate to see any one get out of the sport due to these kind of issues. If you want any help with it there is a really good group of local guys.

[sandman]

its part of the hobby....checking bolts, reading forums.....seeing what others have had to fix....I keep twisting my front drive line in half ....looks like i will find a wood dowel to add to the center.....just a heads up.! but im on 3s also.

[Juicebag31]

It sounds like some of you have had some good luck and I would say a lot of you out there "not just on this forum" have had to replace screws, c-hubs, knuckles, ect, but I still don't think we should have to spend extra money to get the Ridgecrest to perform like Axial has advertised or at the least be able to go over a simple rock or go across my small back yard. I don't want to drive the price up on this product. I'm just saying that Axial probably knows that their screws and other parts were prone to failure with little effort, and that's what bothers me.

[Meatwad]

While I agree that alot of rtr is cheap nowadays, so is the price for what you get. 20yrs ago when I first started pricing out hobby grade rc's as a teenager, 300 barely got you a kit.

Some mods aren't all that expensive, you don't need the most expensive stuff to have a reliable rig. There are always weak links in the chain... identifiy it, keep it cheap, easily accessible and you're golden.

Just don't let the small stuff sway your entire opinion of the hobby. Its just a toy truck that doesn't need to get you to work. Put it away for a couple days, come back and fix it later.

[Mank0896]

Hi everyone this is my first post on this site. I didn't get 15 mins on my Ridgecrest and tha r front knuckle stripped out also. Wasn't doing anything crazy. I called Axial and they are sending new parts. They didnt seem surprised at all. If I would have read all this first I probably would have looked for something else. Ive been running sc trucks for about a year now. I didn't know a lot about the crawling but it seems like its gonna be a blast when this gets sorted out.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Originally Posted by Mank0896

If I would have read all this first I probably would have looked for something else. Ive been running sc trucks for about a year now. I didn't know a lot about the crawling but it seems like its gonna be a blast when this gets sorted out.

EVERY rtr crawler has its problems, and none are made to last indefinitely. People need to realize that. I don't care who makes it, if it comes in a box and all it needs is a battery to make it go, you're gonna break it sooner than you think.

You cannot compare race vehicles to crawlers. I also race and have way less in my sc truck than I do my crawler, but that is how this part of the hobby is.

For all of Axials "problems", they still have the largest aftermarket following. If I had to go out and buy any brand available, chances are it would still be an Axial.