Phildirt’s Element Enduro Trailwalker

[durok]

The fender "strengtheners" look just fine, and the truck has a lot of that sought-after character many trucks are missing...

And I'm a big fan of caged back-ends!

[B-MOW71]

I've missed a few episodes of the Trailwalker transformation, so I'm going to get caught back up!

1. The Truggywalker looks great! The cage fits the body like a glove!

2. The styrene cab wall look great too! Great way to make a it a "cab only" body!

3. Great place to stick a plate! All of my license plates are expired too! Haven't had a problem yet!

4. Lightbar back on covering up the smoke vent holes. May have to crack a window or two!

5. Very nice hi-lift jack! Great job! I had too look at it a second time. I thought it was bought not built!

6. I like the fender arches! Adds a little something and looks great!

7. Just ordered a replacement clear Sendero body for my Sendero chassis. I have grown to like the looks of them and think they look great with custom paint jobs.

8. Big and heavy bumper looks good mounted up! I just bought the same bumper for my Gladiator. Yeah, it's big and heavy and sticks out a mile! Not sure if I'll end up using it.

9. Rig looks really good! Hideous or not, it looks great!

[Phildirt]

Thanks man. I tucked the front bumper by removing the winch that I will never use - will throw up some pics later.

These stock shocks have been bugging me and couldn't figure it out, just super mushy. Like if you compress (press down on the truck) it would hold that position/not rebound or rebound very slowly - so I swapped out to SCX10II springs (swapped front/rear) - holy smokes what a difference. Those springs were really soft compared to these. Still using the same shock body. Will do some "testing" this weekend.

[Phildirt]

Much better

[Phildirt]

10ii springs. Quick run through back yard course says big thumbs up. Less torque twist. Quicker rebound...a tad bouncier but I will take it versus the mushy/wallowing/indecisive feeling of the Element springs.

[Phildirt]

I think those Element springs would be good for a super light body like the JCI Creep, very basic brazed tube bumper, and a small pack - a light rig. Once I added the rear cage, full pack, front bumper it was just too much. Just my thoughts on it. Could be some folks like them like that. Not sure how they compare to the kit springs. Pretty happy though because I was considering buying new shocks at one point, won't have to now.

Hoping to get some good run time this weekend to really run it through the paces. And run the 10ii again without the winch bumper to see if that was what all the rubbing was about up front, I suspect it will be fine now. I'm having a problem with the hex spacers staying on in that rig - - put more loc tite on them and will see what happens this weekend. May have to 'upgrade' to slw hubs.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Good to know those springs aren't the best, I'll hold on to my spare GTS shock/springs

That bumper tuck should help out a little bit. I'd leave it just because it looks cool lol.

[Phildirt]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

Good to know those springs aren't the best, I'll hold on to my spare GTS shock/springs

That bumper tuck should help out a little bit. I'd leave it just because it looks cool lol.

I think they are good springs just too light once you start adding sprung weight to the truck. Would not be a factor if you start slinging brass at the axles

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Phildirt

I think they are good springs just too light once you start adding sprung weight to the truck. Would not be a factor if you start slinging brass at the axles

true. I plan on getting one of these and slapping a hardbody on, so stiffer springs seem to be needed. No secrets this time since they are lame lol.

[Phildirt]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

true. I plan on getting one of these and slapping a hardbody on, so stiffer springs seem to be needed. No secrets this time since they are lame lol.

Go SSD Trail King for your hard body build. Thank me later

I would not have bought this rig if I didn't get it for $250 RTR. I needed spare electronics and transmitter so it was a good package for me at the time. But if I was building I would not start with an Enduro kit. It's a great, simple, cheap truck...but not a hill to die on IMO.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Phildirt

Go SSD Trail King for your hard body build. Thank me later

I would not have bought this rig if I didn't get it for $250 RTR. I needed spare electronics and transmitter so it was a good package for me at the time. But if I was building I would not start with an Enduro kit. It's a great, simple, cheap truck...but not a hill to die on IMO.

I'm not sure I want to have to spend that much extra since I have to pick out electronics though. For the Trailwalker, hardbody, paint, etc with shipping is around $700. I'd be at almost $900 with the trail king when you factor in having to buy wheels, tires and electronics. That's why i went with the Trailwalker. Good chassis, good shocks, decent electronics, and good price. I will be getting a Trail King sometime down the road, just not sure if I want to spend nearly $1k on a rig right off the bat.

[Phildirt]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

I'm not sure I want to have to spend that much extra since I have to pick out electronics though. For the Trailwalker, hardbody, paint, etc with shipping is around $700. I'd be at almost $900 with the trail king when you factor in having to buy wheels, tires and electronics. That's why i went with the Trailwalker. Good chassis, good shocks, decent electronics, and good price. I will be getting a Trail King sometime down the road, just not sure if I want to spend nearly $1k on a rig right off the bat.

Missing the point though - - sort of - - with the TK you get all of the hard parts and scale goodness. To replicate that on an Enduro chassis you'd easily hit that $200 extra. Enduro has plastic c hubs, plastic pivot balls...plus you are building scale so why wouldn't you want the offset pumpkin versus the Enduro's OG SCX10 sized monstrosities? If you want the OD gears they are cheap.



That's just the obvious stuff. To make the chassis similar as far as stiffness you'd have to add the aluminum servo mount, braces, panhard mount...there go your savings. I would quit looking at it as total spend and try looking at it as total value. You are building a good rig, you don't need to sacrifice things just to have 2 of them....just my .02.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Phildirt

Missing the point though - - sort of - - with the TK you get all of the hard parts and scale goodness. To replicate that on an Enduro chassis you'd easily hit that $200 extra. Enduro has plastic c hubs, plastic pivot balls...plus you are building scale so why wouldn't you want the offset pumpkin versus the Enduro's OG SCX10 sized monstrosities? If you want the OD gears they are cheap.



That's just the obvious stuff. To make the chassis similar as far as stiffness you'd have to add the aluminum servo mount, braces, panhard mount...there go your savings. I would quit looking at it as total spend and try looking at it as total value. You are building a good rig, you don't need to sacrifice things just to have 2 of them....just my .02.

Yeah, that's some good points. I didn't even think about the offset pumpkin. I'm going to look into it more.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Sorry for the hijack Phildirt!

Just did the math and it's only $150 more for the TK since shipping is free when ordering all that stuff. If I can get enough selling my TRX4 and other stuff, I'll go that route.

EDIT: My only worry is I don't know what else I'll need to mount the hardbody on the TK. I know exactly what I'll need for the Trailwalker.

[Phildirt]

Originally Posted by ScaleLifeNewbie

Sorry for the hijack Phildirt!

Just did the math and it's only $150 more for the TK since shipping is free when ordering all that stuff. If I can get enough selling my TRX4 and other stuff, I'll go that route.

No such thing as a thread hijack. I mean how long can we talk about the same truck in one thread lol.


Whilst we are on the subject I have the itch to build something fast, pretty, and durable. Leaning towards the LMT RTR with a body swap and then metal parts as they become available. I was digging through my phone and saw pics of the OG10 all jacked up and it got me excited lol. This build would be a total shelf queen.



I am thinking mud truck, not monster truck with some JConcepts goodness. Could probably get away with a hopped up SMT10 but same argument as this current one, spend it up front or on upgrades.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Phildirt

No such thing as a thread hijack. I mean how long can we talk about the same truck in one thread lol.


Whilst we are on the subject I have the itch to build something fast, pretty, and durable. Leaning towards the LMT RTR with a body swap and then metal parts as they become available. I was digging through my phone and saw pics of the OG10 all jacked up and it got me excited lol. This build would be a total shelf queen.



I am thinking mud truck, not monster truck with some JConcepts goodness. Could probably get away with a hopped up SMT10 but same argument as this current one, spend it up front or on upgrades.

I think that could turn out really cool. Some Fling Kings under a jacked up square body Chevy would scream American Mud Truck.

Speaking of metal parts, CCxRC posted a video of aluminum axles. Not sure about public availability since I have't watched it, but that may be a needed upgrade judging off his and other peoples luck with the plastic axles.

[MaX-D]

I saw the trail King on Amain's website for $319

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by MaX-D

I saw the trail King on Amain's website for $319

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

Yeah, I’m still on the fence about it.




_________________
SCX10 ii
TRX4

[Phildirt]

Just an update of sorts. After some extensive beta testing under various conditions:

*99% of the time if this truck gets hung up it is on the huge differential, usually the front one, it acts like a plow and causes you to hit lines at an angle. Since the only thing that will fix that is bigger tires, and I don't want to run a 2.2 or taller 1.9, I will just have to be selective/skillful. Kind of like it. But I don't see the point in 'high clearance links' at all since they rarely cause a hang up.

*the front driveshaft at the pinion makes a lot of contact as well - again I think moving the links up would magnify this. I have the pinion angled as high up as I dare by unscrewing the rod ends on the upper link and don't want to build a new link for a few degrees of clearance.

*I'm getting a lot of broken traction on the rear end when hitting steeper obstacles, and a little in the front. I think adding a small amount of weight may help, but this truck is already forward biased. I am going to weigh it at some point but it's fairly obvious in the 'hand balancing act' test. The battery is forward, it has a heavy bumper...a little low weight will probably still help, but I don't want to make this rig much heavier

*most annoying part of this truck is the hopping/stuttering in reverse. Unsure if that is the ESC or the OD gearing, I suspect the ESC but I'm too cheap to buy a new one to test the theory. I do have another one from the 10ii that was really smooth and may swap it out this weekend.

*This truck is a good crawler and a decent trailer. I say decent for trailing because it tends to wander to the right no matter what you do to steering trim. Suspecting the OD gearing here again, this is the only thing keeping me from putting the higher gear in that came with it. I mostly crawl with it when I'm by myself, but when Jr. is along its a trail ride because she likes to keep moving

*Overall still pretty happy with this truck, would do it again, and I'm satisfied enough that I don't really have any desire to buy another mild crawler/trailer especially since we have the 10ii. If I buy another rig this year it will be a SCT, street basher, or rock bouncer. Something with some punch but I want to run 3s.

*I would like to eventually put a hard body cab on this thing and have been snooping around. Don't want an Injora Cherokee or a Proline Ford...kind of looking at Toyota, not because I love them but because they are fairly 'scale accurate' compared to other offerings. I know this will make it a little tippier but with the line selection I'm already making it shouldnt be a big deal. I wheel like a sloth lol.

Thats it for now.

[Phildirt]

Just an update of sorts. After some extensive beta testing under various conditions:

*99% of the time if this truck gets hung up it is on the huge differential, usually the front one, it acts like a plow and causes you to hit lines at an angle. Since the only thing that will fix that is bigger tires, and I don't want to run a 2.2 or taller 1.9, I will just have to be selective/skillful. Kind of like it. But I don't see the point in 'high clearance links' at all since they rarely cause a hang up.

*the front driveshaft at the pinion makes a lot of contact as well - again I think moving the links up would magnify this. I have the pinion angled as high up as I dare by unscrewing the rod ends on the upper link and don't want to build a new link for a few degrees of clearance.

*I'm getting a lot of broken traction on the rear end when hitting steeper obstacles, and a little in the front. I think adding a small amount of weight may help, but this truck is already forward biased. I am going to weigh it at some point but it's fairly obvious in the 'hand balancing act' test. The battery is forward, it has a heavy bumper...a little low weight will probably still help, but I don't want to make this rig much heavier

*most annoying part of this truck is the hopping/stuttering in reverse. Unsure if that is the ESC or the OD gearing, I suspect the ESC but I'm too cheap to buy a new one to test the theory. I do have another one from the 10ii that was really smooth and may swap it out this weekend.

*This truck is a good crawler and a decent trailer. I say decent for trailing because it tends to wander to the right no matter what you do to steering trim. Suspecting the OD gearing here again, this is the only thing keeping me from putting the higher gear in that came with it. I mostly crawl with it when I'm by myself, but when Jr. is along its a trail ride because she likes to keep moving

*Overall still pretty happy with this truck, would do it again, and I'm satisfied enough that I don't really have any desire to buy another mild crawler/trailer especially since we have the 10ii. If I buy another rig this year it will be a SCT, street basher, or rock bouncer. Something with some punch but I want to run 3s.

*I would like to eventually put a hard body cab on this thing and have been snooping around. Don't want an Injora Cherokee or a Proline Ford...kind of looking at Toyota, not because I love them but because they are fairly 'scale accurate' compared to other offerings. I know this will make it a little tippier but with the line selection I'm already making it shouldnt be a big deal. I wheel like a sloth lol.

Thats it for now.