My experience with the 1/24 RC4WD TF2

[Hodgy88]

I'd like to share my experiences with the 1/24 TrailFinder 2 from RC4WD. For reference, this is my 8th crawler and fourth 1/24 scale rig, the other three being a pair of SCX24s (Deadbolt/C10) and a Kyosho Mini-Z Jimmy.

Mine arrived two days ago. The packaging is pretty neat, the manual is annoyingly light and lacking diagrams. RC4WD requests that you view the instructions and videos on their website. I'll be charitable and say this is a green initiative to reduce paper waste, but only because the trucks performance is a far bigger issue.

No way around it, the stock N20 motor is useless. I asked their customer support and they said it was for "flat surfaces or desktop cruising LOL". It will bog down due to slight inclines, overly tightened wheel nuts, the vernal equinox, or Tuesdays.

This thing is built for 1/24 scale model kits to be swapped in, and I think that's the only use case for the N20, to make a scale model that moves occasionally.

To their credit, RC4WD knows this and includes an N30 sized can to swap in for crawling. It spins at 25k RPM before undergoing 30:1 metal gear reduction before the output shaft, which results in a motor that still has no torque but at least can be compelled to shoot off of obstacles with wild abandon once you feed enough juice.

So neither motor really works for how anyone on this forum would use it, and nothing you might have in spares will fit. Orlandoo / Geko guys are familiar with these size motors so if you have a spare can it might work. I am going to try using a 150RPM or 300RPM Geko motor next when the parts get in. The output shafts are 2mm shorter, so we'll see.

Chassis is nice enough, it's got some markings for adjusting the wheelbase. It's flat plate, not C channel, which I don't quite understand for a rig so that prioritizes scale details. Doesn't bother me one bit. I actually like the layout with the CMS, and honestly you could flip the transmission around without mods and run an even bigger motor if you could figure out how to adapt it to the transmission and clear the battery tray. The CMS is great for scale points btw, but the stock servo and steering is terrible on this truck. An EMax will require modifications as it is about a mil or two thicker than the opening for the stock servo.

The axles do not use hexes, just pins, but SCX24 hexes fit right on. Proline premounyed Hyraxes, Axial C10 wheels, and RC4WD beadlocks all have juuuust enough offset to clear the steering linkage up front, and they all look ridiculous. RC4WD has upgrades available and if you're curious, the biggest two tires they have are the MT/Rs and the Interco IROKs at 43/42mm diameter. I don't own those yet, as I have not finished the grieving cycle required before I send them more money.

The Marlin branded upgrades are fragile but they look nice. I snapped the front tube while trying to mount the winch. By the way, you get Marlin stickers, but they're not odd sized and printed on white. Also on the topic of body accessories, I've already broken both my mirrors off while doing benchtop maintenance, so be careful! I'm betting Kyosho 4runner rubber mirrors would be a much more durable upgrade.

The body is the highlight although mine doesn't want to seem to mount without fighting because the front bumper doesn't clearance the servo... A full interior and drop bed do make up for it IMHO. You kind of expect to tinker with stuff like this right? Conversely, at the same price point none of the issues I have described exist in the SCX24, sooooo.... there's that.

TL;DR: An almost undrivable but very scale truck that might be good when you fix most of it out of the box.

P.S. if anyone wants to design leaf springs for this truck and wants a tester HMU.

[Hodgy88]

Pics here: https://imgur.com/a/NAOavgP

[HumboldtEF]

Thanks for sharing. Those picture are way too big BTW 1200 x 900 is the max size allowed, you can edit the size on Imgur.

[Hodgy88]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

Thanks for sharing. Those picture are way too big BTW 1200 x 900 is the max size allowed, you can edit the size on Imgur.

Didn't realize it from mobile, fixed. Ty.

[Brake Weight]

Figures.

[meatmonkey]

This is exactly what I'd expect out of RC3wd. A smoking body with a mediocre chassis and miserable electronics for a premium price.

I'll pass thank you.

[2471:24]

It looks nice, but then I checked Harley designs video on youtube and they came to the same conclusion as you. Feel bad for you.

[Hodgy88]

Originally Posted by 2471:24

It looks nice, but then I checked Harley designs video on youtube and they came to the same conclusion as you. Feel bad for you.

Yeah, I probably could've done my homework a little better. Ill probably still play with it a little and see if I can't get it to not suck, but I'll cut bait if I can't find a motor that fits.

[2471:24]

Maybe you could search the internet if somebody has used a furitek esc to address the problems? Though I don’t know how the stock electronics are and if you can add something or not. It looks so sweet, I just hope one could make it perform also👍 It’s new still, there’s always the pioneers who’ll make that, sooner or later.

[skurge]

I agree with everything in the first post, after owning 2 scx24's/enduro24 and a bunch of the FMS lot, the rc4wd one falls WAY short

I would argue that the enduro24 stock out of the box is a better buy, price not considered


for now, its a shelf queen as at least it looks good right?

[Hodgy88]

Don't worry folks, I fixed it.



Axial ESC from my at-this-point-mostly-disassembled ESC. As you can see, the N30s fit right on. I started out with a 150RPM can but I would urge anyone doing this to probably step up to 300RPM. I took it out on my 1/24 scale course and found that while it definitely solved the torque issue, the truck still likes to bog down when the wheels were in a jam. I figured that had to be the ESC (considering the quality of the rest of the electronics), so pulled the stock ESC and tried again using the setup from my Deadbolt.

Long story short, the truck is a heck of a crawler now. As you can see this is running 1.0" RC4WD beadlocks and tires on Axial hexes.

[skurge]

Originally Posted by Hodgy88

Don't worry folks, I fixed it.



Axial ESC from my at-this-point-mostly-disassembled ESC. As you can see, the N30s fit right on. I started out with a 150RPM can but I would urge anyone doing this to probably step up to 300RPM. I took it out on my 1/24 scale course and found that while it definitely solved the torque issue, the truck still likes to bog down when the wheels were in a jam. I figured that had to be the ESC (considering the quality of the rest of the electronics), so pulled the stock ESC and tried again using the setup from my Deadbolt.

Long story short, the truck is a heck of a crawler now. As you can see this is running 1.0" RC4WD beadlocks and tires on Axial hexes.

very interesting. so you just swapped the motor and kept the same trans? swapped electronics as well obviously. can you link the motor?

[2471:24]

Could you post a video, would like to see how it crawls now.

[kincer]

I agree these out of the box are horrible, but I bought a $9.00 N20 6v motor with a 100:1 reduction box on it and put the gear box on the RC4wd N30 motor and it's an completely different truck, changed up the links on the steering and it works great now and didn't cost a dime. I bought two of these cause I like a challenge lol, actually RPP had a buy one get one deal. Anyways I'm having a ball with them now. Just a shame they couldn't be this way out of the box.

[TheBakedBeans]

I’ve been reading through this thread and see a lot of good information. When the TF2 1/24 first came out, I was a little leery because of the price tag. When I saw the VELCRO body mount… I was like huh? Then, the performance reviews started coming out, and I was like, NOPE.

But two major factors changed my mind. First, I saw that Furitek released a new motor for this model. Then, I saw the truck online for $59.95 and free shipping. Soooooo, I think the RC Gods were telling me something…

Against my better judgement, I pulled the trigger. I’m curious to see how it turns out with a Furitek system, better .7” wheels/tires, and some scale work on the body.

[kincer]

Originally Posted by TheBakedBeans

I’ve been reading through this thread and see a lot of good information. When the TF2 1/24 first came out, I was a little leery because of the price tag. When I saw the VELCRO body mount… I was like huh? Then, the performance reviews started coming out. And I was like, NOPE.

But two major factors changed my mind. First, I saw that Furitek released a new motor for this model. Then, I saw the truck online for $59.95 and free shipping. Soooooo, I think the RC Gods were telling me something…

Against my better judgement, I pulled the trigger. I’m curious to see how it turns out with a Furitek system, better .7” wheels/tires, and some scale work on the body.

I also did the magnet body mount, this is a must do, easy to mount and body doesn't budge. I have been having a hoot with mine, I don't think I'm gonna spend the money on a Furitec setup when for a $9.00 gearbox it's a torque monster. The steering mod also makes a huge difference for no money.

[gotdurt]

Originally Posted by TheBakedBeans

I saw the truck online for $59.95 and free shipping. Soooooo, I think the RC Gods were telling me something…

Same here, so I bought 2. I was really into scale models as a kid (49 now) and still have a dozen or so kits in varied states of completion, including a few that never started... one of my frustrations with the larger scales is with the body choices, so this part should be fun...

I'm fine with the N30 motor for now, and the ESC could have better modulation, but for me, the biggest shortcoming is the suspension; very little travel in general, almost no articulation, and it sits too high, which is hard to address due to the lack of up-travel.

I'd love to see some solutions to the suspension shortcomings, if anyone has addressed it...

[MGCrawler]

Originally Posted by gotdurt

Same here, so I bought 2. I was really into scale models as a kid (49 now) and still have a dozen or so kits in varied states of completion, including a few that never started... one of my frustrations with the larger scales is with the body choices, so this part should be fun...

I'm fine with the N30 motor for now, and the ESC could have better modulation, but for me, the biggest shortcoming is the suspension; very little travel in general, almost no articulation, and it sits too high, which is hard to address due to the lack of up-travel.

I'd love to see some solutions to the suspension shortcomings, if anyone has addressed it...

The Orlandoo ball studs are the same threads as the stock ones and 1/32 shocks are a direct replacement to the stock ones. With that swap alone it frees up the movement so much. I used the dual spring units with the short spring removed for a bit of of droop setup but still has and nice sprung area as well.

[gotdurt]

Originally Posted by MGCrawler

The Orlandoo ball studs are the same threads as the stock ones and 1/32 shocks are a direct replacement to the stock ones. With that swap alone it frees up the movement so much. I used the dual spring units with the short spring removed for a bit of of droop setup but still has and nice sprung area as well.

Did you use these? There are supposedly 2 travel choices, 230 and 280 (not in this listing, it's 280 only); I'm leaning toward the 280...
https://www.amainhobbies.com/orlando...5-280/p1257252

EDIT: Found the 230s; they don't have double springs, so that answers that question

[gotdurt]

I fitted the Orlandoo 280 springs on one of mine, HUGE difference over stock...