Jato Gets to High Steppin' High Trail Chevrolet K10

[JatoTheRipper]

The LHS, which honestly isn't the best, is only about 5 minutes from my new job. That means I can stop in and check things out when I'm bored or have an RC itch. Well I've been having the itch for a Traxxas TRX-4M. Today I was allowed into the store without adult supervision. This square body followed me out to my truck, but the hobby shop stole $180 from me. At least I didn't have any black eyes after they stole my lunch money.

My uncle had a similar 1:1 back in the 80's when I was a kid and I loved it. The other option was getting a Bronco, because I like those too despite being a Ford, but I just love square bodies. This red K10 is the one I walked in hoping they would have and when they did I immediately bought it.




It's so pretty!






It's nekkid time!




After a short run I decided to lower it. Well that is when I discovered this bastard that they are using as a Band-Aid in an attempt to combat torque-twist. I removed this right away and discovered there isn't any way to lower it that I saw.




I was worried the center of gravity would be high on this truck and it would constantly rollover. That wasn't the case. It is pretty cable even in box stock form. If anything, it needs some weight on the tires to get it a little more planted. This truck may benefit from tire venting. Thoughts?








At this point I remembered I put nice wheels on my SCX24 Deadbolt. The Deadbolt did not get much action. I just could not get into this thing. I found it, charged it up, and ran a bit to compare to the TRX-4M. The TRX-4M blows it away in every area. The TRX-4M is so much smoother, much more capable and a lot more fun overall. The TRX-4M motor/ESC did stall a few times when trying to crawl on the default ESC setting. That's disappointing. I expect better from Traxxas. The transmitter sucks too, but otherwise this is a high quality truck.

The 1/18th scale TRX-4M dwarfs the 1/24th scale SCX24 as you can imagine.












So as mentioned earlier, I just want to add some weight down low to get more traction and hopefully compress the tires a slight bit. This may mean some new wheels and tires are in the future. The Traxxas tires due a fine job, but I am guessing JConcepts and Proline offer softer rubber. The SSD mags would look great on this truck too. Hopefully they fit without any clearance issues.

Eventually a better ESC and motor would be nice. Not sure if I want to keep it as a trail truck or make it more dedicated as a crawler. The body is pretty...almost too pretty to crawl and destroy on the rocks. I can't believe these little bodies are $50 to $70 painted!

Oh and maybe overdrive and/or underdrive gears. Wondering how smooth those are at this size.

[soze]

Nice you picked one up! I've got two of these, but I've only worked on one so far. Probably going to turn one into a monster truck and the other into a performer.

[B-MOW71]

Congrats on the new Chevy purchase. Yes, these TRX4-m's are a night and day difference from the littler SCX24's. My lil' 24's have all been retired and all I drive now is the M's.

So many possibilities for add-ons. Looking forward to seeing more!

[OSRC]

Definitely look into the low range gearing. The stock TRX4m's are a bit zippy and thin on torque. The taller tires on the HL version makes it worse I would guess. The low range gearset is just right imo, and a cheap and easy upgrade.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by OSRC

Definitely look into the low range gearing. The stock TRX4m's are a bit zippy and thin on torque. The taller tires on the HL version makes it worse I would guess. The low range gearset is just right imo, and a cheap and easy upgrade.

I saw you also bought the Holmes motor. Is it stronger than the stock unit?

[B-MOW71]

Yes as OSRC mentioned, the low gear set or crawler gears, I forget what they are called, helped my High Trail. Mine too would stall out and be jerky, but the slower gears fixed that.


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[JimK]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I saw you also bought the Holmes motor. Is it stronger than the stock unit?

Congrats on the pretty new Chevy Jato!! The TRX4Ms are great little rigs for sure. I have four of them....lol. These things are very capable out of the box and aftermarket upgrades are limitless.

I put the crawling gears in mine and HH 66 turn motor. The stock motor works fine with the crawling gears but is very, very slow. The 66 turn HH bumps the wheels speed back up a little bit but still has really good slow speed crawling.

[Speedy-Triple]

Nice purchase!!! these trucks are awesome looking and sized perfect I have been looking at them but have not pulled the trigger ... that's the reason I stay away from the LHS because I always walk away or something follows me ... looking forward to see your mods and upgrades.

[Gramps]

There is a way of lowering the High Trial for free. Check the Scale Builders Guild video. Front shock hoops from the standard TRX4m, for the rear he limited the shocks. I think reversing the ESC mount would be a better option. It puts the shocks at an angle.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Gramps

There is a way of lowering the High Trial for free. Check the Scale Builders Guild video. Front shock hoops from the standard TRX4m, for the rear he limited the shocks. I think reversing the ESC mount would be a better option. It puts the shocks at an angle.

That's good to know. I will checkout the video tonight. Thank you!

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Nice! I love my high trail F-150. I've gone between the trail and crawler gears back and forth. Neither is perfect. I found a fcx24 2 speed transmission conversion kit from a seller called oppai factory on etsy, waiting for it to show up. I'm going to borrow the trans and electronics from my fcx temporarily, if I like it I'll end up getting another gearbox and whatnot so both rigs are complete.

[smog]

Every time I think I have gotten past the trxm another thread pops up to pique my interest

Personally I say keep it high. I like your idea to weight the wheels, knuckles or something low. I wonder if there is a wheel or hex to widen the stance?

I believe SBG lost almost all of his suspension travel lowering his. It's likely a shelf queen, but it does look really good.

Look forward to your thread. Shit, now I want one again.

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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Whats_a_dickfer

Nice! I love my high trail F-150. I've gone between the trail and crawler gears back and forth. Neither is perfect. I found a fcx24 2 speed transmission conversion kit from a seller called oppai factory on etsy, waiting for it to show up. I'm going to borrow the trans and electronics from my fcx temporarily, if I like it I'll end up getting another gearbox and whatnot so both rigs are complete.

I wouldn't trust Oppai Factory. I simply stated something on FB asking if his cages were FDM 3D printed and he responded with a smart ass comment and said something like, "Look at the pics. They obviously are." Then he proceeded to block me. Beware of that clown.

Originally Posted by smog

Every time I think I have gotten past the trxm another thread pops up to pique my interest

Personally I say keep it high. I like your idea to weight the wheels, knuckles or something low. I wonder if there is a wheel or hex to widen the stance?

I believe SBG lost almost all of his suspension travel lowering his. It's likely a shelf queen, but it does look really good.

Look forward to your thread. Shit, now I want one again.

As far as micros and minis go, the TRX-4M is by far the coolest. Like I said elsewhere, the SCX24 is boring in comparison. The only other mini that held my attention for a while was the OG Losi Mini Rock Crawler. The Micro Rock Crawler didn't hold my interest long at all. I think the SCX24 and Losi MiRC were too small to hold my interest. Now building the SCX24 into a Mini Ripper or mini Bomber does look awesome though. And Harley's SCX24 comp videos show how capable you can make those.

I agree this one will stay higher. SBG lost most of the rear shock travel in his build for sure, but he's a scale guy that cares more about looks than he does performance.

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

I wouldn't trust Oppai Factory. I simply stated something on FB asking if his cages were FDM 3D printed and he responded with a smart ass comment and said something like, "Look at the pics. They obviously are." Then he proceeded to block me. Beware of that clown.

I agree this one will stay higher. SBG lost most of the rear shock travel in his build for sure, but he's a scale guy that cares more about looks than he does performance.

Damn, that's shitty of him. I originally purchased the high clearance skid for my tarantula build and the trans wouldn't fit. After talking with the dude I find out that he designed it based on an aluminum gearbox case which apparently has different dimensions than the stock one. I had already made it work by drilling a couple holes in each side of the stock skid to mount the relocation rails that the kit comes with by that point. He offered to print another skid with revised dimensions, but since I already had the project done I ended up getting the complete fcx trans kit that includes the skid, servo mount, servo, horn, and linkage for half price. We'll see how it turns out, but still that's no excuse to be an ass to people (potential customers!).

So one thing I like to do with my high trail is just throw one of those little black rubber band hair ties around each shock to force full droop when I'm doing more hardcore crawling. If I'm trail running I take them off. With 64mm injora tires on treal type d beadlocks there's zero rub even with the rubber bands.

[Gramps]

I think if I was to lower mine I try the shock tower from a Bronco/Defender in the front and in the rear turn the ESC mount 180 degrees which then leans the shocks. I don't like the idea of the fuel tube limiting the shock travel.

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Whats_a_dickfer

Damn, that's shitty of him. I originally purchased the high clearance skid for my tarantula build and the trans wouldn't fit. After talking with the dude I find out that he designed it based on an aluminum gearbox case which apparently has different dimensions than the stock one. I had already made it work by drilling a couple holes in each side of the stock skid to mount the relocation rails that the kit comes with by that point. He offered to print another skid with revised dimensions, but since I already had the project done I ended up getting the complete fcx trans kit that includes the skid, servo mount, servo, horn, and linkage for half price. We'll see how it turns out, but still that's no excuse to be an ass to people (potential customers!).

So one thing I like to do with my high trail is just throw one of those little black rubber band hair ties around each shock to force full droop when I'm doing more hardcore crawling. If I'm trail running I take them off. With 64mm injora tires on treal type d beadlocks there's zero rub even with the rubber bands.

I don't know why he wouldn't design to the stock transmission unless he stated otherwise, but that seems to go along with his tantrum. At least he was willing to stand good for it.

Good idea with the rubber hair tie.

Originally Posted by Gramps

I think if I was to lower mine I try the shock tower from a Bronco/Defender in the front and in the rear turn the ESC mount 180 degrees which then leans the shocks. I don't like the idea of the fuel tube limiting the shock travel.

Taller shock towers will definitely do it.

Using fuel tubing to limit shock travel goes way back. Definitely nothing new and it works.

[JatoTheRipper]

Last night I ordered some Globact brass, AXSPEED wheels and AXSPEED brass wheel rings. Now I am considering new tars. What do you guys suggest for a scale tread tire that is close to the stock High Trail height (62mm / 2.4")? I don't want much shorter and I surely don't want body rub or have to trim.

[Whats_a_dickfer]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Last night I ordered some Globact brass, AXSPEED wheels and AXSPEED brass wheel rings. Now I am considering new tars. What do you guys suggest for a scale tread tire that is close to the stock High Trail height (62mm / 2.4")? I don't want much shorter and I surely don't want body rub or have to trim.

I've been real happy with all the Injora S5 compound tires I've used. The 64mm "rock terrain" hyrax clones are my favorite so far, close second would be the 62mm king trekker.

[JatoTheRipper]

I thought this was an interesting article from Traxxas. It shows how their brass parts affects weight distribution and performance on the TRX-4M.

https://traxxas.com/news/trx-4m-bras...t-distribution

Originally Posted by Whats_a_dickfer

I've been real happy with all the Injora S5 compound tires I've used. The 64mm "rock terrain" hyrax clones are my favorite so far, close second would be the 62mm king trekker.

Good to know. I like the look of those Hyrax clones.

[smog]

It is an interesting article. I was surprised to see the stock trx4m has a minimal but slight rearward weight bias. The article basically sells ya all of the brass bits(assuming that one is looking for the 60-40 forward bias).



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