Which one to get

[racinghammer]

hi all first post cant decide which one to get axial jc crc or traxxas trx4 whats you opinion good or bad

[Motorider]

Welcome to the best place on the planet for everything rc crawler related. This is a popular question amount newcomers. I would say there are a few factors you should look at. First is parts availability at your local hobby shop. Axial is just recovering from a thing and parts are just not finding their way back onto shelves. Second is price. A trx4 is $449 ready to run. The scx10ii kit is $349 and the ready to run will cost you $409. Black Friday is just around the corner and I bet you either rpphobby or amain hobbies will have 15-20% off site wide. Last thing to consider is performance.

Performance is a very subjective thing to many. You will get several opinions here on what is the best bang for your buck. Budget will determine many things in your venture. My recommendation is the scx10ii kit. You can pick up a used tactic ttx300 tx/rx for about 30 used all day long. You can always upgrade or buy the one that fits your budget. I would put a castle mamba x speed control in and buy a quality brushless motor. Holmes hobbies makes great motors. I would go with the puller pro 2700kv water proof. Now for the servo. This one is tough. My recommendation is the Holmes hobbies shv500v2 or the Savoy 2290 black.

While these electronics are expensive, they will quickly need upgraded from stock on most rtr vehicles. Almost all rtr servos are junk. You Will want more power than most rtr rigs have stock.

So performance....with the addition of just a set of brass knuckles, light headlock wheels and better tires (maybe hyrax 4.75") and some beef patties, the 10ii will run circles around the trx4. Also you will need to upgrade the lockers in the axles and the rod ends on the links due to the slop they will get.

Right now I have both, although my 10ii is being converted to a toyzuki v2. Don't get me wrong, the trx4 performs good out of the box with just a change of servo and body. However I do not feel it can keep up with the 10ii.

Remember that any Weight not added at the knuckles is hurting performance. The lighter the rig is the better.

If you have kids, remember that the kit is good bonding time with them. My 7 yo daughter built her scx10ii kit.

Sorry for the book. Post your questions here and keep everything in one place.

Good luck.


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[DukeMinnix]

may I suggest a third option, and RPP has it on sale right now, the Vaterra Ascender. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have made that my first purchase. The Ascender section on here is one of the most helpful with a great group of guys giving input and advice. You don't really need to upgrade anything on the RTR version, with the exception of maybe a good beadlock and tire.

[durok]

I picked up the Vaterra Ascender '72 Chevy and have been enjoying the heck out of it completely stock...

They just released the '68 Ford "BND" version that only requires a transmitter for $60 less (it comes with LED lights pre-installed):

[ElChupacabra]

Also Axial and Traxxas don't allow manufacturer coupons or discounts so the odds of them being on sale for Black Friday are low to zero....

[danzig rules 77]

i got both think there both great trx4 u can swicth diff on the fly pretty cool.U b happy with both i was.

got the assender to its a great truck also

[Col_Sanders]

For general trailing, my current favorite is my TRX-4. For serious comp style action, my 10.2 is better but it has over double the $$ invested and there isn't much Axial stuff on it. My TRX-4 has not had a lot of mods done to it but it does very good. Better than my "trail" 10.2, which also has a good bit of $$ spent on it.

The TRX-4 is bigger, heavier, and more complicated than the Vaterra or SCX10.2. It has more moving parts and more electronics, but its probably the most fun to drive. The locking and unlocking diffs make things interesting. The driveline has shown to be durable. The chassis layout and features are nice. Ditch the huge heavy body and bumpers, add a little weight to the front (brass portal covers) and you have an excellent performing truck.

The Ascender is a good truck out of the box. The driveline is pretty durable and the chassis is nice. There are just things that I didn't like about it design wise so I sold it.

Out of the box, the SCX10.2 is the better performer of the 3 IMO. Aftermarket for it is much stronger than Ascender (and currently the TRX-4, but that will probably change). Axial kinda cheaps out on some parts, but it looks like they are at least including steel trans gears in the new Jeep that is coming out so that is one weak link that will be fixed.

[Teng]

Performance rig SCX10 and Ascender. Trail Truck TRX-4


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[Hondarider94]

Originally Posted by durok

I picked up the Vaterra Ascender '72 Chevy and have been enjoying the heck out of it completely stock...

They just released the '68 Ford "BND" version that only requires a transmitter for $60 less (it comes with LED lights pre-installed):

are parts fairly easy to get for this? replacement and upgrades? my lhs just recently downsized and hardly stock any parts anymore. looking to get back into the hobby. The Traxxas looks sweet - used to have a summit, but a bit salty expensive. i want something that i could possibly compete with.

[durok]

Horizon Hobbies owns Vaterra - they are a very large company that owns Losi, ECX, Dynamite, Spektrum, etc.

SSD, Vanquish, RC4WD and others make aftermarket parts, among others.

Traxxas stuff is more widely available, but the TRX-4 is the only trail rig / crawler they make and it's much newer than the Vaterra Ascender.

[Jim85IROC]

If local parts availability is a big concern for you, then let your decision ride on what your local hobby shop(s) have available. For me, that's not a concern, because parts are only 2 days away via Ebay, and thanks to the bankers hours that my LHS keeps, my ability to get to it is usually much greater than 2 days anyway.

Plus, any time I break something, I generally try to replace it with a higher quality aftermarket part, so local availability is usually even less of a concern for me.

[durok]

Yep, I gotta say I crack up every time my LHS says first off that they never heard of the company (SSD, really?) And then says that they can order it for me. No, thanks... I'll be ordering it myself to avoid the hassle of driving back out to them. They always have attitude, too. At 53 yrs of age, I don't need the aggravation!

[Jim85IROC]

my hobby shop is a 2-man operation and they're great to deal with, but he never seems to have the stock replacement part I need even if I do manage to get there when he's open.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by DukeMinnix

may I suggest a third option, and RPP has it on sale right now, the Vaterra Ascender. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have made that my first purchase. The Ascender section on here is one of the most helpful with a great group of guys giving input and advice. You don't really need to upgrade anything on the RTR version, with the exception of maybe a good beadlock and tire.

X2, it's a fairly simple truck that works very well, quality plastics, tight tolerances and needs very little mods out of the box to be comp ready. After couple years, I've broken nothing on any of my Ascenders, I have however upgraded and modded a few things. Steering servo is usable for a little bit, but should be replaced as soon as funds allow.

Originally Posted by durok

I picked up the Vaterra Ascender '72 Chevy and have been enjoying the heck out of it completely stock...

They just released the '68 Ford "BND" version that only requires a transmitter for $60 less (it comes with LED lights pre-installed):

That's a sweet new body and complete with LEDs, BND is a great deal, plus Horizon is doing $30 off Ascenders during November!

Love my TRX-4, it's also a well engineered truck with high quality plastic and tight tolerances. It's not quite as comp ready out of the box, but is quite capable. If you keep the stock Landy body, you'll need knuckle weights/portal covers to offset it's high COG, or swap the body and still add some weight down low. RTR steering servo is the weakest of the bunch and must be replaced, difflock and shift servos have a weak plastic gearset and can be a little finicky with adjustment. Hopefully Traxxas comes out with metal gear set for this servo, my shift servo ate the gears after couple months, Traxxas sent me free replacement set (they are only $4) and I have BlueBird high torque, metal gear, sub-micro servos waiting to go in.

Read around the forum, the stickies for each section and check out a few builds, ask more questions as needed and we'll try to help.