Thinking about a TRX-4: a couple of questions

[Foghat]

Hi all,

I am thinking about getting a trx-4. Either the Bronco or the kit.

While I would like to build the unit, I am finding the kit is a bit of a hard sell given it does not come with a body. Not much of a savings on the kit after purchasing a body and paint. Not to mention my painting skills leave a lot to be desired.

At any rate, I digress. I have a few questions:

1. Is there much of a traction advantage in running a smaller 3 cell mounted at the front of the truck? If anyone is running this set up, what pack are you using and what sort of run times are you seeing?

2. When using the 'regular' battery location, what sort of run times are you seeing with a 3cell 4500-5000 mah pack? My searches have turned up anywhere from 45 minutes to around 2 hours...

3. I would think with the comparatively low speeds a crawler sees, the actual breaking of parts must be fairly rare? This said, steering servo aside, are there any upgrades that are recommended right off that help with performance (or even durability)? Brass knuckles and diff cover?

4. Does anyone have experience with the Hota D6 Pro ac/dc charger (same as the Hobbymate D6 Duo pro)? This unit seems to be one heck of a bang for the buck charger.

Thanks!

Edit: So, I now see there is an actual trx-4 sub forum that I should have posted this too. Damn newbies...

[AnimalHippie]

Originally Posted by Foghat

Hi all,

I am thinking about getting a trx-4. Either the Bronco or the kit.

While I would like to build the unit, I am finding the kit is a bit of a hard sell given it does not come with a body. Not much of a savings on the kit after purchasing a body and paint. Not to mention my painting skills leave a lot to be desired.

At any rate, I digress. I have a few questions:

1. Is there much of a traction advantage in running a smaller 3 cell mounted at the front of the truck? If anyone is running this set up, what pack are you using and what sort of run times are you seeing?

2. When using the 'regular' battery location, what sort of run times are you seeing with a 3cell 4500-5000 mah pack? My searches have turned up anywhere from 45 minutes to around 2 hours...

3. I would think with the comparatively low speeds a crawler sees, the actual breaking of parts must be fairly rare? This said, steering servo aside, are there any upgrades that are recommended right off that help with performance (or even durability)? Brass knuckles and diff cover?

4. Does anyone have experience with the Hota D6 Pro ac/dc charger (same as the Hobbymate D6 Duo pro)? This unit seems to be one heck of a bang for the buck charger.

Thanks!

Edit: So, I now see there is an actual trx-4 sub forum that I should have posted this too. Damn newbies...

The TRX-4 is a great rig. I love mine and would buy another or 5 if i could. I don't know about the front battery tray. I have defender. I run a 2650 and a 2200 3s and get 90- 110 mins from a full charge that's crawl time low gear low throttle. Trailing about 45-60 mins high gear and some low gear crawling. If that gives you an idea on run time. I've seen guys run them brushless and beat the crap outta them with no breakage. I have seen a couple guys on here strip portal gears but very rarely. Servo even a $20 power hd is a great upgrade. Have had mine on my rig since day one and it's still kicking. ESC is another great upgrade. Hobbywing 1080p is the way to go in my eyes $40 and you have everything you need in a ESC. Brass axle weight is good, but to much can be bad. I don't know about that charger. I have imax b6 and it's a great charger. Good luck picking out your rig. Kit is nice cause you get to put what ever body you want.

[kincer]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

The TRX-4 is a great rig. I love mine and would buy another or 5 if i could. I don't know about the front battery tray. I have defender. I run a 2650 and a 2200 3s and get 90- 110 mins from a full charge that's crawl time low gear low throttle. Trailing about 45-60 mins high gear and some low gear crawling. If that gives you an idea on run time. I've seen guys run them brushless and beat the crap outta them with no breakage. I have seen a couple guys on here strip portal gears but very rarely. Servo even a $20 power hd is a great upgrade. Have had mine on my rig since day one and it's still kicking. ESC is another great upgrade. Hobbywing 1080p is the way to go in my eyes $40 and you have everything you need in a ESC. Brass axle weight is good, but to much can be bad. I don't know about that charger. I have imax b6 and it's a great charger. Good luck picking out your rig. Kit is nice cause you get to put what ever body you want.

Exact same recommendations I was gonna give!

[Foghat]

Originally Posted by AnimalHippie

The TRX-4 is a great rig. I love mine and would buy another or 5 if i could. I don't know about the front battery tray. I have defender. I run a 2650 and a 2200 3s and get 90- 110 mins from a full charge that's crawl time low gear low throttle. Trailing about 45-60 mins high gear and some low gear crawling. If that gives you an idea on run time. I've seen guys run them brushless and beat the crap outta them with no breakage. I have seen a couple guys on here strip portal gears but very rarely. Servo even a $20 power hd is a great upgrade. Have had mine on my rig since day one and it's still kicking. ESC is another great upgrade. Hobbywing 1080p is the way to go in my eyes $40 and you have everything you need in a ESC. Brass axle weight is good, but to much can be bad. I don't know about that charger. I have imax b6 and it's a great charger. Good luck picking out your rig. Kit is nice cause you get to put what ever body you want.

Thanks for the tips/insight.

Do you find the stock esc is lacking? Is the cruise control a funtion of the esc? If so, does the 1080p support it? Not really sure if CC is something I'd actually use, I guess it depends on the scenario.

I do like the idea of a kit, but I love the way the bronco looks. And I do like the way there is a light kit specific to the bronco. Though it would be nice to have something a little more unique.

The Traxxas site is showing the Bronco body to be $227.18 CAD. What is up with that? At that price, buying the Bronco rtr is a no brainer.

[kincer]

The bec in the stock esc sucks lol, cruise is gimmicky, used it once then went with my hacked flysky for a radio and sold the stocker. Bodies can be found on ebay much cheaper.

[olafk]

I just finished building the TRX4 kit.
Apart from the fun building it, you also learn allot about the model.

Another point, one i had to find out the hard way, is that the kit has a different wheelbase than the other TRX4 versions. Namely 12.3" instead of the 12.8".
Thus giving you more choice in available bodies.

There is a short to long conversion kit available though.
https://traxxas.com/products/parts/8057


12.8" WB = TRX4 Defender & ----------- & Tactical

12.3" WB = TRX4 Kit & TRX4 Sport & Bronco

[Foghat]

Originally Posted by olafk

I just finished building the TRX4 kit.
Apart from the fun building it, you also learn allot about the model.

Another point, one i had to find out the hard way, is that the kit has a different wheelbase than the other TRX4 versions. Namely 12.3" instead of the 12.8".
Thus giving you more choice in available bodies.

There is a short to long conversion kit available though.
https://traxxas.com/products/parts/8057


12.8" WB = TRX4 Defender & Bronco & Tactical

12.3" WB = TRX4 Kit & TRX4 Sport

Thanks for the insight. The Bronco is 12.3 as well. That is the RTR I'd get.

[AnimalHippie]

If you keep the stock remote you can use the throttle trim knob for cruise control. I'm not big of it, but it's there. I don't do very much trailing. Mostly crawling up the most difficult stuff i can find. But stock ESC and steering servo would be the first thing to switch. I put a 1080 before i ran my rig. Had it on 6v and smoked the stock servo in about 5 mins. Power hd 20k has been a great servo for cheap. Good luck!

[Browneye]

I got this charger early on on recommendation of my LHS - it's been outstanding. Have turned a lot of other crawlers on them as well...

IMO 3S power in a 5K mah size is they way to go. Buy once.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/KXSC100...11980000375744

[olafk]

Originally Posted by Foghat

Thanks for the insight. The Bronco is 12.3 as well. That is the RTR I'd get.

it is indeed, my bad.
So actually only 2 of the 5 are 12.8"

[Browneye]

CC is a joke - ya gotta steer anyway. LOL
TRX is full of gimmicks and gadgets. Some people like that. Get one. Go have fun. Lather, rinse, repeat...

[kincer]

Originally Posted by Browneye

CC is a joke - ya gotta steer anyway. LOL
TRX is full of gimmicks and gadgets. Some people like that. Get one. Go have fun. Lather, rinse, repeat...

I used cruise once, like you said gotta steer anyway. Ditched that radio after two runs and went hacked Flysky.

[Browneye]

Checkout the BigWorm thread...he just went thru all this.
HobbyWing HW1080 speed control is just dabomb. The TRX does pretty well right out of the box. Run it, break it, fix it, upgrade. The steering servo is pretty weak, and the rig is pretty heavy. At least the Defender is - I don't have any experience with the Bronco - but it gets good reviews.

As far as RTR or kit - I think a RTR makes sense for a first rig. It gets you going without delay - it's all about having some fun running your truck. Join a group, club, or local events, or find other enthusiasts - it's more fun chasing other rigs.

In the past year I got 2 RTR and 3 kits. Building is a way to really get to understand them. It takes all the mystery away and easy to see where improvements can be made, and what others are getting at when they talk about upgrades.

It can be an expensive hobby...no matter how you do it.

[Foghat]

Originally Posted by Browneye

Checkout the BigWorm thread...he just went thru all this.
HobbyWing HW1080 speed control is just dabomb. The TRX does pretty well right out of the box. Run it, break it, fix it, upgrade. The steering servo is pretty weak, and the rig is pretty heavy. At least the Defender is - I don't have any experience with the Bronco - but it gets good reviews.

As far as RTR or kit - I think a RTR makes sense for a first rig. It gets you going without delay - it's all about having some fun running your truck. Join a group, club, or local events, or find other enthusiasts - it's more fun chasing other rigs.

In the past year I got 2 RTR and 3 kits. Building is a way to really get to understand them. It takes all the mystery away and easy to see where improvements can be made, and what others are getting at when they talk about upgrades.

It can be an expensive hobby...no matter how you do it.

Thanks.

I like the idea of building the kit, but there is really no savings there with having to buy a body. In fact, if you get the kit and then buy the bronco body with all the trim that is included in the RTR, it is more expensive than buying the RTR Bronco to begin with.

Not sure about that pricing strategy. Wish you had a choice of bronco rtr or bronco kit - even at the same price.

[Browneye]

Originally Posted by Foghat

Thanks.

I like the idea of building the kit, but there is really no savings there with having to buy a body. In fact, if you get the kit and then buy the bronco body with all the trim that is included in the RTR, it is more expensive than buying the RTR Bronco to begin with.

Not sure about that pricing strategy. Wish you had a choice of bronco rtr or bronco kit - even at the same price.

I'm not really familiar with what's in the kit vs rtr from traxxas - I'm a Vaterra and Axial guy. But being able to choose electronics is a plus, and if you're not wanting the Bronco then it's another plus. If none of that is applicable to you then RTR may well be the way to go.



Surely some here that know both can comment. For most builder kits you have to buy the radio receiver, motor, speed controller, and servo. For the trx the body too. Usually they don't come with a transmitter either so you get to choose a better one, but I think the trx kit comes with everything so it may well be moot.



Anyway, I would suggest the RTR for you regardless. For other kits there are also better chassis components with the kits, but not for traxxas either. Besides, with a rtr you install batteries and go play. Crawling is a blast.


Then with some time under your belt you can plan your next rig - whatever that may be. Crawlers are like tattoos - once you get ONE you gotta have more.

[Foghat]

Originally Posted by Browneye

I'm not really familiar with what's in the kit vs rtr from traxxas - I'm a Vaterra and Axial guy. But being able to choose electronics is a plus, and if you're not wanting the Bronco then it's another plus. If none of that is applicable to you then RTR may well be the way to go.



Surely some here that know both can comment. For most builder kits you have to buy the radio receiver, motor, speed controller, and servo. For the trx the body too. Usually they don't come with a transmitter either so you get to choose a better one, but I think the trx kit comes with everything so it may well be moot.



Anyway, I would suggest the RTR for you regardless. For other kits there are also better chassis components with the kits, but not for traxxas either. Besides, with a rtr you install batteries and go play. Crawling is a blast.


Then with some time under your belt you can plan your next rig - whatever that may be. Crawlers are like tattoos - once you get ONE you gotta have more.

Ya. I'm pretty familiar with RC in general. Have owned a number of kits over the years and also an RTR or two. Though this would be my first crawler.

As you note, the trx-4 kit is not your 'standard' kit. I believe due to the fact the trx-4 is a 4 channel vehicle, the radio is included. As is the motor and esc and servos. The only difference between the kit and RTR Bronco is 1) you build it yourself. 2) you gotta find a body.

RTR bronco is probably the way I will go.

[Inspector86]

I have 5 TRX4s now. The #1 chassis was an RTR Defender the other 4 were actually assembled from parts off ebay not kits. If you watch ebay you occasionally see rolling chassis for sale in the $250 range. Building a truck this way is not for the first timer though since it requires some familiarity with the chassis because you do not have a sheet of instructions to follow. Go to ebay and search TRX-4.

[BroncoAZ]

Originally Posted by Browneye

I got this charger early on on recommendation of my LHS - it's been outstanding. Have turned a lot of other crawlers on them as well...

IMO 3S power in a 5K mah size is they way to go. Buy once.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/KXSC100...11980000375744

I’ve got the same charger, no issues in the 3 years I’ve been using it. I purchased a Teaxxas Stampede for a friend of mine’s kids and got him that charger too.

[durok]

Originally Posted by Inspector86

I have 5 TRX4s now. The #1 chassis was an RTR Defender the other 4 were actually assembled from parts off ebay not kits. If you watch ebay you occasionally see rolling chassis for sale in the $250 range. Building a truck this way is not for the first timer though since it requires some familiarity with the chassis because you do not have a sheet of instructions to follow. Go to ebay and search TRX-4.

And you can always go to Traxxas.com to access instructions - here's the instructions for building the kit version of the TRX-4:

https://traxxas.com/sites/default/fi...-OM-EN-R03.pdf

[Foghat]

Hi all,

I am necroing a thread I started a little more than a year ago. One year later and I am finally about to pull the trigger on a TRX-4 Kit w/bronco body. Talk about taking my sweet time.

I haven't really been following crawler going-ons over the past year (I know about the trx6) and I wanted to check back in and see if everyone thinks the trx-4 is still a great way to go.

I suspect it is, but has anything else come on the market that has equivalent features of the trx that that could be worth looking at?

I would also appreciate any specific info on:

1. lipo battery recommendations (size, brand). I've used SMC in the past - they have a 3S 2500 mah and a 3s 4000 mah (that they are particularly marketing as a crawler pack).

Are more and more starting to run smaller packs for better climbing performance or are big, long run-time, packs still in favor. A combination of both, I imagine.

2. steering servo upgrades.

I am going to go with the hobbywing 1080 esc right from the get go.