First Trail Truck Decision

[Gruder]

Hello everyone, Like to take a minute and say hello. I am a long time RC enthusiast, mainly on road, and off road monster trucks. I am currently entertaining the idea of getting a new trail running truck, and was wondering if some of you guys can help me narrow down my decision. I have the field narrowed down to 3 trucks that I like.

The 3 trucks that I am looking at are as follows.

1. Redcat Racing Gen8 Scout II.
2. Traxxas TRX4 Defender.
3 RC4WD trail finder Marlin edition.

Most important things to me are dependability, ability (preforms well out of the box), with the exception of stock electronics as I will put my receiver in what ever I end up going with. Or is there something else I should be looking at.

Thank you in advance for any help and guidance.

Bryan

[durok]

The TRX-4 is the best engineered one of those 3 - very well-rounded in performance, durability, and scale looks.

And it's easier to find replacement and/or upgrade parts for, as well.

I'd most definitely pick it over the others.

A new servo would be my first purchase - no matter what you go with!

Oh - and I do have one... and love it.

[meatmonkey]

For all out durability go for the Traxxas. The only real weak links are the electronics. They are certainly performers as well. Keep in mind the accessory laden land rover body is kinda heavy and contributes to a higher COG=more rollovers.

I have two and mechanically they've been bombproof. Very well designed, definitely unlike any prior traxxas.

[Bob_in az]

In order -

1. TRX4
2. Gen8
3. RC4WD

I love my Gen8 & I haven't broken anything after months of hard use, but the Trx4 seems to be the best available in terms of durability & all around performance. If you have the funds, go with the Trx4.

[mewalsh100]

I'd 4th the TRX-4 decision. Excellent capability straight outta the box, tons of aftermarket, readily available parts, durability, and very well engineered.

[CarlC]

I have recently finished a trx-4 sport kit build, I cannot fault it, great first crawler for me.

[aqualungs]

Originally Posted by CarlC

I have recently finished a trx-4 sport kit build, I cannot fault it, great first crawler for me.

Same here. And wanting another lol


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[dirtman71]

Have you given any thought to the enduro element?
I am just finishing a scx10.2 build. I looked deep into the trx4 element and scx10.2. The trx4 was a tank. I liked the sport better. No 2 speed or diff lock. It’s a rock crawler no need for high speed imo.
The element looked great. Simple design and everything felt quality it was my #1 choice. Watched a lot of vids and it crawls just as good if not better than the trx4 out of the box

I went with the scx10.2 because all my other crawlers are axial and had a lot of upgraded parts on my scx10 I planed to transfer to the 10.2. Plus the scx10.2 was on sale for $170

Part of me wishes now that I got the element enduro instead

[Mudsplat79]

I have both a Gen 8 Scout and a TRX4 and I can tell you the quality and durability of the TRX4 is much better. That said, the Scout is still a very reliable and capable rig and is my go to when I go crawling.

Also if you want a trail truck you may want to spend more and get a TRX4 Defender/Blazer/Bronco as they have two speeds. A higher speed for faster driving, and a crawling speed for tackling more difficult terrain.

[MaxxRPM]

Agree with most. TRX-4 is extremely tough, durable, and capable. The Scout is almost as good as the TRX-4 and imo, looks better than the Defender...…….You would be the envy of all mankind if you got the Scout, TRX-4 Blazer AND Bronco, and that new Axial 56 Ford truck...…...OK, maybe not all mankind but that would sure grace your favorite shelf in your favorite room......lol.

[Greatscott]

I have to give a nod to the TRX4 as well. As stated, the weak point are its ESC and servo. It you get a 300oz+ servo, backed up by Traxxas' BEC, it pretty much should be solid. The ESC itself is pretty good once you get around the 1 amp internal BEC, and once the servo is no longer being powered off of it, it is reliable. The Traxxas external BEC is not the most cost effective or powerful option out there, but it is the simplest to install, being plug-n-play with the rest of the Traxxas electronics.

I don't know that much about Redcat, other than the guys that run them locally like them. Their one chief complaint is parts support is sketchy.

RC4WD makes very scale looking rigs, but sadly, that is the best I can say about them. To get a Marlin or TF2 reliable you basically have to throw money at it until it stops breaking. To get any real performance out of them you'll need to dig a lot deeper.

[Mr. Bignut]

Hi, first post. I'm a total Noob as it has been 28 years since I've ran anything RC. Keep that in mind when reading .
I have been running a Gen 8 just about every day for 6 weeks. I live on 5 acres with a diverse environment including a brook. Lots of different weather too. So far nothing broken but I did change receiver (which you have) and servo; now better throttle control and better turning radius. Greased the axles and diffs too. I love it. That said I just bought a TRX-4 Defender Adventure Edition .
Holy cow! It is beautiful. Adventure body is great. My batteries don't get here until tomorrow... . So not having run it my observations are limited. I have been comparing build quality and have high marks for both. Alas I also have faults with both. So far it is a tie IMO.
I'll let you know how the Traxxas goes tomorrow if you want. So far I'm excited about 2 speeds and diff locks as I have been trailing and crawling.
Gen 8: $299.99 (Hmm, got a little money to spend on it)
TRX-4 Adventure: $499.99 (Ouch)

[Gruder]

Everyone, Thank you for your thoughts and opinions and information on the models, it is much apprieaciated.

Dirtman, Thank you for pointing out an additional option, I will have to dig into that option a bit.

Mr. Bignut, Yes please report back with your thoughts and opinions, once you get to drive the TRX-4.

Looks like strong support for TRX-4.

[brownsound]

for my next rig it will have to be a TRX-4 - high + low gear and 3 diff lockers. pretty gnarly

[Mr. Bignut]

Sorry you haven't heard from me Gruder. No batteries yet. I think I'm in the process of a lesson lol. I ordered them from some Chinese guys out of Staten Island on eBay. They list the item as being in Staten Island so living in Pennsy I was hoping they would get here fast via ground transport. Wrong. The batteries ship from California and mine are now lost somewhere in the Midwest. I love UPS as they say "We've incorrectly sorted this package which may cause a delay" lol. My bad, never should've trusted the eBay vendor. Oh well.

[Daycrawler]

Chalk up another for the TRX4. The performace is amazing. I ran mine off of a boulder over 6 ft high today. It landed on more boulders. The only damage was to the aftermarket steel front bumper. Nothing else was damaged.


IMO you will not regret the TRX4!

[Inspector86]

Another TRX4 vote! I bought my first TRX4 over two and a half years ago and it easily has over 1500 hours of run time on the chassis with only minor breakages namely the pan hard mount. I currently have five TRX4s. Electronics are an issue specifically the steering servo but despite what some say the shift servos have been trouble free in my rigs. My favorite ESC/motor setup is the HW 1080 and HH Crawlmaster 550 Pro 12t.

[Mr. Bignut]

So I finally got batteries (lost by UPS). I have just been running both the Gen 8 and TRX-4 in the same conditions. I gotta admit the TRX-4 is more fun. I'm running stock but for the wheels and tires. Changed to softer tires for the winter.
I've been running in 2-3 inches of fresh powder snow, a brook (I was very careful not to submarine) and the mountain out back. Both performed well enough it is just that the Traxxas with all the gadgets is more involving and fun to operate. It is also faster... much faster than the Redcat. The TRX-4 also comes with a better controller and receiver IMO. I changed my Redcat radio and receiver for slower action and crawling. Out of the box the Redcat was very jerky when trying to go slow.

[Gruder]

All,

Thank you for all of the suggestions, I picked up a trx-4 sport kit today. Looking forward to building this kit.


Thank you again for all of the suggestions.

Bryan

[durok]

Originally Posted by Gruder

All,

Thank you for all of the suggestions, I picked up a trx-4 sport kit today. Looking forward to building this kit.


Thank you again for all of the suggestions.

Bryan

Awesome - congrats, and enjoy!