1/10 Scale Trail Truck Suggestions Please

[HDMM]

Just buy the Trail Honco and don't worry about what "might" go on it. The only AE 2 I've ever seen go out was due to a bad motor. About the only thing I would consider upgrading soon would be the plastic suspension / steering links.

Buy it , run it and have fun! "thumbsup"

 

[Mongol Pete]

Thanks again for your thoughts everyone.

Almost everything I read and watch seems to favor the TRX-4, so I'm going to hold off on the Honcho for a bit. It would be nice to get the TRX-4 kit and find a Honcho-style body that fits it. Or, a Jeep Comanche pickup. That has always been a look I really like.

-MP

 

[Mongol Pete]

Thanks again for all of your replies. I am now down to two. I will either get an SCX10.2 kit or a Vaterra Ascender kit. As of today, I am learning towards Vaterra. The number one factor I am looking for is DURABILITY. I need whichever truck is LEAST likely to leave me waiting for parts because I wait at least 2 weeks for anything to get to me.

Cheers,
MP

 

[MrBlank]

Thanks again for all of your replies. I am now down to two. I will either get an SCX10.2 kit or a Vaterra Ascender kit. As of today, I am learning towards Vaterra. The number one factor I am looking for is DURABILITY. I need whichever truck is LEAST likely to leave me waiting for parts because I wait at least 2 weeks for anything to get to me.

Cheers,
MP

I would go with the Ascender - I picked up the Blazer kit at Christmas and have been quite hard on it most weekends since completing the build, and yet to have anything break.

Eventually things are going to wear out no matter what you pick. I would figure out which parts are most likely to break on whatever you buy, then purchase either extras or upgrades so that you are ready to go in advance.

 

[Mongol Pete]

Good call Mr Blank,

Any parts you or maybe some other Ascender owners would recommend I buy for spares?

Thanks again,
MP

 

[MrBlank]

I would start by purchasing two of whatever servo you get. One will be a backup. The cheap JX, Power HD, etc servos have worked quite well for myself and others, and at the price, you can easily buy 2.

I have yet to break anything on my Ascender, but I've only had it a couple of months. I am sure you will get better advice from other posters, but I will tell you what I know.

I would make sure you have extra 3mm bolts as the kit does not come with spares - occasionally they can back out and get lost, I have found this occasionally happens even with lock tight.

Use the included diff. Shims as needed - I needed one on each side in my front axle and both on one side in the rear. If shimmed properly you shouldn't have any issues. I believe the ring and pinion used to be a weak point, but that the kits now come with the HD version, although I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

I have seen some people bend the links, but those are easy to make yourself.

There is a lot of information in the Ascender forum where I'm sure you could find everything you will need to know. Read "things to know before you start building your Ascender", as well as Natedog and CodyBoy's build threads and various posts.

 

[BAMA JAMA]

I have a Honcho 2 I bought in Jan. I do trails and light crawling and love it. I did do a few mods. CV axles, Samix high links and steering links (good investment), Ebay bumper with Scalerfab bumper lift plates, and some of the mods Harley and Matt has on their budget build offs. I like doing mods and have more to come..

 

[smokee]

I bought 2 axial bombers RTR for my kids and they have been great. They climb and crawl almost anything. Had to replace steering servos on both pretty quickly. But other than that they are holding up great. The bomber isn't terribly fast but its a blast on the trails.

 

[Capt J-rod]

I have the ascender F100 and have zero complaints. So far I added a bumper, light bar, wheels, tires, and stretched it to a longer wheel base. The Axial Jeep Wrangler 4 door is an excellent RTR kit as well. We run ascenders and scx10ii side by side at the LHS. They are so close in performance that we consider them a wash. The legendary torque twist is part of life with the ascender, but I don't see it as huge of a deal as people make it out to be. I've never been left on the course due to torque twist while the axials fly by lol. The big difference is in the aftermarket and mods. There are 100x more parts and accessories for the axials. I made changes to the ascender for looks more than performance. The frame stretch was the biggest performance mod. The factory servo in the ascender wobbles and sucks. It hasn't died and I am running it until it dies. You won't go wrong with either rig. I honestly think that the break downs happen after people start adding taller tires, bigger motors, and beating the S$%^t out of their rig. We crawl over some pretty amazing stuff and I have yet to see one break. Most of the rigs are pretty stock. As out of the box ascender blazer, or axial jeep Cherokee or wrangler 4 door can run the course. Good luck on your search. As far as spare parts... A different servo and some spare servo horns would be a good purchase.

 

[Mongol Pete]

Well boys and (not) girls,

The hunt is over. I just ordered the K5 Ascender kit. When I saw that price cut it was a done deal. Also, Horizon was kind enough to offer me an additional 20% off since the BOOrrage kit we got has been a LEMON.

All told, I got it for $199.99, which seems like a smoking deal. Now I get to shop for electrics and decide if I'm going to run that Blazer body, or keep it and sell it later since it is now a discontinued item.

I look forward to building the first Vaterra Ascender (1st Vaterra anything) in Mongolia.

-MP

 

[redsawacs]

Doesn't appear that anything new has appeared in the crailer/trail scene since I have been gone in the last 4 years with the exception of Traxxas adding their TRX-4.

Either this arm of the hobby is petering out or everyone is about to drop new kits.

I sure hope Horizon hasn't kept everyone from designing new stuff....

 

[StomperCrawler]

Doesn't appear that anything new has appeared in the crailer/trail scene since I have been gone in the last 4 years with the exception of Traxxas adding their TRX-4.

Either this arm of the hobby is petering out or everyone is about to drop new kits.

I sure hope Horizon hasn't kept everyone from designing new stuff....

Actually, there are several new options; check out my post here:
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/newb...noob-questions-before-buying.html#post5815464

 

[svt923]

Doesn't appear that anything new has appeared in the crailer/trail scene since I have been gone in the last 4 years with the exception of Traxxas adding their TRX-4.

SCX10 II came out 2 years ago. MST released the CFX and CFX-W around the same time.

HPI Venture came out about a year ago.

ECX, Redcat, and Carisima came out with new trucks for the lower cost side of the market. Associated is releasing a entry level truck soon.

Vanquish's first kit is hitting the market in about a month. GCM released the Cmax which is a new level of scale chassis.

I may be forgetting something but plenty of action on the scale in the last 2 years alone.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The TRX-4 is the most fun trail truck out there right now, period.

If you have, indeed, narrowed your choice down to the Ascender and SCX10 II and want the most durable you did well by choosing the Ascender.

 

[durok]

Doesn't appear that anything new has appeared in the crailer/trail scene since I have been gone in the last 4 years with the exception of Traxxas adding their TRX-4.

Either this arm of the hobby is petering out or everyone is about to drop new kits.

I sure hope Horizon hasn't kept everyone from designing new stuff....

Axial Bomber, GMade GOM, Team Losi Rock Rey, and the Vaterra Ascender '72 Chevy K10 & '68 Ford F100... All have been released during the last 3 years approximately.

 

[redsawacs]

Axial Bomber, GMade GOM, Team Losi Rock Rey, and the Vaterra Ascender '72 Chevy K10 & '68 Ford F100... All have been released during the last 3 years approximately.

Those were all out when I left the hobby...maybe it has only been 3 years but, those were already on the market.

Everyone has copied the Axial SCX-10 chassis....no new innovation except the version 2 chassis. When happens to incorporate from factory all the mods needed on a stock scx-10

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Those were all out when I left the hobby...maybe it has only been 3 years but, those were already on the market.

Everyone has copied the Axial SCX-10 chassis....no new innovation except the version 2 chassis. When happens to incorporate from factory all the mods needed on a stock scx-10

Not all of those vehicles were around 3 years ago.

The SCX10 started it, but they aren't the only company that innovated. If not for the small axles of the Vaterra Ascender we probably wouldn't have an SCX10 II. The Ascender has plenty of other innovations as well.

 

[redsawacs]

Funny you say that because the guy that designed the SCX10 left Axial and went to work for Horizon....he helped design the Ascender.

As you already know, we were building and missing the SCX10 with the exact same mods the v2 has incorporated. Because the Axial team is so incolved with the Recon G6 events and Axial fest, they took what mods we were doing and made the v2.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Funny you say that because the guy that designed the SCX10 left Axial and went to work for Horizon....he helped design the Ascender.

As you already know, we were building and missing the SCX10 with the exact same mods the v2 has incorporated. Because the Axial team is so incolved with the Recon G6 events and Axial fest, they took what mods we were doing and made the v2.

Who left Axial and went to Horizon?

 

[CT Yankee]

Who left Axial and went to Horizon?

Doesn't really matter at this point since Horizon now owns Axial :lmao: