I think your thinking and reasons behind leaning towards the TRX-4 are good ones. "thumbsup" You definitely seem headed down the right path.
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If you were a newbie with a $500 budget
- Thread starter Bigsteezy
- Start date
I think your thinking and reasons behind leaning towards the TRX-4 are good ones. "thumbsup" You definitely seem headed down the right path.
Id agree if you were getting a basher. the trx-4 is still new and thus has bad parts support. I see guys at the LHS looking for parts all the time, and they never have them.
Most LHS are more likely to have Traxxas parts. Traxxas is in every hobby shop I've ever set foot in. Can't say the same about Axial. Either way it's not a big deal because, as you know, parts are only 2 days away with eBay and Amazon for most of us.
Topher Builds
I wanna be Dave
I’d go for a TRX-4 sport, put $80 aside for a battery and charger (options have been beat to death in another thread today) and use the left over $80-$120 (depending on his truck price) and put that towards a HW1080 and Savox 1230 or promodeler DS360 and drive my happy little big butt off.
Save up for some wheels and tires for your next purchase and upgrade from there based on what obstacles you’re having problems with as you go.
Since I’m so close to where Amain ships from with OnTrac I’ve gotten parts the next day if I order early enough, otherwise they are here two days later. Got another delivery today from an order I put through Monday night.
I always try to support my LHS, there just isn’t much for crawling out here other than this one shop but they sell mostly kits, scale accessories, bodies, and tires. All the others seem to cater towards bashers or air rc.
Save up for some wheels and tires for your next purchase and upgrade from there based on what obstacles you’re having problems with as you go.
Since I’m so close to where Amain ships from with OnTrac I’ve gotten parts the next day if I order early enough, otherwise they are here two days later. Got another delivery today from an order I put through Monday night.
I always try to support my LHS, there just isn’t much for crawling out here other than this one shop but they sell mostly kits, scale accessories, bodies, and tires. All the others seem to cater towards bashers or air rc.
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TRX-4 Sport. 45 tooth spur, smaller pinion. 3000mah 3s batteries off Hobbyking. Pick up two of their inexpensive Turnigy chargers.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-12v-2-3s-basic-balance-charger.html?___store=en_us
Under 6 bucks each.
And a better servo.
I have a trx4 bronco, but knowing what I know now, a Sport would of been fine and less expensive.
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-12v-2-3s-basic-balance-charger.html?___store=en_us
Under 6 bucks each.
And a better servo.
I have a trx4 bronco, but knowing what I know now, a Sport would of been fine and less expensive.
The TRX-4 is having more and more aftermarket parts made for it at a skyrocketing rate - far outpacing the speed at which upgrades for Axials were released.
Some people forget just how old the SCX10 platform is - sure there are loads of hop-ups, but for quite some time they had the crawler market basically cornered.
Traxxas is a behemoth in RC, and more people these days buy online rather than from their LHS (whether that reflects on the quality of their LHS or not is another matter) MOSTLY out of convenience.
The majority of local hobby shops carry loads of Traxxas parts, it's just a matter of their owners gradually populating their shelves with a wider cross-section of support for various models instead of nearly all being for the older Traxxas vehicles.
As fast as the TRX-4 is flying off their shelves, I doubt it's going unnoticed!
I'm not anti-Axial, it's just that if you click on "New Arrivals" at nearly every online RC shop there are countless TRX-4 parts flooding the market.
Buy what strikes your fancy between Axial, Traxxas, and Vaterra for unbeatable aftermarket support.
There's not really anything that you would want to modify that someone doesn't already sell as an upgrade for any of those models.
And even those that are paranoid that the Vaterra Ascender may go away - if it does it will still be a while yet - at least one more version is to be released, and the aftermarket won't immediately stop making parts for it if it does end up discontinued.
(my .02 of a dollar) "thumbsup"
Some people forget just how old the SCX10 platform is - sure there are loads of hop-ups, but for quite some time they had the crawler market basically cornered.
Traxxas is a behemoth in RC, and more people these days buy online rather than from their LHS (whether that reflects on the quality of their LHS or not is another matter) MOSTLY out of convenience.
The majority of local hobby shops carry loads of Traxxas parts, it's just a matter of their owners gradually populating their shelves with a wider cross-section of support for various models instead of nearly all being for the older Traxxas vehicles.
As fast as the TRX-4 is flying off their shelves, I doubt it's going unnoticed!
I'm not anti-Axial, it's just that if you click on "New Arrivals" at nearly every online RC shop there are countless TRX-4 parts flooding the market.
Buy what strikes your fancy between Axial, Traxxas, and Vaterra for unbeatable aftermarket support.
There's not really anything that you would want to modify that someone doesn't already sell as an upgrade for any of those models.
And even those that are paranoid that the Vaterra Ascender may go away - if it does it will still be a while yet - at least one more version is to be released, and the aftermarket won't immediately stop making parts for it if it does end up discontinued.
(my .02 of a dollar) "thumbsup"
zanthrax
Pebble Pounder
Definitely the Honcho. Im not a fan of the deadbolt body but you can't go wrong with an SCX10ii.
The TRX4 is too expensive and complicated for a crawler. + the TRX4 Sport body looks like they copied it from RedCat.
The TRX4 is too expensive and complicated for a crawler. + the TRX4 Sport body looks like they copied it from RedCat.
The TRX4 Sport is $10 more than a Honcho, and is no more complicated than the Honcho except for the portal axles, which most consider a huge plus.
Portals give you a huge advantage in ground clearance without having to run massive tires. But if you choose to run massive tires you still have more ground clearance. Of course, the trade-off is a higher center of gravity. It all depends on what you want from the truck.
Besides the plastic housings and covers, I don't think there's anything in the Traxxas portals that are going to fail. They are well engineered and stout.
TheLetterJ
RCC Addict
With the ability to easily add exactly one metric $4!+-ton of chinesium/brass to the trx4 portals, the high center of gravity can be more than totally offset. Having gear reduction downstream from the diff gears and shafts means that they are under less stress, and therefore, less likely to fail. It also reduces (not totally eliminates) torque twist. The trx4 also starts out with steel links, with the largest rod ends available at this scale (larger than RPM rod ends.) While the motor isn't all the way forward, it's 2/3 of the way there, which gives it a head start in having a forward weight bias.
My cousin-in-law was in this same boat just last month, and after much consideration, we both agreed that the trx4 Sport was the model to get. All business, no b.s. gimmicky parts. Wanting to see how far he could go without putting money into it, we stretched the rear links by putting jato rod ends at one end, ditched the battery tray and receiver box, moved the esc and rx to a piece of lexan attached to the front body mount, made a front battery tray with another piece of lexan and Velcro, flipped the bumper mounts, spaced the sliders up even with the side electronics trays, trimmed the body, took some preload out of the front shocks, and threw on some weighted Redcat Iroks my son had laying around. For $339, he ended up finishing 3rd (of about 20) at his first local competition, 2 weeks after his first time driving a crawler. He has since added 10oz of brass to the front (~$30) and purchased some $15 1500mah 3s batteries that fit perfectly across the front of the frame rails. Promodeler 470 servo and Hobbywing wp1080 ESC are next on the list. He has visions of something halfway between a C2 and 2.2s rig.
I've had quite a few crawlers from many manufacturers, and am far from being a fanboy, and the trx4 sport is the one I'd recommend to someone coming into the hobby. Sure, Wraiths will out crawl it, and my kids E10 and Gen7 have no problem keeping up, but they took a lot of modification to get where they are (and still suffer from ginormous axle housings) the Axials also took A LOT more money to get there. The Ascender has also proven to be rock solid right out of the box, but parts availability locally is non existant (not that it has broken much), and the direct-bolt-on aftermarket has slim pickin's. The SCX10.2 kit does well, but by the time each kit + hop-ups has reached $500, the trx4 gains the performance advantage.
Just my $.02
My cousin-in-law was in this same boat just last month, and after much consideration, we both agreed that the trx4 Sport was the model to get. All business, no b.s. gimmicky parts. Wanting to see how far he could go without putting money into it, we stretched the rear links by putting jato rod ends at one end, ditched the battery tray and receiver box, moved the esc and rx to a piece of lexan attached to the front body mount, made a front battery tray with another piece of lexan and Velcro, flipped the bumper mounts, spaced the sliders up even with the side electronics trays, trimmed the body, took some preload out of the front shocks, and threw on some weighted Redcat Iroks my son had laying around. For $339, he ended up finishing 3rd (of about 20) at his first local competition, 2 weeks after his first time driving a crawler. He has since added 10oz of brass to the front (~$30) and purchased some $15 1500mah 3s batteries that fit perfectly across the front of the frame rails. Promodeler 470 servo and Hobbywing wp1080 ESC are next on the list. He has visions of something halfway between a C2 and 2.2s rig.
I've had quite a few crawlers from many manufacturers, and am far from being a fanboy, and the trx4 sport is the one I'd recommend to someone coming into the hobby. Sure, Wraiths will out crawl it, and my kids E10 and Gen7 have no problem keeping up, but they took a lot of modification to get where they are (and still suffer from ginormous axle housings) the Axials also took A LOT more money to get there. The Ascender has also proven to be rock solid right out of the box, but parts availability locally is non existant (not that it has broken much), and the direct-bolt-on aftermarket has slim pickin's. The SCX10.2 kit does well, but by the time each kit + hop-ups has reached $500, the trx4 gains the performance advantage.
Just my $.02
magic_yeti
RCC Addict
As i searched for a new Ring i was planing to get a scx10 2 Kit. I like kits but then the TRX came out an with 2speed lockable diffs i was sold in it.
So i got a grey defender.
Going back into the hobby they most expensive amount Not calculated where tools.!
Regards charchers i went throu 3 different ones, ending with a d100 V2 and now i'm happy.
I use turnigy lipos from HK and they serve me well for a dicent price. Also there are nice budget options in servos Like powerhd wp 20kg, cause the rtr Steering servo ist way to weak.
So charger servo lipo i would calculated round 160$ Tools round 50$ plus rig.
If your bithday is near give you wife a list with charger and lipos. And geht a TRX.
Send by my Pixel 2 XL with Tapatalk
So i got a grey defender.
Going back into the hobby they most expensive amount Not calculated where tools.!
Regards charchers i went throu 3 different ones, ending with a d100 V2 and now i'm happy.
I use turnigy lipos from HK and they serve me well for a dicent price. Also there are nice budget options in servos Like powerhd wp 20kg, cause the rtr Steering servo ist way to weak.
So charger servo lipo i would calculated round 160$ Tools round 50$ plus rig.
If your bithday is near give you wife a list with charger and lipos. And geht a TRX.
Send by my Pixel 2 XL with Tapatalk
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bigjack7440
Newbie
Im looking also but i think im going to get a kit from RC4WD. I like scale and they seam to be a great co for scale . The scale look is what got me into this and ive been reading and watching 100s of videos . I can help with questions about electronics if you need help . Good luck
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Natedog
I wanna be Dave
Welcome to RCC, I've been having lots of fun with my TF2, great scale truck but requires little more tinkering. Tiny tires and wheels is more challenging and makes us better drivers too. "thumbsup"
the Jeffro
Newbie
Well said Natedog, I don't have a TF2 but have several 10.2s and my favorite is my Class One with the small tires. This is due to what you said in your last sentence. The tiny tires have made me a better driver (plenty room for improvement) because of the challenge that comes with them. IMO tiny tires is the best place for a newbie to start.
UncleJohn
Rock Stacker
While everyone touts one new vehicle over another, I have another solution. Why not buy a used RC crawler? That’s what I did. I found an Axial Deadbolt on Craigslist, met the guy, tested the rig, made him an offer, he accepted and I carted home a running Deadbolt with battery and transmitter in the original box for $150.
I bought the Axial aluminum suspension links kit and installed it.
Later I bought a 45-turn motor so the grandkids couldn’t go too fast. I already had a high-zoot battery charger so I didn’t need one of those. I’m into this thing for around $200.
I’m just saying...
I bought the Axial aluminum suspension links kit and installed it.
Later I bought a 45-turn motor so the grandkids couldn’t go too fast. I already had a high-zoot battery charger so I didn’t need one of those. I’m into this thing for around $200.
I’m just saying...
Thats a steal! I never honestly thought of this but really its not a bad way to go, especially if you can test the rig and have a look at it.
With a 500$ budget you could get a solid platform for around 200$, and then upgrade the crap out of it and have basically the same high quality performance. I wonder if you could even part out a crawler entirely to save money having avoided spending money on a stock rig you will take half the stuff off of anyway.
the Jeffro
Newbie
I agree on the used rigs, my Son and I have 4 to 8 rigs (depends if you count fully together or not) and we have only purchased 1 of those new. Yes occasionally you will get something in less desirable condition but the savings covers it and we have learned who to deal with (locally) too.
In response to OP, I would go with a used 10.1 on the cheap. Sell the axles and replace with AR44s and as mentioned before spend the rest on upgrades and shop supplies.
In response to OP, I would go with a used 10.1 on the cheap. Sell the axles and replace with AR44s and as mentioned before spend the rest on upgrades and shop supplies.
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