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New enduro coming?

I was literally about to buy a straight axle chassis kit, like the trail king or GMade GS02, and run smaller tires to give me something a different than my TRX4. This is pretty damn close to what I wanted to build and the IFS was on my radar as well.
 
This is the best body of the three by far! I'm still deciding if I'm gonna use the Trailwalker body, I keep looking at it and it's just not growing on me.
 
Another one who wishes he would have waited as I just purchased the Trailwalker. Learn a lot of things about the hobby today, and I appreciate what Element is doing for the hobby. Did not realize the marketing to all the youtube folks was going on, but its marketing at is best as we see by all the videos on today. Going to sit by and watch this one for awhile before jumping.
 
I was thinking about this and I personally think marketing at Element made an odd choice releasing the IFS kit first and then the IFS RTR afterwards.

I know they could have suckered more people into the RTR, and made more money as a result, if they released that first and people were unaware that the IFS kit was going to be sold separately. Releasing the IFS kit first was good for consumers though IMO.


This is the best body of the three by far! I'm still deciding if I'm gonna use the Trailwalker body, I keep looking at it and it's just not growing on me.

The wheel wells on the Trailwalker are very short. It reminds me of the cars from the 50's that had fender skirts or something like that Nash Metropolitan (below) that had built-in fender skirts. Very odd on a truck body. If not for that, I think the Trailwalker would be a pretty nice body.

58-Nash_Metropolitan_Coupe-DV_08_RMM-01.jpg
 
So, I took my Ascender to my favourite local crawl spot, and was thinking about this truck, and how it would do on the terrain. I’m pretty sure I’d have a lot of fun with this Trail Runner. My Ascender conquers almost anything, and makes much of the trail a walk in the park, though it does have to fight hard on the tougher sections, especially if it is wet. The Trail Runner would not be able to do the tougher obstacles, but it would make much of the trail sections that the Ascender just walks through more interesting and challenging.

Does anybody know about the gearing / speed of this truck? If the only thing that is different from the Sendero is the tire size, it would be slower. Is that the case?


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So, I took my Ascender to my favourite local crawl spot, and was thinking about this truck, and how it would do on the terrain. I’m pretty sure I’d have a lot of fun with this Trail Runner. My Ascender conquers almost anything, and makes much of the trail a walk in the park, though it does have to fight hard on the tougher sections, especially if it is wet. The Trail Runner would not be able to do the tougher obstacles, but it would make much of the trail sections that the Ascender just walks through more interesting and challenging.

Does anybody know about the gearing / speed of this truck? If the only thing that is different from the Sendero is the tire size, it would be slower. Is that the case?


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This is exactly where i am at with my TRX4. Even almost stock it does most anything.

I was want to build a rig that was non-portal and on smaller tires just to make things more challenging, this is perfect. Even if you dont keep the IFS and decided to SAS it, it will still be fun.
 
Most of my RC'ing is also just trail driving. I don't get to really hit too many crawling spots, so the 1.55 tires and IFS is kind of tempting.

The only issue is that it's an RTR. I can't really get myself to buy something I don't get to build.
 
Most of my RC'ing is also just trail driving. I don't get to really hit too many crawling spots, so the 1.55 tires and IFS is kind of tempting.

The only issue is that it's an RTR. I can't really get myself to buy something I don't get to build.


Similar thoughts would love this for purely trail truck.

I don't mind that it's RTR, but I wish they'd offer a bind-n-drive at least - that way I could just replace its receiver with one compatible with my radio.
 
As somebody who has previously dropped comments, saying they should do an IFS RTR, here are some of my thoughts.

Hits:
IFS, without having to buy parts you are just going to remove.

Misses:
Lack of inner fenders

Debatable/Unsure:
Frosted windows
Friction fit molded body pieces

So, I definitely think it's cool that Element has brought IFS to the market, in a RTR package. I previously complained about the value proposition, when considering the option of buying a Sendero, Trailwalker, or kit, and then having to disregard the front axle, and buy the IFS kit. Problem solved. Element has clearly focused on keeping the price point of this truck down, and I appreciate that. Of course, this leads to some omissions, but you will have options to add to this package, as your budget allows.

Though I appreciate the price staying reasonable, I'd really like to see some inner fenders in this scale trail truck. The lack of inner fenders, combined with the frosted window tint is an odd, and inconsistent combination. Do you want to hide the fact that this is a hollow lexan body, or not. If no, just keep the windows clear, or clear tinted, and leave it at that. If you want to try and hide the lack of interior, you need inner fenders. In any case, I think the frosted / fogged look on the windows is odd. Fortunately the frosted / fogged decals are removable. I could try for a sex joke here, but I'm not that funny, so I'll skip over that.

I'm unsure of all the molded bits on the body being friction fit. Does this work well, or is it going to be a total yardsale situation, followed by 10 minutes of looking for your rear spoiler if this truck takes a tumble?

With every new release, there are improvement opportunities. It sounds like the truck now gets some harder plastics in spots, so that is cool. A metal servo horn is good too.

In conclusion, do I want it? Yes, who doesn't want more RCs? I think I would have a lot of fun with it. Will I buy it? Maybe. Why maybe? Money's tight, and I won't bore you with my personal finances. Any other trucks that would compete for my dollars? Though you never know what's around the corner, I'm interested to see what Axial will do with the 10iii line. An RTR solid axle rig sounds like a possibility, eventually.
 
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Here’s a pic of Brad Geck’s with the windows cleared, huge improvement. The proline T interior looks to be a great fit.
 

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I looked over this body a few times since originally seeing it. I want to love it since I love this Toyota truck and SUV body style, but the more I look at it the more I question it.

Are the headlights and taillights just decals? It doesn't look like they are much more than bumps molded into the body and I hope that's not true.
We're used to light buckets or, at least, having the option to have clear headlights even if you don't use the light buckets. The body is pretty poor compared to the competition these days like Axial and Traxxas. I guess Element sacrificed on the body in order to include hard parts, but those parts should be included with the kit anyway if they're necessary. Axial and Traxxas includes good "hard" parts out of the box. I'm just kind of confused.

I really hope the body looks better once you guys get it in your hands and paint it up. Hopefully you don't have to rely on 3D printed parts to make it look good. If the body can't stand on its own, it is a failure IMO.


Misses:
Lack of inner fenders

Debatable/Unsure:
Friction fit molded body pieces

Good point about the lack of inner fenders.

Which parts are friction fit? :shock:
 
Pre-ordered one yesterday. Looking forward to getting my first Element. Element said Mid-June for release?

Good point about the lack of inner fenders.

Which parts are friction fit?

The fenders and parts of the front bumper if I remember correctly from the SBG video. Head lights and tail lights are decals.
 
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Which parts are friction fit? :shock:


Pretty much all the black plastic bits attached to the body. The parts have pins that slide through the body, and then it is essentially a tiny rubber o-ring that you push over the pin to hold them on. I suspect a little glue would be a requirement for people hoping not to loose those pieces on the trail.
 
I thought the window tint are decals that can be removed? At least that's what I read on FB on Element's page.
 
I just had a thought. They went through the trouble to get the exhaust licensed, but not the body... Super bizarre!

I have to say in some photos and videos this body looks like China copied a Forerunner and in others it looks great. I’m getting excited to see one in person.
 
They are. It says clear windows, with tinted decals. "thumbsup"

That's good to hear. Although (and this is also nitpicking), I do wish they had a different way to mount the body instead of just traditional posts. It's a shame they have so many cool scale accessories and even clear windows but then stick two posts out of the hood (the roof ones can at least be hidden by the roof rack)

I just had a thought. They went through the trouble to get the exhaust licensed, but not the body... Super bizarre!

I have to say in some photos and videos this body looks like China copied a Forerunner and in others it looks great. I’m getting excited to see one in person.

That's a great point, actually. I'm guessing it would cost more to license the 4Runner than the Magnaflow, but at that point I'd rather they just cut the price even more and just give us a regular exhaust.

I think the front looks pretty awesome, especially with the bumper options, but the rear and rear 3/4 views make it look pretty disproportional. I know they have to stick to a certain width and wheelbase, and even the Proline 2nd gen 4Runner looks a little squat and wide from angles, but I think they could have done a better job with this one.

Either way, for the price I still think it's amazing, but I'd be pretty bummed if they don't offer it as a kit (can also mount the body without posts if it were a kit with an untrimmed body).
 
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