Drive Them All! A Year Long Project

[OSRC]

This weekend I had a free Sunday morning, weather was good, so off into the woods I went. Had limited time so I only brought one truck - this time I brought my VS4. It was pieced together starting with the chassis I bought for another project. Then I picked up the transmission....and eventually I grabbed the VP front axle which was a mess. Had a ton of issues with it turning freely, and VP CS was zero help. I eventually got it to spin with a little dremel work, but it kinda turned me off to the entire truck. I don't expect top notch axles to have issues. Anyway, I decided to throw a body conversion on it (cost a fortune for what it is to be honest) for a fresh start and love the look. I have to add lights and a driver yet, but it was more than ready for a re-test.

Since built, this truck has a rhythmic clicking sound in the driveline. I have no idea what it is, I've had the trans apart several times and can't find it. It's in the trans somewhere...well apparently it's wearing out and it's just barely audible anymore. In fact, towards the end of the run I could barely hear it. So that's good. Maybe.

My oldest daughter wanted to join me for a day in the woods... both daughters in 1 week! It means more to me than I can put into words. I just picked up a TRX4 sport in a trade (Thanks Nafie!) and I slapped on some weighted 2.2's with 1.9's stretched over them, put a GT5 receiver in in and it was good to go. We spent 3 hours in the woods and had a blast.

The Deep Woods may not work well on pure rocks, but for a wet woods environment, they dug in and clawed their way up just about anything. Very happy with the tires.

The VS4 crawls pretty well, it's fairly planted and predicable. I really haven't done any tuning work per-se but with the low motor and some brass up front it stuck pretty good. The body is relatively heavy however, but I love the look so it stays. Compared to the TRX4, it was the better pure crawler of the two. The TRX though was a beast, and owned the trails. Some of the climbs I struggled with the TRX went right up due to the clearance under the axles. We both got to the top of this rock, the VS4 made it look easy, the Sport had a little more difficulty, but it got there.

Love crossing this old railroad bridge.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 8: Heavy body not withstanding, I got up all my usual test rocks - sometimes with a bit more throttle than I like, but it got there.
Trailability - 7: I've been spoiled by portal clearance... minus 1 point for the mystery knock in the trans which annoys the everloving crap out of me.
Steering - 7: Good! About as good as any other truck I own. Front OD helps for sure.
Sexy factor - 6: Body looks great, but needs some details. Lights and driver are on the list at minimum.
Uniqueability - 7: I know these kits are popular, but I've only ever seen 1 other in the woods with this body style.

Avg: 7.0

 

[OSRC]

Another weekend, a few more knocked off the list.

This is the little Jeep that could...who knew? I've had 2 Sawback Sports in the past, and sold them both. I kinda regretted it as I never really spent any time with them and always thought there was more to be had out of the platform. This base Sawback popped up as a slider for all of $70 and I couldn't resist. Rebuilt the chassis and spent an hour shimming the transmission into relative silence, but left the original body and added a driver and some small scale bits to dress it up. There's not a lot of ways to add weight down low on these, so all 4 wheels have SSD brass rings in them. Old school, but effective. I left the stock "shocks" in place but just used some light oil to keep things moving free so there was really no dampening - it was quite a bouncy ride just like the 1:1 I would guess. This looks top heavy, but was planted as can be. Surprisingly good grip from the Axial tires and it turns out this fairy stock Sawback did pretty damn good. It has terrible steering, almost Tamiya like. but I made do.

Doing a little 3 wheeling...comes with the territory on a leaf spring truck. I liked it!

Big old rock dump 3/4 of the was up the hill.

Gas tank falling off. Every time I rolled, scale bits would go flying - it was hilarious.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 8. Even with no functional dampening on the axles, it crawled much, much better than I expected. Leafs kept everything level and great grip!
Trailability - 6. Bounces down the trail very satisfactorily. Center skid seems to catch a lot, and the awful steering meant a few 3 point turns. Still kinda loud.
Steering - 4. It was that bad, not sure if I did something incorrect somehow when rebuilding or what. I don't think there's much more TBH, tires are very close to the leafs.
Sexy factor - 7. Not a looker, and not super detailed, but I like it.
Uniqueability - 7. I used to see Sawbacks pretty regularly, but haven't seen another one in ages. The other guys I met on the trail had no idea what it was.

Total: 6.4


Swapping from the Sawback to the EctoKeeper was like night and day. The EK is nearly silent, has a TON of butter smooth suspension, actual steering and a much longer wheelbase. Yet, the EK struggled a bit, and I'm not sure why. I ran this once as a Gatekeeper and it was rollover city. I thought the Ecto body would help, but it still tended to snap roll, especially on a sidehill. I rolled this truck twice as much as the Sawback and definitely knocked the new off it. I think it just has too much suspension, and it is somewhat narrow for the long wheelbase imo. It is still seriously capable, climbs straight up some serious rocks with little drama - just needs some tuning.

Flexy flexy...

3 wheeling, that rear suspension is neat, but I think the geometry is a bit off. Just doesn't look quite right as it cycles up and down.

Needs a bit more weight in the back too, it's very front heavy. I had a few endo rolls in places I shouldn't. Here it just stuffed the nose when the drag brake kicked in and stuck there perfectly.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 7. -Lots of potential, with a potential lot of tuning.
Trailability - 7. -Tons of suspension, excellent steering and nice and quiet.
Steering - 8. -Very good, just a bit wider with the longer WB
Sexy factor - 6. - Liking the color combo and the wheels fit perfectly.
Uniqueability - 3. - Nothing really unique, 2 Elements and another ecto body were out there yesterday. Mine was the coolest color though.

Total: 6.2


2023 Totals:
Traxxas Semi sport 8.2
Traxxas TRX4 Defnder 8.0
Axial UMG: 7.8
CR01 "Bug": 7.6
Trail Telly: 7.2
Aluminator: 7.0
Vanquish VS4: 7.0
Carbon TRX Sport: 7.0
Element Sport: 6.8
Sawback: 6.4
CR01 "Jato's leftovers": 6.4
EctoKeeper: 6.2
Crawler Telly: 6.2
Element Enduro: 6.2
C-Maxx: 5.8
Axial SCX10 III JLU - 5.6
TRX4M Defender: 5.0
Axial SCX24: 4.2

 

[JimInMiami]

Very nice log of your outings and great pics! I'm waiting for the heat to break in October to be able to hit the trails again. Your summer is our winter in FL.

 

[OSRC]

Thank you sir! It's been a pretty good summer.

Fall is coming, and that's leaf season here in the NE - I've only got a few more weeks for my 1.9's until I have to start breaking out the 2.2's. I've got quite a ways to go yet!

 

[surfishjoe]

Love the trail and truck reports keep em coming!

 

[King Dork]

Love the Sawback! I have the 4LS model. I wanted the leaf spring model but since both models were back ordered for a while I decided I'd take whichever one got back in stock first. It's definitely a lot of fun to drive and requires more planning with lines than other trucks. Loving the "Ectokeeper (I refer to mine that way as well)". And yes, mine is less predictable than some of my rigs, but damn it's good! Thank you for these great posts/reviews!

 

[OSRC]

Knocked another 3 off the list yesterday. I had quite a bit of time before our labor day picnic, and got the blessing from the wife to go disappear into the woods for a few hours, so I headed out to my "1.55" trail to drive some of my smaller trucks.

First off, the Portalled CC01. Which I kinda took in error - It didn't exist in January, so really it wasn't on the resolution list. No matter, I wanted to give it a shakedown run anyway. Honestly, it did great! CC's are pretty stable little rigs, their biggest downfall is ground clearance, gearing, and steering. Well, I took care of the ground clearance for sure - the portals made a huge difference. The gearing was still a bit tall for pure crawling work, but with a 5 pole motor it did ok - for trail running it was perfectly fine. The steering is ... well, CC01 steering. But the HR steering kit held up perfectly. The truck ran smooth and tackled some pretty impressive terrain. Might be my best performing CC build to date.

Still some more work to do, the suspension needs a bit of tuning - the rear springs were a bit soft overall and I think I could add a bit of weight up front but all in all very happy with how it turned out!

Portals give a ton more clearance. My other CC would never clear this root. I'd really like to do something about the blue - it just throws off the look imo.

Somewhat harsh terrain for a CC, but this rig climbed right through it.

Found an odd crack in the chassis, right under the chassis plate. This chassis has been well used, so I'm not surprised to see some cracks. This is in a bit of an odd spot though.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 7. Needs a gearing change and some shock work, but all in all it climbs very well. Pitbulls certainly help, great grip.
Trailability - 7. Goes down the trail just fine. Steering is a non issue on the trail.
Steering - 4. CC01 steering, with wide portals up front. Ugh. Shorter WB and a tick of underdrive out back helps
Sexy factor - 7. Love the look. Hate the blue suspension bits, but the truck looks killer imo.
Uniqueability - 8. Not many portalled, AR44 axled CC01's out there running around I'd imagine.

Score: 6.6


Next up is my old faithful SCX10. Built out of my first SCX10, this one's been around for a long time. HPI gear reduction up front mounted to an SCX10 trans converted to a t-case. Narrowed Vaterra axles, and a bobbed Bruiser body with the most detail I've thrown into a hard body (which isn't much) I almost always pair this one with a trailer during scale runs, loaded with logs to add some weight. Driving with a trailer is interesting - I have to seek out lines that won't flip the trailer, and sometimes it's harder than you'd think. Backing up is a bit hairy too. Having said that, the SCX is quite capable and usually has no trouble yanking the trailer around. Didn't take too many pics, I've got about 100 of this truck over the years. Good to get it off the shelf for a run, it's a fun ride. I did blow the lights though, I plugged them into the winch power lead ilo the light lead and fried them apparently. Whoops! User error.

Love watching this one work - both the trailer and truck have a somewhat soft suspension and just look fantastic working it's way down the trail.

I take the trailer off when I see something interesting - the truck itself is a pretty damn good crawler.

Easy does it! In a couple of spots, it's very tricky with the trailer on...

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 7. Pretty capable crawler, excellent balance with the motor over the front wheels, turning and grip. A bit narrow and top heavy.
Trailability - 8. Looks and performs fantastic on the trail. Gets a lot of attention when pulling the trailer.
Steering - 7. Narrowed Vaterra axles still have a good amount of steering - since I drove it with a CC01, it seems like 90 degrees of steering.
Sexy factor - 7. Blown lights not withstanding, I love the look though a few more things (mirrors, badges, etc) would kick it up a notch.
Uniqueability - 3. Kinda rare to see Vaterra axles out there, but Yota bodied SCX10 based trucks are not exactly rare.

Avg: 6.4

Perfect trail for a CC01. Not too challenging, but just enough tough spots to keep it interesting. The Mu is pretty heavily modded of course - it has an HPI suspension grafted on the front for more steering and 8d of caster. Out back is a narrowed Vaterra axle, which is a bit of underdrive. I picked up the body for a song since it was missing the back window piece and the PO had used a lighter to melt and flare the wheel arches. It took some work to smooth out the fenders and I built an interior and a roll cage to fill out the back. Motor is a Tamiya mini motor with a 3:1 reduction and it's a perfect match to the CC - lots of torque down low, and still enough wheelspeed for trails. It was 90+ yesterday, and both the motor and ESC were very hot... there's not a lot of airflow with the interior, and the motor makes it's torque through RPM's, so it's working pretty hard in there. Thinking a fan on the motor might be needed eventually.

The tires are getting old and felt a bit stiff, but wore in as I ran and were giving decent amounts of grip after a while.

Low CG and a bit of front weight means it crawls pretty decently - if I can get a wheel on it.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 5. It's not built as a crawler, and it shows. Low and stable though, it gets up rocks decent for what it is.
Trailability - 7. Looks good, and the somewhat soft suspension is very reactive making for a fun ride. Just have to be judicious with the lines since there's not a lot of belly clearance.
Steering - 6. Better than stock, but that's not saying much.
Sexy factor - 7. Love the stance, just wish I could fit 1.55's over the front suspension.
Uniqueability - 9. Not a lot of HPI/Vaterra/CC01's out there.

Avg: 6.8

 

[OSRC]

Check another one off the list. Got out yesterday with Frank the Tank... I'm not sure if this is the heaviest RC crawler I own, but it's darn close.

I wanted to stuff 2.2's on a TRX without a lift kit, so I used my trusty old Losi tires that come in at just over 5" tall. I used an old D110 body a buddy gave me a long time ago. It is well used and abused so I had no qualms about hacking it up a bit to get those 2.2's under there. I do get a bit of rub at the front still, but otherwise they fit in there pretty nice.

This chassis has a front motor conversion and lots of brass goodies which is where all the weight comes from. Tack on some heavy wheels and it's quite a porker. Still has the lockers and 2 speed.. it's set up much like my semi-sport where first is a granny gear, and 2nd gear is needed for trails just to get some wheel speed.

It's definitely got some stance...

With all the weight and low gearing, it will literally push rocks out of the way. It's a beast!

It crawls decently well though it's not much of a crawler. The TRX DNA shines though though, and it's pretty predictable going up and down. It's jacked up a bit for the wheels to clear, so sidehills are not its friend.

Crawler heaven... went down to the popular area since I was there early and no one was around. Such a cool place to crawl!

Rear tire hanging off the back does catch quite a bit.

This is a tricky line, but the beast just manhandles its way up there. about 1/2 my rigs can get up it, which puts it in pretty good territory!

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 6. It handles crawling duties well, but it's tall. All the brass in the world helps, but pure crawling is not it's thing.
Trailability - 8. Fun on trails, it bounces off rocks with a nice solid thunk and has tons of clearance. Low gears and lots of weight does suck down the batteries though
Steering - 7. Decent steering angle, but with the weight and high offset wheels, the servo was struggling for sure.
Sexy factor - 5. Not the body I would chose, and hacking it up didn't help. Still, I like the overall stance.
Uniqueability - 4. Despite the 2.2's, it's just another TRX Defender in the woods.

Total: 6.0

Unfortunately, mother nature put an end to the festivities before I got my other trucks out... there's always next week!

 

[ferp420]

That amigo looks awesome
One of the best looking mini 1:1 wheelers of all times in my opinion

 

[OSRC]

Thank you sir! One of my favorite CC01 builds of all time. I'm debating some long overdue mods to it over the winter, but the body isn't going anywhere.

I had a little 1.55 Frontier I built a few years ago, I kind of miss it. Drove very similar to the Amigo.

 

[OSRC]

2 more off the list! Fantastic day of wheeling yesterday, it was warm, I had 4 trucks, and 2 gallons of coffee. It was a good morning!

My little Sumo bodied CMX got a workout. Such a fun little truck, it has Sawback axles on, with R1 gears up front for some overdrive. With its short wheelbase, it's very nimble when picking its way through the terrain. Honestly, I beat on this truck pretty hard - it was going over some terrain that was maybe a little much for it, but it did pretty well. I didn't get too many pics since I had some phone issues. Not sure why, but my phone always reboots when I start crawling here.

I have 80mm shocks on it, but the springs are on the stiff side. The shocks are fine, it's just the springs. Think I'll swap on the stock springs, they were a pretty good match for the chassis. Note all the dust on the body, it's been on the shelf forever.

Not a ton of suspension, but it was pretty stable for such a little rig. It has leftover TRX4 electronics with a basic 35t motor, and its geared as low as I can get it. It's still a bit zippy on 3S, there's not a lot of low speed control to be honest. At least, not as much as I prefer. Climbed pretty well for such a short WB rig.

Fun came to an end on my way back to the parking lot, I took a hard tumble off my test rock and smacked into a tree mid-air. Ouch. Broke one of the rear upper links. First broken part and walk of shame of the season!

Didn't quite get through a battery pack, but drove it enough for a score..

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 6. Not a ton of low speed control, and short WB and light weight means its not much of a crawler.
Trailability - 7. Does fine going down the trail, have to be careful picking lines with the tiny tires.
Steering - 8. Not a lot of travel, but with lots of OD up front and a short WB, it's pretty nimble.
Sexy factor - 6. Love the color, but really needs an interior or something.
Uniqueability - 6. Not a lot of CMX's out there!

Total score: 6.6

Dyna time! Every time I run this rig, I'm blown away with how capable it is... it drives almost like a tank. It tends to nose up until the weight shifts over the center wheels and then it crashes back down. Full time 4WS is a must since it has dogbones, but it is pretty nimble. Takes a few minutes to get the hang of wheeling it, but once I'm in the zone it goes pretty much anywhere. Pretty planted, and plenty of nuts on 2S. I love this truck, it's one of my favorites to wheel.

Absolutely climbs like a beast. I'm not sold on the Hyrax tires honestly, I think some PL TSL's would take this to the next level. Hmm... I could add a bit more weight since it's oddly on the light side, but I don't want to add any more really, it's just more wear and tear on the portals, and they are somewhat hard to find anymore.

Walked all over my test rock. Didn't even break a sweat.

I can't get through this line with any of my 1/10 trucks, but the Dyna is just low enough and has just enough grip to pull it off.

Two for two! One of the coarse threaded shoulder screws backed out, pretty common with these screws...after inspection, several were working their way out. Been wheeling this for a while, even through a G6 so it's time for a go over to check everything out. I haven't walked a truck out of the woods all year, I was 3 for 4 today. Ouch!

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 8. Always surprises me with it's capability. With 6 grippy tires and a surprisingly low COG it's much more capable than you might think. Even sidehills as good as anything I have.
Trailability - 8. Excellent clearance with the portals, and 4WS makes it just nimble enough to snake my way though whatever it can't climb over
Steering - 7. 4WS is good. CVD's would make it excellent, if they existed.
Sexy factor - 9. Love the look. I might add some scale stuff and maybe some lights, but light and simple works.
Uniqueability - 10. Nothing like it on the trail.

Total score: 8.4


Amazingly, that puts it at the top of my list so far. It fits - it's such a fun, unique crawler.

2023 Totals:
Tamiya Dynahead: 8.4
Traxxas Semi sport 8.2
Traxxas TRX4 Defnder 8.0
Axial UMG: 7.8
CR01 "Bug": 7.6
Trail Telly: 7.2
Aluminator: 7.0
Vanquish VS4: 7.0
Carbon TRX Sport: 7.0
Element Sport: 6.8
CC01 Mu: 6.8
Portalled CC01: 6.6
CMX: 6.6
SCX10 Yota: 6.4
Sawback: 6.4
CR01 "Jato's leftovers": 6.4
EctoKeeper: 6.2
Crawler Telly: 6.2
Element Enduro: 6.2
C-Maxx: 5.8
Axial SCX10 III JLU - 5.6
TRX4M Defender: 5.0
Axial SCX24: 4.2

 

[OSRC]

Well, it wasn't on the list per-se since I didn't own it on Jan 1, but since I spent 3.5 hours with it in the woods yesterday, I figured it was worth a review. Full build is here: http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/traxxas-crawlers/632399-summit-project.html

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 7: Solid crawler, great balance and decent grip. Surprised with how good it did almost stock. Turning sucks, which killed the score.
Trailability - 9: Excellent trail runner. 2nd gear for open spots, and low and slow for the technical. Diffs really make a difference on this one.
Steering - 5: Surprisingly decent power from the stock servos, just not nearly enough throw.
Sexy factor - 6: It's got presence, that's for sure. Love how the body came out.
Uniqueability - 7: Not a lot of these out there, in fact I can't remember ever seeing another one in the woods.

Avg: 6.8 "thumbsup"

 

[OSRC]

Knock two more off the list. Well, it wasn't a full trail run, but I spent about 30 minutes tooling around the backyard with each, I'll consider that good. I brought these out last time I was wheeling, but the leaves were falling everywhere and it was a bit much to plow through.

This truck started life as my OG SCX10 Honcho, I've had it for a long time! Converted to a 6x6, with a Bullhead body and some frame shenanigans to accommodate both rear axles. It does have full lights, I just forgot to plug them in. Who runs lights in the middle of the day anyway? I just repainted it into a pseudo military scheme and I think it looks a lot better than it did.

A simple cheap servo up front on the axle and a Holmes 21t Trailmaster means this truck has plenty of power. Had no issues churning through the grass and debris around my property.

Love watching the rear axles cycle, this truck has so much grip it's ridiculous.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 6: Solid crawler, gobs of grip and plenty stable. Loses some points for being somewhat unwieldy.
Trailability - 7: Does great on the trail (such as it was) - great power and can span some impressive gaps.
Steering - 5: Decent enough throw from the OG SCX axle and OD gears, but with a ton of rubber out back and locked axles, it tends to push a bit.
Sexy factor - 7: Personally, I think it's a cool looking rig. Just looks mean rumbling down the trail.
Uniqueability - 7: Not a lot of these out there...Especially with V1 Axles.

Avg: 6.4

The TRX6 did the same loop the Axial ran, just a long looping run around my property. into the woods a bit, and through the rough areas around the cornfields. This truck just digs in and goes! Still has the diffs and 2 speed, the Bullhead body just barely clears everything.

A Crawlmaster 20t geared 9/45 give a ton of low end smoothness, and with high gear it's still pretty zippy if I need it to be.

I just fudged up a rear secion... used the stock fenders, some styrene and some odds and ends I had laying around. Didn't come out too bad, I was thinking some sort of tow boom - I might go that route eventually.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 7: Very good crawler, just like the SCX6x6, loses some points for being somewhat unweildy. Crawls a bit better overall though.
Trailability - 7: Does great on the trail, the locking diffs and 2 speed keep me busy
Steering - 6: Turns much better with the diffs open, and locking just the front can pull it up and over in whatever direction you want. Pretty slick.
Sexy factor - 5: S'ok, not quite sold on the back half - I just haven't decided what to do with it yet.
Uniqueability - 6: Again, not a lot of these out there though I've run into a few custom TRX6's out on the trail.

Avg: 6.2

Updated 2023 Totals:
Tamiya Dynahead: 8.4
Traxxas Semi sport 8.2
Traxxas TRX4 Defender 8.0
Axial UMG: 7.8
CR01 "Bug": 7.6
Trail Telly: 7.2
Aluminator: 7.0
Vanquish VS4: 7.0
Carbon TRX Sport: 7.0
Traxxas Summit: 6.8
Element Sport: 6.8
CC01 Mu: 6.8
Portalled CC01: 6.6
CMX: 6.6
SCX10 Yota: 6.4
SCX10 6x6: 6.4
Sawback: 6.4
CR01 "Jato's leftovers": 6.4
TRX6: 6.4
EctoKeeper: 6.2
Crawler Telly: 6.2
Element Enduro: 6.2
C-Maxx: 5.8
Axial SCX10 III JLU - 5.6
TRX4M Defender: 5.0
Axial SCX24: 4.2

 

[OSRC]

Time for the big boy - since it's peak leaf season, I've been taking out the bigger trucks and putting them through their paces. This week was SCX6 week!

Only the second time I've had this one out. It's still bone stock - a rarity in my collection! Took it out on my normal loop, though did a few detours since it's larger size and the packed leaves made some other areas accessible. This block is a bit challenging for 1/10, but 1/6 walks right up it.

On the test rock - no problems at all, as expected. I do like the slow speed setup in first gear - very smooth and precise for such a big truck. Zero complaints about the driveline.

Sidehills are a bit sketchy. The Jeep body weighs a ton, and I never even put the cage in. It'll do it, it just gives me hives while doing it.

Squeezing through a 1/10 line

Steering flat sucks. Not sure if the servo is giving up already or what, but the front wheels were kinda doing whatever they wanted to. I had steering, but it was vague. Definitely the first upgrade for this truck. This is showing full lock. My CR01 turns better.

Awesome section here... this is the old Warwick Branch of the Reading Railroad for all the rail nerds out there. It serviced the old quarry here at St. Peters through the late 40's, which is where all the rocks came from. There's an old culvert here for the creek crossing, but over the years it has washed out down the rail bed, making a disappearing creek. and a nice long rock bed to climb through. The SCX6 is on the railbed picking it's way through the rocks. My 1/10 trucks usually take the bypass trail on the left.

The creek flows across the railbed, but some runs down though for a ways and then just disappears. It soaks into the rocks and seeps out the side of the embankment and rejoins the rest of the creek on the left. The 6 is coming up the dry section about to rumble through the creek. Pretty neat.

Before packing it in, dropped it into high gear and did a little hooning around. More than enough scoot to through up some roost.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 7: Decent crawler, Base setup is pretty good, excellent gearing and tires have great grip. Turning sucks though, which killed the score.
Trailability - 8: Good trail runner. Plenty of flex and goes pretty much anywhere.
Steering - 5: First upgrade needed. My Maxx trucks steer better.
Sexy factor - 3: Not a fan of the body at all. I really should have waited for the Honcho, I think it looks 10x better. It's not terrible, just not my thing.
Uniqueability - 6: Gets a TON of attention on the trail, and not a lot of 6's running around out there.

Total score: 5.8

 

[B-MOW71]

It tis leaf season!:x Not my favorite time of year!

Nice to see the Big 6 out on the trail. I'm sure with it's size and weight that it does fairly well. Great looking terrain and cool railroad bed to run on!

I often wondered how the steering servo would hold up. It seems like it would need some power to turn them big tires.

I'd agree on the uniqueability! I haven't even seen the big 1/6 big boys in person, let alone out on the trails.

 

[Szczerba]

This is an awesome thread!

I have been thinking of picking up a Dynahead to build while sitting at my in laws over Thanksgiving break. Looks awesome and glad to hear it performs good too.

 

[ferp420]

i have a question I think about every time I read a new post in this thread

when are you gonna start doing the trail reviews on other people's trucks and or let others drive/rate your trucks

I think that would be vary interesting maybe make videos of it lol

 

[OSRC]

It tis leaf season!:x Not my favorite time of year!

Nice to see the Big 6 out on the trail. I'm sure with it's size and weight that it does fairly well. Great looking terrain and cool railroad bed to run on!

I often wondered how the steering servo would hold up. It seems like it would need some power to turn them big tires.

I'd agree on the uniqueability! I haven't even seen the big 1/6 big boys in person, let alone out on the trails.

It's a beast, I don't even know why I took my normal route. It's so big it walked all over everything. I had to find some bigger challenges for it.

This is an awesome thread!

I have been thinking of picking up a Dynahead to build while sitting at my in laws over Thanksgiving break. Looks awesome and glad to hear it performs good too.

Thank you and do it! It drives awesome out on the trail, such a cool little platform.

i have a question I think about every time I read a new post in this thread

when are you gonna start doing the trail reviews on other people's trucks and or let others drive/rate your trucks

I think that would be vary interesting maybe make videos of it lol

I never really drive with anyone. All of my crawler buddies have moved on. I run into random people in the woods every now and again, but haven't done a meet up with anyone or a group in a long time. It's just me and a gallon of tea.

 

[OSRC]

Knocked 2 more off the list! Running out of weekends, but thankfully I've only got a few more runners to go! Time for the 2.2 trucks. With it being leaf season, it's definitely a benefit to running some bigger tires. Broke out the Redcat Wendigo and put of through the paces.

This truck is ... well, mostly Redcat. Swapping over to AR60's made a huge difference, and this is one of my best performing rigs overall. It's like a Deadbolt on steroids.

First up, "the wall" - a nearly vertical climb, with a trick spoiler rock at the bottom. This is the only crawler rig I have that can pop up it. My C-Maxx and Summit have done it, due to their size. This truck for sure has the size factor, but it's more grip and stability that let it get to the top.

Walked all over my test rock, and went up the steep "hard side" to the left, the only one of my crawlers to do it all year.

Nothing like the smell of Crawlers in the morning...

The Prolines do lose a bit of grip when its cold, though today was in the mid 40's to start and they were still pretty grippy. This rock would prove to be its downfall... I hit reverse to back up for a better line and heard a snap. Ouch.

Long AR60 axle snapped both ears off. WTF? I've never broken one in years of wheeling, it's odd. I have no idea how old these axles are, they might be years old. Checked the truck and nothing was loose up front, so I guess it as just time. OD up front and UD out back have taken their toll I guess. Time for a new set!

I got most of a pack in before it let go, we'll call that a run.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 9: Fantastic crawler, one of my best. Just seems to grip its way up just about anything.
Trailability - 8: Excellent trail runner, tons of flex and grip and a decent gearing spread for just a bit of speed.
Steering - 7: Great throw, and OD/UD makes a huge difference. Servo is maxed out though, would definitely benefit from something stronger.
Sexy factor - 6: Eh... it's ok looking. Black marker bled through the paint, leading to some backwards scribbles on the side.
Uniqueability - 8: Never saw another Wendigo rocking AR60's

Total: 7.6

Having broke the Redcat before really getting into my trail run, I parked it and dug out the Crawler Yeti. This is set up for crawling - locked diffs, low gears, and an SCX10 transmission. I also shortened the WB considerably with Vaterra rear trailing arms to help breakover. It has some smallish tires on it, with that IFS suspension I was a bit worried about snapping those front axles so I took the load off with some 5.5" tires. A little bit of weight up front and it's crawl time.

Went around the mountain with this one, 2.5 battery packs. It went for quite a long trip and hit all my test spots.

It has a low belly - great for stability, not so much for breakover. Keeping it in mind though, it pretty much goes where you point it. Excellent truck for fall running, the flat chassis skated across the leaves almost and I made some interesting lines in my usual spots. All the greenery is gone, so I can get to areas I can't get to when they are overgrown. The Yeti did great!

Love that SSD rear axle...totally makes the rear look nice. And who doesn't like a good looking rear end?

Stunned me by getting up the hard line on my test rock. Holy crap! The Redcat is the only one I have that will get up here...my carbon low CG performance trucks won't even do it. The Yeti is in very limited company.

Getting lined up at the bottom...

...and just like that, at the top. Very impressive. I love having spots that I hit repeatedly with different rigs, it's a great way to measure what works and what doesn't.

I am running swaybars front and rear to limit flex a bit. It seems to help keep the low chassis in the air. Here it's maxxed out, and the front tire is about 2" in the air. I debated taking them off for testing, but it was working great so I just left it alone.

Mother nature is awesome. Every year the terrain changes a bit - this gap used to be about 3" and was easily gapped by my 1/10 trucks. No more, it's slowly getting wider each year - only my C-maxx and Summit can span it now.

Absolute beast on sidehill, as expected. May lift a tire, but it's way, way stable.

Driving through the disappearing creek, I heard a sucking sound. I moved some leaves and found a 3" hole where the water swirls and gurgles down and disappears. So neat! The creek just vanishes - now I know where it goes!

Parked on a 100+ year old base for a RR signal I believe. Based on the width of the trail, I believe there was a passing siding here years ago, long lost to the ravages of time.

Heading back to the parking lot after a long run. No breaks, working like a champ.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability 8: Low belly and grippy tires means stability, and this rig is fantastic on the rocks. Never lifted the front tires all day, even on the steepest of climbs.
Trailability - 8: Good trail runner, gearing is spot on and it's cool watching the suspension work. Let down by it's somewhat low belly.
Steering - 5: Front OD helps, but steering is an issue with this rig. There's a servo saver in the bellcranks and it's way too weak. Only thing that needs to be tweaked.
Sexy factor - 6: Pretty decent looking - stance looks great, lots of lights - do wish I could find a clear body to paint my colors though.
Uniqueability - 6: I used to see Yetis all the time, but they have pretty much fallen out of favor I guess.

Total: 6.6

 

[OSRC]

Hitting the homestretch! I'm down to my last few runners, and just in time - it's getting freaking cold out there.

The leaves have packed down enough to run 1.9's again, so I dug out my Ascender for a nice long trail run. This is such a fun little truck!

Chassis shot... narrowed axles with SSD brass, GCM motor kit and a Vaterra 2sp. transmission. Plus my usual assortment of cheap crawler electronics.

Right over to the test rocks where the Ascender....ascended.

Downhill is a bit tricky, it's a little too front heavy. Made for impressive climbing, but was really on its tiptoes when coming down. I might move the battery back a bit to balance it out.

Wide angle shot of the test rock. The Ascender is taking the standard line - up the right side, through the dig, and up and over. Then down the cut in the middle and there's a very hard line to the left. It's hard to get scale from pictures, but it's a huge rock. Kind of my gold standard, all of my rigs hit this rock at some point, and it's tough enough a stock TRX sits at the bottom and weeps. Ascender handed it all, except the hard line of course.

Creek was up today, it had rained all night so it was wet and slick in spots this morning. TSL territory, they are well broken in and had no problems. I had all kind of grip.

This truck runs a rear swaybar so it's pretty buttoned down in back, but the front suspension is softer so it makes for an interesting drive. Again, had to be on my toes any time there was a steep descent, it would heel right over on that soft front suspension.

Using second gear to chew through some leaves - I love the transmission - first and second are perfectly spaced for creep duty in first and perfect trail speed in second.

Haven't been over here in a while, I love this rock.

Stable back, flexy front. I could tune it out a bit and settle it down but I like it. It's very manageable and makes for an interesting drive.

Subjective scores:
Crawlability - 7: It's a very good crawling truck - perfect creep and decent balance. Just watch the downhills, and with that tall motor mount and narrow axles, sidehills are a bit sketchy.
Trailability - 8: Perfect transmission, very quiet, and great grip.
Steering - 7: Decent throw and a somewhat short WB makes for a pretty nimble truck.
Sexy factor - 6: Not a bad looking truck, though I forgot the roof cargo. Interior and some custom steel goodies - one of my more scale looking trucks.
Uniqueability - 7: Went up a notch since the Ascender is now extinct. Haven't seen another one in a long time.

Total Score: 7.0