Vanquish VS4-10 Pro vs SSD RC Trail King Pro

[Panther6834]

NOTE:. I've removed the SCX10.2 from contention, and reworded below to reflect this.

I'm in a bit of a dilemma, and I've got less that 2 weeks to make a decision. When I first decided to get into crawlers, I decided to start with the Axial Capra (which I've turned into an incredible Start Wars tribute), and I also decided to limit myself to a total of 4 crawlers, each of which would be distinctly different (based on my currently long-term plans, I've already blown that last part to pieces...lol).

Part of those decisions was determining what my next two vehicles would be (it didn't matter, at that point, which of the two would be the 2nd, and which would be the 3rd). In the end, I decided on the RC4WD Trail Finder 2 Chassis Kit (thanks to several suggestions/recommendations from others within the RCC forum, I'll be using a body from Killerbody), and the Vanquish VS4-10 Pro...although, as for which would become the '2nd', and which the '3rd', would depend on which arrived first. I "opted-in" at my LHS for one of the VS4-10 Pros he had ordered, but, since none of my LHSs deal in the RC4WD kits, I ordered through Amazon (but NOT 'from', as I really dislike Amazon). Whichever arrived first would become my '2nd', with the "late arrival" becoming the '3rd'.

Well, the VS4-10 Pro arrived first, thus I thought that would be my '2nd'...but, I never had time to open it before heading out-of-state for Thanksgiving week, and the TF2 was delivered while I've been away. But...here comes the dilemma...I'm having second thoughts on the VS4-10 Pro. From what I've read, and the videos I've watched, the great majority (if not all) of the problems the "Origin" had have been corrected...but, at the same time, $750 is still A LOT of money for a kit (even if it does include a body, which I wouldn't be using anyway).

So, here's what I'm asking if "the people":
Should I stick with the VS4-10 Pro, or would the Trail King Pro be a better option? Price-wise, I could have 2 Trail King Pros for the price of a single VS4-10 Pro, and still have money left over. Put another way, for the price of the VS4-10 Pro (without any electronics), I could have the Trail King Pro w/ all electronics (but no body, wheels, or tires). I don't mind "spending money" when there's a real advantage for doing so...but, if all both are, essentially, 'equal', there's no point in needlessly spending, as money saved on the Trail King Pro could be put to better use in upgrading. I realize that the VS4-10 Pro is probably the "most refined", and that the SCX10.2 (which I'm no longer considering) is probably the "most popular", but I don't know where the Trail King Pro stands.

I'm hoping to receive replies from people who have at least some first-have knowledge of both, and can point out such things as advantages/disadvantages of each over the other, known problems of each, etc. While the TF2 will be a "true scale", the 'other' will be a comp crawler. Getting back to the "less than 2 weeks" I mentioned at the beginning, the is because I have less than 2 weeks remaining on my ability to return the VS4-10 Pro...so, if I'm to switch, a decision needs to be made before the end of next weekend (Dec. 8).

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[Topher Builds]

Re: Vanquish VS4-10 Pro vs SSD RC Trail King Pro vs Axial SCX10.2

if you’re not going to drive it much and don’t care as much about performance than the 10.2 kit is a good option. But there is a reason it’s a lot cheaper as both the trail king and the vp rig are better in every single way.

If you’re more into building and trailing than technical crawling it could work out for you. But to get the 10.2 to the durability and performance of the other options you’d need to dump a chunk of money into it and likely wouldn’t end up with much left other than rails, axle internals, transmission, and maybe links.

The vp rig won’t need much of anything out of the box. Maybe an OD gear set up front and some ssd brass knuckle weights if you do want a stronger performer.

The trail king is a thing of beauty, especially at the price point. I’ve used about $125 worth of upgrades and it’s performing excellent. Very happy with this truck.

But, at the end of the day my 10.2 Jeep jk (started as Cherokee kit) is the best performer in my stable, however as mentioned before the only stock parts left on it are rails, some axle internals, and the transmission. Maybe a plastic chassis brace or two. Everything else has been replaced.

So if you just want a rig to slap a body on, trail, and upgrade as it breaks then get a 10.2 kit. Otherwise stick with what you have and consider adding the trail king as an addition if you can swing it.

All IMHO, of course. I do not currently have a vs4-10 pro but I did have the original origin vs4-10. I will be getting a pro after the end of the year.

 

[Panther6834]

Re: Vanquish VS4-10 Pro vs SSD RC Trail King Pro vs Axial SCX10.2

if you’re not going to drive it much and don’t care as much about performance than the 10.2 kit is a good option. But there is a reason it’s a lot cheaper as both the trail king and the vp rig are better in every single way.

If you’re more into building and trailing than technical crawling it could work out for you. But to get the 10.2 to the durability and performance of the other options you’d need to dump a chunk of money into it and likely wouldn’t end up with much left other than rails, axle internals, transmission, and maybe links.

The vp rig won’t need much of anything out of the box. Maybe an OD gear set up front and some ssd brass knuckle weights if you do want a stronger performer.

The trail king is a thing of beauty, especially at the price point. I’ve used about $125 worth of upgrades and it’s performing excellent. Very happy with this truck.

But, at the end of the day my 10.2 Jeep jk (started as Cherokee kit) is the best performer in my stable, however as mentioned before the only stock parts left on it are rails, some axle internals, and the transmission. Maybe a plastic chassis brace or two. Everything else has been replaced.

So if you just want a rig to slap a body on, trail, and upgrade as it breaks then get a 10.2 kit. Otherwise stick with what you have and consider adding the trail king as an addition if you can swing it.

All IMHO, of course. I do not currently have a vs4-10 pro but I did have the original origin vs4-10. I will be getting a pro after the end of the year.

First, it will definitely get driven, plus I don't care to pour a huge amount of money into it to bring it "up to the level" of the other options, thus I've eliminated the SCX10.2 from contention. I started reading your Trail King build thread, but guess for Thanksgiving arrived, so I'll have to wait until tonight to get back to reading it.

In regards to the Trail King Pro, to bring it up to (or, at least close to) the level of the VS4-10 Pro, what upgrades would you consider "required", what upgrades would you consider "recommended", and what upgrades would you consider "suggested"? In other words, most important, important, and not as important (in that order). That way, I can price them out, to see how it adds up (compared to the VS4-10 Pro.

One advantage I can see by going this row is, I could upgrade as I'm able to afford to. Just curious, but, how is the Tail King Pro transmission, ESPECIALLY compared to the Vanquish VFD transmission? Speaking of which, if the VFD is considered "superior", are you aware of whether, or not, the VFD can be installed in the Trail King Pro?

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[Topher Builds]

The VP transmission has the motor sitting pretty darn low and a 6.5% OD at the transmission output. That’s tough to beat.

The SSD transmission is great in its own as well being forward motor oriented, plastic to save weight, and it runs very smooth.

I do not think you can use the VFD in a trail king without a good amount of fab with the skid plate or transmission mounts. Beyond mounting it, these transmissions can be particular with link geometry since everything is so far forward and there’s less room with the motor up there. May be more trouble than it’s worth since the VFD chassis kit and trans aren’t all that expensive in the grand scheme of things.

Keep in mind if you don’t want the body or wheels and tires from the pro you should be able to recover a good hundred bucks out of those parts.

As far as TK upgrades, I’d start with ssd brass knuckles, ssd rear trail king brass weights, od gears up front, and ssd brass wheel hubs. Really not much different from what I’d suggest for the vp rig save for the trail king specific rear weights.

Here’s a short video of my TK if you’re curious to see how it performs. In this video it has ssd knuckles, od gear in front, ssd brass wheel hubs in front, ssd diamond rear axle, and samix brass hexes (more to get a couple mm in track width than weight).
https://youtu.be/IG8P_tUv2SM

 

[Panther6834]

The decision has been made, and the trigger pulled, thanks in-part to replies in here, and in-part to AMain's Black Friday sale...picked up the SSD Trail King Pro kit for $269.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[soze]

You got an excellent deal on the Trail King! Congrats! You'll like SSD, it's good stuff.

 

[Panther6834]

You got an excellent deal on the Trail King! Congrats! You'll like SSD, it's good stuff.

While he might not yet realize it (at least, until he reads this), Topher's build (no pun intended) played a good part in my decision. The big...no, make that HUGE...question will be which kit to start first, as I'll have, within the next 1-2 weeks, three new kits to build.

The Trail King will be delivered to my work address on Tues/Wed, but my TF2 was delivered there last Sat, and is waiting for me to pick it up (once I get back from my Thanksgiving week off). Then, there's the Twin Hammers kit (found a retailer in Indonesia, of all places, that had a few), which should probably get delivered by next weekend (it's currently in customs in Los Angeles). Considering my plan is to very slowly build the TF2, so as to get the details "just right", I'll probably be building that while also building the others...so, the real "which to build first" question is really between the Train King & Twin Hammers.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[soze]

While he might not yet realize it (at least, until he reads this), Topher's build (no pun intended) played a good part in my decision. The big...no, make that HUGE...question will be which kit to start first, as I'll have, within the next 1-2 weeks, three new kits to build.

The Trail King will be delivered to my work address on Tues/Wed, but my TF2 was delivered there last Sat, and is waiting for me to pick it up (once I get back from my Thanksgiving week off). Then, there's the Twin Hammers kit (found a retailer in Indonesia, of all places, that had a few), which should probably get delivered by next weekend (it's currently in customs in Los Angeles). Considering my plan is to very slowly build the TF2, so as to get the details "just right", I'll probably be building that while also building the others...so, the real "which to build first" question is really between the Train King & Twin Hammers.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

LOL, you're in the same spot as me. I'm at the end of my Capra build, and then I still need to build my Trail King, Enduro Builder's kit, and multiple other kits. I've also got the Twin Hammer's kit. I bought the "Scorched Earth" parts off of shapeways, but I have not built it yet. Originally was going to go with the GCM shock hoops, because I like the looks of that better, but the discounts on the shapeways parts swayed me to just go with the Scorched Earth setup.

 

[Panther6834]

LOL, you're in the same spot as me. I'm at the end of my Capra build, and then I still need to build my Trail King, Enduro Builder's kit, and multiple other kits. I've also got the Twin Hammer's kit. I bought the "Scorched Earth" parts off of shapeways, but I have not built it yet. Originally was going to go with the GCM shock hoops, because I like the looks of that better, but the discounts on the shapeways parts swayed me to just go with the Scorched Earth setup.

As they say, "Misery loves company.". At least, in this matter, our 'misery' is super fun...lol

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[Voodoobrew]

Imo you haven't listed any comp chassis. I get that this is subjective. But for competition you want something like a toyzuki or team Garage Hack, a light weight g10 chassis and small 1000mah batteries.

I mean you can compete with anything I suppose.

The vs4-10 might do good for a class 1 rig, I guess it depends on where and who you compete with.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Panther6834]

Imo you haven't listed any comp chassis. I get that this is subjective. But for competition you want something like a toyzuki or team Garage Hack, a light weight g10 chassis and small 1000mah batteries.

I mean you can compete with anything I suppose.

The vs4-10 might do good for a class 1 rig, I guess it depends on where and who you compete with.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

If I can turn a Rustler 4x4 VXL into a competitive stadium truck, I'm sure people can take a Trail King Pro, VS4-10 Pro, or others, and turn it into a competitive chassis. Besides, those of us going this row aren't doing so to be competitive on a national level. We're doing it for a day more important reason...what this hobby is (supposed to be) about: FUN

In other words, there's no need to be competitive to a "cutthroat". You can be 'competitive', yet still maintain (actual, still make it the primary focus) a high level of fun. For those who race RC, are we doing it for the money? No. There's really no real money involved (except what we pay to compete). Do we do it for the prestige? What "prestige". Do we do it for the trophies? Ok, this one, yea, we do...but it's not like they're the Stanley Cup, or the Lombardi Trophy. They're (fairly) cheaply made trophies. The TRUE purpose of RCing, be it for racing, or just the pure enjoyment of doing it, is to have fun.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[JatoTheRipper]

You're welcome for the heads up on the Black Friday deal! :ror:

I would keep the Origin Pro as well. The Trail King and Origin Pro are my next kits.

I'll be watching to see what you do with it.

 

[Panther6834]

You're welcome for the heads up on the Black Friday deal! :ror:

I would keep the Origin Pro as well. The Trail King and Origin Pro are my next kits.

I'll be watching to see what you do with it.

Remember, the "Origin" & "Pro" are two different kits. The Origin is the original, and now discontinued, kit...the Pro is new & improved kit.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Remember, the "Origin" & "Pro" are two different kits. The Origin is the original, and now discontinued, kit...the Pro is new & improved kit.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

I thought it was Origin Limited and Origin Pro, but I see on the Vanquish website that the Pro listing doesn't mention the word Origin so thanks for the correction.

But why are you selling yours?

I plan to have an Origin, Pro and Trail King.

 

[HumboldtEF]

Origin seems to refer to the body. They call it the Origin half cab

Having had a bit more time running my VS4-10 (while not having run the Trail king yet) I can say the VS4-10 Pro has a very low skid, bumpers and sliders. I'm finding that it gets hung up very easily where most of my other rigs dont, besides that it does grip and behave very nicely.

 

[Voodoobrew]

I didn't say the vs4-10 isn't fun. I just think "competition build" means something. If your going for the most capable build these are just not the options I would choose, that's all I am saying. Perhaps the OP isn't aware of more capable options.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Topher Builds]

While he might not yet realize it (at least, until he reads this), Topher's build (no pun intended) played a good part in my decision. The big...no, make that HUGE...question will be which kit to start first, as I'll have, within the next 1-2 weeks, three new kits to build.

The Trail King will be delivered to my work address on Tues/Wed, but my TF2 was delivered there last Sat, and is waiting for me to pick it up (once I get back from my Thanksgiving week off). Then, there's the Twin Hammers kit (found a retailer in Indonesia, of all places, that had a few), which should probably get delivered by next weekend (it's currently in customs in Los Angeles). Considering my plan is to very slowly build the TF2, so as to get the details "just right", I'll probably be building that while also building the others...so, the real "which to build first" question is really between the Train King & Twin Hammers.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

"thumbsup"

Happy to hear you picked one up! My 2 cents: build the tk first. Sell the tf2 (and get a marlin if you really want a Tf2), And keep the vs410 pro if you can.

 

[B-MOW71]

"thumbsup"



Happy to hear you picked one up! My 2 cents: build the tk first. Sell the tf2 (and get a marlin if you really want a Tf2), And keep the vs410 pro if you can.

Agree![emoji106]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[JatoTheRipper]

"thumbsup"

Happy to hear you picked one up! My 2 cents: build the tk first. Sell the tf2 (and get a marlin if you really want a Tf2), And keep the vs410 pro if you can.

I didn't even notice he got a TF2. Hell yes sell the TF2 and Keep the Origin!

 

[Panther6834]

"thumbsup"



Happy to hear you picked one up! My 2 cents: build the tk first. Sell the tf2 (and get a marlin if you really want a Tf2), And keep the vs410 pro if you can.

I wanted the TF2 because it's a leaf-spring (which also leads to more accurate "true scale"), plus I really enjoy learning how to drive different vehicles that handle differently. Where my race vehicles are concerned, the buggies handle differently than the stadium trucks, which also handle differently than the shirt course truck, all of which handle differently than my XRAY T4 (on-road USGT). Also, the 2WD vehicles handle differently than the 4WD vehicles.

While I only have the Capra but, I'm going to assume that all 4 of the crawler kits I have and/or am awaiting delivery on handle differently in the same way that the above vehicles handle differently - the Capra handles one way, the TF2 will handle differently, the Trail King will be different than the previous 2, and the Twin Hammers would be different than the other 3. Am I correct in this assumption?

As for the Marlin, I didn't go for it because I enjoy building the kits...building is half the fun. Again, I've been building computers for people for 25+ years, and I've never really done it for the money - it's primarily because I've always enjoyed the building process.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place