This is the most underrated RC channel. No biased reviews for sponsors, no excited face video thumbnails and nobody bragging about how rich they got selling crap on eBay. Excellent technical content, breakdowns and legitimate comparison. You're like the Project Farm of RC. Keep up the great work!
Great video!! Some were a problem and some were no problem!! They are all challenges though!!! I was impressed how well it did completely stock!! I'm glad you did a video with a stock rig. Gives us all a baseline for a comparison after you upgrade it. Thank You for the effort put into these videos!!!
That's really good entertainment for me! I wouldn't be going buying this truck, but it's still nice to know things about RC cars. Was cool to see those tyres do so well. Looking forward to seeing what kind of upgrades goes onto this thing in the future.
Had my bronco for 3 mo ths drove everyday my stock servo has been a beast it is wearing out before breaking lots of slack in it but keeps chugging!! Great video
@@RCTNT would love to see a video on the parts that wear out over high mileage!! I really feel the trx4 could compete with scale miles of a real vehicle!
That bumper is my biggest gripe. I have had zero issues with the stock servo and i think i've pushed its limits pretty good. I have kept my full stock with exception of the foams i switch to the anti-foams. I have been fully satisfied with this truck.
Good! It's a solid machine. I'm judging this servo on the weight of its predecessors here. We have 5 TRX vehicles here now and the servo is not up to sustained, heavy crawling. But the key word there is 'sustained'. It's quite adequate for regular use and trail driving. I'm not at all surprised you're happy with it because it's a truly good vehicle. Cheers :)
@@RCTNT I don't do much trailing with it, but more of the sustained heavy crawling when i take it out. Considering you were only 5 minutes in and you were saying the servo was failing already...i've done numerous outings where i used 2 batteries, Not mild crawling the whole time. Only steering issues i've had is when the tires would grip medium sized rocks and roll them up into the wheel well. Oh, and i'm only running 2S batteries, i've never wanted for more speed. (i've got bashers for that)
Sweet, I'm glad it's working so well for you :) (I said fading, not failing, incidentally. Heat kills em, but they'll hang in there if you're attentive.)
After you get that rear tire off and get some heavy wheels this truck is DAMN capable, might want a better servo and 1080 esc if you want a smooth operator. That said with a light kit and winch added to mine it side hills and climbs very well and looks so damn scale (49 degree side hill 61 degree vertical…after antifoams 😍) Edit: forgot to mention the remote lockable diffs are so damn fun, that move you did to pull the front end around on the last problem was awesome!
Thanks :) This is my 5th TRX4 - am well familiar with their capabilities and expected it would be good! They're such a solid all rounder. I ordered on the first batch when the Defender was announced and have been impressed ever since. Traxxas hit it out of the park with this platform!
@@RCTNT can’t wait to see what you do to it! I’ve already done the most important upgrades like brass portals, antifoams, and heavy wheels so I hope you have something special in mind to up my rig even more 😈. I’d like to see maybe OD gears? I see RC review figured out a way to fit rupture tires? I’d like to know how to do that!
I'm doing a bit of a dive into traxxas parts and the after market. We know the am is well catered for. But what if you go traxxas only? How far do you get? Then what's good to pair with it? Honestly, I don't know I'll have a lot that's new for you, but I expect I'll have done at least some of it differently. This one is a big job behind the scenes so it'll be a while before it's all ready yet, but I do hope it'll be helpful and interesting! Working on it :)
@@RCTNT Hey something I haven’t done is tune the shocks much whatsoever, it’d be cool to see what lighter weight oil (I see most guys reccomend lighter anyway) and some preload adjustment could change 🤔
@@V8chump lighter oil makes for faster articulation and a slightly more responsive feel. Increase preload would add ride height. Combine those and you'll have a slightly bouncier rig. Dunno if that'd be useful or not.. Depends on the terrain, I guess. Try it, see what you think. Testing is the only way to know for yours!
Was quite surprised when it was able to do problem 6! TRX4, always a great performer (and looker, with this body, IMO). Pity I am not a fan in general of Traxxas, but credit where it's due!
@@RCTNT at the end of the day, if it weren't for a good complete package, tires alone wouldn't be able to do a bunch of these, don't you think? Also, I bet with a bit of practice you could've finished 3 and 5 as well... It really is a good looking lexan, and a very decent performer for a trail truck... But still not for me. I wonder how well these TRX4 Broncos have sold. I haven't seen as many as I still see Defenders... But they sold so many and the Broncos have only been around for a year... But I still don't see as many new ones as I see new Defenders, funnily enough. I'm plain sick of seeing them around, lol. I wonder if the platform is an easy, unimaginative option, but somehow also perceived as "tired", and people really haven't jumped on the Bronco because they want something actually new and exciting to go get next... Not just a fresh cover (body+trick body mount). Then again, how could you make the "new gen" TRX4 better...?🤔🤔🤔 I suspect it will become another landmark, like the Slash and Bandit. Unaltered until replaced by the next timely trend...
@@YoShImUrA53 I cut most of my problem 3 attempts in editing for video brevity, but it isn't getting up 3. Problem 4 is possible with enough attempts, but not controllable - luck is involved. So 3 and 4 are out. The platform is easy - I mean, it sells well. If people keep buying, they'll keep selling, I'd think. I also suspect price is an issue with this one. It's been an eye wateringly expensive undertaking to get this rig and then to get the Traxxas upgrades available for it. And so many extra bits are needed. I'll go into it on the videos, but man oh man has this one hurt the wallet. I'm at Scx6 money at this point and still haven't gotten to the performance upgrades, even. Bananas! - Ideas for the next gen TRX4: - better steering servo - better steering servo - Interior - beadlock wheels, even plastic ones - trailer with lights would be cool - better steering servo
I think it would’ve done all of the problems with enough attempts & correct lines. I was impressed with mine. You called it I noticed the same thing with a week Servo. When I’d get it wedged it didn’t want to move. The high end TRX like these are kind of strange normally I’d upgrade all electronics but I’m going to run it as it is till something goes out. But I’m definitely replacing the Servo. But I really don’t want to mess with anything else like the 2speed or 3 position switch for your axles unless I have to & eventually I’m sure I will have to. The Servo is the only thing that seemed to be the weak spot. I was impressed as I said at how good it performed stock. It’s still pretty stock I put on metal bead locks & J Concepts Ruptures which rub now but definitely improves crawling. I do have a low CG battery tray & Servo mount Bowhouse to install & light kit. A roof rack would be cool with lights but would really hurt the crawling performance. If set up properly you can tell it could be a serious crawler with the right attention in the right places. # 1 Replace Servo! Can’t wait to see what you do with yours. Thanks for sharing.
Nice! I'm largely the same in this instance. Going to keep the stock electronics aside from the servo, which we know is adequate for light crawling but not sustained, heavy use. It will not get over problems 3 and 4 without luck and many attempts and it would be tough on the vehicle. I'd call this a fail as far as my testing goes, but yes, eventually it'd probably do them. We'll get it there with minor changes, I think!
@@RCTNT It seems to be a trail truck that really wants to Crawl for sure. I have the Sport truck TRX as well & it also impresses in RTR form. I’m not brand specific so I had to get a few Traxxas RC’s. If your brand specific imagine how much fun you’d be out of.
I bought my first traxxas a week ago.. the servo did not sound happy from the outset, I've binned the faux winch already and new tyres and wheels coming. I do like the standard tyres though, just a pity they are glued to plastic rims. I thought I'd get some fresh rubber before attempting to remove them. Good video, can't wait for the rest in series...
I currently have an X-Maxx but want to add a Trail/Crawler to the collection. These are currently the prices in the UK for the following Traxxas TRX4 Bronco - £499.00 Traxxas TRX Sport - £409.99 Axial Base Camp - £422.00 Axial SCX10 III - £539.00 Axial Capra 4WS - £564.99 Element Ecto - £335.50 Element Sendero - £298.96 What one would I have more fun with? I know its very subjective but with all your experience I would love to know what you think I should choose?
Personally I'd buy the Bronco. I like the complexities of the Traxxas but it also wants some updates to make it more capable. But it's the most fun, which you suggested is your first priority here. Ecto or Capra for capability. Sendero for budget capability. It's really good!
The Bronco just needs a better servo and perhaps a bec to boost the voltage to it. That's it! Given the cost of the vehicles in your list, the Sendero is hard to beat for value. But if you're trail driving as well as crawling, the Bronco is what I'd be buying. Battery eliminator circuit = bec. You want voltage to feed the servo. If you get a 7.4v servo you need that power from a bec, if your esc doesn't supply it. There are many options here. Just be aware that the rest of the Bronco runs on 6v (receiver, light system if installed, shifting servos), so you do need a separate BEC for steering. I recommend these as good options: Steering servo: asiate.es/aff?l=155209&i=76070 BEC: asiate.es/aff?l=196083&i=76070 Alternatively, a cheaper servo that doesn't require a BEC is: asiate.es/aff?l=121079&i=76070
@@RCTNT My son has shown an interest now and my brother has said he can borrow his TRX 4 Land Rover so means I should probably try buying something a bit different, so the difference between the Sendero HD and The Echo is £36 over here in the UK 62 Australian dollars, I hear you say the sendero hd on a budget is good but is it worth just buying the ecto for not alot more?
@@willeymunda buy on personal preference. Ecto is better for Trail driving but great on rocks. Sendero better on rocks but will trail as well. Motor turns and rear suspension are the differences here. It's close though. And motor changes are cheap if you later decide to slow the Ecto down. Buy the one that excites you more, honestly. They're similar enough you'll be happy with either in the performance department!
I forgot how much that winch gets in the way. I appreciate that Traxxas made it a bolt-on part vs molded into the bumper. For a second I thought the spare tire was going to help it get up problem 3 :). I'll be curious to see if you kept the front skid plate when you removed the fake winch (assuming you removed it). I kept mine because it didn't seem like it would be a hindrance.
Run the stock one until it dies. After that, if you still want to keep things on a budget, you'll want to try to keep the original Traxxas ESC. That means you don't want a higher voltage servo as a replacement, as that would then need a more powerful power supply (that is, the BEC - Battery Eliminator Circuit inside the ESC). You'd ideally want a 6v metal geared waterproof (and super ideally, brushless) servo with a 20kg rating or better. I have several of these: asiate.es/aff?l=155209&i=76070 They take 7.4v but also run fine on 6v. This guy is a little cheaper and still good: asiate.es/aff?l=148572&i=76070 But if you just go with a brushed version, there are much, much cheaper options. I use the WP5323LV in many projects and for what it is, it's a great choice: asiate.es/aff?l=190715&i=76070 (These are affiliate links to AsiaTees, but I'd have linked to them anyway because I've used them and these products for years, long before RC-TNT. They're good products. Cheers!) PS. If you do buy a 7.4v servo, you can always change out the stock ESC at a later time. Get something like the WP-1080 (I have a programming guide on my website-just search for WP-1080) and it has a 7.4v BEC. I'll be doing a servo round up and a servo comparison later this year, too. Lots to do!
Obstacle would be a better term, the way you worded the video, at first glance it looks like 6 problems with the Bronco. No one has ever said let's run the problem course, it's an obstacle course, lol.
It isn't a course, though. I have six different problems for the vehicles to 'solve'. Each of the problems has a few different kinds of obstacles in them. But I take your point, thanks for the feedback. I think I'll stick with problems for now as we've run so many vehicles over them we have some consistency for reference at this point (such as Problem 4 favors rigs with portals and bigger diameter tires, for example). Good feedback on your confusion though, I haven't heard that from anyone else so hadn't considered it might be a ... problem. I'll keep it in mind for whenever I overhaul how we do things, thanks :)
I don't ask about subscribing in my videos usually because I figure people who really want to watch more will do that. Maybe I should move the prompt to like to earlier in the video though, I usually do that at the last few seconds, but many people won't be watching that long! Anyway, thank you for the support!
Hello Craig. Those stock servos on the TRX4 are garbage! I agree that for the money these cost the least they could do is put one on it that reflects the quality of the rest of the truck. Maybe some trail runs mixed in with the 6 problems would be a good idea to switch it up a bit if you’re up for that. Anyway, I do look forward to seeing what changes you make and how it effects performance. Cheers!
Thanks Scott. Definitely trail runs coming, but first, the project! You'll see, soon enough :) Not quite ready but it'll be good when we get there! Cheers
@@RCTNT You’re welcome Craig. You seem like a genuinely good guy and I appreciate the time you put into making your videos and the entertainment they provide.
@@scottjlambert thanks Scott. I nearly gave the hobby away a little while before I started the channel but after a pretty low 18 months I thought I should try pushing myself a bit, so here we are! Glad I did it :)
You bet! Fun style review here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SKGPLi9tRnM.html And an FPV experiment here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AHXCgrAwyiU.html
@@RCTNT I got the gladiator and bronco. They both are fun little crawler. I like doing the upgrades. Just figuring how to do them. Fun but frustrating at times. But I dig it. LOL
Hey good morning! (Here in Florida, anyway). New sub here. I picked up the Land Rover Defender a couple days ago. Wow! Great performer, so I’m looking forward to watching this video right now! Thanks and good day!
@@RCTNT ive only added some beadlocks and i guess they were brand new mickey thompson tires haha for 1.9 so that was a nice visual upgrade ill have to continue testing it out then except for sure needs lights and rock lights😂
@@RCTNT they are just barely bigger than the stock which i liked for sure and they do well in snow so far and yea i completely forgot they made the lights🤣
They're not cheap but it's a great system. I have those tires here (well, I have very many tires at this point) and I like them. (Biggest yet tire testing coming later this year). Glad you're enjoying it!
I enjoyed the video. I think it's an excellent idea to an evolutionary study of this truck. It will give the viewer how far they want to take it. I agree that the servo that Traxxas puts in its trucks is not great. It's durable in other applications. For climbing what do want out of servo? Thanks.
The base servo is fine for trail use and light crawling. I don't have a problem with it for that and everything is built to a price. That said, many much cheaper crawlers come with better servos. This truck sells for over AUD$1000, which is ridiculously expensive for a 1/10 scale polycarbonate bodied vehicle (IMO). It should at least come with a servo that won't fail when you're crawling with it, which is half of its intended purpose. It isn't terrible, but gee, it could be a bit better! :)
I have a Sport kit that I love. Traxxas are very capable stock, except for their servos. Traxxas has a very nice servo that should IMHO come with their trucks. You've inspired me to build my own course. Thanks much great vid as always!
Excellent demonstration. Not terribly unexpected results, all things considered. Those Traxxas Canyon Trail tires certainly counterbalance some other potential deficits in the platform. Several times I didn't think it was going to make it through, and the tires pulled it up. There's a lot to be said for good tires. Overall, it's a pretty decent rig, I think. If one were willing to really abuse it and beat it up, I suspect it could have done problem 4, but I don't think that's justified in this case. Wise decision to stop when you did. On the drag brake, mine seems to work pretty well, but I'm using the ESC setting (might be Trail Mode?) where it brakes first and then requires a second trigger movement to go into reverse, and as long as I hold the brake, it seems to hold on any slope or rock I put it on. Mine may be an outlier from the typical ESC performance of most users. My sample group is 1, so I can't really say for sure if this is normal or not. I selected this mode because I like having the separate brake control. I am using the stock ESC and motor that came with the TRX-4 new. So now I'm wondering... I've not seen these different models side by side yet. What are the mechanical/physical differences in the chassis between, say, the 1979 Bronco model, and the 2021 Bronco model? Obviously the bodies and mountings are different, but is there anything significantly different in the rest of the chassis? Or is just it the same old chassis wearing a new hat?
Thanks and yep, they're exactly the same underneath,for better or worse. When you power up the esc, there are 5 modes. Hold down the button when turning it on and release when it flashes the number of times you want. For crawling, mode 5 is the one to get. I used mode 1 here for the full stock experience - and also because the older (non 'hv' variants) didn't come with modes 4 and 5. Drag brake is sufficient in mode 5, for what it's worth!
@@RCTNT I tried Mode 5 first when initially setting the truck up. On mine, the drag brake/hill hold was more like the stock Gen8 V2 (weak!). Having the two together driving them side by side, the comparison was easy to make. I drove it like that for a couple days, maybe a week, and really was not happy with the brake performance in Mode 5. Maybe mine really is an outlier like I suspect? Now, in Trail Mode, when I push the trigger forward while driving forward and activate the brake without going into reverse, it gives a progressive brake, the faster and harder I push it, the harder and faster it stops, which I rather like. If I hold the brake on, it holds steady where-ever it is. There are disadvantages to this, like it won't hold on a hill at all unless I hold the brake down, but to me it gives a more authentic driving experience. It may not be very effective for good performance when scale crawling, but it's sure a lot more like driving my fullsize Bronco, bad behaviour and all. I don't know how I feel about that, knowing that the new one and the old one are the same underneath. On the one hand, I'm glad the new one doesn't have anything that the one I already have didn't come with, so I don't have to worry about unexpected upgrade costs. On the other hand, I feel like it's a bad deal, you don't get any advantages or improvements with the new body. It's literally just a different hat. Even though it costs more. Very mixed feelings here.
@@elduderinolebowski5411 scale is life. Limitations lead to enhanced enjoyment in the human experience. That's a broad concept that applies in so many facets of our daily lives. Drive it limited like it is and enjoy the scale! It sounds fun, and that's priority number 1 unless it's a comp rig at a high level (in which case satisfaction from performance may be the form of fun you're after there). I like how you explained yours. It sounds great how it is :)
@@RCTNT Thank you! I'm glad you agree. That's one of the best parts of this hobby, sharing ideas and expressing our individuality within the community. Really looking forward to watching this build unfold. There's so much offered for these things, it's literally mind-boggling. How much of it provides real advantages, and how much of it is cosmetic? you're going to find out, and we're going to be right here with you, enjoying the ride and learning along with you. what fun!