axial scx10 or trx4

[BashTillBroken]

want to get into 1/10 crawling want to do kinda scale meaning now comp bodies want to stick to trucks but the reason I can't decide is because I like the idea of locking diffs and multiple speed tranny don't care about portal axles but I want to be able to go to events like axial fest and Traxxas has been making more poor decisions when it comes to the community and don't really want to support them

 

[Jerold]

I have a TRX-4 and it's very good, it's also very modified. The locking diffs are marginally useful. You can turn a little better with them open or just lock the front only when climbing. But a dig and overdrive gears are more effective. The 2-speed is really unnecessary unless you want to bash. The gorilla marketing tactics are very bad though.

The SCX10-III is also very good and they have a pro model coming out soon. That will be a billy goat. You can get an optional dig for the trans, on the SCX10-III, which is kinda of cool. I've run side by side with them and (personally) think the TRX-4 has a slight advantage out of the box. But you will modify and tune it anyway. Gears and weight distribution goes a long way.

After market parts are plentiful for both of them and you can't go wrong either way.

One of the best deals these days is the Vanquish VS410 Kit. You can get portal or straight axle. You will need electronics; although, if you bought the TRX or SCX you would probably upgrade them at some point. So it could be cheaper in the long run.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/vanqui...crawler-kit-w-free-vps10210-vps09007/p1368384
https://www.amainhobbies.com/vanqui...crawler-kit-w-free-vps10210-vps09008/p1444891

If you want scale Element RC does some really cool stuff and they appear to be pretty capable too. I think the downside is they don't have the aftermarket support of TRX or SCX. Vanquish is so good you don't need the after market parts.

A few channels that I found helpful
https://www.youtube.com/@RCReviewChannel
https://www.youtube.com/@scalebuildersguild

 

[GraniteFox]

I went the SCX10 path. Solid platform. Like the dig and available 2-speed if you want to add a servo. Just can't support the TRX company. Not even a decision in my mind. I agree with the above....the vanquish product looks very good as well.

 

[chilly81]

Well said everyone. If you like building, I would definitely get the vanquish though. I don’t have any Traxxas, but I have a number of Axiols and a phoenix. And if I can only have one, definitely vanquish. It really doesn’t come out that much more expensive than one of the nice body TRX four models and it is a much nicer kit. Dig and overdrive is so much more useful than locking differentials. I can’t see a point to locking differentials, except for the scale aspect of it if you’re trailing. I’m not that interested in that and have no problem trailing a few miles with locked diffs.

Another thing to consider with crawlers is you can get perfectly adequate ESC and motor, brushed, for like $75. People go way overboard with servos and crawlers, but I’ve had good luck with the $70 ones. My Phoenix has maybe $150 worth of electronics in it and it’s great… 40 bucks for a hobby wing 1080, 20 to 30 bucks for a basic Holmes crawler motor, 20 bucks for a receiver. And I think I sprung 80 bucks for a higher kg, direct power Chinese servo, because you will typically overload the esc’s BEC

 

[morrjr71]

I have a 1955 Ford F100 SCX10.2 and a Traxxas TRX-4 Defender, and I like both of them. The TRX-4 is more durable out of the box, but the SCX is more nimble. I have extensively modified my SCX: it has Boom Racing Bad Ass axles; a lot of aluminum chassis components; Traxxas GTS shocks; RC4WD TSL Thornbird tires; Vanquish steel driveshafts; and more. It recently got a Hobbywing Fusion Pro 2300kv motor in it. It's now more durable: it's my favorite crawler.

 

[chilly81]

Looks sweet. I think I have the same wheels.

 

[morrjr71]

Here's a pic of the SCX10.2 F100 chassis.

 

[SrC]

want to get into 1/10 crawling want to do kinda scale meaning now comp bodies want to stick to trucks but the reason I can't decide is because I like the idea of locking diffs and multiple speed tranny don't care about portal axles but I want to be able to go to events like axial fest and Traxxas has been making more poor decisions when it comes to the community and don't really want to support them

Forget about any legit G6 comp events with a TRX-4. You will never see one. Not allowed. TRX-4 is more like a "Basher Crawler". Better for trail hiking and just playing around. Get an Axial. I have 2 Axial's ( Class 1 and 2 spec'ed out) and one Trx-4. Start with an Axial or even a $VP$ first. Then maybe down the road get a TRX-4 Roller to play with. My Axials Comp way better than my TRX-4. Even though the TRX-4 has some "disqualifying" feature advantages. The Portal design has some disadvantages BTW. A Higher center of gravity being one of them.
Lockers and 2 speed tranny is useless for a crawler IMHO. But A "Dig" is what you really want/ need for comping.

It's a nice challenge to setup a "Comp Crawler". There is more to it than you think. And you can spend beaucoup Coin on one. $1K easily.
BTW, don't be too quick to add all that Brass weight. A bandaid that comes with some drawbacks. Many current comp rigs are not following the "Heavier the Better" Theme these days.
I highly recommend PitBull Rock Beast tires. The best of the best. And tires and Foams matter the most with any Crawler. I like Crawler Innovations foams. What I learned. Firmer Foams always in the rear tires. I use Pitbull Tires. The best out there. I tried so many others. Yes they cost much. But Crawler tires last and last, unlike Basher tires that don't. Worth the investment up front, right away.

http://www.rccrawler.com/rules2006.pdf

 

[BashTillBroken]

It looks like I’m going with the axial scx10 will probably pick one up In the coming months

 

[SrC]

BTW, I use TRX4 shocks on my Axials. Ironically the better shock hands down. The Crawler Crowd has been doing that upgrade for a while now. Got them from JennysRC for cheap. Yeah, the TRX-4 shocks are actually way better. And always best to start out with very thin shock oil. ( 20-25W) Too thick is bad for Crawling. FWIW. Keep that in mind, when you realize that the Axial shocks are a pain to deal with, bleed and they always leak out just sitting on the shelf doing nothing. I didn't believe it until I tried them. TRX-4 shocks are nice looking also. No need to upgrade to the expensive upgrade brand shocks like Proline and RC4WD etc. A waste of coin. Been there with the Proline Scaler shocks. A nightmare waste of garbage and $140.00 later. Proline cust support also sucked hard. No clue about their own outsourced made in Taiwan shocks. Proline is just good for bodies and tires. The Proline shocks just sit in my bin of crap parts now. Don't repeat my mistake.

Edited.

 

[Jerold]

Even though the TRX-4 has some "disqualifying" feature advantages

I haven't done any comps, what are the evil features? I can see the 2-speed might be useful in comps if you need to sprint a ways.

If I did it again I would have gone for the Sport instead, no lockers, no 2-speed. The problem I have is the name "Sport". When it comes to cars, Sport usually means "You couldn't afford the good one so we are going to give you some chrome exhaust and this fancy Sport sticker."

@BashTillBroken You will need to figure out what tires work for your terrain. The ones SRC mentioned are very good. I'm running JConcepts Ruptures and have run in the past Hyrax (very popular) and RC4WD Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ. All of them pretty good for my area. But look around and see what other's are running. The stock tires should be fine to start with.

Another thing to consider with crawlers is you can get perfectly adequate ESC and motor, brushed, for like $75. People go way overboard with servos and crawlers, but I’ve had good luck with the $70 ones. My Phoenix has maybe $150 worth of electronics in it and it’s great… 40 bucks for a hobby wing 1080, 20 to 30 bucks for a basic Holmes crawler motor, 20 bucks for a receiver. And I think I sprung 80 bucks for a higher kg, direct power Chinese servo, because you will typically overload the esc’s BEC

The 1080 is a solid choice and what I'm currently running, with an HH TrailMaster Sport <- there's that Sport thing again. Realistically it's really a great motor for $20. It got replaced after the stock Titan let the smoke out. I did drop a dime on the servo.

Sometimes, it's about tuning and experience than the equipment. Money can't buy skill. So keep in mind that all the stock stuff will get you up and running. Things will break or you will find weakness. Then figure out what you want to do. Crawling requires patience when tuning and driving.

 

[SrC]

1080 is great. I have one in my Axial Deadbolt scx10.2. Holmes Torquemaster rebuildable motor. I only run brushed. I didn't like the feel of BLX in a Crawler. Not enough precision for my liking. I was considering getting another ESC-70 ISDT Brushed ESC ( $25.00) for my Trail Honcho. I have one in @N.Mango 's XXX-T Losi 1/10 truggy that he gave me. I like this ESC's BT App. capability when out in the field. There is a slight learning curve to setting it up. Mostly because it is a very different type of ESC. Runs very cool on 3s. In fact it is Ice cold no matter how fast and hard I push the XXX-T , tall gearing and all.

 

[Jerold]

1080 is great. I have one in my Axial Deadbolt scx10.2. Holmes Torquemaster rebuildable motor. I only run brushed. I didn't like the feel of BLX in a Crawler. Not enough precision for my liking. I was considering getting another ESC-70 ISDT Brushed ESC ( $25.00) for my Trail Honcho. I have one in @N.Mango 's XXX-T Losi 1/10 truggy that he gave me. I like this ESC's BT App. capability when out in the field. There is a slight learning curve to setting it up. Mostly because it is a very different type of ESC. Runs very cool on 3s.

Over all I'm happy with the HH/1080 combo, but still looking for an upgrade. . . as always.

I've driven a rig with a HH Crawlmaster Magnum/1080 combo and it was like butter, but that is a very expensive motor and the 2-speed is not a good setup for it because of heat. I'm also considering a HW Fusion it pairs well with the TRX4 2-speed, is super quiet, uses FOC to control it at low speed (no cogging) and easy on the amps too.

 

[Killacam]

here are a couple crawler kits i built to compare- scx10 ii, scx10 iii, vanquish ultra, vanquish straight axle builders kit, and trx6. i like them all for different reasons- i like the simplicity of the scx10ii, the scale body on the scx10 iii, the axles on the ultra, the builders kit was an excellent value, and the trx6 because 6 wheels is cool.

for a first crawler i would recommend a phoenix kit or the scx10 ii raw builders kit. the phoenix is overall better quality while the scx10 ii is cheaper and an easy build.

 

[Doom!]

Love my Element Crawlers. They tend to get overlooked by a lot of folks looking at the major players, but are really nice trucks at a reasonable price. They don't have two speeds but not sure if that is a deal breaker. Take a look- ELEMENT RC

 

[Killacam]

Love my Element Crawlers. They tend to get overlooked by a lot of folks looking at the major players, but are really nice trucks at a reasonable price. They don't have two speeds but not sure if that is a deal breaker. Take a look- ELEMENT RC

View attachment 292782

nice plate!

 

[BashTillBroken]

The raw builders kit by axial looks good do you guys have any recommendations for esc and motor?

 

[Jerold]

The raw builders kit by axial looks good do you guys have any recommendations for esc and motor?

On the cheap you can can't go wrong with a HW 1080, an HH brushed motor. If you want to spend more, the sky is the limit. All in it's like $60-70. The HH recommendations are below.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbyw...brushed-crawling-esc-23s-hwa30120202/p1466194
https://holmeshobbies.com/motor-recommendations

The outrunners are some of the best performing but but they are noisy. Like a spaceship landing in your bathtub noisy. HH has an ESC that reduces or eliminates that but I don't recall what it was.

If you want brushless make sure it's sensored or you will get cogging.

The HW Fusion series is a good choicie. The Pro is a bit more $$ (2x) than a brushed system. Or you can go with the SE ("Sport" Edition) version which is much cheaper. There is a few YT videos that explain the difference.
Hobbywing QuicRun Fusion Pro FOC 2-in-1 ESC & Motor System (2300Kv)
Hobbywing QuicRun Fusion SE FOC 2-in-1 Crawler Brushless ESC & Motor System (1200Kv) (540 Spec)
Hobbywing QuicRun Fusion SE FOC 2-in-1 Crawler Brushless ESC & Motor System (1800Kv) (540 Spec)

For the servo. You will want waterproof and metal gears. More torque the better. I've had very good luck with Protek, but there are lots of good brands. Just know that Savax likes to make a lot of noise, it's super annoying.

 

[Killacam]

The raw builders kit by axial looks good do you guys have any recommendations for esc and motor?

Fusion pro if you're on a budget, axe or mamba x combo if you're not. The fusion pro is worth the extra money over an SE. It has a much nicer machined case and it's more powerful.

 

[SrC]

Yeah it don't get better than the VP Pheonix.
Eyeing that one for awhile now.