Which solid axle truck

[tangoman]

Hi all,

 

Could I get some advise I am after a Solid axle monster truck I've always been a massive fan of full size monster trucks so want an RC one.

 

Have looked at Crawford Performance engineering  but don't think I have the skills to build one from scratch have seen a couple on here think AJ and Mond which are amazing.

 

so my options are 

 

Kyosho USA 1

 

Losi LMT

 

Does anybody have pros and cone or experience of either they can share.

 

I would still like to do a scratch build but think that may be some way off.

 

this is going to be my Birthday present in June so just getting your thoughts ready for the purchase.

 

Thanks

Nick

 

[Lone-wolf]

Nick, i think i would say the Kyosho over the Losi

[Stormbringer]

I think the Losi suffers from weak axles so another vote for the Kyosho

[Kpowell911]

All down to budget. Cause that TLR Tuned LMT looks a beaut!

[supersavage]

Losi LMT I never had an issue with the updated axles that are now on them  Or if you can stretch to it go for the TLR Tuned LMT.

[ad456m]

I have the Kyosho, I bought it for my birthday last year. Cracking truck, heaps of power on 3s. Still not tried it on 4s as I think I’d get trigger happy and wreck it. It’s definitely my go to truck for bashing around. Don’t know that it’s just the best for an out and out freestyle basher but it’s a good bit cheaper than the LMT if ya get the right price. I paid £455 at MB Models I think. 

Only things to do is shim the diffs and loctite the metal to metal screws and it’s sorted.
A Hobbywing program card will do for the esc as it’s just a Kyosho branded HW Max10 or something that’s in it and the 2300kv 4270(?) can has tons of power. 
I’ve broken a couple of axle tubes, twisted some chassis plates, snapped the odd rod end but this has been through doing double/triple backflips off of rockfaces and landing badly or from 8ft up on one wheel, hitting kerbs that came from nowhere etc. basically doing dumb stuff👍. 
The one last thing I would advise with it is get a runner body, I didn’t and wish I had. That USA shell is super nice but won’t survive too much heavy punishment. 
12 months of abuse with abandonment and it’s still my go to truck. Always smiling with it even when I took the fun too far!!

[Nitroholic]

Kyosho USA 1 is basically still running the old Madforce axles. I have had a Madforce Kruiser for... a long time.

 

Love the old thing.

 

Converted it to brushless, and run it on 4S. But I do have some alloy axles in place of the stock plastic ones. Don;t think those are still made... but if anyone does start making them, it is worth the money.

Handling was bouncy, and a bit quirky...but it is fun. Modded the steering to mount the servo on the front axle...braced the suspension arms and its good.

 

Tempted to convert it back to nitro just for ****s and giggles.

[ad456m]

After I posted here I charged up a couple of 5900 mah 3s and went to the beach with it. Just awesome fun. 
 

@NitroholicI think Hot Racing and Vitavon both have versions going but at 320 quid for both ends it’s more than 2/3 of what I paid new so a hard sell for me at the moment. They’d look class and be good but it’s a lot to put down. 

The axle has been revised since the Kruiser model but it’s effectively the same. I think it is a Kruiser body I’m rocking just now as it’s about half the price of the USA-1 body. 

[tangoman]

Thanks for all the replies, has anybody done 4WS that's my only issue with the Kyosho as it's all or nothing as it uses the same servo with an additional rod where the LMT is independent?

[ad456m]

Yeah, I did indeed. It was on the truck for about 8 months. Was pretty good fun and didn’t suffer from wavy wheels at speed unlike some can when the servo saver isn’t strong enough. I took it off when I did a maintenance rebuild as I found it wasn’t as big a deal as I thought it was to begin with. I’ve had 4WS on a lot of rigs, various Clods, Juggernaut/TXT, Wild Dagger and the USA/Mad Force and for me personally I find that really it’s only needed in smaller running spaces. I run my USA on beaches and large grass/dirt areas mostly so don’t need the turning circle and 4WS makes most trucks flip happy at speed if I overcook the steering.  
If I went to servo on axle there’s a small chance I’d be tempted to put it back on but I doubt I’d actually use it other than showing off. 
That’s just my mileage though. The bits to put on the 4WS are fairly cheap if I remember and between Modelsport and Plaza Japan you’re never really waiting that long for parts. 

[tangoman]

Thanks mate food for thought.

[Nitroholic]

Yeah..I tried a 4WS setup on my Madforce, duplicating the servo setup I had on the front.

Didn;t keep it for long. Made the car wander at speed unless I cranked up the servo saver and really dialled down the movement range on the rears.... and unless going slowly...it promoted over steer. Crabbing was fun....for about 5 minutes.

Took it off and never bothered again. It didn;t need it.

 

Makes more sense on a rock crawler, or on a slower truck.... but I was running this on 4S and a 1950 4-pole and wasn;t really bothered about going slow

[ad456m]

I’d also add if you’re watching Trigger King freestyle on YouTube and planning to make all the ramps etc and use the truck in that fashion then the LMT will likely make more sense. It’s a bit better at all that I believe, I’ve never seen one so this is only what I’ve read etc. Either way, that style of use can get expensive in bombproofing the truck regardless of model. I’ve got my custom mod clod for those types of shenanigans, no rear steer there either, I designed it without 4WS. The USA-1 is for more normal bashing around. 

Edited March 5, 2023 by ad456m

[ad456m]

@tangoman, did you decide on a truck?

[tangoman]

On 13/03/2023 at 22:09, ad456m said:

@tangoman, did you decide on a truck?

Not yet mate going to be a birthday present in June but leaning towards USA1