I was checking out the Team Durango DESC410R (http://www.team-durango.com/race-cars/desc410r/) and I was really liking what I saw...until I noticed that it seems to take only saddle pack batteries. I get it that they did a nice job with the layout, but seriously isn't that a counter intuitive battery choice for a SC truck? I also noticed a cover that seems to go under the body: That seems like a good idea to keep dirt out. Does that come with the truck?
The extra cover is called an under tray. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing that they came with one. It is a special ventable low profile unit. Definitely a nice truck and wouldn't mind owning one myself. I guess they figure if you can afford to buy and race a durango car you can afford funny batterys for it also ;D
What's wrong with this picture: There are the saddle batteries...under the rear drive shaft. What's up with that? Are those the batteries that pan cars use?
I suppose Team Durango felt that the weight of the batteries is best there? It makes sense, low and in the center as opposed to one one side like more 4x4 sc trucks. I would suggest hard case saddle packs. The china brands make some reasonable saddle packs (gens ace, turnigy) that will cost $30-$40. It's about as high end as 4x4 sc gets.
Do you think the batteries weigh as much as the motor? That looks like a 550 size motor in the picture. I know my ESC does not weigh as much as my motor. I totally see what they wanted to do with this configuration and they did a decent job, but it seems to me if you are going to make a major decision like forcing a different and less obtainable battery type on the buyer you might look at making the motor in the center line first because it is a major, if not THE major weight of the electronics. Come on, does your local hobby shop carry those batteries? I don't know of one in the Rogue Valley that does.
This truck is a nice unit, as is with all there current offerings, I've been toying with running one of there buggies this next year. In the game of RC Racing you buy what you need, not always what is supplied.
I agree that the truck is nice. It has many good features and is probably good quality as far as I can tell from photos. I think the battery choice was dumb, and mounting the batteries under the rear drive shaft is dumb especially since they have those side bolsters that prohibit the changing of the batteries from the side. It looks like they have devised a quick-release for the rear differential side of the drive shaft to allow battery replacement but I did not see anything in the main marketing materials mentioning how one replaces the batteries. In fact they don't brag about the battery placement nor the battery choice anywhere on the website. Makes me wonder if anybody bought that truck and had a uh-oh moment. But you are right: another year, another new fashionable RC truck to buy. Remember when the manufacturers made the same trucks/cars with incremental improvements for a period of years? You can still get Traxxas parts for those old Rustlers that had those lousy turning disk speed controllers, and what you can't get many of the parts from the new trucks will fit your old chassis. I wonder how things will work out a few years down the road for folks who buy the Team Durango DESC410R.
I see what you are saying. I would assume after weighing each corner there would need to be weight added to the right side. It is damn near impossible to get the motor in the center though. How would you connect the drive if it wasn't in the center? I suppose the shafts can be run at a bit of an angle like some 1/8 buggies (which are very similar to a lot of 4x4 sc trucks) but from an engineering standpoint I don't like it. The sc104x4 and the belt drive is the non drive shaft sc4x4 that has been doing very well in racing. It has to be lighter weight than the rest that are build like the 1/8 scale buggies. I am sure it is not as durable as the Desc410R, but for racing who cares?
nope, at the moment I just run a SC10RS with some hop ups. I have a Brushless RTR sc10 as well for my girlfriend. This way I have two vehicles in the pits to try different setups on and find something that works quickly. What bugs me is my gf's sc10 has the older shocks, a cheap Tacon motor, but with a good Savox 1258tg servo, and the "not very aero dynamic" militia pro line body and I am much faster with it than my RS. This is with the same setup on both trucks. I suppose this is such a small scale that there are tiny differences that are having a larger effect. I am interested in the 4x4's because I have a Losi 8ight T-E sitting on the shelf and not getting used. I would rather own something I can race locally. I would love to have this team durango, but once a motor/esc/servo/reciever are factored in it looks to be a $700+ truck.
I saw a picture on the green and black website that looked like a on-road chassis SC truck somehow. How you like the Savox servo? I am using one in my AX10 and liking it so far.
For the money, the 1258tg Savox is great for 1/10 scale. There is a guy on rctech selling them for $60 shipped in the classifieds section. Its very fast and decently strong. I swapped out the stock servo that came in the RTR SC10 for it and instantly I was a lot faster around the track. It is actually in my gf's Sc10. I am running a Hitech titanium geared $100+ servo for 1/8 scale that came out of a 1/8 truggy. Its fast but not as fast as the savox. it has a lot more torque but it is not needed, the savox outperforms it easily.
I am using a Savox 1256TG in my AX10 crawler. It's not as fast as the 1258TG but has more torque which is what I was going for, don't really need super fast in a crawler. On my Hyper 10SC truck I use a Hitec 7950TH. It's just as fast as the JR 9100T and has some more torque.
