Review: Axial Trail Honcho
Review: Axial Trail Honcho
Axial has placed itself as one of the leading companies in rock crawling. Just recently they released the SCX10 Trail Truck kit, a crawler aimed at the scale rock crawling audience. The immediate success of that truck was all that was needed to push forward to the next iteration of the SCX10, the TR, or Trail Ready. The SCX10-TR is a Ready-To-Run version that includes everything you need to ‘Blaze Your Own Trails’ (except for a 6-cell battery and AA’s). Two versions of this truck exist, one with a silver Dingo body and one with a green Trail Honcho body. I think the Dingo is a little to urban for my tastes, so I’m glad to be able to test out the Honcho. Plus, the name sounds way more manly. So join me as I give the ol’ Honcho a work out on several different terrains to see how she fares.
AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT Axial
WHO IT’S FOR Anyone who wants to get into scale crawling
PART NO. AX90016
HOW MUCH $299
WHAT WE LIKED
• The scale appearance, of course
• Compatible with the slew of already existing Axial upgrades
• Lighting system
• The big bag of replacement and optional goodies
• Beadlocks and Proline Flat Iron tires
WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED
• Rear body clips are kind of a pain if you have sausage fingers (like mine)
• Even though the molded roll cage and spare tire look cool, it does add a lot of weight to the tail end of the truck
THE BOTTOM LINE
While not a serious competition crawler, the Axial SCX10-TR will make short work of most terrains. Its home is simply riding the trails, and looking good doing it! But don’t let it fool you; this Honcho is certainly capable of traversing most rocks, sand and dirt!
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
• The SCX10-TR Trail Honcho comes fully assembled. Install your battery, plug it in and you’re ready to rock, umm, so to speak.
• The body is gorgeous! I totally dig the molded diamond-plate bed with fuel tank and the spare tire holder. The molded cage makes the body feel tough as nails!
• While the front bumper may only be molded plastic tubing, the skid plates are all aluminum. A cool set of offroad lights light the way up front, and a set of brake lights shine out the rear. Optional light buckets are also included should you want to customize your Honcho right from the start.
• The steel C-channel frame provides the Honcho with a rigid platform, and multiple cross-bracing makes sure there is no twisting while out on the rocks. Plastic rock sliders on both sides of the truck reduce body damage and help the Honcho slide over obstacles.
• The sealed electronics box has been relocated further forward than it was on previous SCX10-TR models. This helps move weight forward for better crawling characteristics. In addition, the box helps keep dirt and debris out of the electronics, however it is not waterproof. Watch the depth of those ‘scale-rivers’ before trying to cross them.
• The transmission is centrally placed as low in the chassis as possible to keep a low Center of Gravity. This same transmission is used in some of their higher-end competition vehicles so you know it’s durable. The attached motor plate accepts brushed or brushless motors and allows for a wide range of gearing options. A slipper clutch has been added to help save the transmission and gears should you get yourself into a bad predicament.
• Axial has included hardened steel shafts and a hi-tolerance sintered diff lock in both the front and rear axles. This should help prevent any durability issues while out on the trails.
• Oil-filled coil-over threaded shocks are included and are wrapped with a dual-stage spring setup. Axial sells a complete line of option springs that allow you to fine tune the suspension for any type of terrain.
• Proline Flat Iron tires are mounted on Axial’s tried-and true 8-hole bead lock wheels. These wheels look great and have a realistic center hub that covers the wheelnut. Optional bead lock rings (in different colors) are available from Axial.
• The Honcho comes with a 27-turn brushed motor and ESC with forward and reverse action. The 2-channel transmitter uses 27mhz and includes throttle reversing and trims.
• The Axial Honcho comes with a bag of spare parts and a pair of gate markers. You can set up the gate markers to practice some difficult maneuvers before competition time.
NEEDED TO COMPLETE
6-cell battery, charger, AA’s for the transmitter
WHAT WE USED
Reedy LiPo 5000mAh 20c pack—704, $85
TOOLS INCLUDED
Four-way wrench
TOOLS NEEDED
None
HARDWARE TYPE
Metric
Axial SCX10 Trail Honcho
DIMENSIONS
LENGTH 18 in. (457mm)
WIDTH 9 in. (227mm)
WHEELBASE 12.3 in.(313mm)
WEIGHT 4 lb. (1,814g)
TUNING OPTIONS
• Battery Tray—multiple mounting positions for adjusting weight bias
• Shock position—3 upper locations front and rear
• Shock oil—use oil in a variety of viscosities
RECOMMENDED ACCESSORIES
61-90mm Aluminum Shock Set – 7mm Piston (2pcs)—AX30090, $40
COMPETITORS INCLUDE
HPI Crawler King, Tamiya CR-01 Ford Bronco
PERFORMANCE SCORECARD
The rocks, the trails and the sandy beaches of Southern California
STEERING Understeer Neutral Oversteer
Most competition crawlers feature a front and rear locked differential. This is mandatory in the crawling world as it keeps both front and rear wheels turning to help pull the truck up and over huge obstacles. The downside of this is that is does take away some steering. That is the nature of the beast, so I really can’t hold this against the Honcho. It does have a decent turning radius for any type of trail driving and probably work fine for your application.
ACCELERATION Poor Fair Good Excellent
The included 27T brushed motor is snappy and moves the Trail Honcho around on flatter surfaces without any problem, but once you try to climb up any substantial terrain, I think it loses its edge. A lower turn motor would really help the Honcho in the torque department. Most of the hardcore crawlers I’ve talked to suggested using a motor somewhere in the 55T area. Or, as mentioned earlier, you could upgrade to any of the crawler-specific brushless systems.
BRAKING Poor Fair Good Excellent
Brakes are a rock crawlers best friend. It’s easy to go up, but getting down is a whole different story! Brakes must be smooth, strong and linear to retain control of your crawler on the way down a hill. The stock ESC and 27T motor did a good job of keeping the Honcho straight and under control on some of my more vertical cliff-side decents.
SUSPENSION Poor Fair Good Excellent
As you’d expect from a leader in the field, the stock suspension works flawlessly. What I think I like about it most is that it seems realistic; it shouldn’t be able to articulate like a full-blown crawler. You shouldn’t be able to make it up every obstacle you encounter. And it doesn’t. But that’s what I liked about it. It’s a trail truck. Instead of jamming up the side of a monster rock to get to the top of the hill, you actually have to find a trail up there! It does a great job, however, of soaking up the smaller rocks and crevices, and the soft Proline Flat Irons are able to claw their way over quite a bit of terrain.
DURABILITY Poor Fair Good Excellent
There’s not much exposed on the Honcho when it tips and tumbles from higher ground. The front tube bumper and rear cage do a superb job of keeping all the internals safe from harm. The bead lock wheels did an excellent job of keeping the tires pinned in place, and the center skid and rock sliders helped protect the bottom of the truck. I did lose the front fog light grills a couple times, but once I found them they snap back on without a problem. My lower links are also a bit battered so I may try and upgrade those as soon as possible.
THE LAST WORD
The SCX10-TR is a great all-around scale crawler. It can climb up and over most rocky terrain, rides like a champ on any dirt trail and can throw up some serious roosts in the sand. And, it does all this while looking like something out of a magazine. In addition, there is already a huge aftermarket support for all the Axial rides. So throw on a few custom hop-ups, swap out the motor for something with a little more torque and Attack the Trails!
Links
Axial, www.AxialRacing.com
Reedy, Distributed by Team Associated, www.RC10.com
[as seen in: RC Driver Magazine]
