Axial Racing once again set off to set the world on fire with their new Yeti SCORE Trophy Truck. Using the proven Yeti platform of 4wd featuring a solid rear axle, the Trophy Truck was designed to bring true scale realism to the 1/10th truck market. Did they hit the mark? Is it a good basher? Can it take a hit and not break? Read on to see what we found out after weeks of beating on one…
From: Axial Racing
Direct Link: Yeti Trophy Truck
Unboxing Pictures: BSRC Unboxes The Yeti Trophy Truck
Review By: Cubby
Photography By: Tim Mohr
Specs:
RTR or Kit: RTR
Age: 14+
2wd or 4wd: 4wd
Shaft or Belt: Shaft
Electric or Gas: Electric
Waterproof: Yes
Scale: 1/10
Length: 23″
Width: 12″
Wheelbase: 14.2″
Weight: 6.65 lbs
Motor: 4 pole 3150kV brushless
Speed Controller: Vanguard AE-3 3S capable
Low Voltage Cut-off: Yes indeed
Radio: Tactic TTX300 2.4GHz
Stability Control: No
Sound Module: No
Differential: Gear diff front, locked rear
Slipper Clutch: Yup
Driveshafts: Plastic rear center, metal bones up front
Shocks: Aluminum bodies, oil filled
Servo Saver: In rack
Screws: Metric, hex
Bearings: Yes
Tires: Axial BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR2
Battery: Not included
Part Number: #AX90050
Bashing Specs:
Front wheel travel: 2.25″
Rear wheel travel (straight vertical): 3″
Wheelie on demand: No
Backflip off ramps: No
Top Speed (measured by BSRC on 3S LiPo): 25 mph
Runtime (measured by BSRC): Really, really long
Street Price: $449
Primary Competition: Axial Yeti and various 4wd tenth scale short course trucks.
What’s Needed To Complete: Not much, you’ll need a battery for the truck, a charger, and four AA batteries for the transmitter.
Build Quality: When we first cracked the truck out of the box we let our Bash Crew inspect it from front to rear. No, we didn’t find any assembly problems. The shocks were well filled and not leaking, we didn’t find any over or under tightened screws, and the gear mesh was good.
Test Drivers: Iron Mikeee, Sam The Noob, T-Mohr, Robbie G, and yours truly.
Test Venues: St Louis Dirtburners 8th scale track, Minnie Ha Ha park, Castlewood State Park, a skate park in Arnold MO, and a CostCo parking lot.
Set-up Notes: We didn’t make any changes to the truck and ran it box stock, that is just how we like to test vehicles. For the transmitter we popped in four AA Duratrax cells. For truck batteries we used a 2S Duratrax Onyx 5000, while we used a MaxAmps 5450 when driving on 3S. Charging duties were exclusively handled by a TrakPower VR-1.
Turning: We found that the Trophy Truck exhibited a lot of steering. Whether it was grass, dirt, or pavement, the front tires did a good job of going where pointed. The stock tires don’t provide a ton of side-bite, which at times left the rear of the truck wandering around (along with the straight axle & locked rear diff) in corners on slicker surfaces, but overall the truck handles corners well. On trails it felt dead on, while at the track decent laps could be turned, albeit with taking it easy not to get the rear too loose.
Jumping: The whole solid rear axle and locked diff formula is well known for jumping nose low and the Trophy Truck was no exception. When driven on 3S (and keeping the throttle absolutely WFO) it was possible to keep the truck level, but its normal attitude when airborn was a slight endo. The truck did do a good job pounding up rutted jump faces, but its somewhat soft suspension easily bottomed when landing from bigger jumps.
Bumps/Whoops: We were big fans with how the Trophy Truck handled the rough. Its suspension had plenty of travel, but better still, it had realistic travel. With the truck geared like it is (more on that later) its suspension looked just like a full scaler when pounding a long line of whoops.
On-Road: Nope, the Axial was never designed for on-road use, but what little we did drive it on pavement we had a good time. Yes, it does traction roll from time to time and its top speed is nothing to write home about, but if you occasionally drive on pavement, you can have a good time with the Trophy Truck.
Grass: The Trophy Truck did a great job in moderately tall grass. Its tires did a good job in grass and that solid rear axle with locked diff just kept on shoving it through taller sections. No, because of its size it can’t get through grass as well as a much larger vehicle like a Yeti XL, but for a 10th scaler it did a great job.
Tires: What is not to like about the tires? They look epic, they are fairly soft, and they wear very slowly. They provide their best traction on higher bite surfaces, but work impressively just about anywhere.
Power: Ok, so here is the scoop. The Yeti Trophy Truck is geared much lower than the normal Yeti. How low? We clocked it at 17 mph on 2S and 25 mph on 3S. We felt the speed/power was pretty dialed for the normal trail driving we do, in fact, better than the Yeti Rock Racer, but even on 3S it didn’t have enough speed for track driving or general bashing. On the trails the power was perfect for picking fine lines, easing over rocks, and gripping over small tree branches laying on the park floor. To boil it down, the power is fine for a brushless system geared like it is- it has nice snap off the bottom (with no cogging) and solid mid-range pull, but it sure does sign off early up top. If speed is your thing, you’ll need to re-gear or simply go with the Yeti Rock Racer.
Radio: We are fans of the included Tactic radio, liking it more than the standard Hobbico RTR transmitter that is found along with so many different products. Ergos are nice, range is excellent, and we never experienced a glitch of any type.
Broken Parts: When a vehicle shows up to our offices with an Axial logo on it, it is going to get some serious abuse. The Trophy Truck took some serious licks and kept on ticking. By the end of testing we did manage to break off the front bumper and to pop the rear driveshaft.
Misc Notes:
Ya know, body clips get constant use by consumers, hence the reason they shouldn’t suck. The units that come on the Trophy Truck have nice pull tabs that are way better than you’ll find on most RTRs.
We were big fans of how the entire body on the Trophy Truck came off. It just makes everything easier to work on.
Oh yes, that body. It is gorgeous. Whoever designed that thing deserves a raise. But… it is heavy, very heavy. Now, you can mark that as a downside, all that weight up high does make the truck roll more than usual. Or you can mark it as a plus, as it allows to truck to sway more like its full scale brethren, allowing it to keep a scale appearance even when being driven on the trail.
Now for a word about the stock battery strap. The stock plastic piece that keeps your pack in place can only be adjusted for height by removing 4 screws. This means if you switch between different sized packs, you’ll need to remove 4 screws to do so. We didn’t switch packs much, but when we did we wished old school Velcro had been used.
The on/off switch is placed at the bottom rear of the truck, a place you don’t typically see. It is really easy to get to and we never had a problem with its location.
The stock Deans connector is high quality and a nice touch.
The rear sway bar felt about the right strength and worked quite well.
Our testers had very little to say about the stock servo, which of course is a great thing. It had plenty of torque for general bashing, and while not fast, had enough speed to get the job done too.
The stock rear spare tire looked trick and worked like a charm.
Want to talk about head turners? Everywhere we went people instantly fell in love with how the Trophy Truck looked. Even the racers types couldn’t help but gawk.
Best Mod: Call up Robinson Racing ASAP and order a new pinion. Adding a few teeth to the pinion will allow that great big brushless motor to put out a lot more of the power that is being trapped inside of it.
Summary:
A = Outstanding/Best in Class, B = Above Average, C = Average, D = Below Average, F = Horrific
Time To Bash: B We found the truck to be quick and easy to get running. Pop in a battery, then go have some fun.
Workability: B The Trophy Truck was easy to wrench on. The entire body comes off for easy access and everything on the chassis is logically laid out.
Car Show Rating: A Holy Smokes, Axial crushes it in this category. Its body is incredibly well done, its small details are immaculate, and its wheels/tires are very trick. Wow, even we had a hard time getting this one muddy. But that’s when it got even better. Not only does it look scale on a shelf, it looks scale while being driven!
Bash-A-Bility: B Our test unit took a lot of abuse without many broken parts.
Fun Factor: B We had a blast driving the Trophy Truck. We especially liked how much it looked like the real deal when being driven. On the trail it was perhaps the funnest truck we’ve had a chance to wheel around. If it had come with more top speed for general bashing it would have aced the category.
Handling: C For trail driving we loved how it drove, for general bashing its nose down jumping style brought down its score.
Value: B With its good quality electronics and immaculate detailing, we think the Axial is a great buy at its price point.
Parts Availability: C Yes, some hobby shops have jumped on the Axial train and stock parts for the Yeti series of vehicles. However, there are still a lot of hobby shops that do not. Thankfully parts are easy to find on-line.
BigSquid Rating: B As the Axial Yeti Trophy Truck comes stock, it is a fantastic trail machine. Luckily, it is just a pinion away from being a great overall basher too. Cut the check, we highly recommend the Trophy Truck, it has epic looks and is a solid truck.
