Traxxas Sledge truck

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
doolin64 said:
My first R/C was a Traxxas Sledgehammer.

Like any R/C, I'm sure V1 will be littered with first year production issues. But I just can't seem to tell what market they are going after. ;)

https://www.bigsquidrc.com/traxxas-1-8-sledge-monster-truck/


Body mounting system is cool if it hangs on and doesn't pop off while bashing.
Click to expand...
It does look kinda like a kraton.. lol 🤔🤔

I’m shocked traxxas finally did an aluminum chassis… wonder how that’s gonna hold up 🥴

Rich and Eric will tell us 🤪

Interesting for sure
 
Last edited:
I can't really criticize traxxas for putting out a flat pan truggy but who would buy it when the market is already saturated with such options?

I haven't watched any "reviews" of it, it's only in the hands of youtubers that make commercials right now. Time will tell but I'm going out on a limb and saying it's going to disappoint the brand loyalists.
 
chazekxt52 said:
over priced for me pass
Click to expand...
They want $800 for that thing!

I figured it would be about $500 or somewhere around there.

Who would buy it for that much when you could build any roller/kit for that kind of money?

Well, we all know who will but other than brand fanboys I doubt it's going to get many sales.
 
It looks solid to me and i like more competition in the supreme bash class, keeps the others sharp!
It has got loads of smart engineering, like the X-Maxx. Yes the initial price is high but parts are cheap and everywhere available.
I’m not brand loyal and really enjoy this next level of bashing machines, like this one and the new Kronos XTR.
 
Looks interesting but some of the things I already don't like are: it appears the chassis is a cheaper grade, less strong alloy aluminum (not 7075), esc can't put out 7.4 v, the shock towers appear to be pretty vulnerable from the top, battery tray looks restrictive (and system won't allow a 6s battery), plastic shock tower caps on aluminum bodies seems strange, no stock sway bars (for $800 they couldn't add sway bars?), gears don't appear to be cnc machined, outdrives are not spring steel, and of course the price. It does seem overpriced to me...

Speaking of value and being overpriced, I read their sales document that compares themselves to Arrma Kraton on value and it seemed like some of their comparisons weren't really fair. Interesting they didn't go after Corally lol.
 
Last edited:
I don't think pricing is far off. All these damn things are expensive. I do think $800 is high. $699 is what I would have expected. Looking over the market they are trying to play with with. $729 or $739 would have been better IMO.
 
doolin64 said:
I don't think pricing is far off. All these damn things are expensive. I do think $800 is high. $699 is what I would have expected. Looking over the market they are trying to play with with. $729 or $739 would have been better IMO.
Click to expand...
Agreed, but then again, EVERYTHING is getting too expensive. Happens when the economy slumps I guess. Now than HH has completely taken over Arrma, the pricing has gone off the rails just like TRX which is why we see the price of the Sludge as reasonable..
On the brightside, we have the "new" kid on the block to provide us with the quality and value we seek. Thanks TC!!😁👍👌🤘🙏
 
It looks like the Sledge fits into their lineup as a X Maxx basher sized like a Revo. Based on the X Max videos I've seen, it's the strongest RC truck ever made, however, not everyone has the space and money for such a massive truck. The Revo isn't a strong basher and the Maxx wide handles like a monster truck. I've never owed a Traxxis product, but this one looks good. We'll see how it holds up to Kevin T bashing 😉

Some random comments.

The chassis isn't a flat piece of aluminum, it has formed structure to prevent bending. Maybe they don't need a super thick chassis to help keep costs and weight down.

Sway bars can be added after the fact as part of the design. Maybe they should have been included for the price, but tuning will parts will help drive revenue. Who knows what after market agreements they made with other companies as part of their design to help companies like RPM.

Not sure why they went with composite shock caps, likely ke to drive more tuning parts like they did with the Slash.

Mazin said:
Ok this dude was waaaay to excited, I think he

That's what I though too :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Agreed. Everyone who reviewed the truck yesterday left a little urine in their pants. 💧👖
 
Last edited:
It's quite a bit smaller than the Xmaxx I believe, actually about the size of a kraton or kronos. The erevo 2.0 isn't too bad as a basher,but there are some weaknesses in the suspension. Fairly easy to address. The maxx trucks are super durable for the average basher(me). Between my brother and I, we have most of the usual suspects on the market as basher rigs. We both have Xmaxx's.
Interesting thing about the X is that it's actually quite fun to bash even in smaller bash spots.

It may just be because Kevin Talbot is acrossed the pond, or maybe he has soured his relationship with Traxxas.. I see vids all over YouTube on the Sludge,but nothing from Kevin last I checked..
 
I started in building and flying rc planes 20+ years ago.. had several beautiful planes I built. Then I originally got a TRX nitro rustler I'd say 20 years ago. At the time... I just wanted something to play around with when I couldn't fly - nothing serious. The nitro rustler at that time was actually pretty good... it had a T6 aluminum chassis (at that time was a new thing) and I put a tuned pipe on it and it ran great. A new feature at that time was an electric starter that hooked up to a nickel cad battery and it made starting the nitro very easy... no pull strings - just pushed a button and the thing actually worked as intended. I ran the hell out of it and it actually did last a while, with a few repairs here and there. At that time the receiver wasn't in a box... it had a balloon-like bag over it. The first things to go were the shocks then the brakes.... but I never fixed the brakes and ended up giving it away to a neighbor kid who fixed it up. That was my sole experience with TRX and honestly it was decent albeit 20+ years ago.

I got out of RC because the planes became more and more expensive and difficult to fly in my area due to insurance requirements and having to drive to a field an hour away. My local field ended up closing down, which made it very inconvenient. I only now started to get the rc itch again and stumbled onto the sketer. Should be here today. I always like an underdog and felt it had the best value out of all available offerings... with the trade off being parts availability and the challenges with dealing with an underdog company located far away (I'm in Florida BTW).

I always sort of followed rc stuff but feel like TC has made a business decision to get aggressive with their quality/ value to make a splash and gain inroads. My opinion of TRX has shifted over the years mainly for their alleged business practices... I prefer to see companies welcome competition in good faith as opposed to squashing via legal games... but it is what it is.

I still stand by my previous comment on the sledge... notwithstanding the alleged business practices and solely looking at the truck... I think it looks good but with several obvious potential shortcomings.... we shall see when it gets into the hands of real people as opposed to youtubers who's objectivity is questionable.

Actually seeing the sledge... makes me appreciate the new sketer design even more. Seems pretty well thought out in my mind
 
Back
Top