Review - Element RC Sendero HD 4X4 Crawler

The XP130 3-channel transmitter needs four AA batteries, while the Sendero HD is a 1/10-size electric vehicle that is preassembled and includes extra tools and components. The truck can use 2 or 3S LiPo batteries with a T-style connector, but it also needs a battery pack. Element RC provides the Sendero HD in combo form if you require a battery. The Sendero HD is ready to go as soon as you plug in your battery.

Sendero HD Body

The Sendero HD is a stunning vehicle on the route. It has a caged bed and two-piece cab, which is a good improvement over the original Sendero truck and offers a little more functionality for mounting a spare tire on the bed or additional scale parts or equipment.

Numerous complex plastic scale attachments are incorporated into the body and are fastened to the Lexan body from the inside. An excellent illustration of this is the front grill, which is mounted on top of the rugged plastic bumper and has a winch fairlead and D-tow rings. LEDs have already been put in the headlights.

The windshield wipers and folding side mirrors, which help protect the vehicle in a rollover, are among the more durable plastic accessories on the Sendero HD body. Element RC applied decals to the door handles, blinkers, and window trim.

These are the General Grabber X3 tires in soft rubber compound that have official licenses. Standing 1.9" and 4.65" tall, they are attached to the new Ocho beadlock wheel with a hex hub.

Roll Cage

Lexan panels are fastened to the rear half of the Sendero HD's caged bed, which is constructed from rigid plastic tubing. Although it's sufficient, the cage's internal attachment to the body only occurs at the lower places, giving the body and bed more flex than I like.

We discovered a simple way to increase the flex. Near the rear of the cab, we undid the cage screws and reattached them from the inside of the body. We made a perfect screw hole with a body reamer and spaced a new, longer screw with silicone fuel tubing. The silicon acts as a protective cushion because the Lexan body curve is not the best place to rest a metal screw head. In just fifteen minutes, we completed this on both sides.

Although the cage is a great scale feature for this body, other equipment, including the exhaust system and plastic antennae, are supplied and might be installed yourself. Like all the other tricky plastic bits and components, these can be painted if you want to add details. If you turn the box inside out, it becomes a scale diorama backdrop for the truck, which is another addition made by Element RC to this scale experience.

You'll love the decal sheet, which is ready for you to cut out and apply yourself if you like personalizing with decals. Although we didn't install them on our truck, this sheet contains white body panels if you wish to change the appearance.

Element RC provides the files to print 3D engine parts for your Sendero if you have a 3D printer. You can get the files here. Beyond the truck's initial appearance, there are numerous ways to enhance the scale accuracy with these designs.

Trail Tested Construction

How about taking on the landscape? With its metal axle shafts, lockable differentials, and realistic axles with different covers, the Sendero HD chassis is perfect for the trail. Locked diffs, however, impair steering performance; the Enduro addresses this in two ways.

For wide steering angles, the truck's front axle is equipped with CV driveshafts. Second, a Stealth X transmission with overdrive is included with the Sendero. The rear end is pulled around by the overdrive, which spins the front tires a little quicker than the front.

With the accompanying gear, you can increase the stock overdrive from 5.7% to 11.83%. If you don't want to use the overdrive, the transmission can be set up in a 1:1 configuration.

On the trail, the stock 5.7% overdrive was fantastic, and the steering was superb.

Behind-the-Axle (BTA

One of the Element RC trucks' best features is the use of BTA steering; for a sleek appearance, the steering linkage is positioned beneath the front axle. Those who choose to add the optional independent front suspension conversion kit or IFS kit can also use BTA steering.

This truck's front axle features a 3-link suspension system with a panhard bar and a servo installed on the chassis. The second servo mount can also hold a winch servo.

A 4-link suspension with metal links supports the truck's rear axle at the back. Both the front and rear driveshafts have aluminum driveshaft splines and are telescopic.

Reversing the top reveals that all four corners have aluminum threaded shocks held up by shock towers fastened to the stamped steel chassis rails. If you want to use a different body, the truck's front bumper, side guards, and body posts may all be adjusted in width.

Two Battery Boxes

The little battery box accommodates a shorty lipo, such as the 3S ProTek crawler pack we're using, to hold the truck's battery; however, a second, larger battery box is available for extended use.

Upgraded Electronics

SC480X ESC

The bundled electronics are the primary reason Element RC named this truck HD. The brushed Reedy SC480X ESC features Water resistance and an upgrade. It features throttle and brake actions that may be programmed with a programmed vehicle. Additionally, the ESC has two accessory power ports, but the headlights are powered by one of the auxiliary connectors.

Reedy 1523MG Servo

Another improved component is the Reedy 1523MG steering servo, which has metal gears and a water-resistant construction. On the rocks, where most RTR servos would falter, you can feel the force of the servo pushing roughly 12.5 kg-cm, or 173 oz-in, at 6.0V. The accompanying metal servo horn is undoubtedly responsible for some of the strength, but in any event, this servo is among the most significant additions to the HD.

Reedy Motor

The Reedy 27430 motor is a relatively common piece of machinery. As you may anticipate, this 5-slot 16-turn brushed crawler motor and SC480X speed controller are incredibly smooth.

Making Changes

I wanted to make a couple of changes to the truck. We started with some 1.9" tires that would be more suitable for our neighborhood park. They are the Pit Bull Rock Beast XL tires, which are slightly taller than our normal tires. We have already utilized them in our Gatekeeper construction.

We attached them to the bronze SSD Assassin Metal Beadlocks. We noticed more tire rubbing because these tires are slightly taller than the factory tires, but that will be fixed by body cutting. These tires' metal bead locks further contribute to the truck's rough appearance and feel.

We wanted to install more lights even though the truck already had them. Lights look good and are a significant aid on the trail. Therefore, we will install a 10-LED aluminum light bar on the roof, which connects directly to the ESC's additional aux connection.

The light bar is simple to install. After positioning the mounts on the lightbar to determine the locations of our holes, we marked them with a Sharpie and used a body reamer to pop them. In order to attach the mounts with crush washers on either side of the spacer, we pushed the mounts farther inboard by adding a 2mm spacer.

We created a hole for the wire to enter the cab as our final addition. After installing the wiring, we covered it with a decal after leaving half of it visible and the other half covered by the lamp mount. In order to conceal the wire, we also taped it in the corner.

The outcome is better scale realism and more striking trail light.

Summary

The Sendero HD crawled as well as it looked while on the route. It's interesting to watch the suspension articulate across the terrain, and the electronics' precise throttle makes it easy to be smooth on the rocks.

Extreme flexing caused the factory General Grabber tires to grind against the wheel wells a little, but this is easily fixed with a bit of scissor trim.