Here's another in the series of Dukono upgrade videos for you.  This week's video is all about the installation of the Aluminum Servo Saver Set

Here are some quick links to some of the products shown in the video:
Dukono Pro
Dukono Aluminum Servo Saver Set
HexFly Hand Tools
Redcat Racing Pit Mat
Blue (Medium) Threadlock (Amazon Link)

And, just in case you missed them, here are some of the other Dukono upgrade videos:
Aluminum Shock Tower Installation
Aluminum C-Hub Installation

'till next time

Rob

When combined with the new HD Axle Housings, these redesigned Gen8 Caster Mounts allow for dual capture of the shock for added strength and durability.

Requires 3x18mm Set Screws sold separately

Now you can upgrade your Gen8 axle housings with these Heavy Duty Axle Housing Sets.  This kit strengthens the Gen8 plastic axle housings and also captures the shock mounting on two sides for both front and rear of the vehicle

Each kit includes:

• 11816 Heavy Duty Rear Outer Portal Axle Housings
• 11819 New Style Center Axle Housing
• 11820 New Style Caster Mounts
• 2 x 3x18 set screws
• 2 x 3x20 button head screws
• 4 x ball studs

Featuring thicker side walls than the original parts, these new Heavy Duty Rear Outer Portal Housings will add strength and durability to your Gen8.

In order to use these new HD portal housings, you'll also need to pick up some:

• 11378 2*6mm cap head screws
• 11381 2*14mm cap head screws

Stay tuned for more new Gen8 upgrades coming soon!

'till next time

​Rob

Featuring a thicker wall construction than the original Gen8 gears, these new Heavy Duty Front Portal CVA Input Gears improve strength and durability. 

​In order to add these gears to your truck, you'll also have to pick up a set of the new Heavy Duty CVA Shafts and barrels (part number 11818), or you can grab the complete set of gears, shafts and barrels as part number 11821.

Of course, if you want the ultimate in durability, the 11802 Chromoly shafts and gears are the way to go

Here's the second in the series of Dukono upgrade videos.  This week's video is all about the installation of the aluminum c-hubs.  Although this video shows the installation on a Dukono, these parts also fit on the Camo X4 and Camo TT

Here are some quick links to some of the products shown in the video:
Dukono Pro
Aluminum C-Hubs
HexFly Hand Tools
Redcat Racing Pit Mat
Blue (Medium) Threadlock (Amazon Link)

And, just in case you missed them, here's a link to last week's video:
Aluminum Shock Tower Installation

'till next time

Another shipment of Redcat Racing parts just arrived.  The majority are for the Gen7 and Everest-10 plus a couple for the Camo X4 and Camo TT.  Here are some of the parts that were sold out but are now available to order:
​

• 18019 - Everest-10 Shocks
• 18122 - Everest-10 14t Pinion Gears
• 10BL60 - Hobbywing 60amp ESC with Deans Plug
• 13857 - Gen7 Sport Stub Axles
• 70543 - Camo X4 / Camo TT Rear Shocks
• 70542 - Camo X4 / Camo TT Front Shocks

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it

Rob

Here's some more great news, the Gen8 LED Light Kits are back in stock and ready to order!  Check out all of the details as well as an installation video here

'till next time

​Rob

Here's another in the series of Gen8 Upgrade videos by Greg Vogel for you.  This week's video is all about the installation of the Gen8 LED Light Kit

Here are some quick links to some of the products shown in the video:
Gen8 Scout II
​Gen8 LED Light Kit
HexFly Hand Tools
Redcat Racing Pit Mat

And, just in case you missed them, here are some of the other Gen8 upgrade videos:
Aluminum Transfer Case Drive Shaft
Aluminum Rear Shock Towers
CNC Steel Gears

'till next time

Rob

A shipment of Part #11474 CNC Steel Gear Sets for the Gen8 has just arrived and are available to order now.​

These gear sets Include four metal gears for use with the Redcat Racing Everest Gen8 Scout II including:

• 25t transfer case gear
• 20t transmission gear
• 2 x 13t transmission / transfer case input gears

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it

​Rob

Expected to arrive later this month, these newly designed Chromoly Front L/R Axle Shafts with Chromoly CNC Top Portal Gears will add considerable strength to your Gen8 or Gen7 Portal Axle Kit

These are made with chromoly for extreme strength and the set includes 1 short shaft, 1 long shaft, 2 top portal gears, 2 barrels & 2 pins.

'till next time

​Rob

The new pre-trimmed Gen8 Scout II Clear Bodies have just arrived!  To save you time, these new bodies have the body lines and wheel wells pre-trimmed and all of the holes for the stock accessories are also pre-drilled right from the factory.

I expect these to sell out quickly so be sure to place your order ASAP if you have been waiting for a clear body for your Gen8

NOTE:  The photo above is of the un-trimmed body 

Several more parts have arrived including some pre-mounted wheels and tires for the Dukono and Dukono Pro.  If gluing wheels and tires isn't your thing, these pre-mounted sets will make your like easier.

'till next time

Rob

A shipment of Gen7 Universal Drive Shafts (Part #13819) has just arrived.  These are the stock replacement units and I also have the aluminum upgrade part #138007 in stock as well

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it

Rob

If you've been looking for a well produced Redcat Camo X4 review video, look no further than this one by Greg over at RCDriver.  I dream of some day having the video producing capabilities that Greg has but for now, I'll just share his videos with you

'till next time

​Rob

An order of Everest-10 and Gen7 Parts just arrived including a few parts that have been out of stock for a while.  The following parts are back in stock and ready to order if you've been waiting for them:
​

• 13849 - Gen7 Pro Front CVA Axles
• 18128 - Gen7 87t Plastic Spur Gears
• 13859 - Everest-10 and Gen7 Steel Transmission Gears
• 18084 - Everest-10 Rear Lower Links
• 18108 - Everest-10 Front Lower Links

Thanks for your support, I really appreciate it

​Rob

My son and I ran our Camo X4 again yesterday and have really started to enjoy it.  It took us a little while to figure out how to drive it (it doesn't like to do sharp turns on high traction surfaces) but now that we have, it's awesome!

The Camo X4 loves to jump.  We burned through six 5000mAh LiPo packs yesterday and virtually all of that time was spent jumping ditches and tree stumps.  The combination of massive tires and soft suspension helps the Camo X4 soak up the landings and it's very controllable in the air so we can bring the nose up with a blip of the throttle and even twist the chassis if needed with a combination of throttle and steering.  Did I mention that this thing is fun to jump?

Parts Damage:
We did run into some minor issues yesterday.

1.  The Diff Cup on the front drive shaft came loose.  The set screw backed off enough that the entire drive shaft and diff cup fell off of the input pinion.  Somehow, they were both still sitting on the chassis when I took the body off to inspect.  I simply re-installed the diff cup and we were good to go again within 5-10 minutes.  I may add some threadlock to the set screw before our next bashing session but we ran several packs through the Camo after the re-installation without trouble.

As as side note, it was nice to see that the diff cup uses a relatively large 3mm set screw (use your 2mm hex driver).  Also, I pulled the center spur gear cover off while doing the repair and the steel spur gear and steel pinion gear looked great.  I think these will stand up to a lot of abuse.

2.  Rear Upper Suspension Link.  I think we were on our fourth run of repeated stump jumps when my son launched the Camo approximately 4-5' in the air and landed it hard on it's side.  This broke one of the rear upper suspension links.

I glued the link back together with some CA glue.  I then wrapped the link with some strips of blue paper shop towel soaked in CA glue to essentially make a cast.  Once the CA set-up, I wrapped the arm in electrical tape (mostly to hide the blue color cast) and we were back to jumping.  We ran two more batteries through the Camo and so far the repair is holding up well.  If the repair fails at some point, I'll replace the link with another stock plastic one, just to confirm whether or not this was just a fluke part failure of f this is something you should watch out for.  If that link fails, I'll give the aluminum upper links a try.

Misc. thoughts:
Although we were running back-to-back batteries, the motor runs hotter than I'd like it to.  I haven't temped it with my temp gauge yet but I will next time.  I may look to add a cooling fan at some point to help protect the motor and make sure it lasts as long as possible.

Lastly, be sure to check the set screws on your diff cups from time-time-time to make sure they are still tight.  Also, the wheel nuts tend to get a little loose so be sure to tighten them before each run.

​So far, the Camo X4 has been a super fun bashing machine and I'm looking forward to taking it out again.  If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I'll do my best to help.

​'till next time

​Rob

I was able to get my Redcat Camo X4 out for a bashing session this afternoon and it was a blast!  Here's a quick first run review

Set-Up:  I always recommend that people give their RTR vehicle a thorough check over before running for the first time.  Checking over all the screws and nuts for tightness and ensuring everything is installed correctly can help ensure the first run is a success.  With that said, I know most people don't do this so I didn't either!  I simply installed some AA batteries in the transmitter and dropped in a 2s LiPo and hit the dirt..

Build Quality: After running two packs through the X4, I dropped it on the table for a quick once over.  I couldn't find any fault with how the car was assembled other than a tab on the interior panel was installed on top of the roll cage when it should have been below.  Other than that, all of the screws were tight, the shocks were well filled and not leaking, the pinion/spur mesh was perfect, etc.  I did snug up the wheel nuts though as all were a touch loose after running.

Turning: When driving the X4 on the grass, I had to go easy on the steering.  Any quick movements caused the buggy to traction roll.  I quickly got the hang of it's limits though and even found that I could "save" it from rolling with a slight counter-steer and punch of throttle.  The stock HexFly 15kg servo is a little slower than the race spec servos I've been running lately but it worked well and had enough torque to turn the big tires without any troubles.

Jumping: This is where the Camo X4 shines.  It jumps well and lands very plushly (is that a word?).  The landings were smooth with no bottoming out and if I landed a little crooked, the Camo X4 corrected itself and continued on for more fun.

On-Road: After some jumps and drifting in the dirt, I hit the street for some speed runs.  The Camo X4 is pretty quick but I wouldn't call it a speed demon.  The stock Team Redcat TR-SC10e is a little quicker.  I'll do some more speed runs later and make some notes on the Camo X4's top speed.  Punching the throttle from a stand still caused the left front wheel to lift, the chassis to twist and the vehicle to take off down the street.  Steering input had to be gentle or it would want to tip over.  I didn't roll it over but it came close a couple of times.  Some quick corrective steering and throttle inputs saved the day.  The X4 runs very quietly on the street.  You can hear the tires on the road and the drivetrain/electronics package is smooth and quiet.

​Grass: No problem.  The huge tires handled the grass without any issues.  I checked the motor temps after the first battery pack was done and the motor was warm but not hot.  I didn't use my temp gun but I'd guess the temps to be well under 100 degrees as I could hold my finger on the can without issue.

Tires: They are big and have decent traction in the dirt, work great in the grass and equally well on the road.  Possibly due to the tread pattern and tire compound but also the solid rear axle with locked rear diff, the X4 likes to kick the rear out in the dirt but on grass and asphalt, the tires are really good.

Power: The stock 3300kv motor does a good job of getting the Camo X4 up to speed.  I'm not sure that I'd want to put much more power to the ground with these big tires and solid rear axle.  In drag races against my son's Team Redcat TR-SC10e equipped with a 4300kv 4-Pole motor, the X4 was a little slower but, if I got the hole-shot, I could beat my son in a 100' drag

Radio: Although they are a simple radio, the included 2CENR transmitter works great.  I've never had any troubles with these.  They feel comfortable in my hand, have excellent range and, as a bonus, the steering trim was set perfectly right out of the box.

Broken Parts: None yet.  I traction rolled the X4 numerous times, jumped it countless times and even launched it 5 or 6 feet straight up a tree followed by a full-on front end lawn dart landing while trying unsuccessfully to do a back flip.  Nothing has broken, cracked or been damaged in any way.

Misc Thoughts:
I know this isn't a thorough Camo X4 review but so far I'm very happy with this buggy.  I wish it came with some LED lights of some kind but that will be an easy addition.  The stock steering servo is a little slow but most drivers with find it completely adequate.  So far build quality and durability has been great.  Run times are a little shorter than the SC10E for some reason (the big tires?), handling is decent but this is a tall and somewhat top heavy rig so smooth steering inputs are required if you want to keep the rubber side down.  It's a fun mix of crawler, jumper, drifter and all-around basher.  I think this is a great vehicle...hmmm...I wonder how it will perform at the skateboard park?

Let me know if you have any question by leaving a comment below

'till next time

Rob

By the way, if you decide to purchase a Redcat Camo X4, hopefully you'll buy one from me here.  If you already have one, you can really help me out by purchasing your X4 parts and hop-ups from me