The Smaller Scale Trail Rig – Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux 1/12 Pick-Up Truck
Trail trucks and crawlers are now fully entrenched as a dominant segment of this great hobby. The scale looks, detail and articulation of some of these vehicles has made a tremendous impact in attracting new people to this great hobby helping this and other areas grow. While some of the most popular trucks are 1:10 in size, there are a few that are larger and smaller. One of the smaller, 1:12 trucks, the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux, has some of the best scale looking detail of any vehicle on the market. Available in a trio of colors, we got our hands on one of these little trucks and gave a it drive!
AT A GLANCE
WHO MAKES IT: Thunder Tiger
WHO IT’S FOR: Everyone interested in trail trucks and crawling
HOW MUCH: $219
BUILD TYPE: RTR
PROS & CONS
+ Great price point
+ Impressive scale looks
+ Waterproof electronics package
+ Compatible with 1:10 scale servos
+ Easy to change settings on the esc due to dip switches
+ Plenty of runtime with the included 850mAh LiIon battery pack
+ Battery tray can accommodate larger batteries to increase runtime
– Shocks were a bit leaky after use
Authors Opinion: I was skeptical that a true sized 1:12 trail truck could be as much fun as some of the larger well-established trucks already on the market. But after a few minutes of navigating the trail truck course at R/C Madness with the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux my opinion drastically changed. It has the perfect combination of looks, speed and torque and features rugged suspension components to navigate obstacles of all sizes.
FEATURE BREAKDOWN
– Similar to the vast majority of trail trucks driving around the Thunder Tiger Toyota utilizes dual side rails that feature a c-channel design for righty and sturdiness. Composite cross braces, combined with a composite and functional skid plate that doubles as the transmission case bring the chassis together. Front and rear composite bumpers have the scale look trail truck fans like with the front bumper offering nice little tow-hooks.
– The Toyota Hilux utilizes a 4-link solid axle suspension that are paired with threaded composite bodies oil-filled shocks. Oil does need to be added to the threaded, composite bodied oil-filled shocks so be sure to grab a bottle and fill them up before you hit the trail. The front and rear of the Toyota Hilux utilizes a pair of adjustable upper links and a pair of adjustable lower links. The bulk of each link is made from tough steal with composite ends that are very durable.
– Getting the front wheels from side to side is taken care of with an adjustable tie rod and drag link type system. The steering servo utilizes a spring-loaded servo saver and is mounted to the top of the chassis, not the top of the front axle like many other trucks. A center drag link connects from one knuckle to the other for smooth consistent steering action. While the Toyota Hilux is 1:12 in size it utilized a standard sided 1:10 servo so finding a replacement or upgrade should be very easy should you need one.
– The gear reduction type transmission is located at the dead center of the frame with the 380-sized motor offset to the right. The motor is mounted very low to keep the center of gravity low and improve overall handling. Power from transmission is carried to the front and rear axles by way of universal type slideshafts. The front and rear solid axles have locked diffs for real, full time 4wd action.
– For such a well-priced RTR the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux has a rather impressive electronics package. It all starts with a 2.4GHZ TF-3 transmitter equipped with basic steering and throttle trim adjustments as well as steering dual rate adjustments. The receiver is small, features a rather short antenna and is located near the esc. Speaking of the esc, it is a waterproof with black heatsink that uses jumpers/dip switches to change settings from lithium battery mode to NiMH mode and from trail truck mode with lots of drag brake to regular mode. Thunder Tiger Equipped the Toyota Hilux with an 850mAh LiIon battery and an easy to use wall charger to peak the battery pack. Just add 4 AA batteries to the transmitter and this trail truck is ready for action.
Recommended items –
While the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux is near bullet proof the shocks did leak some. After use I tore them down, tried a few different seals before coming to the red o-rings included in the Dromida Drive Shaft Spacer Set. Costing just $1.99 for 4 o-rings, picking up 2 packages will keep the shocks operating smoothly run after run.
ITEMS NEEDED
– 4 AA batteries for the transmitter
Hitting The Trail
STEERING
It is not all that fair to rate a trail truck in terms of understeer and oversteer as they all will have understeer due in large part to the locked diffs. The chassis mounted servo included with the Toyota Hilux has muck more torque and speed than the last 1:12 trail truck I gave a drive. This made it muscle through the tough parts of the course fairly easily considering its small, scale size.
ACCELERATION/BRAKING
The 380 sized brushed motor Thunder Tiger equipped the Toyota Hilux with is quick enough to please beginners and experienced trail truck fans alike. Hard core fans will probably opt to run the Toyota Hilux in the above-mentioned crawler mode with plenty of drag brake, beginners will most likely be happy the regular type drive settings for because this makes it easier to navigate in backyard type situations. The combination of the 380 sized motor and 850mAh LiIon battery pack gives the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux really does have a good 30-minutes of run time.
The included esc will stop the Toyota Hilux as soon as you push back on the trigger when set to standard use mode. When on crawler/trail truck mode, the Toyota Hilux comes to an immediate stop as soon as the throttle is released, even without applying the brake. Also, when stopped there is little to no creep even when on a steep incline or decline.
SUSPENSION
The 4-link front and rear solid axle suspension coupled with threaded plastic bodied coil-over oil filled shocks work very well together. There is good axle articulation for navigating bigger obstacles with relative ease as the suspension links, being made of metal, have little to no flex. Unfortunately, the shocks did leak a bit and did need to clean them and I changed the seals after testing.
DURABILITY
I ran the Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux for over an hour before I made the decision on how tough it is. Other the shocks being a bit leaky this is one tough truck. It even fell off one of the bridges on the trail truck course at R/C Madness (check out the into of our video) and there were only body scuffs.
WATCH THE THUNDER TIGER TOYOTA HILUX IN ACTION
SPECS & TUNING OPTIONS
DIMENSIONS
Length: 372mm
Width: 177.8mm
Wheelbase: 225mm
Weight: 1,110 grams with battery
BODY, WHEELS, TIRES
Body: Pre-painted polycarbonate Toyota Hilux
Wheels: Chrome
Wheel adapter type: 12mm hex
Tires: Soft compound treaded
SUSPENSION
Type: Solid axle with links
Shock positions: 3 on tower
STEERING
Type: Drag link and tie rod
CHASSIS
Type: C-channel ladder frame style with cross-brace links
Material: Steel and composite plastic
DRIVETRAIN
Type: 4wd locked
Transmission: Center mounted transmission
Differential: locked
Bearings: Full set of shielded
THE LAST WORD
The Thunder Tiger Toyota Hilux is the perfect combination of low cost, scale looks and performance. Costing just $219.99, and needing nothing but just 4 AA batteries to hit the trail makes the Toyota Hilux from Thunder Tiger a value that just can’t be beat. Add to that fact that it is fun to drive, performs well and is durable those who pick one up won’t get frustrated and will be drawn into this great hobby even more.
Hej Dean. Thanks for a great review.
I am new in the rc world and decided to begin with the Toyota! You mentioned something about standard and crawler modes. How do you change between them?
Thanks,
John
I am sharing my experience following to the purchase of Toyota Hilux 1/12 Pick-Up Truck 6603-F.
The truck included PHQ-CPU7V4 balance charger and ICR7500-850mah-2s battery pack.
Following to 5 charges charger started to show blinking red with permanent green leds and stopped charging.
After numerous conversations with Zoey and Hal (before i stopped getting responds) i understood the following:
a. The battery “over-discharges” easily.
b. The charger doesn’t know to charge “over-discharged” battery.
The following solutions were proposed:
a. “Go and buy a higher-level of charger”.
b. “Ask for a nearby rc shop, maybe they can help to charge your battery”.
The truck is good but unfortunately is useless due to bad components and lack of service.
I recommend to avoid buying this product unless you plan purchasing battery and charger at different place.