My
history with the RC4WD Trail Finder 2 is unexpected. I was
searching for my very first scale truck kit build and I had decided on
the Axial SCX10 II which was new at the time. However, it was sold
out everywhere and no one knew when it would be back in stock. I
was at my local hobby store looking for advice and they happened to have
the TF2 on the shelf which came packaged with the Land Cruiser 70 body
from Killer Body. I was a bit intimidated since the body and
chassis were from different manufacturers and this was my first kit, but
I took the plunge and I'm glad I did.This is a real scale truck chassis with metal rails, cast metal solid axle housings, and leaf springs. The chassis kit comes with a 2-speed transmission and nice steel beadlock 1.55" wheels with scale tires. No electronics are included, so I picked those up from my LHS as well. I grabbed a Castle Sidewinder 3 speed controller and a cheap 35 turn motor. I did find later that the ESC did not fit very well in the limited space and that posed some integration problems, but that taught me some valuable lessons about kit building and customization.
Out of the box, this model has a pretty stiff suspension and not a lot of ground clearance which made for some performance problems on the trails. Over time as I added more weight and the springs broke in, it became much more capable. As a scale truck, it is hard to beat. Everything looks super realistic. When I went back and added dozens of scale modifications and accessories later, it became even more excellent. I love the appearance of this truck. At the time of this writing it even had hand crank windows, and doors and hood open.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
 Page 1: Stock Assembly |
 Page 2: Upgrades! |
 Page 3: Final Photos |