nitrosportsandrunner

I just bought a HG P402 from banggood for $128 shipped.

this truck looks like what I have been waiting for HSP/Redcat/Exceed to release...a cheap SCX10 type scaler.

I did a bunch of reading and looked up videos on it

Positives are the price, tires with good tread, good looks, 2 speed trans, chassis mounted servo, 2s lipo

Negatives are that packaging seems to be questionable...some received theirs with bodies creased/damaged. The 2 speed trans can be shifted from the remote only if you buy and optional servo kit. Shocks are not oil filled. ESC/receiver combo unit means if one dies you have to replace both. Tires may have good tread but they don't look soft enough to me. Oh, and servo is said to be weak...big shocker there.

I plan to trail drive this truck. No hardcore rock crawler/mudding or stuff like that. I don't believe the trans/axles/driveshafts will be as tough as on a axial. But for regular trail and mild rock crawling it should do just fine.

Most of the negatives of this model can be replaced/upgraded with other brand parts. I wont know until I get mine if axial driveshafts/C hubs or other similar bits will fit...but electronics, tires, shocks and bits like that I can upgrade if I want to down the road.

In theory, you could upgrade the shocks, ESC/radio, wheels/tires and still spend less than a SCX10 would cost. The only bits you cant upgrade easy are the trans and axles.

I will update when mine arrives. This is my first time buying from banggood. We all know that sometimes when a price seems to good to be true, it is. But if this truck pans out, then I might just have to buy the 6x6 version which costs $160.

I know these are cheap china knock offs, but why couldn't they give it a name? Why call it HG P402? That's just lazy if you ask me.

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

Looks pretty decent! Is that a dig unit I spot on that machine?

nitrosportsandrunner

I think what you are seeing is the 2 speed switch for the trans. I guess there is a upgrade kit for a servo so you can change it from the remote. stock, you have to change gears by hand.
I have my hopes up. Still, I wish redcat would have released something like this...that way parts would be easy to get and Id feel better about buying it if I knew it had a warranty. Redcat's warranty isn't the most amazing, but you at least don't have to worry if something arrived damaged or non functioning. I have no idea of banggood backs their products. Only time will tell.

nitrosportsandrunner

I found some pics of the axle and trans opened up
brass bushings, not a big surprise
glad to see metal an not plastic gears
portal axles....I guess they did this so the ESC wouldn't need drag brake function

SyCo_VeNoM

doesn't look too bad for the price
Body looks pretty decent too.

RustyUs

I'll be waiting to hear how this pans out. I'm in the mood for something super low budget. I'm just not sure about off-road or on-road...or something in between .

Thanks nitrosportsandrunner for posting on an interesting ride. My 8 year old daughter would probably be into it. That is, if I can get her away from Minecraft for more than an hour a day . Keep us updated.

RustyUs

I just zoomed in on the pics, and seen the Tower Pro servo. I don't want to be a buzzkill, but I had nightmares with that brand. This was about 8 years ago, and maybe they have gotten better? I don't know. They would probably hold up for awhile just like most other RTR servos.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when you get it up and running.

...continue on.

nitrosportsandrunner

Im sure it depends on which tower pro servo...Ive been using MG996r metal geared tower pro servos for a few years...they work really well considering they only cost about $12...heaps better than most RTR stock plastic gear low torque servos.

Im hoping the truck will arrive before the weekend, but most likely it will be early next week.

My prediction is that a upgraded steering servo and a set of SCX10 tires will be needed to satisfy my desired level of capability. But who knows, maybe those tires are softer than they look. They are at least beadlock wheels.

I already bought a micro servo...so when the truck arrives I will only have to fab up a simple linkage to make the 2 speed trans shift via the remote.

nitrosportsandrunner

The truck arrived today! I bought it on the 10th...it shipped the 13th and today is the 20th. Not bad.

It arrived in the retail box with a black plastic bag covering it. Never have I received a RC where the retail box wasn't put inside another box. But, the insides were well packaged and nothing was damaged.

Was it fully RTR out of the box, nope. The ESC had come lose, had to put stronger double sided tape on it. The gear mesh was too tight. The throttle reversing switch on the remote was in the wrong position.
None of those were a big deal to me. To a complete newb though, it would have been.
The one issue that does bother me is a screw that wasn't fully tightened which holds the axle to the upper link. Naturally, the head is stripped out. It will take some doing to remove it and replace with a new screw. But it can be driven as-is.

Overall, I like it. It seems sturdy enough. Driveshafts don't look like they would hold if you put a stronger motor, better tires and did some real rock crawling. But a set of axial or traxxas shafts should bolt in place.

It has decent power. The 2 speed trans is nice...cant wait until I have time to install a servo so I can shift from the remote. Even with spring/friction shocks it articulates pretty well. The upper shock mounts have 3 holes just like on a axial. The rear axle also has 3 lower shock mounting holes.

The tires are stiff. I will take out the foams and cut them at some point, might soften them up some. But the compound is not soft. The treads however are nice and deep. A set of axial scx10 tires would likely be the best use of money as far as upgrades go. Oh, that spare tire, its a functional one.

The body is nice...especially for this price range. The bumpers are sturdy and will prevent my son from smashing up the body on the rocks. The bumpers can move in and out via different mounting holes on the chassis rails...so if you wanted a different body you might still be able to use the bumpers and adjust as needed.

The radio feel, meh. But it has all the functions needed. The ESC has decent control to it. I do wish it wasn't a esc/rx combo unit though.

The wiring I must say is tidy. The 1500mah 15c lipo is nothing special, but considering the price it is nice to see it rather than a nimh pack. Though, you still get Tamiya plugs

The steering linkages are plastic, the servo is chassis mounted, so naturally the steering angle suffers. But I think I can fab up some better linkages, and I may have a MG996r kicking around for some extra torque.

The manual...far nicer than I would have expected. Many exploded views of all the parts, which makes tear downs and repairs much easier.

It came with basic tools, a spare wheel nut and a total of 3 different sized pinion gears. $130 and you even get extra pinion gears for more gearing choices...on a truck with a 2 speed trans!

If we compare this to a axial scx10, well that would be silly. It is almost 1/3 the price. Compared to the redcat RS10, redcat Everest and other $100-$160 crawlers though and you get a lot for your money.

Overall, Im happy with the purchase. I have my custom made FJ cruiser crawler, and now my son will have a truck to go drive with me and it didn't cost an arm and a leg to buy.


I will update as I do mods/improvements.

nitrosportsandrunner

my son and I have each run a battery through it....so about an hour's runtime.
Overall, for trail and light rock crawling it does well. The biggest things that hold it back are the tires and the large bumpers. Sadly, the bumpers cannot be raised. Not a big deal, id rather have them there to protect the body, especially with my 6yo driving it.

The day did end with the rear drive shaft popping off. You can see the male shaft has already started to twist. The driveshaft popped off when my son had the front bumper against a rock and the rear tires on some good traction rock and he still tried to drive forward with the trans in low gear. I will be able to pop the driveshaft back on for now, but either traxxas/ecx/axial or some other brand shafts will have to replace the stock ones at some point.

I really like the 2 speed trans, and it will be much better once I put on a shifting servo. Having 2 speeds makes better use of the motors power...and low gear also gives you a bit finer throttle control.

upgrades and mods will come over time...but for someone just getting into crawling it would be very acceptable as is.

If my excavator sells, I think I will buy the 6x6 version.

nitrosportsandrunner

well, I have 2 bits of bad news guys.
1) you cant just slap on axial driveshafts. The output stub on the trans/axles is smaller than on a axial/traxxas/ecx ect. The pin wont fit through the whole either. So for now, stuck with stock drive shafts. Will have to buy some spares.
2) it has bead lock rims, which look of decent quality. I pulled off the ring so I could remove the foam and cut it...there is no foam, rather there is a plastic "form" that is part of the wheel that would keep the tire from compressing too much. So, you cant just upgrade the tires...you would have to replace the wheels also.

sucks about the drive shafts. I don't know of shafts for a mini crawler would work given the length or if any of them would be stronger than the ones the truck comes with. I don't think any other 1/10 crawler has shafts with a output stub as small as most 1/18 trucks would have.

Oh well, gonna go work on mounting the 2 speed servo.

sheograth

Seems great for the price.

nitrosportsandrunner

I agree.
Putting the remote of a $300+ axial in the hands of my 6yo son would be a bit stressful for me. Letting him drive around a $130 crawler is much easier. But from the outside it looks nearly as good as a axial dingo. I am very tempted to get the 6x6 version of it!

nitrosportsandrunner

on another site I think I found a solution for the driveshafts

The output stubs are 4mm instead of the normal 5mm

But traxxas boat U joints are 4mm but work with standard rustler half shafts. I will have to go buy the parts from the hobby shop to be certain, but it should work and be stronger than the stock shafts...as well as make getting replacement parts faster.

There are some decent upgrades available for this truck. Metal axle and trans case, metal chassis rails, the servo/linkage upgrade kit for the 2 speed trans. I wouldn't mine having the metal axle case...though I think the stock plastic ones are strong enough, the metal just looks cooler.

nitrosportsandrunner

took the P402 and my FJ40 out for some rock crawling.
Even with its limitations and a 6yo at the helm, the P402 is surprisingly capable. I did find some lines that my FJ could handle that the P402 couldn't, and some lines were harder with the P402 than the FJ, but overall it can do maybe 75% of what my FJ can. My FJ is all custom, based on TLT axles but I know it can follow a scx10 just about anywhere.
The drive shaft that popped off last time I put back on and it didn't come off today. I read that the gearing is like 4:1, which puts less stress on them.

Oh, I also noticed that the front/rear cross members have holes that should fit axial bumpers! This is great as the stock bumpers sit a bit low for my linking...lower than the body.

nitrosportsandrunner

Just for fun I added up what it would cost to build a 10x10wd version of this truck. Starting with the HG p601 6x6 version, then adding 2 axles and all the other parts...would be a little less than $300. The only thing you would have to fab up is a body...everything else to add a axle and extend the chassis rails is available and is bolt on. You can actually add as many axles as you want to.

sheograth

That's what I love about crawlers... Instant catapillar if you want it.

nitrosportsandrunner

bought the first upgrade for the P402
I got these brand new axial wheels/tires for $30 shipped.
Truck plus shift servo plus wheels = $170 That's not much more than a axial scx10 roller might cost!
These tires are not only much softer and stickier than the stock ones, they are a bit taller too.
I might have to raise the body a tad...and either trim the front bumper or move it forward a bit.

nitrosportsandrunner

I already found a new home for the p402's stock tires
This kyosho sand master may look better with the stock tires, but it has very little ground clearance and gets stuck easy.
It even handles slightly better with the bigger tires up front.
I just have to re-gear it to compensate for the tall tires.
Now my son wont get it hung up on every little root and small rock.

nitrosportsandrunner

tested the p402 with the new tire a bit.
much better grip
but added grip and taller tires makes the lack of steering angle more apparent.
got a MG996r servo on the way. Might have to upgrade the steering linkage as well. Chassis mounted servo setups are not as strong as axle mounted anyway...it steers better to the left than to the right. Got a pretty big turning radius.
Cant wait to test it out more!

DaYiNaDa

I am using the gearbox on my 2.2 shafty, 31pinion, 46,spur on a 55t can motor. And its purdy tough. I filed down the my exceed shafts fit fone on the 4mm outputs, and i had to make a bigger motor plate.. but its solid otherwise. Mabe ill get the cast case. But for 17$ i am not complainin'

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

55T? That's some torque! I see why you need some of those upgrades.

By the way, please make a new thread instead of bumping an old one, where the discussion is long gone.

DaYiNaDa

how?