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Rlaarlo JK07 Pro: the Search is Over!

by Craig | Mar 15, 2025 | RC Crawlers, RC Reviews, Rlaarlo

Dessert First: My Conclusion

A cheeky spoiler first: the new Rlaarlo JK07 Pro has quickly become one of my all-time favourite RC vehicles.

Now, I want you to appreciate what a momentous feat this is. I’ve been into RC since the 1980s and currently have a shipping container to hold my models. There’s a total of 7.5m (26ft.) of shelving, with 6 levels, to store my 1/10 and larger models, side-by-side. I have many, many RC cars as part of my RC-TNT ‘library’ of models for content creation.

Okay, so once more, the Rlaarlo JK07 Pro is one of my all-time favourite RC vehicles. Now you may see what a big deal this is!

The Search for Scale

This is not a review of the Rlaarlo JK07 Pro. (I do have a video for that, if you’re interested – it’s at the end of this article). But no, today, I am inspired to tell you a bit of a story. It’s still ultimately about the new 1/7 scale beauty from the pointy green R, but it’s quite personal and very much a recalling of times past and dreams unfulfilled – until now. But I get ahead of myself.

I have Rlaarlo to thank for inspiring me to share this with you. I also must thank them for sending me one of their rare ‘Pro’ versions of their epic new trail truck. So, grab a coffee, find a comfy seat, and please enjoy my tale of…

The Search for True Scale!

Four Decades Ago…

I had a blessed childhood. I’m well aware of that. My parents were soil scientists and throughout the 1980s and 90s, they travelled in their Toyota Landcruiser 60 series (and later, 80 series) crisscrossing the many trails of much of the NSW public forested land. They dug small holes, took soil samples, and assembled reports about the state of the land for the NSW Forestry Commission. Some of those reports are still in use and I heard recently they are still today considered the gold standard for this sort of work. Way to go, mum and dad!

I was the eldest of three kids. I’ve always been a tinkerer and have always, always loved things that go. My first word was ‘car’, followed by ‘mum’. That should tell you something! Well, we kids sometimes rode along with our folks on some of their shorter forestry trips. We stayed up the road with our grandparents for the other, longer ones – still had to go to school, after all! But those trips were pretty great.

Grounded

My Dad had installed a small, 12V TV on the center console of the Landcruiser and a 12V VCR underneath it (it played analogue video tapes on the TV, for those of you born this century). We’d bring snacks and some toys and would play near the car, make things from sticks, and generally just be kids between the many stops mum and dad would make.

One thing I always took along with me was a small RC car. But it was a two-wheel drive thing that ran on 4x AA batteries and with the electronics of the late 80s, it wasn’t particularly capable nor efficient on power. But the batteries were rechargeable, and I had two sets, so I often was able to keep the thing running for about half the stops we made.

The Dream

My little RC car had basic suspension, no diff (just an axle with a plastic gear on it, driven by the motor) and weak, 3-position steering. It could handle a little water – it was just a basic AM radio system and there wasn’t much to its electronics – but it was quite limited. Still, I had a blast with that thing. Many fond memories were made, driving up little gravel gullies, across obstacles, down sandy animal trails, and just generally around the place. I played in my own little imaginary world and it was great!

Back then, I didn’t know it, but what I longed for was a more scale experience. I had the imagination, but was limited by electronics of the day. Plastics manufacturing was still new-ish, basic radio technology was sketchy and there was a very small (but rapidly growing) toy and hobby market for RC cars. Despite this, the scene was set.

The Mid 90s

We moved to Coffs Harbour, NSW in December 1988. It was notable because it started raining in early December and didn’t stop raining until mid-late January 1989. Back then, Coffs had a population of around 55,000 people (the greater Coffs area is pushing 180k people now).

There was a Tandy Electronics in town, and I have a vivid memory of my first trip in there with my dad. He needed a new CB radio. I was distracted by their hobby and toys section – there were so many different cars there! And trucks! They stocked a lot of Tamiya and I had no idea about any of it – but I knew right then that I wanted IN!

It Began With Tamiya

It was 1993 and I bought my first hobby-grade car. I hadn’t realized that crawlers were even a thing – and much of the time, they weren’t anyway, as people were cutting and modifying various monster trucks and scale runners like the Clod Hopper and Bruiser, turning them into slow rock machines. So, I started my time in the hobby with a Tamiya Stadium Blitzer.

I had a great time with it, burned through many a NiCAD pack and sets of tires, both on- and off-road sets, until I sold that to my cousin later in the 90s. My brother had a monster truck with two speeds for a time, and that was cool. His first foray onto rocks ended up blowing its plastic transmission. (Oh, how times have changed!)

My First Crawler

If you know me from RC-TNT on YouTube, you may be surprised to learn that it wasn’t until 2011 that I experienced my first real rock crawler. It was a Losi MRC (or Mini Rock Crawler) and I had SUCH a great time with that thing! When I retired it, the car had a 1/10 80 Series Landcrusier body on it with a home-made winch, metal sliders, 1.9” wheels and 4.3” tires. I drove the wheels off that thing – several times, in fact!

In the years following, I dipped into the 1/24 scene (starting with the Losi Trail Trekker in 2013) and into 1/10 and bigger (starting with an old, well-used SCX10 Deadbolt I picked up second hand). A new Vaterra Ascender soon followed, and that puts us in about 2015.

Getting Into Scale

By now, the rot had truly set in. There was no turning back. I was busily building scale obstacle courses at home and meeting people near and far to trail drive with during weekends and even after work, into the night. I could not get enough of RC scale driving and models!

Of course, the problem with meeting other people to drive with is that you see what they’re up to in the hobby. You start to get more and more ideas about what you want to do with your rig/s. And once your mind starts spinning away on these things, there’s only one cure…

More and Bigger Crawlers, Please!

You can no-doubt see where things are heading at this point. By 2017 I had probably 50 lipo batteries and several balance chargers, and various 1/24, 1/18, 1/10 and 1/8 scale machines, some of which I’d built myself and some that were kit builds, and others that were used RTR machines from local buy/sell groups in the hobby.

I have a photo of my Trail Trekker in LC80 guise using its winch up the side of a rock from around 2013. It’s my first photo of a scale crawler showing how I was really trying to capture that feel of a real car. The more realistic, the better. I thought that meant better bodies, better tires and more accessories. To some extent, that was correct. But I was missing something.

Running Gear Matters

Sometime in 2017, Traxxas announced a bold new RC crawler with a previously unheard-of feature: remote locking differentials. In a 1/10 scale crawler. I came across a leaked photo of a shiny grey Defender on oversized tires and looking incredible. My jaw just about hit the floor, along with the rest of me, as I fell off my chair when I saw it! I think I called a couple of friends right then to tell them about it. Guys! Remote lockers! On a 1/10!?

When it was released, I bought one of the first Traxxas TRX4 models available in Australia. Man, I drove that thing for YEARS and its running gear was amazing. But over time, inevitably, I wanted more! More scale! More running gear! And more realism!

Just Like My ‘Real’ Car

A few years later, Boom Racing released the BRX01 (article here) and along with it, a transfer case option that included selectable 4WD/RWD. The car had full-time locked axles, but with overdrive gears in the transfer case, that was a sublime option for an already brilliant scale rig. (You can read about that one here, it’s still one of my favourite trail rigs today).

My full-size 80 series Landcruiser was RWD most of the time, with an open diff. Lock the hubs and you’d have 4WD high and low range. And then, if you wanted, you could install lockers so you could lock the front or the rear diffs, too. But no RC model ever had that level of detail. For some years now, I’ve been patiently waiting for such a thing to become a reality. Here’s where it gets good. Better than good!

Rlaarlo To The Rescue!

This brings us to 2025 and Rlaarlo has, unexpectedly, incredibly, delightfully, come through for we scale afficionados. My dream of the ultimate scale, trail crawler may have actually, finally, been fulfilled! It’s time to talk about the new Rlaarlo JK07 Pro – I have one of just five in the world at time of writing – and I’m SO excited to tell you about it!

There’s a video review and drive demo I’ve made for this car that you can find at the end of the article. It’s very worth watching. But here, I’m going to take you over some of the scale detail and goodies that I couldn’t include in the video, else I’d still be filming it right now. It’s a bit of a list!

Rlaarlo JK07 Pro Features

Ok, ready for this?

1/7 scale long wheelbase;
full working light kit (with working LEDs on the front fenders and bendy mirrors!!);
selectable RWD/4WD/FWD;
high and low speed;
selectable remote locking diffs;
working windscreen wipers (3 speed settings!);
huge brushless motor and servo;
a longer wheelbase AND body than the Axial SCX6 (yes, really!);
a GPS-measured top speed on 4S (yes, 4S!) of 29kph (or 18mph);
working side awning;
working rooftop camper with collapsible ladder;
sand ladders and scale shovel;
a full interior including a steering wheel that turns with the wheels; and,
everything’s waterproof!

The whole thing weighs around 8.4kg (or 18.5lb), it looks fabulous, and the body comes off and goes on without body clips or other tools. It’s hinged and has gorgeous cable routing, and the entire machine is controlled by a DumboRC (Rlaarlo-branded) 10-ch radio transmitter.

I honestly and truly think the Rlaarlo JK07 Pro might be the most complete package of ANY RTR I’ve ever had. Really. If you’ve seen my toy shop of a studio, you’ll know that means of most cars on the market today.

What I Love

The previous section pretty much tells the story there. This is a durable car with very well conceived execution. All the plastics are nice and bendy for good durability. Components are thoughtfully placed. The car runs well and has a wonderfully scale body roll to it. Driving in just RWD and unlocked is a hoot! And I LOVE being able to slowly increase the car’s ability to match increasingly challenging terrain: RWD open diff, 4WD open diff, 4WD front/rear locked. So fun.

The battery tray is huge and fits a 7A 4S and a 10A 3S lipo – both are ideal for a car of this size. (Adapters here, if you buy either of these). Rlaarlo sells suitable batteries and many spare and upgrade parts for the JK07 as well.

The body is beautifully appointed and there’s a complete interior. There are many stickers included with the thing so you can customize it a bit, and the tires and foams are very good. I wouldn’t add more brass to it, I think the car is balanced just nicely out of the box. It’s quiet, power-efficient and just plan fun to drive.

Things Needing Improvement

There aren’t many things on this list, but a few items are in need of attention if you’re going to use this a lot. Firstly, the two rear tow hooks are plastic. They snap very easily if you tip the car on its bottom for cleaning or inspection. I wish these were either metal, hinged, or both. (My Rlaarlo contact has confirmed they’re looking to iterate on this in future). Also, the rear springs are too soft, even with full preload applied. I’d prefer slightly thicker diameter rear springs so the car can ride a bit more stably, especially on corners and steep ascents.

The steering wheel needs a bearing in the shaft so it doesn’t grind around when its servo tries to move it. And lastly, if you’re crawling with it beyond anything mild, the large wheels and mass of the vehicle overwhelm the 45kg brushless servo. I’m going to fit a 70kg brushless unit to mine. Lastly, the manual is a bit vague on features – more on that in a moment.

Wipers & Steering Wheel

These seemingly unrelated things had one factor in common: neither worked properly for me, but for different reasons.

Steering Wheel: the steering wheel was installed too tightly, so instead of rotating with its micro servo, it kinda ground left and right. Loosening the retention screw behind it fixed this. Simply a factory installation issue, no biggie.

Wipers: The wipers have a button on the radio (CH10) but the manual isn’t clear on how this works. A single press makes them wipe once. Holding it down for a few seconds turns them on. Pressing CH10 3x rapidly adjusts the wiping speed. A single press will turn them off.

My Overall Impression

This is not just Rlaarlo’s best car to date. The Rlaarlo JK07 Pro is one of the best RC trail rigs on the market, period. I’m completely serious. For me, at least, the complexity afforded by the various servos and design are such that I can have a true scale adventure with this thing. I can get stuck, get recovered, and even winch myself out if I wanted to install a winch on one of the two spare radio channels (both of which conveniently have a dial). It’s such a great car.

The Rlaarlo JK07 Pro won’t be for everyone. But for those among us who are still kids at heart, dreaming of scale adventure, this flagship model from Rlaarlo may be just the model you’ve been waiting for. I am so, so pleased with it. Oh yes.

Where To Buy

Rlaarlo sells direct from their website.

Also consider the JK07’s predecessor, the shorter-wheelbase Rlaarlo MK07.

See It in Action

I’ve got a detailed video of my experience with the Rlaarlo JK07 Pro below.

Also learn about other Rlaarlo vehicles I’ve examined here: https://rc-tnt.com/rlaarlo/

See my Rlaarlo videos here, on YouTube.

Craig Veness

RC-TNT

Craig has been into radio control since the 90s and into RC crawling since about 2010, when a Losi MRC started the obsession! Now it's all rocks this and crawl that and upgrade all the things! ...You know how it is, right? Welcome home 🙂

A note on affiliate links: we were provided with this car by the manufacturer for review purposes. The Rlaarlo and other seller links in the above article are affiliate links, which means we may be paid a small commission if you choose to click on them to make a purchase. As always, we make effort to ensure that no review is impacted by this – we still report on bugs and issues encountered during product testing, and our fixes or solutions if found. Thank you for reading and happy RC-ing!

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Rlaarlo’s 2022 Speed Run a Flying Success

by Craig | Sep 23, 2022 | RC On Road, Rlaarlo

Sweet Loot

Speed run is a fun event even when it’s just for bragging rights. But how does a cash prize of USD$2000 sound? Perhaps an Anniversary Edition version of Rlaarlo’s best buggy? Or maybe just one of every vehicle in the 2022 catalog? If this grabs your attention, wait until you hear what had to be achieved to secure one of these shiny rewards!

Need for Speed

You may have seen Rlaarlo offering this impressive set of prizes for a little competition on their Facebook page in July 2022. For once, this wasn’t just a ‘Like and Share this post’ to have a chance at a random prize. That’s something we’ve all seen from various groups at this point. Much better than that, it was for a good, old-fashioned speed run contest, with some actual sweat-and-tears friendly competition!

The prizes were enticing. So, what was the catch? RC hobbyists had three weeks to modify their Rlaarlo buggies. The goal was to video-record and measure their vehicle’s fastest speed run pass they could manage.

The conditions for that winning high-speed pass were simple enough:

any of four Rlaarlo or Amoril 1/14 buggies could be used;
entrants could modify the buggy any way they wished, as long as they retained the original body shell and chassis;
they must provide a clear GPS speed measure after the run;
the vehicle must be functional after the run;
it should be wheel-powered only (no EDF for you enterprising rocket scientists!);
the pass must be on flat ground; and,
the pass must be recorded in a single, un-cut video.

Star of the Show

Folks needed a video camera and a GPS unit to measure speed. But the key to this contest was the RC model itself. You could use the Rlaarlo XDKJ-006 1/14 4WD brushless buggy (available here) or one of three other similar Rlaarlo and Amoril models. There are many 1/14 RC buggies available these days and on the whole, they’ve been slowly improving. However, the recently-released Rlaarlo XDKJ-006 grabbed our attention as it looked to have the balance of weight, power and durability. This was a balanced feature set that is so rare in ‘cheaper’ RC models. (See our initial review video and our more detailed article here on rc-tnt.com for more about the buggy).

Notably, the 006 features a carbon fibre tub chassis and a compact 2S/3S brushless power system that makes for a lightweight little rocket. This is impressive on its own and our initial review reflected that. However, what later impressed us even further was its sheer durability. We bashed ours far harder than it should ever have been able to handle. Our Durability Test video should be a testament to the rugged nature of the XDKJ-006. It was unbelievably tough and we gave it a rough day at the skate park!

Competition Time!

And so it was upon this platform that Rlaarlo proposed a little contest of effort and cunning. Who could modify their XDKJ-006 to be the fastest in a straight line? To make it through Round 1 of the speed run, you needed a pass of at least 100kmph/62mph. The fastest would enter Round 2 and then a final round would test the best of the best.

The idea was simple enough – but just how fast could these little machines really go? Those tiny 1/14 wheels mean big gearing and motor speed would be needed for high-speed runs. And that’s to say nothing of limited chassis space and vehicle stability from a short wheelbase. Would 62mph+ passes even be possible?

Round 1: Warming Up

Round 1 was to close on July 29, just one week into the competition. The entries trickled in as the days counted down. First to make a showing were USA, Canadian and Australian entrants, with buggies running from 12V to 24V systems. Three USA contenders hit hard with impressive speeds even at that early stage:

75mph from Eric Woolsey on 4S with a 3200kv motor;
76mph from Radlee Plott on just 2S with a 7800kv motor; and,
94mph from Michael Koebbe with 3S on a 3200kv motor.

Already, things were getting interesting! The first round concluded on July 30 with 25 entrants clearing the 62mph cut-off speed. At this stage there were hobbyists from USA, Canada, Australia, Germany and the UK with seriously impressive speeds logged on camera.

Round 1 leaders were as follows:

tied third place holders Daniel Petrak (AUS, 3S) and Eric Woolsey (USA, 3S) had verified speeds of 87mph (140km/h);
Christopher Barnes (USA, 3S) ran a 95mph (152.9km/h) pass; and,
with a very safe lead was Michael Koebbe with a blistering pass of 121mph (194.7km/h)!

Round 2: Fight!

There were 25 people cleared through to the second round. Rlaarlo announced that only the fastest ten entrants would qualify for the final round. Clearly, competition was going to be close with such a fierce first round!

The second round gave contenders a week to make their attempts and submit their best video. Again, the entries trickled in over the next few days. It was a close thing, even at this stage of competition. The lower 5 entrants were tightly grouped, separated by just a few miles per hour, posting top speeds of between 96mph and 99mph! The top 5 entrants were split over a wider range, from 101mph and up. Anyone could take it at this stage!

Controversy in the Leaderboard

Video clarity and technical gremlins can hit at unexpected times. They’re challenging and often random in when and how they strike. This is especially the case when you’re pushing the limits with equipment vs physics! At this stage of the contest, Chris Barnes posted several impressive runs but encountered a string of issues from a series of crashes that led to him losing a GPS unit. His list-topping runs were disqualified and the leaderboard was adjusted.

It was generally agreed that Rlaarlo made the best call they could with the available information. Unfortunately, some fallout would be unavoidable as other competitors found themselves bumped off the leaderboard during this controversial exchange. Such problems and decisions are tough for all involved and can lead to high emotion in the midst of competition. Cool heads prevailed with the only reasonable ruling from Rlaarlo in order to maintain a level playing field. The show continued.

We wish Chris Barnes and the other affected competitors the very best for next time. All affected have our sympathy for a rough run this time. Good sportsmanship and supportive voices are what sets clubs and groups apart from others and to date we’ve found the Rlaarlo Facebook group to be generally very positive and supportive. This is something we could all use more of!

Round 2 Speed Run Finalists

With Barnes’ 118mph entry (USA, 4S) disqualified, the top three contenders posted their best runs for Round 2:

- 3rd – Eric Woolsey with 114mph (183.5kmph), on 3S power with a Castle MM X 6S system;
- 2nd – Michael Koebbe with 121mph (194.7kmph), on 3S power with a Castle MM X 8S system; and
- 1st – Connor Matthes with 128mph (206km/h), running on 5S power also with a Castle MM.

Problems in rear-view mirror, the contest continued to its final round…

Hold My Beer!

The first three entries submitted to the final round were from USA contenders:

Radlee Plott (4S, Castle MM X) with 104mph (167.4kmph);
Eric Woolsey (4S, Castle MM X 6S) with 122mph (196.3kmph); and,
Connor Matthes (5S, Castle MM) with an eye-watering 130mph (209.2kmph)!

Later that day, USA entrant Michael Koebbe disrupted second place with a 126mph (202.8kmph) run on 3S power with an XLX2 system.

By August 15, as the final hour closed out the contest, Eric Woolsey retained his third position on the leaderboard. Michael Koebbe upped the ante with his XLX2 system, jumping from 3S to 4S power. He delivered a 130mph pass (209.2kmph), drawing equal with Matthes’ pass from just a few days prior.

Pulling out all stops, Connor Matthes made a final blazing pass on the same 5S-powered MM X 8S system with the winning entry of 131mph, or 210.8kmph! Here’s his video from that final run:

Speed Run Aftermath

Congratulations and support flowed in from many on the groups Facebook page on Matthes’ well-deserved win. Special mention must go to the next place-holders who managed such impressive speeds. This is a buggy that we have tested ourselves with a top speed of 50mph (81kmph) on 3S power in stock form.

The difference between stock 3S speeds and even the ‘slowest’ finalist was huge. David Grima (AUS) made a 94mph pass (151.3kmph) – that’s already nearly twice as fast as stock speed! One entrant made his personal best of 70.2mph immediately after being partially run over by a truck. That was with a damaged wheel! It was still 20mph faster than a stock 006 that hasn’t been run over. Crazy!

Suggestions were floated about maybe putting an expenditure limit on future speed runs to help level the field some more. Others had ideas around event timing with seasons in different hemispheres and competition time-frames. All said, the contest was an entertaining event that brought people’s skill and perseverance into the limelight and good humour was expressed across the page. What a fun way to spend some time tinkering with such an impressive little buggy!

Rlaarlo released a speed run highlights video you can watch on Facebook here.

What’s Next?

Rlaarlo have been building on momentum from this and other fun events hosted over 2022. New models are reportedly in development. (We’re excited about a brushless 1/12 model that’s apparently coming soon. More details on rc-tnt.com as soon as we have them!) Parts availability for current models has been consistent and timely. Future events are in the works, they’ve reported on their Facebook page.

A note on the company as a whole: our XDKJ-006 had a rare electrical issue after some use that was swiftly rectified by Rlaarlo. We’ve been only impressed with dealing with the company, who even prior to our initial review video were accepting of our standard terms that we would not make a draft available to them before publication and that we would publish test outcomes, even if they were unfavorable. It’s this admirable attitude that prompted us to write this speed run contest debrief; the company has been reasonable, fair and simply a pleasure to deal with from our first contact. We’re looking forward to seeing what they do next!

Where to Get One

Rlaarlo’s website is https://rlaarlo.com. The 006 buggy details and purchase page can be found here. Also, Rlaarlo maintains a Facebook group page (here) and an Instagram profile (here).

Lastly, our detailed review article of the XDKJ-006 can be found here on rc-tnt.com and our video series starts with the review. The XDKJ-006 is easy to recommend and we are pleased to so closely follow the company’s journey.

Affiliate Links and Integrity

We were provided with our XDKJ-006 by Rlaarlo at no cost for purposes of review. As always, we maintain the right to publish our test results without influence or edit from the manufacturer. This competition debrief is entirely the work of rc-tnt.com and has had no affiliation or marketing influence from Rlaarlo or its staff, beyond an initial request to consider writing it. We have not received compensation for writing this article. Having such fair treatment from the company, it’s been a pleasure to produce the videos and articles we’ve done so far and we look forward to seeing what Rlaarlo produces next. Oh yes, we are anticipating what future contests may entail, too! This one has been a hoot!

-Craig Veness, rc-tnt.com

Craig Veness

RC-TNT