Traxxas TRX-6 Flatbed Hauler (#88086-4)

The Traxxas TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler is nearly here! But this isn’t the start of the story. About two years ago, Traxxas released a limited run of the TRX6 called the ‘Snap-On Hauler’. It was only available through a special Snap-On promotion. The big red rig was covered online and saw a few YouTube videos, but it never had a retail release.

It seems Traxxas was sitting on their designs and molds from that Snap-On run. For whatever reason, they’ve waited until now to release it to retail. And so, finally, this 6×6 hauler has been announced and we’ll see it on shelves within the month. Woohoo!

How Big Is the TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler?

The TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler is a truck cab with a flatbed for hauling. To give you an idea of size, the front-to-rear axle on the TRX6 6×6 G63 Benz is 454mm/17.87”. The new model is based on the TRX-6 platform, but its front-to-middle axle is 471mm/18.6”! That is to say, the gap between front and rear axles on the older Benz is smaller than the gap between the front and middle axles on the TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler! Blimey!

The tray, or flat bed, is rather long. 584mm/23” long, in fact! Between the low-set side rails is a gap of 222mm/8.75”. The total width of the bed is 246mm/9.7”.

The entire rig is 953mm/37.5” from nose to tail – that’s just about a meter! The track and total vehicle width is the same as the TRX6 G-Wagon, at 249mm/9.8” front and rear. We have yet to get firm details on the approach, break-over and departure angles, as Traxxas’ site for this monster still list the TRX6 G-Wagon angles – clearly that can’t be the same, with such a long bed and gap between front and middle axle. We’ll update this when the numbers are available. The whole thing weighs 4.83kg/10.7lb, as opposed to the TRX6 Benz’s weight of 4kg/8.8lb.

Just What Is This Thing?!

This new release is all about the truck cab and flatbed, complete with running lights and shiny, black-chrome trim. Truck style wheels, fuel tanks, toolboxes and bumpers, the TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler is very attractive, even if this style of RC vehicle is not your usual thing.

The new, big rig has a few key differences underneath, if you’re wondering: the total wheelbase is considerably longer at 603mm/23.7” than the regular TRX6 wheelbase of 454mm/17.9”. There’s a ball-bearing carrier between rear transmission out-drive and middle axle. That extra drive shaft helps the TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler achieve its longer wheelbase without needing other changes to the TRX6 configuration.

Also different are the tires, though they’re still on 2.2” wheels, same as on the TRX6 Benz. All else is body and trim related, which we’ll cover below.

What’s New?

Aside from the lengthened driveline, there are truck-style wheels and bumpers. A full light system, including running lights on the tray. The bold new truck cab body and flatbed towing tray.

There are small details, too, such as the front portal hubs having extended axles to fit the chromed hub caps. The tires are the same size, tread and compound as on the TRX6 Mercedes, but the side-walls are distinctly truck-like in their lack of detail, aside from the Traxxas logo.

The cab itself is a little taller than the G-Wagon variant. The side mirrors are hinged, but their faces are covered with a non-reflective sticker. Minor detail, but worth noting if you care about that stuff (and you can buy reflective sticker sheets cheaply online). Speaking of decals and disappointment, the front and side grille detail on the cab body are all stickers/decals rather than moulded plastics – a small thing, but a shame, nonetheless. The windows also are blacked-out stickers and the body has been painted over those windows on the inside, so even removing the stickers won’t grant you a view to any interior you might install later.

What’s the Same?

Both the original TRX6 and the new Ultimate RC Hauler share much of the same running gear. This is still very much a ‘full-fat’ TRX vehicle. The same two-speed transmission is present, as are the lockable/unlockable diffs on all three axles. The front axle can be locked separately to the rears. The same Titan 21T reverse-rotation 550 brushed motor is present, running from the same Traxxas XL-5 HV ESC (Electronic Speed Control). Even the same light control hub, Traxxas 8028, is present, piping 3V 0.5A power to the LEDs on and around the body.

The tires look a little different on the sidewalls, but they’re still the same 2.2” CANYON RT rubber as found on the regular TRX6. The steering servo is unchanged also, being the Traxxas 2075X 125oz unit. All electronics run at 6V, supported by the built-in BEC (Battery Elimination Circuit) in the XL-5 HV ESC.

Underneath, the links, shafts and axles are the same high-durability units as found under the TRX6, that extra shaft and carrier bearing aside. There’s still a full-size battery tray with battery latch and the same plush 90mm GTS aluminum shocks are present on all axles.

It’s Bed Time!

The bed is moulded ABS plastic. It’s attached at 8 locations along the 30” chassis rails and has a tidy sidewall underneath that sits on top of the rails. It looks solid and has a pleasing texture on the bed itself, with the Traxxas logo inlaid. The bed doesn’t roll or tip, unfortunately – but the space is definitely there for enterprising hobbyists to either implement a tip or roll system, or even simply to add ramps that could hook into the end for drive-on/drive-off. The bed also features hard plastic side rails and utility loops.

There are a few locations to fit included wheel chocks, which are supplied with stretchy O-rings to fit over tires of whatever vehicle you may choose to carry. This will ensure a secure load even when the going gets bumpy. It’s a small but thoughtful inclusion and a rather elegant way to accommodate a variety of possible vehicle types.

Lastly, there’s an included winch plate that will allow you to fit any regular style RC winch to the front of the bed. As it doesn’t tilt, it’s purpose is somewhat diminished, but the inclusion is still thoughtful for the scale addition and will also be appreciated by the aspiring hobbyist with plans to incorporate a tilt mechanism or ramps (hello!).

Black Chrome is Cool

All the shiny bits on this new rig are finished in what Traxxas calls “black chrome”. It’s like regular chrome, but tinted. The plastic pieces have the finish, as do the bumpers (which look metal but are going to be plastic as well). There are diamond-plated, chromed steps on both sides of the cab, set into faux fuel tanks. Even the storage boxes get the treatment – they don’t open, but they look good.

The wheels even have this finish. It’s very smart and very ‘truck’. Looks great, doesn’t it! One thing that would be nice to consider adding could be dual wheels on the rear two axles. Traxxas already makes that extended outdrive for the front axles to reach that screw-on hub cap, so we’ve got to wonder whether we might be able to grab one of the dually-ready 1.9” wheel types (AsiaTees has a few to choose from, including the Pro-Line Carbine plastic set) and get even more scale with this thing. We’ll investigate that and get back to you.

Light Me Up

The new Traxxas TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler sports a total of 25 LEDs! They’re located:

• In the headlights, with one bright, cold-white LED in each headlamp bucket.
• In the front light cluster, with one orange parker on each side.
• On the cab roof, with 5x orange running LEDs in chrome-lined light moulds.
• On the tray side, with 2x orange and 1x red LED along each side of the bed.
• On the rear of the headache rack, behind the cab, with 5x rear-facing red LEDs.
• On the rear bumper, with 5x rear-facing red LEDs.

That’s a lot of lights! They all run from the Traxxas 8028 light control module which comes with the model. The 8028 unit outputs 3v 0.5A to power all the lights without flicker or fade, even when the other electronics are working hard. (Some models run their LEDs from the BEC, which leads to the lights flickering with voltage droop when the servo is working hard, for example. No such problem with the Traxxas setup. Awesome!).

Wiring under the tray and under the cab is super tidy. Cable ties are used and there are guide pieces to ensure the wiring is routed tidily throughout.

Do We Like?

We do like. Very much!

We’ll grab a unit and check it out as soon as its broadly available. We already have plans for a tilting tray and even exploring adding an extra axle to the rear. There’s an overflowing parts bin here that we’ll take a dive through – the TRX6 Ultimate RC Hauler is surely worthy of some time on the work bench, we think!

The USA-market asking price is only $20 over the older TRX6 model. For all its shortcomings – stickers, static bed, opaque windows – the truck is greater than the sum of its parts. This is a compelling vehicle and we are genuinely excited to get this one onto the bench and then out into the world. Nice one, Traxxas!

Links

Find Traxxas’ page for this new rig here: https://traxxas.com/products/landing/trx-6-flatbed-hauler/

The TRX6 G63 page is here, for comparison: https://traxxas.com/products/landing/trx6-g63/

Keep an eye on our YT channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/rc-tnt) for when our TRX6 video drops. We’ll add it to our TRX6 playlist when it is ready. Can’t wait!