TESTING
ARTICULATION, WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION, AND CLIMB TESTING
The DC-1 tipped the scales with 54% of its weight over the axle, pretty good for a truck with a functional spare tire hanging over the rear bumper. Articulation testing on a 20-degree ramp delivered a Ramp Travel Index score of 1025, which is on par with the most twistable trucks we’ve tested. As measured by angled-board testing, the steepest grade the DC-1 could handle without flipping over backward was 50 degrees—pretty good considering how top-heavy the body is, and the hefty spare tire.
EASY TRAIL RUNNING
I found the DC-1 to be a pleasant hiking companion on the foot trails that I had to hike on the way to “real terrain,” especially with a 3S Lipo onboard. The speed jump from
Low to High isn’t huge, and both gears are pretty peppy on 11.1 volts. The drivetrain operates smoothly, as does the shifting system. Whether I shifted while stopped or at any speed, the transmission just clicked into gear. The turning radius seems as tight as anything else in my fleet, and throttle feel is precise. Just watch out for the instant-on brake; as soon as you let the trigger hit neutral, the brake goes to 100%. I did more than a few unintentional stoppies.
IN THE ROUGH STUFF
Even with its tall, weighty body (all those plastic parts and the interior add up) and spare tire, the DC-1 can handle steep climbs easily. The front end gets very light once you get up around 50 degrees of incline, but the DC-1 never slogged. Sidehilling was a different story. The truck definitely requires a light touch and will not tolerate much tilt before it rolls. I expect having a lighter body and/or adding weight low on the chassis will go a long way toward im- proving performance there. Otherwise, the DC-1 has good articulation and traction, ranging from so-so to very good, depending on the surface and obstacle. The tires have broad, flat lugs that aren’t as versatile as designs with more edges and levels. But overall, they’re fine. Craggy obstacles seemed to grab the axles more frequently than with my other trail trucks, no doubt because of the exposed hardware and large pumpkins. I’ll probably make some mods to smooth them out.
NOTES & TIPS
My DC-1’S steering link unthreaded itself from the servo horn, which was a drag. At a minimum, threadlock the screw before you hit the trail. For the most secure fix, use a longer screw so that you can install a nyloc nut over the end of the screw. And speaking of screws, you can make the DC-1’S axles less prone to snagging by using buttonhead screws in the link mounts and installing the screws from below the axle rather than above.