DHK Hunter BL as a 2nd Basher

[Curvin]

Being new to RC and dipping my toe in with a Senton Mega 4x4 for my son , ( which we quickly discovered needed the usual upgrades to last more than 15 minutes - Servo/shocks/Brushless ), I stumbled on a cheap / minimal use DHK Hunter BL that on reading up seems to be a reasonable option for a 2nd basher that i could use to get out and have some sessions with the son, instead of just playing pit crew.

Truck should arrive in a few days , standard brushless combo is supposed to be HobbyWing from my research, the suspension/chassis/driveline components look to be able to take some punishment judging by some of the video reviews I have seen. I'll no doubt be making some changes eventually, but for a start I'll see how it goes with the stock components. Comes with both a 2S and 3S Lipo, I might need to sandbag if its significantly faster than the modded Senton Mega , LOL !

Anyone else had experience with the truck they can share ?

 

[slick2500]

I think I watched this review once a while back.

 

[Curvin]

@slick2500 ,

Thanks Mate , I have already seen that one, definitely gets a work out and holds up well. The reviewer also highlights the negatives and positives which I find refreshing compared to some other review channels where every RC is awesome, so to speak.

Another positive in Australia at least, is we have a good local distro who has stock of a lot of parts , which was a pleasant surprise for a lesser known / retailer supported brand. A new body is something I am weighing up as the truck has some noticeable damage around the bottom of a few wheel archs, which I suspect is from body bottoming out ( as noted in one of the reviews from Aussie RC Playgound.

I'll give it a once over and weigh up some options once it arrives and pop up some thoughts after I have given it a run.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

About 2 years ago, this truck go really popular over on RCGroups and URC (RIP). Back then Hobbypeople had USA distribution for DHK, so parts were easy to get, and the BL version was $250, and often went on sale for $200. Seems most people that had the truck had positive things to say about it. Only chronic issue I remember was some people were breaking the wheel axles - but I think DHK updated the axle to fix the issue.

When Hoppbypeople went OOB, DHK in the USA kind of went away for a while. Now there are a few China vendors that carry the cars, so parts are available again. My local HobbyTown had a Maximus on the shelf, so maybe they are starting to pick up some USA distribution again...

But - Seems like the Hunter is a great truck! URC is gone, but you should still be able to search up old threads over on RCG.

 

[Curvin]

@Jerry-rigged ,

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.

I have read some of the threads over at RCGroups, also noticed the sad demise of the URC , hopefully they can reconnect the dots on the broken database for the forum.

DHK locally has a very small footprint , only a few LHS's support them, but the distro has a direct retail arm and as noted holds a decent selection of spares in stock.

Truck arrives this morning.

 

[Curvin]

Hunter BL after a thorough once over , its condition when received, which supposedly only had a few months usage ( must have been a very tough few months ) was pretty average to say the least. I bought it cheap enough so I went to work , stripped all the wheels, shocks , electrics out and gave it a good clean, rebuilt all the shocks, new oil 40F/50R, reassembled / remounted the electrics , fitted a heatsink/fan to the motor, bought some new Proline Bandlands wheels/tyres ( originals were shot , one wheel cracked, hex's stripped, tyres full of dirt , etc, they were garbage ) , installed some fresh screws, new shorter turn buckles to address the front toe still being negative using the stock turn buckles shortest setting ? , fresh Lipo 2S , some repairs to the body.

Badlands are 9 mm* offset, ( off Slash 4x4) which is not ideal , as I really wanted 3-4 mm offset, but nothing was available in that offset, so I do have a slight tyre overhang of about 1-2mm. I have ensured the suspension/body height geometry doesn't allow it to easily bottom and touch the body as best I can.

First few test runs went reasonably well, car is deceptively fast out the box with the stock electronics on 2S , took a beating with some pretty big hits , no breakages, but the ESC did cut power to the engine on a few instances after a big hit. Quick toggle on/off, and power was restored. Not sure if that is normal , maybe someone else can give me some feedback on that behaviour.

Few bits still on the way, fresh set of hex adapters as 3 of the 4 are less then perfect , some stiffer springs , antenna tube and also some spacers for the shocks to be able to use 3rd party shocks. Shock lengths are 100mm, so plenty of options. I have some Slash 102mm shocks on the way that were meant to go on the front of the Senton, but I may have worked out another solution there. Both trucks are in need of bearings, so the next visit will be to Fast Eddy's.

Hunter with its other stable mate, BL 2S modded Senton Mega 4x4 , with a few other mods re suspension/servo, etc, both trucks are close to par in speed, handling. One thing that I did find odd with the Hunters front suspension geometry is that on compression it significantly alters the front toe out, whereas the Senton on compression doesn't alter the toe at all. That behaviour with the odd standard toe in , does set it a little out of the box, but it seems to handle O.K.

There is a lot more set up options on the Hunter, and its a tougher overall truck , will handle 3S easily out of the box. I can see why it was popular, although a little underground due to the limited LHS support / distribution. I have yet to have any issue with sourcing parts tho , unlike ARRMA which has been out of stock for some basic essentials since I purchased the Senton 4x4 3 months ago.

Overall, I am reasonably happy , its a good second basher for the younger son to go racing his brother, with some potential for me to actually get a go at some point, but admittedly I can't drive the trucks for shite, still trying to connect the brain/hand coordination, but I'll get there .

 

[Curvin]

Just had a test run on 3S for the first time this morning, wow, this thing lit up. I ended up winding the throttle dual rate back as it was proving too much of a handful , huge end-o's and roll over flips trying to get a handle on it.

The truck is tough as nails , it took some hits that would have ended the Senton 4x4 , and just rolled over and kept belting. I would have no hesitation recommending this truck to anyone coming into the hobby, it can take massive punishment, is quick on 2S, a riot on 3S , and can be tamed back for the beginners with the throttle dual rate setting, that can be dialled up as they learn to drive more competently.

 

[Curvin]

Further researching other wheel/tyre options that have been used with correct offsets for the Hunter, I discovered the LHS who sold me the Badlands specifying they were a 0 offset ( SCT10/Traxxas Protrac) , instead have supplied the standard Slash 4x4 rear/4x4 f/r with 9mm offset. That makes more sense re the offset causing the overhang. Not overly pleased with the LHS, as I have over $120AU invested in the wheels/tyres, and I doubt I will be able to exchange them for the 0 offsets ( which will have their own issue unless I space them with a wider hex ). Thats the problem when packages are sealed and you cannot directly inspect prior to purchase. Its most likely the guy at the LHS made an honest mistake, as he clearly stated the wheels given to me were 0 offset. Thing is the actually 0 offset wheels were in stock , he may have grabbed the wrong package or got confused which was which.

I am also having difficulty getting any clear information on offsets from the manufacturers of the 3rd part wheel/tyre options as well, both AKA and jConcepts are not replying to queries via email. Seems unless you have a Traxxas or perhaps an SCT , no one is interested in helping.

I have 2 sets of wider 12mm hex's on the way , more so to do a conversion on the Senton initially, but I'll be using them on the Hunter as well if I can sort find some correct offset wheel/tyre combos. I may use the current Badlands on the Senton eventually once I do the 12mm conversion.

Out of interest, does anyone know what the actually offset is for the standard Senton Mega 4x4 wheels ?

 

[Curvin]

Quick Update.

The Hunter chewed a front diff pinion outdrive to the metal driveshaft , so I took the opportunity to pull the diff out and check the condition of the metal pinion/gear. Pinion was a little pitted so replaced that as well , also upgraded the shocks and wheels/tyres.

Big Bore Aluminium Shocks that were originally bought for the Senton, but the bore/spring diameter proved too large. Perfect fit for the Hunter , some fresh oil / 50F/40R, slight dremel massage for bottom ball pivot to fit in lower control arm , job done.

Repair and refresh Completed , Diff Input/Pinion replaced, Big Bore Aluminium Shocks , fresh Wheel Hex's, New JConcepts Rims with correct 3mm offset / AKA Impact Tyres!

 

[Curvin]

I wasn't overly happy with the AKA's for bashing so reserved them in the stash for possible use on another project and scored some JConcepts Choppers and Serpent Rims for a song off a guy clearing som access bits. I did a pretty decent job gluing tyres/rims for the first time

Awesome grip , held up very well on the test bash, until I slammed the truck into a goal post and damaged a C- Hub, Doh !

 

[Curvin]

Collection of 12mm Hex SCT tyre/wheel combos accumulated over the last 6 months.

 

[Jerry-rigged]

LOL, yeah tires seem to grow like mushrooms. I think I have three boxes of tires hiding around in my garage. SCT, Truggy, 1/8 buggy.

So you like the Choppers? I've been thinking about trying a set of those myself...

 

[Curvin]

The Choppers are great, more akin to the Badlands , a little softer compound.

I was lucky enough to pick them up for $30.00 AU, brand new, sealed from a guy clearing some stock, and he threw the rims in for free.

Kind of makes the $120.00 invested in the Badlands look a little over the top, actually all of the rims/tyres I picked up, the JConcepts rims with AKA/JConcepts and these latest set, combined cost me less than the Badlands , which will most likely sit collecting dust due to the offset screw up.