Why does everyone not like traxxas

[Heisenburg]

Welcome to the forum. Traxxas does have a forum, but it seems or maybe is, company sponsored. I have an account there, but have not signed in for 18 months, and only posted for a week. Found this place after "quitting" there.

 

[>BD]

I doubt most people do.

 

[cbaker65]

Everyone ask Why you hate Traxxas ,Then everyone ask why they can't buy no more HPI's ,Then you have people struggling
to find HPI parts!

I only own one Hpi product ,an it is 2 Hpi 5.9 engines ,I wont be able to find parts for them .I guess that I am lucky
that I didnt buy a bunch of HPI RC's ,I would have been screwed too!...

 

[>BD]

Everyone ask Why you hate Traxxas ,Then everyone ask why they can't buy no more HPI's ,Then you have people struggling
to find HPI parts!

I only own one Hpi product ,an it is 2 Hpi 5.9 engines ,I wont be able to find parts for them .I guess that I am lucky
that I didnt buy a bunch of HPI RC's ,I would have been screwed too!...

I put an HPI motor in my Traxxas. It broke.

 

[cbaker65]

Sorry ,but I am a Nitro head!,,,

 

[avant garde racer]

Welcome to the forum. Traxxas does have a forum, but it seems or maybe is, company sponsored. I have an account there, but have not signed in for 18 months, and only posted for a week. Found this place after "quitting" there.

I'm just bummed I bought a Traxxas Maxx, and I've played with it for about 6 hours and now I have to spend about walking $400 on upgrades so the truck doesn't break every time I play with it

 

[AClegg]

First off, I am not for or against Traxxas. I own one and find it a decent truck. It's not the best, but it's what I paid for. It doesn't matter what car you buy, there is always another car that someone thinks/demands is better. I race Kyosho buggies. Do you know how many people I get telling me how terrible Kyosho cars are? Yes, those are the same guys who are standing on the lower platform, from me, while on the podium.

Traxxas came into this game to win. They did what every other company would do when someone was getting too close to their design and ideas. They took them to court. Sure, it put some people out of business, but that means that others started their business off other people's ideas and designs. Before you do this, you have to make sure you are not violating any copy write laws. I see that some of the suits were pretty petty, but every company does it. A lot of people are upset because they were supporting the other side. Their team go beat so now they are upset.

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME!!! For example, how many of you are upset with Traxxas because they sued other companies for petty stuff? Now, how many of you, who raised your hand own an iPhone? Do you know how many petty things Apple has sued companies for? For example, they sued Samsung because Samsung phones have rounded corners that look too much like the corners on their iPhones. DEI sued multiple car alarm companies because the other company's chirps sounded too much like theirs.

We kinda owe it to Traxxas for giving the RC world a little boost. Admit it, this hobby was dying until Traxxas came in and started advertising all over the place. It got people looking into the hobby again. They built a fast and functional RC car that was inexpensive and a ton of fun. At the time, you couldn't get a comparable RTR, from a current company, for anything close to the same price. Traxxas was into the race scene, but they realized the money was in backyard bashing vehicles.

 

[cbaker65]

Never said I hated Traxxas ,If I did ,I would not have bought a Slash ,but ,all said an done ,it doesn't matter anymore anyway!

The RC brands that are out there ,will change an discontinue their products anyways ,making people buy newer stuff!...

 

[AClegg]

Sorry CBaker.
I wasn't directing that towards you, personally. That was just a general statement. I meant absolutely no ill intent with my that. I hear the same argument in other forums. There are guys that are pretty heated against Traxxas and are not afraid to scream out loud. I get why they are mad, but they shouldn't be mad at Traxxas, they should be mad at the system. Then again, how would they react if their patents were being used. I don't think I would ever buy another Traxxas, but it's not because of them suing other companies. It's more about what they have to offer for what I am looking for.

 

[cbaker65]

Sorry CBaker.
I wasn't directing that towards you, personally. That was just a general statement. I meant absolutely no ill intent with my that. I hear the same argument in other forums. There are guys that are pretty heated against Traxxas and are not afraid to scream out loud. I get why they are mad, but they shouldn't be mad at Traxxas, they should be mad at the system. Then again, how would they react if their patents were being used. I don't think I would ever buy another Traxxas, but it's not because of them suing other companies. It's more about what they have to offer for what I am looking for.

Yea ,I was thinking about that afterwards ,you met it a different way ,its cool!......

 

[bsrboy]

"...they shouldn't be mad at Traxxas...how would they react if their patents were being used?"

This statement assumes that the Traxxas patents were rightly and ethically established. In most cases Traxxas has patented a long pre-existing design, that another company pioneered, just so they could use the patent as a stick to hit other companies with. Their business practices are predatory and show a total lack of integrity - which is why they get so much hate in excess of the normal "I prefer brand X" bashing. Their ridiculous "fastest name in radio control" tagline also generates a fair amount of heat because its hilariously undeserved.

And yes, I did create a login just to post this. I used to recommend Traxxas products to EVERYONE - never again.

 

[AClegg]

Welcome to the forum BSR.
Having been in the designing and creating field for many years, I have found that the patents are not fair and ethical. Majority of all the patents out there are based upon designs that have been around for many years without anyone getting a patent for it. For example, Apple getting a patent for rounded corners on their phones and iPads. That design has been around for since phones came out, and Apple did not make cell phones until later in the game. It is truly a way for companies to shove a thorn in another companies side/back. I'm not saying it is right or wrong. I too think it is unethical, but if you hate Traxxas for doing it, then you would have to hate 80% to 90% of the companies out there. You would definitely have to hate anything from China. Every one of their factories are reverse engineering other brands, copying them, then building the same thing and putting their name on it.

Heck... Look at how many patents Microsoft has. Then take a look at when those features/programs were actually designed and by who. Many high tech companies have moles working for other companies. As soon as word gets out about a new design, the mole will tell the competitor who will then run down and get a patent on it before the original designer could.

As for them being the fastest name in radio control? It's just for attention. Just like Snickers saying they will satisfy you or Red Bull give you wings, or Chevrolet is the heartbeat of America. They are all just slogans used to get peoples attention.

So, I'm not telling you not to dislike them or recommending them. I'm just trying to help you see that what they are doing is quite common and to not get so upset with just them.

 

[bsrboy]

The context of the discussion is the rc hobby - so if these practices are so prevalent, why don't we hear about other companies doing what Traxxas does? Why isn't there an endless stream of litigation announcements from all companies? Because Traxxas is unique in using this 'business strategy' to step on their competition. It's also why so many long-time rc hobbyists despise them.

I won't buy Apple products or off shore products for the same reason. I won't support copy cats, clones, or predatory business practices, but as long as people feel "it's okay because it's normal" companies will continue to take their money and steal market share from those doing business ethically. It's sad.

 

[Craig mac]

Almost all Ready To Run vehicles have weak points. Usually weak servos,cheap esc's,and low end motors. So no matter which brand you buy they all have weak points.

 

[Craig mac]

Whats funny ,they are not attacking AE. , or Losi!

They know better.

 

[Craig mac]

I installed the ProLine suspension kit and it drives very differently now. they don't make that kit any longer, which I suspect is due to it being incomplete ie you still had to separately buy new ends for the turnbuckles as they never provided any and you couldn't reuse the ones on the original as the size changed, you also needed to buy a new body mount as the kit is completely incompatible with the original. All stuff they don't tell you when you spend a $100 on the kit. Not a Traxxas issue but a proline in that case, but the car certainly drives differently, much less rolling over

Horizon Hobbies now owns Proline.

 

[RustyUs]

Welcome to the forum BSR.
Having been in the designing and creating field for many years, I have found that the patents are not fair and ethical. Majority of all the patents out there are based upon designs that have been around for many years without anyone getting a patent for it. For example, Apple getting a patent for rounded corners on their phones and iPads. That design has been around for since phones came out, and Apple did not make cell phones until later in the game. It is truly a way for companies to shove a thorn in another companies side/back. I'm not saying it is right or wrong. I too think it is unethical, but if you hate Traxxas for doing it, then you would have to hate 80% to 90% of the companies out there. You would definitely have to hate anything from China. Every one of their factories are reverse engineering other brands, copying them, then building the same thing and putting their name on it.

Heck... Look at how many patents Microsoft has. Then take a look at when those features/programs were actually designed and by who. Many high tech companies have moles working for other companies. As soon as word gets out about a new design, the mole will tell the competitor who will then run down and get a patent on it before the original designer could.

As for them being the fastest name in radio control? It's just for attention. Just like Snickers saying they will satisfy you or Red Bull give you wings, or Chevrolet is the heartbeat of America. They are all just slogans used to get peoples attention.

So, I'm not telling you not to dislike them or recommending them. I'm just trying to help you see that what they are doing is quite common and to not get so upset with just them.

Now, Red Bull gives you "wiiings".

Newcomers to the hobby won't know any better about all the Traxxas shenanigans in the past. Arrma survived, and is back on top of the pile. That's all that matters to me.

 

[biggman100]

Hi there i have many traxxas cars and just wandering why do so many people hate traxxas

I dont know if this has been covered yet (didnt read through all 5 pages), but, for me, their business practices are why i will never own a Traxxas (not to mention the fact that most of their vehicles need constant aftermarket upgrades, because their in house parts arent good enough, which means, if you buy strictly Traxxas branded parts, you are constantly buying parts). They are very shady, and do some outright nasty things, such as going after and trying to shut down the RC Saylors channel, just because they reviewed a Chinese truck that the name was similar to one of Traxxas vehicles (for those that dont know, the RC Saylors are a young couple that reviews pretty much anything R/C related, from any company, no matter where the company is located in the world) to their lawsuit against Hobbico over a shock design that they originally copied from others and claimed they originally invented, which caused Hobbico to go bankrupt, along with several brands under Hobbico's ownership, and damaged Arrma in some ways, to causing local hobby shops to close, just so they can sell their vehicles and parts online strictly through them, to their gestapo tactics involving hobby shops that do sell their stuff (for those that dont know about it, they set the prices, and, any shop that isnt nearly all Traxxas stuff, or doesn't display their vehicles more prominently than other companies, makes it nearly impossible for a shop to make any kind of profit). My uncles shop almost shut down about 6 months ago because of the way Traxxas is, so, to keep his business alive, he started stocking more stuff from competitor brands, and now, when he does order Traxxas stuff, he pays more than another local shop that is mainly Traxxas. Anymore, he only orders Traxxas stuff if one of his better customers requests it. Another issue i have is the way most, but not all, Traxxas owners are. They can be downright rude if you even say the slightest thing they dont like about the company or their vehicles.

 

[Slick2500]

I dont know if this has been covered yet (didnt read through all 5 pages), but, for me, their business practices are why i will never own a Traxxas (not to mention the fact that most of their vehicles need constant aftermarket upgrades, because their in house parts arent good enough, which means, if you buy strictly Traxxas branded parts, you are constantly buying parts). They are very shady, and do some outright nasty things, such as going after and trying to shut down the RC Saylors channel, just because they reviewed a Chinese truck that the name was similar to one of Traxxas vehicles (for those that dont know, the RC Saylors are a young couple that reviews pretty much anything R/C related, from any company, no matter where the company is located in the world) to their lawsuit against Hobbico over a shock design that they originally copied from others and claimed they originally invented, which caused Hobbico to go bankrupt, along with several brands under Hobbico's ownership, and damaged Arrma in some ways, to causing local hobby shops to close, just so they can sell their vehicles and parts online strictly through them, to their gestapo tactics involving hobby shops that do sell their stuff (for those that dont know about it, they set the prices, and, any shop that isnt nearly all Traxxas stuff, or doesn't display their vehicles more prominently than other companies, makes it nearly impossible for a shop to make any kind of profit). My uncles shop almost shut down about 6 months ago because of the way Traxxas is, so, to keep his business alive, he started stocking more stuff from competitor brands, and now, when he does order Traxxas stuff, he pays more than another local shop that is mainly Traxxas. Anymore, he only orders Traxxas stuff if one of his better customers requests it. Another issue i have is the way most, but not all, Traxxas owners are. They can be downright rude if you even say the slightest thing they dont like about the company or their vehicles.

You really need to read more about the Traxxas lawsuits than you see on Facebook. 90% of the stuff on Facebook is just the Arrma Fanboys crying and completely false.

Traxxas didn't cause Hobbico to go bankrupt Hobbico did that to themselves, they had mismanaged their money for years before Traxxas even filed filed the lawsuit. The Traxxas lawsuit was just the final nail in the coffin. Before the lawsuit even happened they had started laying people off deferred bonuses, hell they even closed one of their warehouses.

Traxxas never claimed to invent anything. If you actually look at the patent for the shocks you will find that they only patented the angles at which the suspension operates not the actual suspension itself and that is why Arrma thought they could get away with making the Nero, they figured they changed the angles enough to avoid a lawsuit. You do know that Traxxas didn't just sue Arrma/Hobbico over the suspension they also sued them for the steering in the Nero as it was a 1 to 1 copy of the setup Traxxas used in the Revo apparently the Revo one even bolted right up, then there is the waterproof receiver box in all of the Arrma vehicles that violated their patent on the waterproof receiver box and they also sued Dromida for having led lights on the landing arms.

Have you ever seen the Arrma Fanboys? They are worse than the Traxxas Fanboys. I'd been in this hobby for a while and have never seen such childish behavior as the Arrma Fanboys have. So many of them hold Arrma up on top of this giant pedestal they think that Arrma is the best thing ever, everything else is "crap", everyone else is trying to copy Arrma, even Chinese platforms that predate Arrma and the best part is they have never owned anything from any other brand........

 

[biggman100]

You really need to read more about the Traxxas lawsuits than you see on Facebook. 90% of the stuff on Facebook is just the Arrma Fanboys crying and completely false.

Traxxas didn't cause Hobbico to go bankrupt Hobbico did that to themselves, they had mismanaged their money for years before Traxxas even filed filed the lawsuit. The Traxxas lawsuit was just the final nail in the coffin. Before the lawsuit even happened they had started laying people off deferred bonuses, hell they even closed one of their warehouses.

Traxxas never claimed to invent anything. If you actually look at the patent for the shocks you will find that they only patented the angles at which the suspension operates not the actual suspension itself and that is why Arrma thought they could get away with making the Nero, they figured they changed the angles enough to avoid a lawsuit. You do know that Traxxas didn't just sue Arrma/Hobbico over the suspension they also sued them for the steering in the Nero as it was a 1 to 1 copy of the setup Traxxas used in the Revo apparently the Revo one even bolted right up, then there is the waterproof receiver box in all of the Arrma vehicles that violated their patent on the waterproof receiver box and they also sued Dromida for having led lights on the landing arms.

Have you ever seen the Arrma Fanboys? They are worse than the Traxxas Fanboys. I'd been in this hobby for a while and have never seen such childish behavior as the Arrma Fanboys have. So many of them hold Arrma up on top of this giant pedestal they think that Arrma is the best thing ever, everything else is "crap", everyone else is trying to copy Arrma, even Chinese platforms that predate Arrma and the best part is they have never owned anything from any other brand.......

I am a prominent member of the Arrma forum, and have Arrma vehicles going all the way back to 2012-2013, but, i am in no way an Arrma fanboi. I have vehicles from DHK Hobby (which are actually my favorite brand), Tamiya, Racers Edge/Team C, Losi (the 22S SCT is my absolute favorite 2WD), Kyosho, Redcat, and even Exceed RC, but as for how the Arrma guys are, it seems, especially in person, the two worst groups are Traxxas and Arrma fans. I never hear that kind of stuff from the Losi or Associated crowd. About the Traxxas/Hobico lawsuit, none of my info is from FB, its from what i read either in the news, actual court documents (which is where Traxxas did claim they invented that lay down shock design), as well as listening to my uncle and how he was and continues to be treated by Traxxas (he is the one who got me into the DHK stuff). My dislike of them actually doesn't come from any of the lawsuits (Hobbico, HPI, or any of the others) though, my dislike comes from how they treat people, such as their actions against the shops, and what they have tried to do to YouTube channels like the RC Saylors. I have been in this hobby since the late seventies, and Traxxas fans have always been that way, from about the time the first Traxxas vehicle was introduced. Originally it was the, have to buy American crowd, and has evolved into the, lets buy the Traxxas hype, crowd, so, Traxxas fan boys are nothing new to me. My favorite personal "discussion" if you will with a Traxxas Fan Boy was about a year after the slash was first introduced. I was picking up a Tamiya Holiday Buggy, and this kid, who's first vehicle was the Slash, spent nearly 20 minutes telling me how much better Traxxas was, than the toy Tamiya garbage (his words not mine). The basis of his argument was because it came RTR, and didnt have to be built, which somehow made it better.