Pro-Line 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Body (Clear) (TRX-4)

Anytime I see a new body hit the Amain site that is designed to fit the longer wheelbase TRX-4 Defender, I grab it as there arent many options. This and the 4 door Wrangler were the only 2 available a year and half ago when I picked up my Defender so I grabbed this, the Wrangler and a couple clear stock Defender bodies as those stupid stock Traxxas bodies that have black stickers for windows are the lamest thing ever for a "scale" rig. The stock Defender body has always taken heat for being way too top heavy for serious rock crawling, and when you add a bunch of scale details, including a bunch stuff to the roof rack like coolers, generators, sleeping bags etc like I did, it only get worse. I just tricked out the Defender bodies, outifitted them with the racks and cages, full light kits plus all the aftermarket scale parts I could find back then like wipers, door handles, hinges etc and scale parts then I use those bodies for trail driving and places where the added weight isn't a huge problem as well as when the truck is on display where it spends most of its time. Any time Im hitting the rocks or more hard core crawling courses where the low center of gravity thing is important, then either I use either this awesome Raptor body or the Wrangler one and the performance ofnthe truck instantly gets a ton better due to the weight difference. A few months ago I found the Proline 1960's Toyota FJ40 and picked one of those up with some cool details. The only issue I have yet to solve is the fact that when the Defender body comes off the inner wheel wells go with it so all the other bodies have that typical RC car look where the body is floating above the chassis. I guess these are some of the reasons that Im adding the kit version of the TRX-4 to the RC garage soon, as I want the shorter wheelbase version that has the inner fenders built onto the chassis, plus there are tons more body options available for that wheelbase. It just means Ill need to do a major stock up on the Tamiya lexan paint haha. Pretty much every one of the 30 or so RC cars Ive had starting with my first kit, the Tamiya Frog in 1988, I've bought as many different bodies and every aftermarket part and upgrades that Ive been able to find for them as I can spend 10 times more time modifying, maintaining and just wrenching on my rigs then I do running them as Ive always thought that was just as much fun. Painting and fitting bodies too as well as painting different too. During the big touring car boom of the late 90's and early 2000's I had at least 50 different bodies for my HPI Nitro RS4 and Associated TC 4 and 5 touring cars. I never put them on a track even one time, but man they looked good on my shelf...

Back to the review, like probably 90% of all the other Proline bodies Ive picked up and painted over the years, this one fits the truck great and is nice, thick and really beefy. It offers good amount of tire clearance as I run a few sets of Vanquish 2.2 wheels with tires that range from around 4.8" to 5.3" and with the small lift I did by adding a set of 100mm shocks and slightly longer links to fit the bigger tires under the Defender body, this Raptor body clears better without any major tire rub, even when at max articulation while turning... If your tires clear the Defender body you'll be good with this one. Or the Proline Wrangler for that matter.

The only "issue" Ive found and reason I gave 4 stars rather than 5 is that this body doesnt look or fit right with either the stock or any of my 3 or 4 different aftermarket rear bumpers. They all just look wrong, too big, they stick out too far or the height isnt right. Up front I use the regular width SSD Rock Shield bumper with an RC4wd winch mounted to it, (best front bumper Ive found for the Defender body, plus its super durable, looks great and doesnt hang up on stuff very often) and with just a small amount of trimming the body fits behind it perfectly and it looks great. I just have to run without a rear bumper with this body. It helps rear clearance and removes weight but it just looks like its missing something out back that way and a bit of protection for the back lower edge of the body would be nice too. A thin single or double tube style bumper that fits the body lines would be perfect. Overall I like the body enough that I will grab another when mine gets a bit too beat up looking or when I decide I want to change up the paint scheme...

Going overboard on this review makes me want to get the TRX-4 out and go for a run! Thanks A-main and Proline!

Did not fit my stock trx4 defender body mounts... waiting on Proline to get back to me...

Proline rep got back to me and said move front bumper forward & cut small amount off bottom of grill, or just remove the front bumper. Bothell worked. I also lowered back post all the way, looks nice and clean.