Vanquish VS4-10 Phoenix Portal Review

Stock Cars
Written By Gerard Brady

  If you are looking for one of the top RC crawlers on the market, then you are in the right place. The Vanquish VS4-10 Phoenix line of trucks is definitely worth looking into. This crawler line has 4 offerings. Two RTR (ready to run) straight axle versions, in red or grey. Or two kits. One straight axle, and one portal type. That is the one I will be talking about in this article.

Vanquish Products VS4-10 Phoenix Portal Electric Kit  Amazon Affiliate Link

  Normally Vanquish Products are a little pricey, deservedly so. They are very good quality. Now comes the VS4-10 Phoenix Portal kit. Priced at a competitive $389.99 USD at the time I am writing this. Vanquish is now making their quality products available to many more buyers. In turn they are exposing many more people that would normally not spend upwards of $1000.00 for an RC crawler to their line of quality products. So I had to check out the VS4-10 for myself.

  Being this is a kit there are some things you will need to purchase to get it out on the rocks. I will get to those parts later. For now let me tell you what you do get. Starting with this truck's namesake, the F10 portal axles. The rigid molded plastic axles are reinforced with brass inner tubes for even more strength. The brass also provides some extra weight down low. The portal gears are made of machined chromoly. Vanquish patent pending VFD twin transmission, combined with the F10 portal axles provide the VS4-10 with an advantage over other crawlers in its class. Together they enable you to use 3 dig positions, and overdrive on the fly while you are driving. The driveshafts connecting the transmission to the portal axles have machined CV joints at each end with molded splined shafts. Being able to utilize the dig, or the overdrive features are the biggest benefit of the VFD twin transmission. Whether you lock the rear tires to climb steep rocks, or just to make a tighter turn. Or if you want the front tires to rotate up to 46% faster than the rear tires using the overdrive feature. For whatever type of terrain you may need to get through. You can do it all on the move. Put the overdrive in neutral, and now you have a rear wheel drive truck. You can also use the dig to freewheel the back tires. So many options for any situation.

  The VS4-10 Phoenix Portal has a steel c channel chassis design. It has many molded cross members throughout it, especially in the high stress areas for additional strength, and rigidity. The rock sliders are molded plastic, tapered on the outside to compliment the body of the Phoenix. The panhard rod is machined aluminum. Strong enough for whatever the trail can throw at it. This truck has more than enough clearance for most terrains.

  This truck comes with so much more, but I would be writing forever if I told you about all of it. So now let me tell you what you will need to purchase separately to get it running. First, no car can run without a motor. A 540 brushed should be fine for the VS4-10. Remember you're not looking to win a drag race with this truck. Next you will need an ESC (electronic speed control). You don’t have to break the bank here, especially if you use a brushed 540 motor. There are many affordable options, from Hobbywing, Spektrum, or Castle creations. I will provide some links at the end of this article. Now for the servos. One for steering, with a 20 mm horn. If you want to utilize the VFD twin transmission, you will need two more servos. One for the dig, and one for the overdrive. Both need 24 mm servo horns. Lastly you will need a transmitter, and a receiver. Don’t forget the batteries to go with whichever ESC you decide on.

  At the time I am writing this I have yet to purchase the required electronics for my VS4-10 Phoenix Portal. I am not sure what I want to use just yet. When I do I will make a video for my Youtube channel to show you all what I used, and how the truck performs. Meanwhile I am working on a build video. I will have it up soon with a look at how the build is coming along with just the box parts from Vanquish.

 If you made it this far thanks for reading, and check out some of my other socials. Maybe sign up for my newsletter for emails when I post more content like this.

Gerard Brady
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