The Monster Returns – A long-term review of the Redcat Kaiju 1/8 Monster Truck

About six months ago we reviewed one of Redcat’s newest releases, the Kaiju 1/8 scale Monster Truck. As soon as we got our hands on it, we put the truck through its paces, ultimately seeking to test the Kaiju’s durability limits and true potential. After wrapping up our initial review, we were quite impressed with the Kaiju’s performance, especially considering how well it did with the abuse we put it through.

Ultimately, the Kaiju is designed to take a beating and keep on going, so with that in mind we decided it would be worthwhile to give readers an update with a long-term review of the truck. Join us as we look at the Kaiju’s long-term durability and how it has become a go-to basher in our lineup.

The Build

FUN FACTOR

First and foremost, let’s talk about just how much of a blast we’ve had driving the Kaiju. Whenever we have had the chance, we’ve taken this truck out to all types of locations from local parks, to blistering desert sands, dusty roads and rocky fields, and even through running waters. Regardless of the terrain and surrounding obstacles it has yet to skip a beat. In fact, the harsher the terrain, the bigger the jumps, and the rougher the roads the more fun we always seem to have with it. Most of the time when we take the Kaiju out with us, it really just becomes this challenge to see how much further we can push it.

Overall, regarding the fun factor, the Kaiju has quickly risen to the top as one of our favorite bashers due to this sense of being able to completely thrash it with little to no worry about the aftermath. Speaking of aftermath, let’s move onto the next section: durability.

DURABILITY

One of the biggest positives we’ve experienced with the Kaiju has been its long-term durability. This truck is made from some seriously strong materials that have held up extremely well to our abuse. In our previous review we subjected the Kaiju to big air, full-speed jumps landing upside down onto concrete, running straight into walls, lots of crashing and bashing, and almost full submersion into running streams of water. We’ve driven the Kaiju hard loading the chassis up with dirt and rocks, cutting through thick grass, caked it with mud, and have also driven it in loose sand to see just how much hard use the drivetrain can take.

With all that abuse the truck has remained fully drivable and for the most part the chassis looks unscathed. While inspecting and cleaning the drivetrain I always tend to look at the gearing to look for signs of excess wear or damage. Redcat made the right call using steel ring and pinion gears throughout the Kaiju, as the drivetrain gears look almost brand new to this day. The shielded bearings all around the truck have held up nicely to the elements, keeping out all the dirt and debris. Considering the hard crashes this truck has seen, I’m actually a bit surprised we haven’t bent one of the steel CV axles, but sure enough the Kaiju is rocking some seriously strong hardware in the drivetrain department. There are no bends, breaks, or warpage anywhere to speak of in the drivetrain of this little monster.

In over six months of hard driving we’ve only managed to break the rear body mount once, thanks to landing upside down on concrete a few too many times in the first review, and we chipped the rear bumper, but that’s it. Considering just how much abuse we’ve put the Kaiju through so far, that’s an impressively small amount of sustained damage, truly impressive.
I think it’s safe to say we can give the Kaiju top marks in the durability department. We’re going to do our part and continue to beat the heck out of this truck, but I don’t see it giving in anytime soon.

OPTION PARTS

For our follow-up review we opted to give the Kaiju a fresh look by installing Redcat’s optional clear polycarbonate body. We’ve also since retired the original set of tires in favor of some Pro-Line belted Trencher HP’s mounted to Pro-Line’s 2.8in Raid wheels. With its hard-earned battle scars, a fresh lid, and some new kicks, we think the Kaiju is looking pretty mean.

FINAL WORD

What can we say? Six months later, the Kaiju keeps on going. It has showcased some top-notch durability and keeps bringing big smiles to our faces every time we take it out. Being a full-on basher and stunt truck, the only real limitation to we’ve found with Kaiju has been our own imaginations. Considering the Kaiju ships as a turnkey RTR kit, the level of ease and the amount of entertainment we’ve gotten from has certainly been worth the price of admission. If you’re in the market for a souped-up basher that’ll keep on going, the Redcat Kaiju is definitely worth a look.

Customer Support

Replacing the couple of parts that we managed to break was an extremely easy process thanks to Redcat’s great product support. Their level of service is excellent, and the shear amount of replacement and support parts they carry for their vehicles has left us feeling confident that if we ever do manage to truly break this truck, which hasn’t seemed possible yet, we’ll be able to get the parts needed quickly and easily.

Text and Images by Lauren Short