TrailMaster Mini XRX+ Go Kart - Things to know when purchasing

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Allgood_73

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I have a 4 yr old and 2 yr old and wanted to find a decent go kart that I could either discard after a couple years of use, or be able to mod it in a couple years to be able to grow with them. I thought about building my own, as everything I found on CL / FB was overpriced junk and I had no clue how it was maintained... and local dealers sell re-branded Chinese karts for twice the price... but then I came across this Chinese kart that's actually decent:

TrailMaster Mini XRX+ which comes with a 5.5hp engine, LED lights, a (VERY loud) horn, 5 pt harnesses, electric start / stop, remote kill / start fob. The remote fob sold my wife and I, as it provides some comfort to us while they are learning... we were worried they'd punch the gas, head towards the woods and get impaled by a branch (maybe we've been watching too many Final Destination movies).

Anyway, at basically $1,200 shipped, it was a done deal.... and long story short: it was a great purchase, but there are definitely things to know going into it... such as being aware that it will be about 5-8 hours (or more) of getting it setup and checking EVERYTHING over to get it running perfectly.

1) First and foremost, there are NO assembly instructions (at least not with my purchase)... and what did come with it are just some high level specs and safety info... with several pictures having Chinese writing. The TrailMaster mini and mid versions are VERY similar and can be used for the most part. Here are several sources I used that were very helpful... both still leave out some random steps but nothing major:

2) The engine is a "Chonda" GX160 --- so you should be able to reference a Honda GX160 if you need extra parts or documentation.
3) They ship with VERY lightweight motor oil that is NOT meant for driving with. These things take hardly any oil, and since it's a cheap knockoff engine with no oil filter, change the oil before you start it up using a cheap 10w30 oil... then again after an hour of driving it, then again after about 5 hours. On the 10th hour and every 10 hours from then on, I would change over to a synthetic oil.
4) Check the spark plug gap... mine came set at 0.02" and needed to be adjusted to 0.03".
5) Supposedly a lot of these China units come shipped with a dis-solvable gel bag in the carb and you're supposed to let it idle for 30 min. prior to driving it. I did not do this and after experiencing issues, I had to open up the carb and cleaned it all out. One thing to note is that the carb has very little adjustment.
6) I was actually surprised with the overall build quality and bolt quality (none deformed or stripped on me)... and I was only missing one M8-1.25x30 flange bolt that I was able to pickup at ACE Hardware. There was an extra parts bag which I didn't need to use, PLUS there were extra parts in the main parts bag... I thought I missed something, but I looked things over several times and they were definitely just extra parts (roll cage washers, a couple bolts, and a screw)
7) The 5 point harnesses are fine except they will continuously loosen, so my fix was to use black gaffers tape to keep the adjustable harness strap from moving.
8) You can watch the video below for the rear chain adjustment and they say this is all that SHOULD have to be done on the initial setup... however, my top chain connecting to the clutch was way too lose as well, and that is covered under the second link below:
9) The only thing I had to actually modify on the kart was the passenger front tie rod, as when I was doing the wheel alignment, there was simply not enough adjustment in the passenger front toe in and I had to chop about 1/4" of the tie rod down to allow the wheel to be turned inward more and have the proper stance.


When I did my setup, I missed the following three steps: checking the spark plug gap, changing the engine oil, and letting it idle for 30 min before running it.

My results: after 5-15 minutes of letting the kids play with it, it puttered and then died. You could start it back up a few times, but usually it wouldn't move / have any power... after that, it wouldn't even start up and you would have to wait a while before it would start back up. I thought my chain was set too tight and causing the overheating, so I adjusted the chain and had the overheating occur three three times before I finally decided to change the oil, clean the carb, and check the spark plug. I am lucky it did not (noticeably) damage the engine. I may pay for this down the road (literally) and have to buy a new engine, but as long as it makes it a while, it will be time for an upgrade anyway. After doing the above steps, the engine is purring perfect test running it wide open for 30 minutes with a 220lb guy in it up hills and over big bumps.

If you want to build your own kart, not support "Chinese" crap, or whatever other reason... that's great for you... but if you want to go this route, hopefully this info will at least help you out in getting a good running kart (at least for now).



 
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Allgood_73

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1 month update:

- After the first couple runs, the safety flag flew off never to be found again. I tried a couple other flags I had laying around, but nothing was as good as the high viz yellow, so I ordered another setup with some rubber grommets glued top and bottom to keep it on.

- Ran into a few more issues with it stalling out occasionally (after driving around an hour) and tracked it back to gas in the tank vent line which was causing the engine to vapor lock. I called and talked to tech support and they said this is a known big issue with the current ones and the cause is that all the bouncing around eventually splashes enough gas up in the vent line that it stalls out. I asked about the vented cap though which should still let the tank breathe and he said that even though it looks vented, it’s actually sealed internally. He said they are actually about to release a slightly revised motor (nice, huh?) which has a new vented gas cap and no vent line, but that he would send me the new gas cap. He recommend undoing the vent line, cut it to about 12” and strap it UP on the roll cage, that way any gas that gets knocked up falls right back in (my thought is that’s true, along with water and other debris so I’m also adding a dirt bike gas vent valve). He said then just cap off or silicone in the bottom of the air both to keep it sealed.

- The factory 5 pt harnesses just simply suck... in my post above I mentioned I had to tape the straps into place, but also they still just didn’t keep the kids in place well enough and with no padding, my younger daughter had a cut on her neck and a bruised chest.

- New 5 pt harnesses went in, window nets, and the new flag are now installed, and with the new gas cap and air vent line mod, everything is PERFECT. The kids are tightly buckled in and don’t bounce around nearly as much, the engine runs smooth for hours on end, and I don’t have to worry about the arms flailing out of the vehicle on a rollover (they have turned it on it’s side one already).

I won’t lie, I’m disappointed they are selling the go karts with the “old” engine without modifying them first, or at bare minimum providing info for “if this occurs...”.

I still feel that everything on the go kart is quality except for the seat belts... it just requires a lot of tweaks to get it all perfect.

New parts:






Test fitting the driver:


All done:




 
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Allgood_73

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TrailMaster Mini XRX+ 1 Year Updates + New Upgraded Project

1 month shy of a year later, here are some updates:
  • Engine-wise everything is running perfectly... go kart runs like a champ. It wouldn't be a bad idea to install a torque converter on it, as there is not much power at all down low to go up a dirt mound or something from a dead stop.
  • Factory battery is useless and died after a couple months of use and just would not hold a charge
  • The loud horn no longer works... could just be a small electrical issue, but haven't had time to look at it yet.

But..... my oldest daughter (now 5 yrs 3 mths old) is ALREADY ready for an upgrade and the youngest daughter (3.5 yrs old) is starting to drive the current go-kart. The 5 year old even raced the go-kart in the county fair (see video here) and won second place, but the kart was simply too slow to try and get first... it came down in this instance to the kart being below the drivers skill level (which I thought was awesome!).

The plan is to buy another TrailMaster go-kart, likely the mid size one (though I have been looking at the Hammerhead MudHead 208R as well) and modifying it as listed below. I'm looking for advice as I'm not really familiar with go kart drivetrain modifications:

- Install a Predator 6.5 HP 212cc or spend the extra cash and put in a Honda GX200 and ungovern it.
- Install a torque converter
- Change the sprocket tooth count
- Put in a jack shaft

From what I can tell, most times you have to raise the engine mount to allow for spacing of the sprocket. The torque converter makes a huge difference in not burning up clutches and being able to have excellent power down low... and surprisingly they are not that expensive. The jack shaft (if I'm understanding correctly), goes onto the rear axle and allows for the left to right adjustment of the sprocket location. And finally, the sprocket tooth count is figured out with some of the online calculators and you'll need to know the engine specs / tire size / and possible some other info.

Thoughts?
 
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rewilfert

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Allgood_73 said:
1 month update:

- Ran into a few more issues with it stalling out occasionally (after driving around an hour) and tracked it back to gas in the tank vent line which was causing the engine to vapor lock. I called and talked to tech support and they said this is a known big issue with the current ones and the cause is that all the bouncing around eventually splashes enough gas up in the vent line that it stalls out. I asked about the vented cap though which should still let the tank breathe and he said that even though it looks vented, it’s actually sealed internally. He said they are actually about to release a slightly revised motor (nice, huh?) which has a new vented gas cap and no vent line, but that he would send me the new gas cap. He recommend undoing the vent line, cut it to about 12” and strap it UP on the roll cage, that way any gas that gets knocked up falls right back in (my thought is that’s true, along with water and other debris so I’m also adding a dirt bike gas vent valve). He said then just cap off or silicone in the bottom of the air both to keep it sealed.
Click to expand...

My son has the same kart, except with reverse. I've been chasing an issue with it dying after about 40 minutes of trail driving for over a year now. When it happens, I let it for a while and then kart will start up and run perfectly fine. I wasn't aware of the gas cap design change. Do you have a part number for the latest version gas cap? I'll certainly give this a try. My current cap has just a single dimple in the center of it.

I've tried replacing the spark plug, replacing the ignition coil, cleaning the air filter, cleaning the carb, removing and sealing everything in the intake tract, changing the gas and moving the fuel line away from any possible heat source. It has been a very frustrating problem to chase down.
 
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I was able to do some more research on this and this is what I found. The gas cap that has the single dimple in the top center is the sealed cap. The gas cap that has the 3 interlocking circles on the top is the vented cap. Both caps have the same ball style check valves in the top to keep gas from coming out of the vent. The difference is that the vented cap has a very small air path molded in that goes from the check valve area out to the edge of the cap. This is located under the rubber gasket. The non vented cap does not have this molded in air path. Otherwise, the caps are identical.

The caps are used on a lot of different karts. The Hammerhead part number for the vented cap is 6.000.145.
 
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Allgood_73

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rewilfert said:
I was able to do some more research on this and this is what I found. The gas cap that has the single dimple in the top center is the sealed cap. The gas cap that has the 3 interlocking circles on the top is the vented cap. Both caps have the same ball style check valves in the top to keep gas from coming out of the vent. The difference is that the vented cap has a very small air path molded in that goes from the check valve area out to the edge of the cap. This is located under the rubber gasket. The non vented cap does not have this molded in air path. Otherwise, the caps are identical.

The caps are used on a lot of different karts. The Hammerhead part number for the vented cap is 6.000.145.
Click to expand...

Sorry for just seeing this post, it sounds like you were having the same issue I was with the vapor lock. I'm glad you found the gas cap part, it should make a big difference.

The other thing to do is to run your gas tank vent tube UP the roll cage and zip tie it there. What happens is that the bouncing around of the kart causes gas to splash into the vent tube and finds the low spot and ends up vapor locking it. By zip tying it UP the roll cage, any that splashed in will just fall right back out.

---------- Post added at 07:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:23 AM ----------

Almost 1.5 yrs later, the go kart is still doing great with no additional tweaks needed.

My last update from Feb was that my older daughter was already outgrowing it and I was planning to up the motor... but just as I about to start buying parts, my 3.5 yr old daughter wanted to start driving it. Like her sister, she is super tall, in fact - 3.5 yr old is as tall as everyone in my 5.5 yr old's class!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI12iQHfCi4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXBtZroFr0c

So.... after seeing how horrible the shocks were while taking those videos and that my youngest could ride the go kart as is for a couple of years, I decided to get my oldest daughter something more long term: the Polaris ACE 150.



This thing is awesome! I was deciding between the Polaris RZR 170 (dual seater) and the Polaris ACE 150 (single seater), and the 150 just smokes the 170 in every regard. Dual a-arms vs single, much greater ground clearance, beefier tires, etc.

The suspension is great! Here's a video of Kaylee driving to show the difference:

https://youtu.be/98zj1sBasLc

And here's a aerial shot showing most of the track we just built. It's going to get so much cooler - we're planning to add jumps, starting lights, track timers, and more.

https://youtu.be/nsdqdOpxCcw
 
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Very informative thread and in long-form meaning most people won’t read it :yawn:…

Wonder if the OP still has the buggy 5 years later and how it’s doing? I think the big takeaway after 1 year and the cause for long term reliability is the garage storage. Most of these are rode hard, put away wet and left to stay perpetually wet (rained on) and then baked to death in the summer sun and frozen 🥶 during the winter cycle. That destroys the mediocre wiring (insulation and the core), any electronic gizmos and anywhere else water can seep in.

I vote for a sticky📍
 
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