WPL C14 Remote Control Semi-Truck Review

The WPL C14 is a 1:16 scale 4WD Mini Off-road remote control semi-truck. It looks great and is fun to play with. Read on for more photos.

Big edit! I took the truck apart just because I figured why not (it wasn’t working) and after about 15 screws, I discovered the power cable that connects the battery to the main board was simply disconnected. I reconnected that, tested, and everything works now! I put the truck back together and now it’s all working. So if you have a ‘non-working’ truck, check this connection!

Official Specs and Features

Here’s a link to the WPL C14 Remote Control Semi-Truck product page.

Versions

Two body colors of this truck, but they’re the same functionally. There are also two packages: a kit, and an RTR. The RTR is “ready to roll” which is what I have here. The kit ships in pieces and must be built. The kit says it doesn’t include many of the parts you’ll need, and the RTR is actually currently cheaper, so that’s what I’d recommend.

Price

The RTR version is around $35 at the moment.

Short Review

This is a fun truck, and I’d call it ‘great for kids since it’s not very fast. Also, it’s nice that the RTR includes everything you need. I don’t like that mine has stopped working, and I can’t figure out why.

Long Review

What’s Included

WPL C14 1:16 Remote Control Truck
Receiver
Battery for rc truck (no battery for receiver)
Spare parts to snap and screw on
Charger for the included battery

Package and Manual

Just a highly printed cardboard box! The truck and parts are in a plastic tray.

A product box for the Off Road Series Hercules RC vehicle shows an image of a red remote control truck in a mountain setting. Text highlights features like LED headlights, 4x4, shock absorbers, and 2.4 GHz control.

A box displays diagrams and information for a remote control toy car, including labeled parts, specifications, battery use, warning labels, and images of two car color options: green and beige. The background is wooden planks.

A box with the label OFF ROAD SERIES HERCULES featuring images and specifications of a remote-control off-road truck, including scale, wheelbase, and ground clearance, resting on a wooden surface.

A black box for an Off Road Hercules remote control vehicle, displaying a line drawing of an off-road truck, control directions, and features like 4 channel remote control and accelerated speed.

A red toy pickup truck, remote control, and accessories are displayed in a clear plastic packaging tray on a weathered wooden surface.

The parts ship well in this form-fit plastic.

Build Quality and Disassembly

The build quality is on par with a $35 RTR kit. It’s not terrible but there’s a good bit of room for improvement.

This is a nice-looking truck. I like the Late-80’s (??) style of the truck, but to be honest I’d love to have a full bed on the tail-end. That said, I understand the look that’s intended.

A red remote-controlled off-road truck with large tires and a spare tire in the truck bed sits on a wooden surface outdoors, with a blurred background of grass, fence, and trees.

A red toy off-road truck is photographed from the front while sitting on a wooden surface outdoors. The truck has large tires, a metal bumper, and roof-mounted lights.

A red WPL-C remote-controlled off-road truck with large tires and a spare tire mounted on the back, photographed outdoors on a wooden surface.

A red toy off-road vehicle is shown from the rear on a wooden surface, with a spare tire mounted on the back and large, rugged tires. The image includes the text “zeroair.wordpress.com” on the left.

The red plastic used is a great color and quite fetching.

The dash and steering wheel are well-formed and developed.

On to the disassembly (or assembly, as it were). There are a few parts included that must be snapped or screwed in. These are generally easy to attach, but can sometimes require a little bit of fiddling. I didn’t have to modify anything in order to get it to work, however.

Two hooks go on the front. There are four tow hooks included. Two go on the front, and though I didn’t notice connectors on the rear, I expect two go there. Or there are spares? There are spares of other parts, in any case.

Close-up view of the underside of a black and red remote control vehicle showing an on/off switch, a steering trim dial, and part of the front wheels on a wooden surface.

Close-up of the front of a toy or model vehicle with a black plastic body, red hooks, a visible on/off switch, and part of a weathered wooden surface in the background.

Close-up of a red toy pickup truck featuring black accessories, including a snorkel, side mirror, and roll bar. The drivers side door is open, and the background is blurred.

Size

This is a 1:16 Scale size remote control car. The official dimensions are 31 x 14.1 x 14 cm. Not a large vehicle, and I’d call it a great size for kids, or for learners.

Close-up of a red toy truck with the label WPL-C on the door. Part of the front wheel and fender are visible, with a blurred wooden background.

Close-up of a red toy truck with WPL-C printed in white letters on a black stripe on the side. Part of the front door, wheel, and step are visible. Background is blurred wooden boards.

Power

The truck is powered by a battery pack of 5 NiCD AA-sized cells, for a total voltage of around 6V. These charge via a provided USB connection.

A yellow battery pack with attached wires and a blue USB charger with a black cable are placed on a weathered wooden surface.

A yellow DT Ni-CD AA 700mAh 6V battery with attached red and black wires lies on a wooden surface next to a blue USB charging cable.

The battery lives in the “toolbox area” of the truck. This little door flips up easily and the two prong male end of the connector is loose inside. This door did seem to be sturdy, but is not water proof.

A larger battery might fit inside the truck. This cavity is fairly spacious.

Traction

The tires on the WPL C14 are very treaded and moderately squishy. They aren’t extremely voluminous, and I don’t believe this is meant to be a real mud truck, so I’m not sure how much hard-use they’d handle. But for tooling around the house or backyard, these tires are adequate.

There’s a big of faux lugging on the wheel (which could be painted for a much more realistic look), but the wheels are held in place by a single Philips screw.

All the shots below are included to give you an idea of the shock travel.

A red, remote-controlled off-road truck with large tires and a spare tire mounted on the back sits on a wooden surface outdoors.

A person’s finger presses down on the roof of a red WPL-C toy truck with large tires and a spare tire mounted on the back, placed on a wooden surface outdoors.

A person’s hand holds a red WPL-C toy truck with large off-road tires, positioned on a weathered wooden surface outdoors. The truck has a mounted spare tire and open truck bed.

A hand gently presses down on the hood of a red toy pickup truck with large tires and a spare wheel on the back, placed on a weathered wooden surface outdoors.

A person’s finger points at the hood of a small red toy truck placed on a wooden outdoor surface, with a blurred background of grass and a fence.

A hand touches the roof of a small red toy truck positioned on a wooden surface outdoors. The toy truck features large tires and a front bumper. The background is blurred.

A close-up of a person’s finger touching the hood of a small red toy truck with large tires, placed on a wooden surface outdoors. The background is blurred with green and light tones.

A close-up, front view of a red toy truck with large tires, placed on a wooden surface outdoors. The background is blurred, and ZEROAIR.WORDPRESS.COM is visible along the left side of the image.

In the first photo below, the rear wheel is planted on the surface. In the second, the rear wheel is lifted.

A close-up of a red remote-controlled off-road truck on a wooden surface, showing its suspension, tires, and front bumper. The remote control unit is visible in the foreground.

A red remote control off-road truck is positioned on a wooden surface with one front wheel raised. A black RC controller labeled “Heavy Tools” lies next to the truck.

User Interface and Operation

Included with the RTR package is a handheld receiver, a wheel for steering, and a trigger for forward/reverse. It’s an extremely simplistic unit, with just an on/off switch. The wheel travel for turning is also very short – probably 1/8 of a turn on the knob and the wheels are at full lock. I found this to be annoying, and felt like I was banging on the device the whole time I used it.

The receiver is powered by two AA-sized cells. I used Eneloops with no problem.

A black handheld remote control labeled Military Truck with its battery compartment open, showing two Eneloop AA batteries inside, resting on a weathered wooden surface.

A close-up of two eneloop AA batteries inside a black handheld device with the battery cover removed, placed on a weathered wooden surface.

Conclusion

There’s nowhere good to put this above. But I used this truck for a while, and then set it aside. I took it back out to wrap this review, and the truck no longer worked. The cells charge, and the receiver works, but the truck just does not get power. I have troubleshot it a little but …. this makes 2 of 2 remote control cars I’ve reviewed that have broken. Too bad too; I’d love to have a working copy!
EDIT! Did I disassemble this truck just because, why not, it was broken? And found a cable not connected. Once connected, it all works just fine!

What I like

Low speeds, great for beginners
Full RTR package
Easy to use and barely any assembly required (none to actually use the truck)

What I don’t like

Mine broke with fairly minimal use and absolutely no abuse. (I got it fixed later!)
Speeds are slow and turning is not sharp
Low quality of the receiver.

Notes

This remote control truck was provided by GearBest for review. I was not paid to write this review.
This content originally appeared at zeroair.org. Please visit there for the best experience!
Use my amazon.com referral link if you’re willing to help support making more reviews like this one!
Please support me on Patreon! I deeply appreciate your support!