Backyard RC truck recommendations pleeze!

It's finally getting nice out, the fiancee is up to her elbows in dirt and garden mess, and I want a decent radio control truck to play with!

I tried an Electrix Ruckus, told it was a great starter and bullet-proof. More like shot down in flames, I had nothing but problems with it. Parts broke after slight jumps, electronics just stopped being electric. It would run 10-15 seconds then just stop until I walked up to it and bumped it. Really soured me on RC and I gave up.

So, top priority is DEPENDABLE. Reliable, easy to maintain. Definitely electric. Not looking for speed demon & thinking a slower rock crawler type might be more fun anyway. I have a decent backyard but plenty of rocks and stuff to climb around.' ' Anyone? (Another thread I remember mentioned the new HPI Wheelie King. Any input?)

4x4 I assume? Given that it sounds like you're going to be hammering loose soil/rocks, a monster truck is a good place to go. HPI Wheely King is an excellent truck, and if you get more serious about crawling, there's plenty of conversion kits/parts to make a Wheely King as awesome at climbing as your checkbook allows. My personal preference would go to a Traxxas Summit, or even a Stampede 4x4. While neither is the rocket that some of there offerings are (I've got a brushless Rustler, and friends with 4x4 Slashes on brushless/lipo combos, and they're RETARDED fast.) Traxxas is a US company, parts are available ANYWHERE (seriously Pep Boys is a Traxxas dealer) and they're quite possibly the strongest bashers available. I can tell you from personal experience that the only way the Rustler broke was when I rolled it at 60mph and it cartwheeled for half a block, and even then it screwed up a shock tower mount and busted a steering link. 10$ and i'm back on my way.

I've got a 2wd stampede with 8.4V NIMH packs. I don't miss 4wd for what I do (jumping smallish stuff and hooning in the mostly flat yard), and as mentioned above, replacement parts for Traxxas stuff is stupid cheap.

Actually not even a big deal between 4 and 2WD. I have a large backyard, mostly grass, and some fancy areas marked off with rocks that would be appropriate for climbing and jumping. Maybe a little dirt in said marked off areas, but mostly grass.

I have a real hobby shop 1.5 miles away so selection is great, and Pep Boys down the street has 2 Traxxas vehicles for ~$200 in the corner by the stereos.

Don't be afraid to check out the Traxxas Slash either. It's a HUGE hit amongst the bashers and hardcore racers alike (seriously, it created an entire racing class, Team Associated and Losi had to scramble to catch up) and the parts selection both OEM and A/M is phenomenal. I will own one. Soon.

I had a Vanessa's Lunchbox back in the day. It was a total blast.

Traxxas/ thread.

In reply to JeffHarbert: They released it with a different body, I saw this at the hobby shop the other day

I was going to get a Traxxas until I decided I really wanted four wheel drive and a larger vehicle. The 1/16 Traxxas monster trucks are cool, but for my back yard they would have been overwhelmed by the underbrush. A Clodbuster was on my list, but with the drivetrain setup it just looks goofy to me, plus the design is ANCIENT. So I got this:

HPI Wheely King.

I was trying to spend under $200, so price did matter to me. I got mine for $194 shipped from Tower Hobbies. There are some caveats though. It is not a truggy, it is designed to mimic a real monster truck. It is tippy and bouncy, but if you are good driver you can tame it pretty easy. I love it so far. It is ready-to-run and even includes the AA-batteries for the transmitter.

That being said, the Wheely King is my truck. My son will be getting a 1/10 Traxxas Monster Jam truck in about two years. It is quite a bit more forgiving for young drivers, plus the previously mentioned dirt cheap replacement parts. It is also way more upgradable for speed.

So I think it might be between the Wheely King and Monster Jam now...

Jerry wrote: So I think it might be between the Wheely King and Monster Jam now...

The Monster Jam comes in two flavors, 1/10 and 1/16. The 1/16 is upgradable to 4WD, the 1/10 is not. When you actually see the 1/16 in person it is quite a bit smaller than you'd expect. The 1/10 is pretty big, and is based on the 2WD Stampede platform, which has a huge following. It is a truggy, so it is a bit wider and a bit more stable. If you want speed and handling, go for the Traxxas. if you want realism or a potential rock crawler (the Wheely King is quite popular for crawling duty) get the Wheely King.

Either way it is a great time to get into hobby grade R/C again. Parts that used to be insanely expensive or a pipe dream are dirt cheap now. Ready-to-run kits are well priced and not junk. For around $200 you can get a killer vehicle that will scare the tails off the local squirrel population.

In reply to Wally: Cool! I'll have to look for one. I haven't had an RC vehicle in quite a while.

slefain wrote: For around $200 you can get a killer vehicle that will scare the tails off the local squirrel population.

I need to find out if this is true.

Think I'll take a walk-through the hobby shop after work tomorrow, see what's in stock. Hell, if the $ ends up being within reason I'm ok with supporting a local small biz and instant gratification.

Maybe I can hop in and someone could give me a suggestion. I had one of these as a kid... Tyco Bandit, it was awesome because it was ready out of the box, could survive almost everything my 11 year old self threw at it, and would tear through my yard.

Is there a modern equivalent that has the simplicity, power and rugged nature?

Neckromacr wrote: Maybe I can hop in and someone could give me a suggestion. I had one of these as a kid... Tyco Bandit, it was awesome because it was ready out of the box, could survive almost everything my 11 year old self threw at it, and would tear through my yard. Is there a modern equivalent that has the simplicity, power and rugged nature?

Traxxas Rustler. 2wd, capable in many situations, cheap and easy to fix.

We have a 2wd traxxas slash. Bad as berkeley. And fast! My son has tried to kill it, but it won't die.

The slash is effectively a rustler with buggy arms... or at least that's how it was developed. Either is a rock solid choice.

mndsm wrote: The slash is effectively a rustler with buggy arms... or at least that's how it was developed. Either is a rock solid choice.

Pardon my ignorance but what's the difference?

In reply to Neckromacr:

Ultimately? Not a whole helluva lot. Your Rustler is setup with big wide a arms, traditional stadium truck style. Slash is a bit taller, bit higher CG, shorter arms, narrower tires.

Rustler chassis

Slash chassis.

I'd like to make a small correction, I believe the slash is actually derived from the stampede chassis, with buggy arms. I mis-spoke earlier. I know a lot of the early truggy/baja trucks were developed from stadium truck chassis with 1/8 scale buggy arms and 4wd buggy tires. I had looked into the conversion for my t4.

1988RedT2 wrote:

slefain wrote: For around $200 you can get a killer vehicle that will scare the tails off the local squirrel population.

I need to find out if this is true.

My nitro truck sure will scare them.

mndsm wrote:

Neckromacr wrote: Maybe I can hop in and someone could give me a suggestion. I had one of these as a kid... Tyco Bandit, it was awesome because it was ready out of the box, could survive almost everything my 11 year old self threw at it, and would tear through my yard. Is there a modern equivalent that has the simplicity, power and rugged nature?

Traxxas Rustler. 2wd, capable in many situations, cheap and easy to fix.

Tower has the Rustler for $219: http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/traxxas/trac14.html

Use promo code 016K2 and get $20 off, so you are down to $199. It is backordered though, so there is a wait apparently. But for under $200 you get a screaming little truck with awesome aftermarket support, dirt cheap parts, and great upgrade potential.

Well I stopped by the hobby store. Talked to a very nice young female employee about both the Wheely King and Monster Jam (both she said she would have recommended based on my needs). I walked around a bit, hemmed and hawed. Then picked up the Wheely King and put it on the counter.

She casually jokingly asks Dude-Bro with a serious hipster haircut if he had any advice. I told him it was between these two, he says "Traxxas hands-down". Well berkeley.

Then proceeds to tell me pretty much anything is going to die in the grass of my backyard, except maybe a brushless system. He then recommended the Slash & said I could put a Raptor body on it if I liked trucks. Also the Stampede if i remember, but I think he said that one was 2WD and wouldn't have traction with the front wheels up all the time. (??)

I thought and thought, and decided the hell with it. Told him I'd do some research and think it over tonight, then come back tomorrow. In retrospect he was trying to recommend the Monster Jam at a lower price than the Wheely King, so it wasn't a big sale thing.

In my head I'm thinking Wheely King. Although Slash is supposedly durable as hell. Crap, now what?

FWIW, I ran my old Lunch Box through acres and acres of Santa Cruz beach sand and never suffered a motor or servo problem.

Anything Traxxas is BULLETPROOF. You're not going to wreck it in casual back yard anything. As far as brushless vs. brushed, that's largely BS. I've done every manner of terrible thing I can think of to the last of my brushed motors, and it still works well. As far as grass, taller the car, larger tires, gonna clear grass easier. SO- Wheely King or Monster Jam/Stampede would be good. Monster Jam is literally a Stampede with slightly different tires and a generic body- so either is solid. Depends on if you NEED Grave Digger or not. HPI makes good stuff, a lot of my drifter friends run their chassis, I can't speak to the trucks, though i'd imagine that the durability is there. Truth be told, most modern RTR trucks (ready to run) are built with the basher in mind. You're not going to hurt it too bad no matter what you do.