Jay-G

I have not be in the RC scene for a very long time, owned a few nitro cars about 10-15 years ago but that's about it.

Yesterday my son broke his collar bone and we do lots of camping, fishing, watersports, and atving. But now he wont be doing that for 4-6 weeks. So im looking to get him a decent RC car that he can go outside and have some fun with, Hit a few jumps, run through some ditches etc...

I have mostly been looking into a traxxas 4x4 due to the accessibility of their product parts and accessories. Now what i need to know is what would you guys recommend in terms of truck there are several different models. Should i go with brush less over brushed? is it really that much better? most of them with the stock batteries say they have about a 10 min run time, which isn't enough so i would either need to buy some extra batters or go with a new battery and charger and that adds on some extra cost.

I noticed bets buy has a 1/16 summit on for 329.99 and that's around my budget but then i would need different batteries and charger and have no idea what kind i would need.

I would say my total budget would be around 400 so can anyone recommend me a nice little package for around that price. and of course i will be driving it as well its not all for him.

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

Ouch, sorry to hear about your son, . Hope he gets better fast!

Anyways, the ECX models are great for starter vehicles. I think he should go with that, instead of a Traxxas. Yes, this one is brushed, but a LiPO can give you more power. Plus, brushless is a ton of speed; way too much to start out with.

Truck; http://www.amain.com/product_info.ph...2E-24GHz-Radio
LiPO (one of these can last 15-20 minutes. Get 2 if you want, as the charger isn't the fastest.); http://www.atomikrc.com/collections/...-with-uni-plug
Charger (not great, but it works. USE THIS CHARGER ONLY TO CHARGE LIPOS. The charger included with the car will cause a massive fire if it charges a lipo); http://www.amain.com/product_info.ph...rger-3S-3A-35W

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

OR, you can just buy this, although it is brushless; http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRAXXAS-NIB-...item25930333c7

Jay-G

That ruckus seems like a decent truck, and a lower price is always nice. But how do they hold up to abuse? i have heard good things about the traxxas and the amount of stuff they can take.

SyCo_VeNoM

Traxxas's main issue IMO is their plastic driveshafts(this is an issue on the Brushless models) Basically due to the power they motors put down the drive shafts warp, and bend. There are aftermarket driveshafts, but they are like $50 a pair... for something that for how much is being charged should have been included on the damn trucks(note I own 3 traxxas vehicles). The other thing is alot of the claims about their durability come from people who swapped so many aftermarket parts onto the vehicles you almost can't call them traxxas anymore(seriously you can make their vehicles from 100% aftermarket parts).

The stampede 4X4 IMO is probably one of their best vehicles, but again the driveshafts warp. Other then that the truck is pretty tough, and can be quite fun. It is also an extremely versatile vehicle as with a few minor changes you can completely change its driving characteristics.

Their 1/16ths IMO stay away from those things are extremely flip happy due to the motor, ESC, and high Center of Gravity(this is especially true on the Summit). As you said he broke his collarbone I doubt you would want him bending over every minute flipping the truck back over. Also they need work right out of the box as the shock oil needs replacing right away, and getting new springs also would help (the stock ones make the trucks a pain to drive). I only ay this as a 1/16th revo owner. The 1/16ths are all essentially the same vehicle btw the summit just has bigger tires.

The ECX's from what I've read from many people that owned em I don't think I've seen any real complaints(well outside the very 1st batch a few years back that had bad radios). Plus for their price you could get 2, and race your kid

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

1+ to SyCo's post. You could get the 4WD one or the 2WD one and race your kid.

nitrosportsandrunner

I own a team associated SC10rs (rs is brushless version)
I bought mine off tower hobbies.com....it was just over $300 for the truck. I also got a onyx 2s 5000mah lipo for another $35-$40. Add in the discount coupons tower hobbies always has, and total cost with shipping was $350.
And on hobbypartz.com and even on ebay you can get a thunder ac6, or a imex b6 battery charger for $50-$60.

A single 2s 5000mah lipo gets me 25 minutes of runtime per charge. My thunder ac6 charger takes 1.5 hours to charge the battery.

You could also get the sc10 brushed version for $200...leaving more money for charger and extra batteries.

The sc10 is a tough truck, handles very well also. I have 20+ hours of runtime on mine and have only made 1 or 2 repairs. Biggest expense thus far was having to replace the rear tires which went bald. The brushless version has softer rubber rear tires than the brushed version, plus the extra power wears down tires faster.

The only advantage of going with a traxxas slash over the sc10 is that it comes with a nimh battery and has waterproof electronics (the sc10 is "splash proof)
But the slash is more espensive and I think the sc10 is actually tougher.