Olsenblane

I purchased by first RC last month, which was a $200 ZD Racing Buggy which I have already had to replace multiple parts, and they are hard to find and expensive.

I am looking for a SUPER Durable truck for flying around grass, dirt, and pavement. Electric, Brushless are wants, but durability is the most important aspect.
I’m not racing this or anything, but would like it to be able to climb over obstacles, run 30+ mph minimum. Would like to spend under $450, with easy access to parts.

Inital research pointed me to Traxxas Stampede, but others on this site have said there are better and more durable trucks.

RustyUs

Lots of great stuff out there. Just gotta narrow down a few things that make up what you really want.

• Scale?
• Monster/stadium/short course/truggy?
• 2wd/4wd?

If you want 4wd and 1/10 scale and not a monster truck....have a look at the Losi TENACITY 1/10 RTR 4WD Brushless Truggy

RustyUs

EMP Hobby should have just about every part you need for your ZD Racing buggy. I'm assuming you have the ZRE-1 1/8 buggy based upon the price you paid. I had that buggy (two of them actually if I remember right) for a brief moment (never ran them). ZD Racing's ZRT-1 truggy had given me headaches with one small part...the front universal joints. Other than that, the thing was built like a tank,but I couldn't see dumping $15~$24 into the truggy every couple of runs. The universals were made with some cheap steel, and I dumped my whole collection of ZD Racing buggies and truggies quickly. I have no desire to give ZD Racing another shot until I hear of quality control issues taken care of. From the sounds of it, they still have issues. I think I could have found another brand of truggy's CV/universal joints to fit the ZRT-1, but I was pissed at the whole mess, and had to get the ZD Racing RCs outta my sight .

Oh, and ZD Racing is the reason why I will probably never by a 1/18 monster truck/RC again!

Sorry. Rant over .

bill_delong

I owned a ZRE-1 for a short period of time, although it is technically a 1/8 buggy, it really has mostly 1/10 quality drive line parts and electronics were also weak.

For your price range I would go with the Losi TENACITY:
Losi: TENACITY SCT RTR, AVC: 1/10 4WD BLACK/Yellow: Losi (LOS03010T1)

It will be the best quality for the price... if you want the best money can buy, then go with a TEKNO MT410, if you can find one used possibly to fit in your budget:

Olsenblane

My ZD Racing model is BX-16, which looks a lot cheaper than when I bought it. I've used EMPHobby, but it's expensive when I add up all the parts, and couldn't find a few replacement parts I needed.

I've researched a lot about different types of RC vehicles, but havent been able to find the difference between scale sizes. (1/10 vs 1/8, etc). Besides the actual size, it sounds like there are other important features with certain sizes. I'd love to be enlightened with that.

Finally, what will be the main differences in Truck vs Stadium Truck vs Monster Truck? I know the size and tires of Monster truck are different, but whatever I am looking to you experts in what type for riding over grass, dirt, rocks, inclines, and some obstacles like sticks, and "small" curbs or bumps. Not really a rock crawler, but something fast and agile. (The word hybrid comes to mind, but not sure if that terminology is used in the RC World).

Olsenblane

@Bill_delong
That video was INSANE! That is exactly the durability I want. I kept thinking there is no way that RC would drive after those flips. I am Googling more info about that truck now!

bill_delong

1/10 cars are typically lightweight, some might share the same physical dimensions as a 1/8 car but they are typically weaker, only exception are some brands of SCT's which are based on 1/8 Buggy platforms using the same chassis, but shortening the arms, adding bumpers, body posts and different body. In many cases, these 1/10 SCT's are more durable than the 1/8 Buggy counterpart because of the extra protection offered by the bumpers and larger SCT body, however the SCT bodies tend to crack and need replacement more frequently as a trade off. The larger SCT body also tends to parachute on large jumps making it more difficult to "fly" with big air.

Truck is typically short for 1/8 Truck or Truggy, it's basically a stretched out buggy with longer arms and substantially larger wheels, they also require a larger motor. The truck class had evolved from the Monster Truck class which lost popularity around 2007, the MT's were too difficult to fly and were more prone to flipping over where Truggies are by far the easiest to drive/jump/fly.

Stadium Truck is typically a 1/10 2WD platform that was based on a buggy chassis but with longer arms and larger wheels in similar fashion to the Buggy -> Truggy comparison in the 1/8 classes.

There are "Rock Racers" out there which would fall into the "hybrid" category, but I think they are more of a novelty and will lack tuning options, performance from more traditional classes.

Key features to look for:
* 550 motor will offer more power than a 540 motor
* All 3 gear diffs will be easier to tune and maintain, many lower quality cars will cheap out with a center spool/slipper which will decrease handling on loose dirt/rocks
* Steel drive shafts will stand the test of time, many lower quality cars will cut costs with plastic shafts
* If you go with a 1/8 car/truck they will offer 4S setup which significantly increases efficiency with longer run time and less strain on the battery so it will have a longer life span further reducing your long term maintenance costs

Olsenblane

Great explaination! Much appreciated

Igottabeme

You might want to check out the DHK Zombie. Heres a thread for it https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...-Monster-Truck

Olsenblane

@igottabeme

I assume it’s just as hard to find replacement parts for the Zombie as it is for ZD Racing vehicles? Are there many part resellers?

Igottabeme

https://www.rchobbyexplosion.com/DHK...ades_s/777.htm
https://www.asiatees.com/model?DHK-Z...288384%29&c=z2
MonkeyHobby.com - Search Results for "DHK Zombie"
https://www.gearbest.com/DHK-HOBBY-_gear/

jrwalte

The hybrid you mention sounds like you want a truggy. It's near impossible to flip when drifting / spinning out and it has equal clearance to monster trucks.

It's $500, but the Arrma Kraton 6S is a great RTR choice. 50+ mph out of the box and it takes a beating. You can use 2x of your 2s or 3s batteries to run it or get 6s ones.