Crawler for my son
 

My son is 13 and we have been into nitro monster truck for awhile. We went to a crawler competition last weekend and now he wants one for x-mas. I'm not sure if he has the patients so i need to find one cheap but not a piece of junk. Maybe a mini. any ideas for a lower priced entry level mini crawler? Who has the best deals? Thanks for your help

RE: Crawler for my son
 

If you already have some extra electronics you can get the cheaper wheelie king. It comes assembled, but not RTR. I think it needs an ESC, motor, and servo and then you're good to go on that. The only other thing you need to buy is the HPI crawler kit, which I think is only like thirty bucks. If you have the extra electronics you can have a WK crawler for about $175.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

I will look into that. I do have extra servos, ESC. Wonder if the motor from my old Bandit would work? it was an upgrade to stock seems like a 10 turn? Where is the best place to buy?

RE: Crawler for my son
 

If he wants to be crawling right outta the box, the wheely king is not the way to go. A stock wheely king takes quite a bit of modification to get crawling decent. If you have some spare electronics on hand, I would suggest the Axial AX-10 ARTR. It's already pre-built and it uses all the good stuff; it just needs electronics (radio, ESC, motor, servo, battery).

http://www.axialracing.com/ftp/ax10artr/

Good place to buy 'em: http://www.tcscrawlers.com/AX10-Scor...4-p-16938.html

Another option is the AX-10 RTR. Completely built with everything included. The downside is that they go cheap in some critical areas. Where the ARTR uses metal suspension links and steering links, the RTR has plastic links that flex like crazy and are more prone to breakage. The electronics are also barely adequate.

http://www.axialracing.com/ftp/ax10rtr/

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/Axial-AX1...2-p-16753.html

Lastly, is the Venom Creeper. It's supposed to be out by Christmas. Has some promising features, but is yet unproven since it's not even out yet. Come ready to run and priced right. It has a few features that the AX-10 doesn't; like unlockable diffs via a slider on the axle. Again though, the electronics in it will be barely adequate.

http://www.venom-group.com/storeitem...&cc=MODEL_ROCK

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/Pre-Order...R-p-17175.html

For a motor, don't use a 10-turn. Those are for speed and don't have the torque necessary. You put that in a crawler and hit the rocks, the ESC will pop almost immediately :)
Motors for these things are cheap. Around $20. The most common is the 55T:

http://www.tcscrawlers.com/Integy-Ma...1-p-16182.html

There are others that are considered better, but for a beginner, it's not worth the money.

TCS crawlers is a great place to buy, but at the risk of sounding "preachy", I would also suggest buying from your LHS. And don't be afraid to haggle with 'em on price. If the shop is a decent one, they are an invaluable resource for help later on.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Good Call K B!! Very good info and spot on sourcing!!

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Thanks! That was alotta typing/babbling to do all in one shot. I need to get a life!

RE: Crawler for my son
 

wat about this just get an esc and radio gear http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXURC2&P=FR heres vids http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=UZr2yR...eature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=NtJvFz...eature=related

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Great info Thanks. I will probably use LHS. Since I visit them often they usually give me a discount off the sticker price. I am leaning towards the AX-10

RE: Crawler for my son
 

eh, the cliff climber seems to not be catching on very well. I'ts just simply not as capable as some other rigs.

I cannot reccomend the Axial AX10 higher (I have 2). Also the Losi Mini Crawler is a great RTR. both leave the door open for upgrades and are completely customizable.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

I think he will get the Losi mini crawler RTR. 225.00 @ LHS. Layaway till X-mas.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Tiemac,I have a virtually bog standard AX-10 and it is superb.In my opinion anything less than a 1/10 scale crawler is not worth it unless you plan to use it lightly,but it's your choice.
Good luck.
James.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Well, one plus for the micros is that you can find challenging terrain just about anywhere. I have to drive 10 minutes out to our comp site to find decent terrain for my 2.2. When I had my Mini Giant, I could run it in the rock garden behind the house and it was a hoot. From what I hear though, those little Losi crawlers can just about hold their own against the 2.2s.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

He wants a mini. we checked both out at the crawler competition last weekend.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

The mini are cool as hell.:D

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...ForSale004.jpg

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Well I hope he has fun,more than what I do with mine,Just installed a 55T Fireball and cut me inserts and then it went back into the cabinet;) (tyres arn't even dirty yet!) I'm going to have to get another rear bottom link for it though,I put a 1/4 " scratch on it[X(] LOL.

RE: Crawler for my son
 

Oops,wrong foto!LOL.