1. What is your experience level for driving and building RC cars and trucks? Have you ever driven one? Built one?
<span style="color: #3366ff">Experience is basically Zero. I have driven a few back when I was in middle school but am now 34 years old.
</span>2. Where do you plan on running your RC?
<span style="color: #3366ff"> In the yard with my kids and in the woods behind my house. No racing, just playing around</span>
3. What is your intention for buying? Are you going to race or bash?
<span style="color: #3366ff">Having fun is #1. I just want to hang out with the kids and bond a little
</span>4. What is your budget?
<span style="color: #3366ff">300-400 but that needs to be a complete vehicle ready to run. I don't want to search for batteries/controllers/anything</span>
5. What scale RC are you looking for? 1/5, 1/8, 1/10, 1/12, 1/18, etc?
<span style="color: #3366ff">do not know. I love the look of the Traxxas Slash and the savage xs flux but don't know if 1:16 would like the woods. This is probably the biggest reason for joining here, I do not know what would fit my needs the best.
</span> <span style="color: #3366ff">Would a 1:10 be that much better?
</span>6. What type of power source do you want? Electric or Nitro?
<span style="color: #3366ff">Electric
</span>7. Are you looking for something durable with more support for replacement parts or "hop ups" or are you looking for
an inexpensive car just to have fun with.
<span style="color: #3366ff"> Durability is #1 on the list. I don't mind fixing it if it breaks but do not want to be "tinkering" with it every time I take it out. The most mintenance I want to do is charging the battery. (Not really, but you get the point )
</span>8. Do you want a RTR (ready to run with everything but fuel and batteries) or a kit that you would have to build and
add parts manually to?
<span style="color: #3366ff"> RTR
</span>9. What type of starting system do you want? Bump box, roto-start, pull start, electric-start?
<span style="color: #3366ff">n/a</span>
10. Are you comfortable working on your own car for repairs or do you know a LHS (Local Hobby Shop) that can repair for you?
<span style="color: #3366ff">I am decent at fixing stuff but would go to a shop for bigger things


</span>I ride dirt bikes and quads with my kids and we have a few places around that we go. I have seen a few people out in the woods with rc cars and my kids seem to enjoy watching it. They are 9-8 and 4 years old. I am a complete n00b to this type of thing but want to see if it is something my kids would like to do. I have a rc race track pretty close to my house ( that I just found out about) and if my kids show interest, that would be a cool thing for them to do.

I see a lot of vids online of people taking these trucks to skate parks and beating them, that isn't my plan. I really want an ultra durable fun to drive vehicle that won't flip over every 3 seconds and can go through some rough stuff without getting hung up on a stick the size of a pencil.

Thanks!!!<span style="color: #3366ff">
</span>

My first question is...will 1 r/c be enough for you n your kids ?
Sounds like the slash will fit what you want just fine, its low and wide
so it will be stable, very durable, and wont break the bank !
If you have fairly clear trails or paths in the woods then 16th scale will do ok.
But If its rougher and more rugged terrain then id go for the 10th scale.
If racing is in the future then id say 10th as well.
Good luck and keep us posted.
And Welcome to RCU

if you want to play around in the woods the axial Wraith might be better all around seeing its based on a crawler, and has the articulation to get over logs, and stuff that a 2wd would be stuck on, and can go a semi decent speed
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAZUT&P=ML
at that price it doesn't come with batteirs or a charger though

Welcome to RCU. Here go a grew trucks that are all within your price range, are 1/10 scale, and are 4x4.
http://www.rcboca.com/rc-trucks/elec...ink-radio.html

Thus one comes with batteries and wall charger included. http://www.rcboca.com/rc-trucks/elec...nter-body.html

If you want to do some track time in the future this would be a better choice. http://www.rcboca.com/rc-trucks/elec...ghz-radio.html

Thanks for the help so far.  I never knew these things even existed.  

Is the stampede as tough as the slash?  I saw a few vids of the slash getting bashed pretty good and begging for more.

Does the OFNA 10TT Truggy come ready to run out of the box?  I really like that one, it's pretty cool looking.  Is OFNA a good name?

I will try to find some reviews for the Wraith today, that thing looks completely awesome. 

This hobby looks fun and expensive

I keep hearing that the HPI Flux or Savage is the toughest truck out there, is that true?</p>

The Stampede is one tough truck. Ofna is a great name brand and the HPI Savage Flux it's as tough a nails but pricey. Yeah the hobby can get pretty expensive but for me it's worth every penny lol.

Cool.  Is the savage flux xs good for playing in the woods? 

Oh, I forgot to ask about runtime.  Do the 1:16's have more runtime than the 1:10's because they are lighter and smaller? 

Are all of the new vehicles waterproof?  I would think that I would need waterproof if handing the controller to an 8 year old in the woods.

Can't really tell you about run times, I'm a nitro guy myself. A buddy of mine has the 1/16 Savage and out did pretty good in rough terrain. But it is kind of small . Don't know how thick the woods are by you but he was running his in dirt and grass that was about an inch thick.

run time not necessarily seeing the smaller vehicles can't hold the larger lipos it probably almost equates (but sometimes you spend more on the smaller batteries)
I think the savage XS is one of the few that can hold batteries that fit in most 1/10th scales

and the savage xs, some of the newer HPI's, like the wheely king that is shipping next month (also another decent truck), and recon I know are waterproof. Traxxas's are water proof too

One thing sticks out about this post.

"In the woods"

Define "in the woods". Are you guys busting out the truck on a break from running trails on dirtbikes/in a 1:1 4x4? Or is this some reasonably hard-packed area in the middle of your subdivision where the kids hang out and play Ninja Turtles?

The Savage XS Flux seems to fit your needs/wants, as does the Stampede 4x4.

The problem is, you don't seem to understand how deep the rabbit hole goes, as Morpheus would say.

If you buy a Stampede/Slash 4x4, you'll quickly tire of the sub-standard third-world-country charger and the antiquated 3000mah NiMh batteries (if this puts it into perspective, ThunderbirdJunkie was racing with 2400mah NiCds in 2001...not much of a jump in capacity for a jump in battery chemistry), and you will desire LiPo power. This will put you in a bind, wishing for a couple hundred bones to blow on a charger and some batteries.

ITBJHO, you might as well snag an HPI Savage Flux XS. It's not hard to work on, replacement parts are now available through your LHS within a week (A-main hobbies takes a week to get anything to you unless you pay them extra to treat you special, so you might as well deal with your LHS.)

If you race dirt bikes, then playing with and working on toy cars will be a breeze when it comes to working on your stuff, unless you pay somebody else to adjust your valves...in which case ThunderbirdJunkie wishes he had your money to piss away on nothing, since setting valve lash is easier than chain tension or changing oil filters that reside in the crankcase (dunno if modern thumper dirtbikes have changed since the early 90s XRs, but whatever)

Basically, the way it sounds to ThunderbirdJunkie, you want one of two things:
Either a toy to abuse and put away wet and never work on it (get the Stampede 4x4 and a decent charger)
Or an actual hobby-grade car to abuse, and learn your youngins how to wrench, and not being afraid of wanting to spend a little more money for a superior product.

Either way, you're going to be spending more than your budget, and you haven't genuinely researched your options.

For your purposes, it really sounds like the Traxxas S-maxx is right up your alley. It's nitro, but you can get it rockin' and rollin' for under 400 bones at your local Hobbytown USA. If you don't have an HTUSA near you, the HPI Firestorm 10T Nitro or the HPI Nitro RS4 MT2 or HPI Nitro Bullet would be a good alternative.

For your budget, there's no way to get anything decent and keep electric power.

I'm always Donatello Bo staff for the win. Cowabunga dudes!

Back on topic, I have a friend with a HPI Nitro Bullet. Good car.

Depending how rough the ground is, the HPI Blitz might be a good choice, it's pretty cheap with brushed motor, and tough as nails. If the ground is a bit rougher, yeh, Firestorm.

The trouble with electric is that while it has low running costs, the setup costs can be quite steep. You want brushless motors and lipo batteries, so you need a good charger as well, and that starts pushing intial costs up. They're worth it though, as the batteries and charger can be used in other models later.

"In the woods" would basically mean, "can the truck get over small tree branches, through wet leaves, go over both hard pack and loamy style dirt without getting hung up every 3 seconds. I really don't want to chase the thing around the woods unsticking it from getting high centered on a golf ball sized rock.

What are valves, are those those annoying things 4-strokers have to adjust every other ride???? I am a 2-stroke kind of guy and so are my kids. I have 4 dirtbikes, 3 2-strokes and an old XR50 that needs no maintenance other than some oil every now and then. But yes, I do all my own work on the bikes and my cars for that matter. I watched the review of the Slash 4x4 on ultimaterc or something like that and the guy was saying you had to tear down and repack bearings after every ride in the water, I just don't have time to do that. I don't mind it every now and then but not every time.


I guess I would like a durable truck that can be upgraded down the line. I don't really care about the money too much but don't want to spend $11ty billion on something that site in the closet. I don't mind having a slower vehicle with your 3rd world battery ( )for now to see if this is something to pursue, if it is then I will spend the money to get what I want.

Thanks for the post!!!

doh, are you saying I need to start looking at nitro vehicles as well. I can't look through 1/3 of the options for just electric and now you want me to add nitro as well, you guys are killing me.

Is nitro hard to keep runnign with temp/evevation changes? I know absolutely nothing about them, I guess I will start looking. Thanks!!

Nitro is more of a pain in the backside, there is no doubt about that. Whether it's worth it is down to the individual. I found it worth it for many years. The sound and smell as well as the satisfaction of learning how to tune engines were some of the best things about the hobby for me for a long time. Nowadays I like electric for the opposite reason that I liked nitro when I was younger (no noise, no smell, no oil, no finicky tuning), but as I say, the trade off is set up cost. You'll need a good few batteries and a good charger, which you wouldn't need if you went nitro.

I'm not advising you to go either way, go with whichever floats your boat, but bear in mind, a good and reliable electric setup with some batteries and a charger will run you a more than a good RTR nitro. As I said though, it's a worthwhile investment, because batteries and the charger can be used for many models making the 2nd electric car you buy much better value.

There's definitely a steeper learning curve with nitro, but if you're used to playing with 2 strokes, then you shouldn't have any problems. Most engines anymore are so dead-nuts reliable and easy to tune (compared to 10-15 years ago, at least) it's not even funny.

I think I have it narrowed down to either the 1:16 Summit 4x4 brushless or the 1:10 Slash 4x4.  For a beginner trying to see if the hobby is something to pursue, which one would be better?  I really like them both but would need to know if the mini Summit could handle the terrain I would be driving on (mowed yards, light trails in the woods, snow in the winter).

slash 4X4 IMO out of the 2
the summit is basically a merv with bigger tires. The merv from my experience is a wheelie machine that is a PITA to control, probably the RC I've had the least fun with that I've owned to date, and most regret buying.

Bonus with the slash if you end up not liking it for what ever reason(like not enough clearance) around $30-$35 (not counting a body or tires) you can convert it to a stampede 4X4 (what I did)

Cool, thanks for the input. I do seem to find a lot of aftermarker support for the Slash. I just hope it is durable.

I think Iam going to order that today or tomorrow. Is towerhobbies the best place or are there others? That is the only online dealer I know of and my local hobby shop is asking ~$450 with tax for the 6808 model. I think Tower wants $400.

I realise that 50 bucks is 50 bucks, but would you regret not spending that 50 bucks if your LHS closed forever? Will they deal with you the same way (since they obviously carry the car and spares) knowing that you bought from somewhere else?

All I'm saying is consider what extra value you will get from those 50 bucks, by spending them at the LHS. Too many have closed already.

I do see what you are saying and I do support local stores whenever possible, but I did just order the Slash 4x4 off of TowerHobbies. It was over $100 cheaper than the LHS with the $50 coupon. I didstop atthe hobby store for info and they said they could have it mid December for $450+tax (The guy last week told me $425 but...). I tried to see if they could work with me and his answer was "I will just sell it to the next customer for that price, we do not haggle prices". So I left and will hopefully find another store close to the area thatwould be able to help if the forums cannot. I doubt it though, these forums and very nice here.

Hopefully I get in in a week or 2 and have Christmas a little early for myself.

I like to support my lhs whenever possible as well. But they treat me just the same when I go in to buy parts. They are friendly and helpful. They know I purchased my trucks online but they don't seen to care cuz I do come in when I need spare parts. By the way great choice on the slash.