Onyxgem

Hi,

New to the hobby and looking for a starter off-road truck for my 9 year old son for X-mas. Looking at under $200 to start.

Some key things I would like to have in order:

1. Durability
2. Upgradeability
3. Ability to run on grass and up/down 45 degree hill in backyard
4. Speed
5. Snow ability?

I have looked at the Evader EXT, Exceed RC-Dynamite, and HPI Firestorm. Are any of these good choices for what I amlooking for?

Thanks,

Doug

john01374

Keep in mind that running any 2WD RC on grass will slow it down and cause strain on the motor unless the gearing is changed. If you can you should avoid running them on grass and stick to dirt. It's much easier on everything.

That said The First storm is a great truck. The EXT is not a great truck (even for the money). Been there. I bought into the $89 price thinking how bad could it be... Well a $100 in parts later I finally unloaded it. I don;t have first hand experience with the Exceed so no opinion. A couple of other truck to consider are the Traxxas Pede. It still 2WD but it's tall and will do OK on grass. It'll also go just about anywhere and you don't need to worry about hurting it. The Traxxas Slash. Again it's tall and will do OK on grass but it has narrow tires so traction is limited. The plus side to this truck is it's size. It's about 1/4 larger than the typical 1/10 scale. The rustler is another good choice. Getting away from traxxas you can look at the HPI Blitz. It a SCT similar to the Slash but based on the Firestorm. Same tough qualities of the firestorm but wrapped in SCT package

Any of the trucks I listed would be excellent for the beginner. They are all tough as nails and have good part support for when something does break. For a 9yr old I go with a Pede. It's simple, tough, water proof (the snow part) and it looks like a monster truck and most kids like that.

Scubarc

For something to start out with, i would recomend the Traxxas slash. it is durable, upgradeable, and it is waterproof. the only thing is that you might want to get tires that could easily go in snow, something like paddles (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXNPT2&P=ML)

Good luuck and happy driving!

kistner

My Feedback: (10)

a guy was one here a couple days ago asking almost the same question. there are some great suggestions in his thread. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9295538/tm.htm

he ended up ordering a traxxas slash.

momogt

the wheely king is a good starter 200 or less it has plenty of upgrades i have one with alot of upgrades and brushless faster then my friends emaxx

Bigbangtheory

That would be me.

I also set a budget of 200 dollars, but keep in mind you will need to get a decent charger, probably an extra 7-cell battery or 6 cell and the Traxxas plug. Mine ended up costing 235 shipped to my door from Tower Hobbies, which is half way here already. Only been two days. I am getting excited!

Thanks again Kistner for the help. OP, if you have questions he is a lot of help or just peep my thread. Good luck.......also another thing that swayed me was the waterproof electronics of the Slash.......and basically you can upgrade to Brushless easily, which I will be doing next year.

All those trucks listed seem to do very well, but some have perks that others don't and vice versa. I was going to get the HPI Firestorm if I didn't get the Slash.

Good luck.

Bigbangtheory

Oh and check out youtube for some cool videos. Just type in Traxxas Slash in search and brings up a ton of videos. Is amaing the beating the slash is put through and keeps on ticking. Which for a young buck it will probably go through, lol!

TornadoGuy

I would also highly recommend the Traxxas Rustler. It is all you described. I have one and have done everything with it accept upgrade it, and drive it in the snow. Mine is all stock, and can easily climb big hills, and can run on tough off-road terrain. It also has great speed, while staying planted to the ground. Out of the three you looked at, I would say the Evader EXT, or the HPI Firestorm would be a bit better than the Exceed. The Exceed is just like a Redcat, which I have, only, a Tornado EPX. I have to say the Rustler has more of what you would want.

Anyway good luck and have fun,

TRX Man

I too would recomend the Traxxas Rustler.  They are awesome.  They are very durable, I should know because I've crashed mine into cars, walls, curbs, rocks, and I've rolled it a number of times.  You can go so overboard with the upgrades on a Rustler its not even funny.  But everything you would ever want to do to that truck is available.  I currently have a RPM bumper (something you'll definatley want for you son if you go with the Rustler), Integy aluminum steering bellcrank, RPM castor blocks, STRC aluminum shock caps, ball-bearings all around, adjustable camber links, an all metal VXL transmission, and Stampede Talon tires.  I'll will also soon being going brushless.  However, even with the stock motor and esc this car is wicked fast.  Geared properly you'll have no problems running in grass.  The car will be a little slower and the motor will heat up faster but its not that bad.  As for a 45 degree hill, as long as you got a little bit of a head start it will tear up that hill with no problem.  I recomend for your son that you start him on a 6 cell battery and as he gets older and more experienced you get a 7 cell.  But with either battery this car is very fast.  The snow shouldn't be a problem as long as you get the waterproof version (blue esc and servo).  I can't really tell you how waterproof it is as I have the model just before the waterproof one.  And for the snow you'll probably want the Talon tires from the the Stampede, they provide a lot more traction than the Alias tires on the Rustler.

While I personally prefer the Rustler, I think you best choice would be to get a Rustler or a Stampede.  I have nothing against the Slash, but its sounds like for the kinda driving you'll be doing a Rustler or Stapede would be a better choice.

Jeremy Z

HPI Wheely King @ towerhobbies.com, $210. 4WD monster truck.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=SM&I=LXRSJ2**

I'm thinking of getting one of these myself.

Traxxas Stampede looks a bit better and is a lot faster stock, (25 mph instead of 11) but is only 2WD, and will not be as good in grass:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXNJJ0**&P=7

(Rustler, Slash, and Stampede are all built in the same chassis. I recommended the Stampede because it has the most ground clearance of the three, more agressive, larger tires, and will therefore be better in grass.)

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

i'd go e firestorm waterproof electronics are so overated imo, and its the only one other than the slash which is fully brushless ready, why do i not believe in waterproof electronics, its because i've coated my chassie in snow many times before had mud packed in all around my servo plate and i've never shorted out anything


yes the RX is where those red wires go...

the lug

The Mad Modder

If you wanted a short course style truck, you might consider the HPI blitz. It's based on the firestorm which is very durable. Like the slash, it has metal gears in the transmission.
https://www.ssl-stormerhobbies.com/c...s&pn=HPI103171

JUSTPASSEDU

My Feedback: (20)

without reading any other comments i would have to say to get a traxxas slash , rustler , or a stampede , alla re in your price range , waterproof , parts availability is great (you can even buy parts at pep boy's for them) and they are all built tough and can be beat to death. If your looking for something 4wd then get the 4wd slash that should be out in a few weeks but then you may be going a little over your budget. Do not get an evader , i have had one and while some duratrax products are great , i personally find there parts to break very easily , some may disagree with me but thats just my personal experiance , price is god on them and they replace parts for free for one year but who wants to wait to send the part back and recieve a new one by mail. I just find they break easier then most cars out there. Goodluck and i hope you make the right choice and have a happy holiday ... oh and the stampede is pretty good in grass due its high ground clearence , i have owned one and it was a great truck , not 4wd but it goes pretty well so i wouldnt worry to much , i used to drive that thing up and down curbs in the street easily also.

SyCo_VeNoM

My nephew is 10 and loves his Stampede. He beats the living hell out of it on daily basis. Hell I've even driven over it with my Savage X (he ran the pede right in front of it thinking he could stop it forcibly ) and nothing broke. Only thing he has broken so far was a front arm, but I think it was just brittle because its a older one his dad found used (yellow ESC) but I picked him up a set or front RPM arms for $7 that have taken all the abuse he throws at them. Other than the front arms its completely stock (Body is also stock but kinda showing its wear). Even the titan 550 motor is lasting for him.

It will run a little bit slower in grass than a 4WD (but not by very much), and as for its handling I didn't notice a huge difference in the grass from the street when I was messing around with it.

So IMO a Pede is a good starter truck for a 9yo.

Onyxgem

Thank you everyone for taking time to reply to my post. It is nice to have a great group of contributors in this forum providing timely information on the hobby! I went ahead and ordered a Black Traxxas Stampede XL-5 from Tower Hobbies.Total delivered cost was ~170 which was under my budget. I'm sure my son will be very happy on X-mas. I'll try and post some video of our first run.

I actually have experience with Traxxis as I own an old Villain IV electric boat.

Thanks again and happy holidays.

Doug

sheograth

I'd recommend a Rustler. I've gotten 2 kids into the hobby with them so far and plan on spreading the disease further [&:]

Jeremy Z

Good call, onyxgem. (and not just because I have one, hehehe)

First order of business is to spend $10 and put full bearings in it, before everything wears down and gets loosey-goosey

To whet your appetite, here are my XL-5 Stampede videos on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2TgYpkMfsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UP_VRVV0Qq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8PGNVxDuxk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWD26qKyeyg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9aUndiclP4

It is stock, except for ball bearings. Running on 6 cell, NiMH packs. It is plenty fast for any offroad running, in my opinion.

Edit: One other thing. Keep an eye on the phillips screws that hold the suspension arms on. They tend to back out little by little. Nothing to be done about it; just re-tighten them once in a while.

JUSTPASSEDU

My Feedback: (20)

good choice with the pede , your kid will love it and its a great x mas gift to get him started , i wouldnt buy anything extra for it except an extra battery and a decent basic charger for him to use such as a duratrax or something like that , maybe even an extra motor just incase as the stock motors can work for months or die in a week but good thing is they are very cheap to replace.. Then when he starts showing intrest you can always upgrade it from there , parts availability are very good for traxxas vehicles and the stampede shares allot of the same parts as the rustler , bandit and slash. even pep boys is selling parts these days. Good choice and Goodluck with everything and happy holidays.

TRX Man

Jeremy Z is totally right.  The a-arm pins do back out after a while.  And if you don't check it every couple runs you'll break an a-arm.  But you can fix this problem.  Traxxas does sell e-clip pins that will not fall out.  I finally replaced the rear inner screws on my rustler becuase they kept backing way out.  You can get them for all the screws in the a-arms if you have to, but you'll probably only need to replace the inner ones.  Just becareful what size you buy.  The exploded view says the stock rear inner a-arm screw on the rustler (same as the stampede) are 44mm and I needed 48mm e-clip pins.  Oh ya, you may also have to run a drill bit throught the holes on the a-arm to make them fit.  Just run it throught with your hands, don't use a drill or you may make the holes too big.

Merry Christmas and Happy Bashing!

Ken448

Great choice! Pedes are some of the most upgraded and tinkered with trucks around. He will have a great time with it!

trx1

My Feedback: (2)

i have the dtx ext, and its great, no probs other then mounting the esc with a zip tie.


custom sticker placment

xxxnt236

My Feedback: (1)

amen to that. i just wipe mine down and its good. not trying to thread jack but what tires are those!! the look huge.

rclugnut10

My Feedback: (1)

they're 1/8 buggy holeshots i got um thinking i'd use um on my savage but they really didn't look right at all so i taped the axels so they'd fit the HPI hex's and bolted them up they worked great just it was a pain to go back to regulars cuz you had to get rid of all the tape...

the lug

dudecat

I had two stampedes and the only problem i had was stripping the rear gears. If i had gone all metal that wouldn't have happened. I wish i still have them. Best rc i have ever bought. Tamiya is also a good truck as my mighty bull has been very good to me but i lost the remote so i have to change things to meet the new controller but that is nothing just need some money. So yeah stampedes are awesome and very sturdy trucks.

Jeremy Z

...or if you had set the slipper clutch correctly...


Mighty Bulls are discontinued, probably because the name was so gay. But I believe they're the same as the Blackfoot Xtremes. They came with neither oil shocks nor ball bearings. Stampede comes with the oil shocks at least. Bearing kits can be had for either model on ebay for $10 or so. Blackfoot Xtremes are going for $130 at tower now.

Something to think about is that the Dual Hunter uses the same basic chassis as the Blackfoot Xtreme, but has two gearboxes and motors. 4WD is going to be superior in every aspect except runtime. This particular 4WD system will not easily be upgraded to brushless though. (due to the dual trans/motor design) It won't be as fast as a stock Stampede though, with the 540 motors.