soutthpaw

I am planning on getting a couple of mini cralwers for my kids, ages 3 and 5 to use. Any suggestions? going with the mini scale because the kids can pick them up by themselves. a 1/10 scale is a bit to big for them right now.

t9dragon

My Feedback: (11)

Losi makes a nice Mini Crawler...

nitrosportsandrunner

losi micro crawler, tons of upgrades and can be customized alot.

redcat sumo rock crawler, has a 2.4ghz radio and 4 wheel steering.

mini QLO

soutthpaw

anyone know what the run time is between charges. Im willing to buy higher MAH batteries if needed/ available. I looked at the Redcat not keen on the 4 wheel steering for the kiddos. Losi looks nice but $$ and Idon't plan on doing any upgrades on these. when the kids get older I will get the 1/10 scale for them

nitrosportsandrunner

on the redcat, it can be 2 wheel steer or 4 wheel steer. steering mode is selectable by pressing 1 button on the remote.
the redcat uses standard "AA" batts(four) so you can get very long runtimes.

the others will get 20 minutes of runtime per charger give or take.

Foxy

The miniqlo makes everything else look silly. It's like a pro crawler only tiny. Even uses worm drive. Dinball (Rcmart.com) has parts and upgrades. Check out the vid...

This is fully upgraded of course, hence the very impressive performance, but I love mine straight out of the box. Needs good batteries though. I have just switched to lipo and it's amazing the amount of torque it has now. The only thing I'll say about the younger folks is that since it's worm drive, if the kid tries to push it, he'll break it. Gonna have to watch out for that. Apart from that, they are very solid.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSDziyD69t0[/youtube]

soutthpaw

Foxy, that looks like a nice setup. I would need to get a LiPo charger right?

nitrosportsandrunner

i had a mini QLO for a bit. i did like it better than the losi micro(since the QLO is a tad bigger)
the worm gear means it can old itself on an incline.
I bought mine with a lipo, but it was ARR version...meaning i added my own radio and reciever.
and yeh, if you get a lipo you will need a lipo specific charger.
the Ready to run version of the QLO uses 4 "AA"s like the redcat does.

soutthpaw

I was watching some of the videos on the Redcat site and realized the controller looks HUGE. I will wait till my Rockslide arrives and see if the kiddos can hold the controller and operate it. For the price the Sumo looks like the way to go. Seems like the single motor with drive shafts would result in longer run times than the motors on axles setups. With my kids, run time is important. Plus it is made in the USA which is a bit of a cliche but I do prefer to buy American if it is available... I also drive through AZ several times a year so if there was a major issue down the road Icould pay them a visit and bltch in person etc...

nitrosportsandrunner

hate to burst your bubble, but none of redcats stuff is made in USA.
redcat racing is a usa company. but their biz is the importing...selling and supporting of RC models. the models them selves are made in china.

but such is the case with alot of rc companies. traxxas, while they do design all their own models...and assembly takes place in USA, many of the parts are made over seas. their 2.4ghz radios say right on them "made in taiwan"

but you are right that redcat is in AZ. that is their main warehouse and base of ops. they do have a couple other warehouses in the USA.

the remote on the rockslide opporates the same as the sumo's, and is the same size. the sumo's however, is a nicer 2.4ghz version. has better range and less likely to get any interferance.

soutthpaw

Figures unless you build it from scratch and machine your own parts pretty much everything is made is China.     My daughter can hold the controller but my son can't activate reverse and hold the controller yet.    

nitrosportsandrunner

there is a toy-grade crawler that aint half bad.
miasto rock crawler.
you can find em at walmart for $30
they are 4wd, and have 2 motors(one over each axle)
no room for upgrading, but they have kid-friendly remotes and just enough torque to drive over most stuff in your house.

soutthpaw

Thanks, I will go check those out..

soutthpaw

Got a Sumo coming for my kids   $80 delivered via sleezbay