camperbeast

I am a beginner rc electric truck operator. I am a fulltime rver and am not by a dealer. I called dealer in Bakersfield Ca (I will be there wed. for 1 day) and he recommended the Stampede XL-5. I researched the web and found out there is a newer VXL. I called back and was informed he does not have the VXL yet. Is it that much better to cause me to wait cause if I wait my next chance will be in Wash. state next month. I had to give up my slow-stick airplane cause it seemed the wind was always to strong. Is the Stampede a good choice for me. It looked good on the Web.
Help.

Turbocruiser13

I purchased a nitro stampede less than a month ago. It's my first nitro truck. I prefer it over other MTs as the pedes are alot smaller so they can maneuver around a little better. They're also lighter so it doesn't take as much power to get them up and going. My nitro pede is like 7lbs whereas most other nitro MTs are between 11-13lbs. As for electrics, the vxl5 will do mid 30s as far as mph goes. That's perfect for beginners if you ask me. It's also running just under 200 bucks. The new VXL is supposed to be closer to 400 dollars, and will run upto around 65mph from what I understand. That's some insane speed for a monster truck, and I personally think way too much for a beginner. I believe you will be able to upgrade the vxl5 in the future once you've played with it and are ready to go faster, but like I said for now 35mph is more than enough for someone like you or me!

urjustamemory

I would go with the XL-5 for your first truck.

camperbeast

Now that you all have convinced me to get this truck what kind of batteries and how big should I get. I know that nicads are not the way to go .

rawiswar

get the vxl its brushless a better truck by far

just guessing that urjustamemory recommends the xl-5 as it is a good beginner truck but hey your going to break it so why not go brushless straight away you get good speed with good batterys and i believe the vxl truck its self has better designed parts on it than the xl-5

rawiswar

[link=http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/stampede3608/trx_stampede.htm]pede vxl[/link]

and

[link=http://www.traxxas.com/products/electric/stampede2006/trx_stampede.htm]pede xl-5[/link]

you tell me whats better, yes thats correct vxl, lol

urjustamemory

I agree but this will be his first truck, I think it would be best to go to a hobby shop that has both the XL5 and vxl and see which you can handle.

rawiswar

yes but if he gets a vxl he can then get a 6 cell battery and it will do the same speed as the xl-5 then when he gets better at driving instead of having to buy another truck he can then just by a bigger battery and get the higher speeds,

plus the bonus of having a better built truck as the new peded vxl has some modifications over the old one

look at this table of the vxl


skill level one with six cell battery then get a 4000mah lipo and have speeds of 60mph (as there is no need in spending the extra money on a 8000mah lipo just for a 5mph gain)

the vxl comes with a 6 cell by the way

superfrog

Get the vxl. Brushed motors are crappy. If you get the xl-5 and run it much you will speed more money upgrading it. I went though 4 brushed motors and 2 esc before I went brushless.

calvino

If you have the money, go with the brushless, if money is an issue, get the xl-5 and then save money for the brushless.....

Shompola

I would go with the VXL. You get a better longer lasting motor, better ESC, full ball bearing etc. Quality is better.

BRUSHLESS BASHER

VXL for sure, you can go as fast as an XL-5 with just a 6-cell pack, but a 3 cell lipo can get you going 65+, and I would go with an 8000 mah lipo from the start (you should buy 2 so you won't have to wait for it to charge). you can tone down the speed, it is ment for beginners, and it will only let the motor go half throttle, that would be 30 miles per hour, same as a 6 cell pack, and you would have 45+ minute runtimes, instead of 10-15 minute runtimes.

rawisnar: there is a huge advantage to getting the 8000 mah lipo, not for the speed, but for the runtime, it would be double that of the 4000 mah battery. I used to have an e-maxx, and have a brushless rc18t. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to batteries.

rawiswar

ok cool them run times are good might have to get a vxl for myself lol

cen123

get the vxl you can set it to 50% throttle

BRUSHLESS BASHER

that's what I just said...[sm=50_50.gif]

drevil

My Feedback: (5)

Since he already flies planes I seriously doubt he'll have to limit the throttle to 50% on either one. With that said you'll have just as much fun with the XL5 as you will with the VXL in stock form. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to sell you on not getting the VXL but the reality is that it costs $170 more and does the same speed in stock trim. Sure people will say to get the VXL because you can upgrade as time goes on to up the speed (with lipo batteries) but the same could be said for the XL5. Put a lipo and tall gearing on any truck, including the XL5, and it'll go pretty fast and for the $170 you saved you could get that lipo pack TODAY.

The VXL does have certain upgrades that you may want to consider, but that is up to you to decide whether they're worth it for you.

rawiswar

wouldnt putting a lipo through the xl-5 over heat it

04DarkShadowGT

Not really, a 2S lipo is only 7.4V whereas a 6 cell nimh is 7.2V. It will just give really great run times and a slight boost in performance. You will need a lipo low voltage cutoff as the XL-5 does not have one built in.