Beginner wants to try a rock crawler

[CharlieTuna]

Hey everybody....
Been thinking about trying a rock crawler 1/10 scale. Looking for some recommendations for a beginner in crawling. I have probably a dozen rc's but no crawlers. Please give me the benefit of your knowledge for a good starter. Brushed? Brushless? 2s? 3s?
Thanks,.......

 

[Chubaka]

I'm curious as to what cars you have?

For crawlers, scx10 ii and iii, trx 4, and a few others I can't seem to remember.

I started on a 10.2 kit, stock axial brushed esc, using brushed rc4wd and axial motors. I recently put a sensored castle copper head 2250kv in. Its a different animal now. If money allows, and you have a course technical enough, sensored brushless is the way to go.

I run 3s, but am thinking of trying 4s.

Brass down low works wonders also!

 

[Axemanagement]

I have a trx4 and really enjoy it. I put an fpv on top and sit on my porch while driving it. Loads of fun and neighbor kids follow it around wondering who is driving it

 

[Tunedfrog]

SCX10 series is awesome rigs, the TRX4 is an awesome rig also but I don't own one as of yet.
I run Homes Hobbies brushed motors with Hobbywing 1080 esc and running 2s. Lipo is the only way to go.
Redcat has stepped up their game and have a couple cool crawlers. I have the Gen 7 and Everest 10.
My other rigs are custom built using the SCX10 platform and one of them is the SCX10 II kit.

 

[Doom!]

I'm a fan of Element's crawlers, they run well and are budget friendly. I have an Ecto, a Trail Runner, and A Sendero HD. You can check out their line here. Element Rc

 

[CharlieTuna]

I'm curious as to what cars you have?

For crawlers, scx10 ii and iii, trx 4, and a few others I can't seem to remember.

I started on a 10.2 kit, stock axial brushed esc, using brushed rc4wd and axial motors. I recently put a sensored castle copper head 2250kv in. Its a different animal now. If money allows, and you have a course technical enough, sensored brushless is the way to go.

I run 3s, but am thinking of trying 4s.

Brass down low works wonders also!

Hey Chu..
Traxxas rustler, bandit, stampede all vxl.
Arrma thphon v3, big rock v3 blxs
Axial, associated etc.
Thanks for replying.

I have a trx4 and really enjoy it. I put an fpv on top and sit on my porch while driving it. Loads of fun and neighbor kids follow it around wondering who is driving it

Thanks

I have a trx4 and really enjoy it. I put an fpv on top and sit on my porch while driving it. Loads of fun and neighbor kids follow it around wondering who is driving it

SCX10 series is awesome rigs, the TRX4 is an awesome rig also but I don't own one as of yet.
I run Homes Hobbies brushed motors with Hobbywing 1080 esc and running 2s. Lipo is the only way to go.
Redcat has stepped up their game and have a couple cool crawlers. I have the Gen 7 and Everest 10.
My other rigs are custom built using the SCX10 platform and one of them is the SCX10 II kit.

Thanks for the response.

I'm a fan of Element's crawlers, they run well and are budget friendly. I have an Ecto, a Trail Runner, and A Sendero HD. You can check out their line here. Element Rc

Thanks Doom.

 

[Tunedfrog]

I'm a fan of Element's crawlers, they run well and are budget friendly. I have an Ecto, a Trail Runner, and A Sendero HD. You can check out their line here. Element Rc

I'll have one or six in my arsenal some day.

 

[Pat_ranch]

Can't go wrong with any of the rigs mentioned already- trx-4, scx10ii or iii, redcat Gen 8, or element. Or vanquish for that matter (hard to find). Redcat will prolly be the easiest to find a deal on, but any of them will get you off to a great start. You'll end up with several

 

[Xraycer]

TRX4 is the best crawling performer, out of the box.

 

[nino]

TRX4 is definitely most durable. A very good performer too (the Sport version), but somewhat limited in upgrades down the line. Great RTR tires.

I'd probably go for an Enduro if I didn't already own a TRX4.

Never liked Axial, all of their stuff has some stupid weak points that shouldn't be there. Probably best aftermarket support, though.

Would you be willing to build a kit?

 

[CharlieTuna]

Can't go wrong with any of the rigs mentioned already- trx-4, scx10ii or iii, redcat Gen 8, or element. Or vanquish for that matter (hard to find). Redcat will prolly be the easiest to find a deal on, but any of them will get you off to a great start. You'll end up with several

Thanks...

TRX4 is definitely most durable. A very good performer too (the Sport version), but somewhat limited in upgrades down the line. Great RTR tires.

I'd probably go for an Enduro if I didn't already own a TRX4.

ThanksNever liked Axial, all of their stuff has some stupid weak points that shouldn't be there. Probably best aftermarket support, though.

Would you be willing to build a kit?

Thanks...a kit would be ok too.

TRX4 is the best crawling performer, out of the box.

Thanks for that xraycer.

 

[WickedFog]

Thanks...

Thanks...a kit would be ok too.

I prefer kits myself. I don't have any resl 1/10 crawlers, but would love to grab a TRX4 kit or an SCX10 III. I don't have anyplace here to run them, but it would be fun to build one.

 

[Xraycer]

I prefer kits myself. I don't have any resl 1/10 crawlers, but would love to grab a TRX4 kit or an SCX10 III. I don't have anyplace here to run them, but it would be fun to build one.

Not me, Bro. I don't have a ton of free time, but mostly it's just because I'm lazy that I prefer RTR.

 

[CharlieTuna]

Hey Chu..
Traxxas rustler, bandit, stampede all vxl.
Arrma thphon v3, big rock v3 blxs
Axial, associated etc.
Thanks for replying.

Thanks


Thanks for the response.

Thanks Doom.

Hey Doom...
The ECTO crawler has my interest. Did you change out the battery tray to fit larger mah batteries or is is the small 2s lipo in the stock tray enough to last? I'm reading some good things about it. So do you think this model will be good for me to begin with? Parts seem to be available. I suppose a guy could upgrade to brushless later if he found it necessary? Thanks for helping Doom.

 

[cdstatz]

Check out the Element Gatekeeper kit on sale at Amain. I just picked up another one yesterday with the Memorial Day discount added to the sale price.

 

[Doom!]

Hey Doom...
The ECTO crawler has my interest. Did you change out the battery tray to fit larger mah batteries or is is the small 2s lipo in the stock tray enough to last? I'm reading some good things about it. So do you think this model will be good for me to begin with? Parts seem to be available. I suppose a guy could upgrade to brushless later if he found it necessary? Thanks for helping Doom.

I swapped the battery tray in the Sendero HD, for the larger one, but think I prefer the smaller tray that I left in the Ecto. The nice thing about crawlers is you get a lot more time out of smaller batteries than you do with the power hungry bashers.

I think you would like the Ecto, it's pretty capable right out of the box. I like to run my rigs for a while before doing upgrades, and I haven't felt like it's desperately needed any upgrades. I did add wheel weights to help the CG but I do that on all my crawlers, and I swapped the rims just for cosmetic reasons.

 

[CharlieTuna]

Thanks Doom. Sounds good. Yeah, as far as upgrading I pretty much run stock except I'll upgrade when I break something or change the looks. I have noticed though, on a couple of my cars the aluminum steering sets with ball bearings really tightened it up alot. When the brushed motor gives up the ghost I'll look at brushless. Who knows, it might last longer than my driving ability.
Thanks buddy

 

[nino]

Crawlers don't have a steering rack, so that upgrade doesn't apply here
One thing that can be a weak/flexy point is the panhard bar mount. But worry about that later.

Brushed is smooth, some serious guys prefer it to brushless. And like 1/3 or less the price of a good brushless system. Doesn't have the punch of brushless.

Batteries... You want them light, forward and low. If you want performance. A 2200 3s will last a long time. It's not unusual for the servo to pull comparable power to the esc/motor when doing some technical crawling!

Some weight down low is good, metal wheels and/or brass knuckles or portal covers. But you don't have to go overboard.

Building a kit is as much fun for me as driving, plus you get to see how everything works and pick the electronics you want.

 

[WickedFog]

That's what I like about building. Not many RTR RC's come with electronics I would actually buy separately, so buying a RTR just means spending money on stuff I don't want.

I like the realism of crawlers. And upgrading them can be fun, using parts on it that were made for something else. My WPL 1/16 crawler only has the body from WPL. Everything else is aftermarket, 3d printed, and some parts on it even come from a completely different truck.

I need to grab a 1/10 sometime soon.

 

[CharlieTuna]

Crawlers don't have a steering rack, so that upgrade doesn't apply here
One thing that can be a weak/flexy point is the panhard bar mount. But worry about that later.

Brushed is smooth, some serious guys prefer it to brushless. And like 1/3 or less the price of a good brushless system. Doesn't have the punch of brushless.

Batteries... You want them light, forward and low. If you want performance. A 2200 3s will last a long time. It's not unusual for the servo to pull comparable power to the esc/motor when doing some technical crawling!

Some weight down low is good, metal wheels and/or brass knuckles or portal covers. But you don't have to go overboard.

Building a kit is as much fun for me as driving, plus you get to see how everything works and pick the electronics you want.

Hey Nino...
Thanks for the great info! I'm also interested to find out what "C" rating that you crawler guys find to be the best for the 2s lipos. (say 2000-3000mah)
Thanks Nino