First Hobby Grade RC truck for a 6 year old

[raptor916]

Hello everyone. My son will be turning 6 soon and I'm tired of the junk from Target and Wal-Mart. After some research, I would like to go with 1/10 scale and my son would like a truck. I've looked at Traxxas Slash, Stampede and Rustler and the similar counterparts from Arrma. What should I go with? I'm willing to spend up to $300, but cheaper is better since the kiddo will only be 6. I do have a 4 year old as well who may want one as well because he has to have everything big brother has. If I go with a faster one, can a limiter be put on it early on? Thanks guys.

 

[Greywolf74]

The traxxas kits I believe have a "power level" setting on them. Not sure if thats in the speed controller or on the transmitter though. Plus you can always limit the amount of throttle on any kit by using the D/R (Dual Rate) setting for the throttle. If you're going to be running in grass mainly then Id probably say go for the stampede. If you're going to be runnign mostly in dirt and gravel then the Rustler is probably what Id get. The Slash would be fine too.

 

[pug]

Stampede would probably be perfect for them if they like wheelies and monster trucks.

 

[Tunedfrog]

The Stampede 2wd is an awesome truck, that's what the wife uses when we go bashing.

 

[WickedFog]

My son was 6 when he got his first taste of a more hobby grade RC with a WLToys 12428B. He is 9 now and still loves driving it along with a Feiyue FY03 I got him a few months later. They are only 1/12th scale buggies though.

He likes the monster trucks a lot more now, and the bigger the better lol. My friend had a Stampede for his kid and he loved it.

 

[tntpoof]

Id also look at traxxas models they have a trainer mode on radio. and in esc...300 is good but you might want a little more . the vxl is brushless and lipo. brushed will wear out faster and nimh is a shorter run(fun time)..

 

[Chubaka]

As stated above, traxxas escs can be put in training mode to slow it down. You can get larger spurs and smaller pinions to get less speed and more torque. After that you can get a higher turn motor. The higher the turn, the more torque and less speed they have. The more volts you give it, the more power and rpm it gets.

I had all 4 traxxas rwd trucks and liked them. The stampede was my main choice. I wouldnt mind an Arrma 2wd equivelent to try out.

 

[oldschool1980]

i know its not 1/10 scale but my son loves his wltoys 144001
parts are super cheap when he wrecks it

 

[olds97_lss]

An arrma granite is a bit more than $300, but the radio does have a 50/75/100 switch on it to limit speed. To limit even more, you could run it on 2S until he gets the hang of it.

A bashing buddy of mine has a 3yo grandson that he got a 6S arrma typhon for... oddly, he can drive the thing. He runs it on 3S/4S at the moment at 75% power. He doesn't have the jumping throttle control down yet, but he gets better every time he drives it.

 

[WickedFog]

An arrma granite is a bit more than $300, but the radio does have a 50/75/100 switch on it to limit speed. To limit even more, you could run it on 2S until he gets the hang of it.

A bashing buddy of mine has a 3yo grandson that he got a 6S arrma typhon for... oddly, he can drive the thing. He runs it on 3S/4S at the moment at 75% power. He doesn't have the jumping throttle control down yet, but he gets better every time he drives it.

My son is driving his Granite 3s at 100% now, but he is 9. But it is the fastest RC he has driven so far. I actually like it better at 75% on dirt. The tires just balloon way to much if you are on loose surfaces. It is stupid fast lol.

 

[RustyUs]

Hobby store nearby? That might make decision making somewhat easier.

 

[raptor916]

There is one very close by and one the guys there recommended a Traxxas Slash. I think Stampede might be the one to go with because of the larger tires.

 

[Greywolf74]

There is one very close by and one the guys there recommended a Traxxas Slash. I think Stampede might be the one to go with because of the larger tires.

The slash would be fine if you're primarily running in dirt or gravel but if you're going to primarily run in grass then Id say Stampede.

 

[webphut]

I am a die hard fan of Traxxas as the parts are everywhere. For the most part they are strong rc cars, especially for young kids. I have four daughters whom all drive my Traxxas rc cars. They are not allowed to drive my Tamiya's until they show me they are mature enough to, but they drive both my Traxxas though. I have the 2wd slash brushed and I have the 4tec 2.0 brushed version. I was hesitant at first with the 4tec, but they got them both out there and bashed them both and to my pleasant surprise my slash was the one that needed a new front hub carrier thingy. No big deal all, as the part was ordered via the Traxxas app, but it was also at a store which is 20 minutes from me. The other thing that broke before that was the front under chassis crash bar thingy that protect the steering servo stuff. No big deal either. Anyways if you dont like what Traxxas has to offer, I was not too happy with their chassis at first, I recommend Arma. There cars are built stronger than Traxxas, but sold at a lower price point. The quality is not less, just the price. I honestly have to say the quality in the engineering department is actually better than the Traxxas. My next RC car will be Tekno as they, from what I have researched, are all assembled with parts sourced from with in the USA. I have not read anything otherwise though.

For bashing, I would research for a really over engineered RC car. the kids love the biggest tires possible. With big tires come bent hinge pins, hub parts...basically anything on the car that could get slammed into mailbox colomn, telephone poles, curbe, car tire bumper. All that stuff rips rc cars up. So yeah look for not so much a monster truck but a car with big tires and over engineered suspension parts for strength. This was why I like Arma. If you really want to invest some money and you want a car the kid could grow for a long time with, the extreme series by Arma are pretty heavy duty, but th speed is not child tuned and the price might turn you off. But for just something to blow up slowly in the cul de sac or neighborhood court/street, then Traxxas will be great

 

[raptor916]

Thanks Web. Solid info.

 

[webphut]

From a kids point of view Traxxas always seems to be changing up the body color schemes every year and I notice my kids love this. As for me though, I would love to see Traxxas come out with a double deck chassis like what a few of the other race designed rc cars out there . It would open up their market to competitive racers and add some variety to the catalog.