New to RC - Opinions on First RTRs

[Surly]

Hi all,

I've been reading the site for the past several days and looking into various options. A few months ago my family and I stopped by a local RC shop and rented a Traxxas TRX-4 for an hour of crawling. We had a great time, and I want to get a few vehicles for my kids and I to play around with outside, we've got other cheap/toy RCs we run in the house. The shop was strongly recommending a TRX-4, but it's too big and too much money to buy 3 of those, and I think we all want something a little different.

My 7yo really enjoyed the TRX-4 crawler, my 10yo wants something fast that he can bash around the yard, and I'd like something that can do a little of both with them (not sure this is possible?). My plan is to come up with a few ideas/options and the kids each get to pick their favorite as a reward for chores/reading this summer.

Any ideas or preferences based on experience? I am hoping to keep each vehicle to less than $200, and here's what I've been thinking of.

• TRX-4M
• SCX24 Deadbolt
• Arrma Mojave Grom (I'm really close to getting this one myself, it looks awesome)
• FMS FCX24m (one of the new Land Rovers)
• Losi Mini-T or Mini-B

Also what about simple things like charging batteries for multiple different makes? It'd be nice to use a common charger but it looked to me like Traxxas has proprietary connectors, whereas the others don't?

Thanks!

 

[Lostinthewoods86]

Welcome in! This was me/us 7 months ago…just a warning, you can’t buy just one for each of you, you will need a back up for each, and a back up for the back up, and then a few spares just in case .

 

[Tunedfrog]

Welcome in @Surly , crawlers are a great choice over bashers in my opinion.
If I were you, I would start with SCX24s or something in that scale.
Tons of parts available and you can crawl all winter long in the living room.
As far as 1/10 scale, I prefer the SCX10 platform only because I haven't tried the TRX4
or Element RCs.
Some day soon I will though.
Don't be afraid to ask questions, there is lots of info available here and guys more than willing to help out.

 

[332_RC]

Welcome to RCT!

 

[9x19]

Welcome to RCT.

I have zero experience with most of the crawlers, save for one HPI. I'll let the more experienced among us help you there.

Likewise the itty-bitty stuff (smaller than 1/10th scale), but one of my favorite bashers in 1/10 is the Associated MT10.

The mini Arrmas seem to sell well and seem much better in their class the the 3S Arrma 1/10s.

Good luck.

 

[Doom!]

Welcome aboard!

For a mini basher the new Arrma Mojave Grom is a solid choice.
For a mini crawler I would also like to add the Redcat Ascent18, a great little truck.

I kind of have a mini addiction, so I have most brands in my collection.

 

[DavidB1126]

Welcome to RCT!

I have a losi mini b and used to race it last summer. Now I just bash with it since that track closed

@luke66 , @Lukedavis and @Hammer Down I'm pretty sure have the arrma groms. They are some pretty cool cars.

Not into crawlers that much but if I hard to get one, I would look into the scx24's or trx4m's.

My Mini B Build showcase
Mini B Club Racer Build thread

From my experience with the losi mini's, they are pretty fun, but they do need some modding and upgrades to do to make them a little durable and reliable. One main issue is the ball cup popping issue which I haven't found a fix for yet.

From what I seen, the Arrma groms are plenty durable, if your not like @Lukedavis and put too much power into it and strip diffs all the time.

 

[WickedFog]

Welcome to RCTalk @Surly

If you're wanting to drive outside in the grass, the small scale stuff won't handle that very well. You really need a 1/10 or bigger SCT, truggy, or a Monster truck for that. That is unless you have some pretty short grass.

I have a few SCX24's and an FMS Smasher. Love these little guys. The Redcat Accent18 Doom mentioned looks to be a great crawler as well. All great for when you want to play indoors too.

As far as batteries, you'll be hardpressed to find three different vehicles that take the same batteries. And as you said, Traxxas likes to try to trick you into buying their batteries and charger. Best thing if you buy a Traxxas is to get out the wire cutters and snip that connector off there and solder on something else to use regular LiPo batteries. Smart batteries are actually quite dumb by the way

The best bang for the buck charger for everyday hobbyists is the Hota D6 Pro. It will charge anything you get up to 6s, and has plenty of power and tons of cool featutes. You just need to buy the right connectors for it to mate up to your individual batteries.

Before you pull the trigger, shoot me a private message and let me know which kits you decide to get and I'll hook you up with some Amazon listings for all the cables you need, as I know this part can get confusing for new RC enthusiasts.

 

[ZaneC]

Welcome to RCT!
Best car I can recommend is the Traxxas Summit 1/16th scale: https://traxxas.com/products/models/electric/summit-1-16
It can both bash and (kinda) crawl.

 

[luke66]

Welcome to RCT!

Welcome to RCT!

I have a losi mini b and used to race it last summer. Now I just bash with it since that track closed

@luke66 , @Lukedavis and @Hammer Down I'm pretty sure have the arrma groms. They are some pretty cool cars.

Not into crawlers that much but if I hard to get one, I would look into the scx24's or trx4m's.
View attachment 197023
My Mini B Build showcase
Mini B Club Racer Build thread

From my experience with the losi mini's, they are pretty fun, but they do need some modding and upgrades to do to make them a little durable and reliable. One main issue is the ball cup popping issue which I haven't found a fix for yet.

From what I seen, the Arrma groms are plenty durable, if your not like @Lukedavis and put too much power into it and strip diffs all the time.

Bad news, just stripped the rear diff on mine too.....

 

[WickedFog]

Welcome to RCT!

Bad news, just stripped the rear diff on mine too.....

Already? Ya gotta learn to let off the throttle on jumps

 

[luke66]

i did man. these diffs are craaaaap...

 

[Panko75]

Right now you can get Team Associateds 1:12 crawler for $80...if you don't mind a "PUBG" theme to them. They're big enough to tackle terrain outside, small enough for easy storage, and they use Deans plugs which is a fairly standardized battery plug in the industry.

Otherwise if you want a small scale basher, the Mojave Grom will be more durable than the Mini-Bs on top of being AWD. The Minis were mainly meant for indoor carpet tracks, the Groms are meant for bashing from the get go.

Lastly, heres two bits of advice that will do you well in the hobby:

1. Avoid off-brand RCs, parts take forever to arrive and they very rarely play nice with standard scales which greatly limits their aftermarket.

2. Learn soldering, it'll do you well in the long run.

 

[Doom!]

It's hard to pick just one.

 

[9x19]

It's hard to pick just one.
View attachment 197045View attachment 197046

I did...

 

[Lukedavis]

Already? Ya gotta learn to let off the throttle on jumps

Well, to be fair I’ve stripped 4 diffs and one brand new one the minute I put it in.

If you do get the ARRMA Mojave grom, be very cautious of those diffs that were mentioned quite a few times. ARRMA does make diff upgrades but they are like $50 and I am currently looking at some cheapo Chinese all metal ones on eBay. If you do go the route of the Mojave grom, we will be happy to point you in the right direction if upgrades are in order!

 

[majin]

hey bro welcome to the coolest forum on earth, we were in a similar boat as you a little while ago
you may hear the name redcat thrown around lol, avoid it, its good and fun but youll quickly end up regretting not getting something more capable.
weve bought the amazon bashers and had an absolute blast with them. untill they break. now you're stuck waiting 3-5 weeks for delivery on something that you could have picked up in 5 mins at a hobby store.
that extra chunk up front is worth it for the support in the back end.
yeah i saved some cash buying the hbx was 200 bucks, an arrma or traxxas would have been twice that.
buuuuuuuttttt after the hbx sitting for weeks waiting for parts i learned what thjat extra up front is worth.
i hot my son a redcat everest 10. it was slower than he could walk so he was often having to wait for it to catch up to him. it wouldnt go places the others would, and the aftermarket was there but not in the sense i was looking for.. dont knwo how many times i was shot down on wanting to upgrade it... well redcats dont like that as much as some others appear to.
take the axial base camp. it will take sooooo many other parts and woirk just fine, the element ecto same thing. lots of parts for it and people who have used and abused it so can give suggestions.
i havent gotten a traxxas yet but they seem to be wicked cool.
i would highly recomend an element ecto, not too expensive, but super capable right out of the box. its a great starting point. I'm not gonna be able to hang with a custom built truck on a line maybe but i have a hard time finding places it can't make it with some trying.

element ecto, and axial base camp, 2 fantastic starter trucks. in my experience anyways. I'm wanting to build a vanquish as they seem to be pretty top tier

 

[Doom!]

hey bro welcome to the coolest forum on earth, we were in a similar boat as you a little while ago
you may hear the name redcat thrown around lol, avoid it, its good and fun but youll quickly end up regretting not getting something more capable.
weve bought the amazon bashers and had an absolute blast with them. untill they break. now you're stuck waiting 3-5 weeks for delivery on something that you could have picked up in 5 mins at a hobby store.
that extra chunk up front is worth it for the support in the back end.
yeah i saved some cash buying the hbx was 200 bucks, an arrma or traxxas would have been twice that.
buuuuuuuttttt after the hbx sitting for weeks waiting for parts i learned what thjat extra up front is worth.
i hot my son a redcat everest 10. it was slower than he could walk so he was often having to wait for it to catch up to him. it wouldnt go places the others would, and the aftermarket was there but not in the sense i was looking for.. dont knwo how many times i was shot down on wanting to upgrade it... well redcats dont like that as much as some others appear to.
take the axial base camp. it will take sooooo many other parts and woirk just fine, the element ecto same thing. lots of parts for it and people who have used and abused it so can give suggestions.
i havent gotten a traxxas yet but they seem to be wicked cool.
i would highly recomend an element ecto, not too expensive, but super capable right out of the box. its a great starting point. I'm not gonna be able to hang with a custom built truck on a line maybe but i have a hard time finding places it can't make it with some trying.

element ecto, and axial base camp, 2 fantastic starter trucks. in my experience anyways. I'm wanting to build a vanquish as they seem to be pretty top tier

Hey now, not all Redcats are bad. Shame on you for generalizing, bad @majin bad!

 

[luke66]

i havent gotten a traxxas yet but they seem to be wicked cool.

You need one....

Hey now, not all Redcats are bad. Shame on you for generalizing, bad @majin bad!

The new 4S thing is coolish....

 

[TeknoJ]

Welcome @Surly!
For affordable jump into the game stuff I’d look into:
small crawlers:
The scx24 deadbolt, and you’ll sink a lot of $$$ into it too
The redcat ascent looks solid!
The hobbyplus evo pro or T Hunter V2
The go fasters:
The GROMs all look great
Believe it or not the LCRacing lc12b1 is really good and close to your price requirements.
Hmmm I don’t have anything in 1/10th that fits your budget so I won’t waste any time here but you should know:
Element makes great 1/10 crawlers, and the scx10 platform is also great. You’ve fiddled with the trx4
For amazing fun an SCT is always great.

Get a good battery charger that measures the “IR” or internal resistance of your batteries.
Practice those soldering skills!