Suggestions for tough and durable RC truck under $150?

[Norskie]

tl;dr : Looking for an R/C truck which can take a beating (or three).

Last Christmas I got 8 y/o son a Bezgar 6 and my myself a Hosim 902. Son and neighbor kids (~ 10 y/o) have a blast with them. Things break, I fix, no problem, they're having fun.

The slower Bezgar had a few issues like driveshafts too long causing binding etc but otherwise held up very well. The much faster Hosim stripped a differential but main issue is that the wheels aren't durable for hitting things at speed. All things are replaceable.

Fast forward seven months, the kids are getting better at not abusing them and the Hosim is still going strong. But after the new kid decided to pit the trucks head to head to see which is stronger the Bezgar's diff stripped (gee I wonder why ....) ... bezgar parts are getting harder to find so I'm going to find something new.

Since the Hosim has been holding up well I'm tempted to get another one, the 9125, a larger 1/10 truck with two 390's. Being slower it shouldn't be bashing into things as hard and breaking as much, and it looks like pretty stout, but I'm reading that too strips diff gears.

Any other suggestions?

 

[Greywolf74]

THIS is probably the cheapest 4WD truck I would ever recommend someone buy.

 

[WickedFog]

$150 isn't a lot, and a lot of people here are going to have a hard time suggesting something in that price range because most of us are into hobby grade only RC's. Add to that the requirements of durable and 1/10th scale and it gets more difficult.

If I were to just stay with the $150 budget, I would have to say get an SCX24, which is a slow, but very capable 1/24th scale rock crawler. I just got one a few weeks ago and just ordered a second one. You can setup a little course just about anywhere using just about anything for obstacles to climb over. Great little RC.

Another one would be the Granite Voltage at $119.99. I don't have any experience with this one, but the vids I watched on it showed it to be a decent rig for kiddos. Plus it is a name brand RC that should have parts available to hop it up (maybe?)

If I were to ignore the budget a bit I would say go with an Arrma Granite V3 Mega or a Senton V3 Mega. Both are $269.99. Both are brushed motors, and both have lots of upgrade potential.

 

[Greywolf74]

$150 isn't a lot, and a lot of people here are going to have a hard time suggesting something in that price range because most of us are into hobby grade only RC's. Add to that the requirements of durable and 1/10th scale and it gets more difficult.

If I were to just stay with the $150 budget, I would have to say get an SCX24, which is a slow, but very capable 1/24th scale rock crawler. I just got one a few weeks ago and just ordered a second one. You can setup a little course just about anywhere using just about anything for obstacles to climb over. Great little RC.

Another one would be the Granite Voltage at $119.99. I don't have any experience with this one, but the vids I watched on it showed it to be a decent rig for kiddos. Plus it is a name brand RC that should have parts available to hop it up (maybe?)

If I were to ignore the budget a bit I would say go with an Arrma Granite V3 Mega or a Senton V3 Mega. Both are $269.99. Both are brushed motors, and both have lots of upgrade potential.

The Arrma choices are good also. I didnt think about those

 

[WickedFog]

The Arrma choices are good also. I didnt think about those

Yeah, I was just checking those out the other day. I didn't even know about the Voltage til I stumbled onto it at Tower. That's really cheap for a 1/10 scale RTR. I just haven't looked to see what kind of things you could do to beef it up. But with that narrow chassis design, it might even make for a good entry level drag setup as long as the diff can handle a better motor. I dunno. Just looks like an interesting rig to play around with different setups on, and I like a challenge

 

[Chubaka]

THIS is probably the cheapest 4WD truck I would ever recommend someone buy.

I was thinking of recommending that or the Arrma equivalent.

 

[Norskie]

Thanks, great discussion!

Are the Arrma's and Traxxa's recommended for being tough or because parts are easy to find?

 

[Tunedfrog]

I agree that $150 isn't going to get you very far in a basher, however a small crawler is possible.
I have two Stampede 4x4 kits and they are fun, easy to work on, and a ton of parts available.

 

[Greywolf74]

Thanks, great discussion!

Are the Arrma's and Traxxa's recommended for being tough or because parts are easy to find?

tough is something you have to make an RC. You can spend $800 on a kit and there are gonna be certain parts on it that are prone to breaking. I mean the kits are tough up to a point but honestly I think manufacturers dont make them bullet proof right out of the box for a reason. They want to sell their after market parts so you can make the kits bullet proof. Or as bullet proof as you can make them anyway.

But yes...taking the above in to consideration the Traxxas and Arrma kits are relatively tough and both have great aftermarket support.

 

[Tunedfrog]

The Arrma Mega series are some what cheap but definitely room for improvement. I bought a Armma Typhon Mega but I pumped a bunch of money into it to it so it will handle a brushless system with Lipo batteries.

 

[WickedFog]

The Arrma Mega series are some what cheap but definitely room for improvement. I bought a Armma Typhon Mega but I pumped a bunch of money into it to it so it will handle a brushless system with Lipo batteries.

That was kinda my thinking. With a Mega, at least it could eventually be turned into a killer truck, and it sounds like the OP likes working on them anyway. I have bought a lot of lesser kits just because the afternarket parts were better than the kits that come with option parts.

 

[STONER RC]

Welcome. With a 150$ limit. That is going to limit your choices. As to sorry to say but toy grade RCs. With recommendations. Like above I would say either arrma traxxas or maybe redcat. With regards to the

Arrma Granite 4x4 V3 550 1/10
"Redcat Blackout XTE 1/10
Traxxas stampede 1/10
Traxxas latrax Teton 1/16 this little guy is a blast and takes a beating

All great entry level hobby grade RCs with aftermarket and parts support. They are close to your budget. I hope that this has helped you out bud

Thanks, great discussion!

Are the Arrma's and Traxxa's recommended for being tough or because parts are easy to find?

Both. With a hobby grade RC. That would be the first thing you would want to look at. Is aftermarket or company parts support. Or even upgrades so you know that you will be able to fix and not end up with a very expensive heavy paper weight.

 

[TurboChargedHonda]

If 4wd, and you don't mind having a smaller vehicle, the Traxxas 1/16 vehicles are pretty good:
https://www.amainhobbies.com/traxxa...truck-green-tra71054-1-grn/p-qqzlqztqtc2xactz

If you don't mind having a 1/10 scale 2wd, Arrma's Granite Voltage is within budget:
https://www.amazon.com/ARRMA-RC-Monster-Truck-ARA102727T2/dp/B081TP65X3

 

[STONER RC]

If 4wd, and you don't mind having a smaller vehicle, the Traxxas 1/16 vehicles are pretty good:
https://www.amainhobbies.com/traxxa...truck-green-tra71054-1-grn/p-qqzlqztqtc2xactz

If you don't mind having a 1/10 scale 2wd, Arrma's Granite Voltage is within budget:
https://www.amazon.com/ARRMA-RC-Monster-Truck-ARA102727T2/dp/B081TP65X3

I love the 1/16 merv. Great little fast truck. Very durable for the scale of it.

 

[Norskie]

It doesn't have to be 1/10 but as I have one 1/16 it would be nice to have some variety - and when running them in the snow I'd imagine a larger vehicle will get stuck less - and also why I'm only considering the 4x4 versions.

The Redcat Blackout looks promising. Time to do more research.

 

[STONER RC]

It doesn't have to be 1/10 but as I have one 1/16 it would be nice to have some variety - and when running them in the snow I'd imagine a larger vehicle will get stuck less - and also why I'm only considering the 4x4 versions.

The Redcat Blackout looks promising. Time to do more research.

Good luck sir. I love looking threw RCs. The bigger truck probably would have a easier time in the snow. That's for sure. but if I get snow in jersey this yrs I will know how the 1/16 merv handles in it

 

[WickedFog]

It doesn't have to be 1/10 but as I have one 1/16 it would be nice to have some variety - and when running them in the snow I'd imagine a larger vehicle will get stuck less - and also why I'm only considering the 4x4 versions.

The Redcat Blackout looks promising. Time to do more research.

A 1/16 will handle snow just fine if you put some big fat tires on it

 

[STONER RC]

A 1/16 will handle snow just fine if you put some big fat tires on it
View attachment 130629

He yeah man!! That's sweet truck. What truck is that? I got 2.2 on the merv. But got to live the big boys on that nice

 

[WickedFog]

He yeah man!! That's sweet truck. What truck is that? I got 2.2 on the merv. But got to live the big boys on that nice

That used to be a WPL C24. It is now a 3d printed WF C24 with a WPL body on it

Tires are off a 1/16 New Bright Monster Jam Grave Digger, and they are exactly to scale as far as diameter.

 

[Monster Slash]

If you like to tinker a bit you can order an unassembled kit for a bit less money. I personally like the traxxas stampede because they aren't too bad in price and they are pretty fast stock.