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What to buy?

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dirtnut67

RC Newbie
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I'm a new buyer. I don't know anything about these rc units. So about me. I love to work on my own stuff. Motorcycles, car, truck, tractors, snowmobiles, sxs. I would like to try the rc world. Spend some time with my kid.
My ?. What to buy? There is so much available. I would like to buy something that is reasonable in cost but able to upgrade as I learn more. Something that could be turned into a performance and yet durable unit. I think I would like to be in the trycks or buggies. Best bang for the $? I know this is a broad question and I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions. Give them to me.
 
dirtnut67 said:
I'm a new buyer. I don't know anything about these rc units. So about me. I love to work on my own stuff. Motorcycles, car, truck, tractors, snowmobiles, sxs. I would like to try the rc world. Spend some time with my kid.
My ?. What to buy? There is so much available. I would like to buy something that is reasonable in cost but able to upgrade as I learn more. Something that could be turned into a performance and yet durable unit. I think I would like to be in the trycks or buggies. Best bang for the $? I know this is a broad question and I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions. Give them to me.
Click to expand...
First off, what is your price range? More will get you a better RC than less.

You sound like you'd really enjoy a kit. There are some decent ready to run RC's out there, but not a one of them comes with electronics that are that great. And you pay way more for those electronics than they are worth.

As far as kits go, if you want something nice, it's going to cost you. Almost all of the reasonably priced, decent kits have gone the way of the Dodo. But you can start here
https://www.amainhobbies.com/electric-rc-cars/c7601?fk=26_183&lg=fk26

I filtered out the RTR, so those are all the kits.
 
It is a broad question but let's see.
How big of an area do you have to play? I prefer 1/10 and 1/8 scale Arrma's for bashing. If your limited on space maybe stick with 1/10 scale.

Next questions. Do you want to do stunts or speed or racing? Onroad or offroad?
 
Here is some things folks don't consider when getting into this hobby.

You're going to need batteries and a charger. There is not a charger I would recommend that is under $120. Stay far away from the 'Smart' battery technology. It will really cost you in the long run.

Batteries, you can get by with a couple for around $50 or so, depending on what size RC you get.

I'm sure you have plenty of tools from the sound of things, but a decent set of hex wrenches are imperative in this hobby. You can grab some for about $20, but make sure you do your research or you'll be replacing them before you finish your first build.

Getting into this hobby isn't cheap to do it right.
 
Welcome to the fold @dirtnut67. For a first RC, I would not get anything smaller than a 1/10 scale off-road platform. If going larger scale... generally the initial costs are going to be greater. Do you have an overall budget in mind? Do you want a kit, or RTR?
 
dirtnut67 said:
I'm a new buyer. I don't know anything about these rc units. So about me. I love to work on my own stuff. Motorcycles, car, truck, tractors, snowmobiles, sxs. I would like to try the rc world. Spend some time with my kid.
My ?. What to buy? There is so much available. I would like to buy something that is reasonable in cost but able to upgrade as I learn more. Something that could be turned into a performance and yet durable unit. I think I would like to be in the trycks or buggies. Best bang for the $? I know this is a broad question and I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions. Give them to me.
Click to expand...
If you've never owned an RC, go for a RTR, ready to run. Get it, run it, have fun! Building a kit is awesome & if you like wrenching, that's the thing to do but you'll spend alot of $$ & time before you can run it.
 
My son recommended the

ARRMA RC Truck KRATON 4X4 8S BLX 1/5 Speed Monster Truck Black, RTR. I think this is a bit pricey to start out with. So do I just bite the bullet or go with something more reasonable in price. Like a Traxxas​

 
Warby said:
It is a broad question but let's see.
How big of an area do you have to play? I prefer 1/10 and 1/8 scale Arrma's for bashing. If your limited on space maybe stick with 1/10 scale.

Next questions. Do you want to do stunts or speed or racing? Onroad or offroad?
Click to expand...
No stunts. Speed and racing
 
dirtnut67 said:
No stunts. Speed and racing
Click to expand...
The 6S Kraton is a beast if you're wanting to go RTR. and it's fairly durable. What is your budget?
 
dirtnut67 said:
My son recommended the

ARRMA RC Truck KRATON 4X4 8S BLX 1/5 Speed Monster Truck Black, RTR. I think this is a bit pricey to start out with. So do I just bite the bullet or go with something more reasonable in price. Like a Traxxas​

Click to expand...
I don't have one personally, but others have said the larger 8S isn't as durable. I'll let you do the homework on that. I'd take a hard look at the Kraton 6S: https://www.arrma-rc.com/en/product/1-8-kraton-6s-4x4-rtr-brushless-speed-truck/ARA8608V6.html
 
Last edited:
If you want to save a little cash, the Kraton 6S had an update not long ago from version 5 to version 6. The version 5 is only $549 right now, on Amain.
https://www.amainhobbies.com/arrma-...ss-monster-truck-blue-v5-ara8608v5t2/p1274552

We have the version 3, and it's been an extremely durable RC, but it has a bunch of M2C upgrades on it. That's probably the only RTR RC I can recommend. We have roughly 50 different RC's, and there are only a handful of the RTR ones I would buy again. The Kraton 6s is one I would definitely buy again.
 
The 6s Kraton is great vehicle, especially for bashing around. But you also mentioned the possibility of racing, new race rc's can be expensive. May I also suggest something used, like a Tekno et48 2.0. You can find one used with electronics for considerably less then building one new. Many people also use these trucks for bashing.
 

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