What's a good rig for a 10 yr old

[MrClean]

My son got a cheap RC from my dad the other day and seems to really like it. Nothing fancy and it doesn't run in grass, pretty much have to keep it on a flat surface and it's not something that can be worked on.

His birthday is in a couple months (he'll be 10) and I'd like to get him something we can work on together. I'm looking for something around $150 - $200 that would be rtr. I don't want anything that goes too fast, he isn't interested in that yet, I think he likes the control aspect of it better. It also needs to be able to stand up to him running it into things. (I know nothing is break proof) He's still learning how to drive one using the pistol grip controller so I think he'll be running into things quit a bit. It'll be run on gravel and grass so I'm assuming something of the off-road variety.

Any advice would be most helpful. I did search this forum and most suggestions were for older individuals. THANKS!!

 

[marauder]

If you like Traxxas, the Stampede or Rustler fit the budget. Excellent first truck, and would be easy to repair and cheap to maintain. If you can buy used you would probably get a few durability goodies as well. Is he looking for an MT, ST, Car, ??? Obviously I am going to throw out the RC18T/MT as options as well.

He can grow with any of these rides as well, there is a great aftermarket following with all these options.

 

[beason]

I'm personaly looking for a stampede for my girls kid. he is 12. you could get a new pede or rusty or even a slash for that price range.

 

[honda237]

I would recommend the traxxas stampede or rustler, they are a great beginner truck and are pretty durable. I started out with them and they got me hooked. You should get the stampede if he likes to run it in grass of jumping it alot.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I'd say the slash, cuz with that body, it pretty much covers most of the protruding parts of other R/C's such as A arms, and axles, so itlll give it a little more protection.

 

[MrClean]

So the Rustler is a stadium truck and the Stampede is a mt, other than that they are about the same?

The Slash is a cool rig, but it's pushing the end of my price range.

 

[beason]

the pede and rusty have the same basic layout, just the pede is built for more ground clearance. they are both 2wd trucks

i like that slash as well!

 

[NCNitro]

A stampede or a wheely king, but the wk would be pushing the end of your buget.

I started my son off with a stampede when he was three, it's a great little truck, I even enjoy running it. He is now 8 and has a T-Maxx, so the stampede will be handed down to my youngest son who is 3, and he is excited to get it.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I think the Stampede would be a great choice as well. I bought one just because they're such fun lil bashers. I think the Slash would be a lot of fun though. They're both going to run in close to the same price range new, BUT, there are a lot of Stampede's used. When I bought my Stampede, I looked at about 5 of them that were all in really good shape, and they were all around $100. There are TONS of them on ebay.

 

[flm_savage]

You are probably going to have to buy a charger and battery no matter what you go with and thats really pushing the budget. I am a huge fan of the HPI Firestorm and thats my personal recomendation. Mine has held up to some pretty serious bashing. Its really not that fast stock but its pretty fun and will run through the grass no problem. Its VERY easy to work on.
I would get the firestorm from tower hobbies and if you order by monday, you can save 25 off your $199 order. The code is on the first page. You should be able to get a firestorm and charger for right at $200. For now you can get a cheapo overnight charger for around $10. I am sure someone here has a 1500mah or so 7.2V battery you can have for pretty cheap and if not you can order one from tower or get one from radio shack. (i will make you a killer deal on a 7 cell maxamps one if you want it) If you get a charger for a 7 cell battery, the 7 cell will give you a little boost over a 6 cell pack.

 

[MrClean]

Thanks for the offer, flm_savage, I really appreciate it. I lucked out when I bought my friends lst, he threw in a decent charger and a few 7.2v batteries for the spin start wand. The charger does both 6 and 7 cell packs. I will check out the firestorm, I haven't looked at that one yet.

 

[flm_savage]

awesome then! It comes with all metal tranny gears and steel dogbones so the drivetrain is pretty stout. the two great things about it is that its very durable and very very easy to work on and figure out. Hope you enjoy whatever you decide.

 

[honda237]

I would recommend the firestorm if you plan on going brushless in the future because the metal trans is really nice.

 

[MrClean]

I like the sound of the metal tranny and durable drive train. One question, does the Firestorm have the same feature where you can cut the power output in half for a beginner? That's the one feature that really caught my eye with the Traxxas models.

 

[SMaxxin]

IMO the Stampede or the Wheely King would be the top choices, both or tough MT's. The wheely king is 4wd but it's a good bit slower.

 

[flm_savage]

I like the sound of the metal tranny and durable drive train. One question, does the Firestorm have the same feature where you can cut the power output in half for a beginner? That's the one feature that really caught my eye with the Traxxas models.

thats just a little selector on the controller right? the firestorm radio doesn't have that but believe me, its very tame in stock form. He will be asking you for a brushless system in about 2 weeks.

 

[GH Racing]

i'd recommend the wheely king or stampede

 

[MrClean]

thats just a little selector on the controller right? the firestorm radio doesn't have that but believe me, its very tame in stock form. He will be asking you for a brushless system in about 2 weeks.

I honestly don't know where the setting is for it. I just read about it somewhere and they were talking about the ESC module and how it could be programmed to 50% power output and 100% brakes.

I talked to the wife about it, we may have to wait until Christmas to get him a rig. :thumbdown
I started to get pretty vocal about wanting to get him one this summer, she had the nerve to ask if it was for him, or for me on his birthday. LOL

 

[Brushlessboy]

The traxxas electric stuff is good, and the training mode is on the speedie. You just hold down the power button on it untill the red light flashes 3 times, then release. It does exactly what you said 50% F/R, 100% brake. The Stampede may be a little unstable for him, however if you keep it brushed then it doesn't really have the speed to tip it all the time. The Traxxas speedie also has an easy set low voltage cutoff too, it really is good gear.

 

[fasterdenu]

got my three year old the stampede with a couple of 4500 mah 9.6 tenergy packs and he is great with it, yeah... it ends up on its lid now and then but these little traxxas electrics stand up pretty well.... the training mode only lasted about 2 packs until he started asking why is was going so slow when he was running it, and so much faster when dad had the controls, hehe....

can't go wrong with the stampede for ground clearance and durability in my book, i dont have any experience with the wheely king so i am unsure how it compares....

i just know that i spend time wrenching on my revo while the stampede just sits there waiting for the packs to charge up so it can go out for another beating, hehe