Ridgecrest: Good Trail Truck for the Wife???
 

Hi guys.

I've got my Honcho, and I love it.

I'm wanting to get a truck for my wife to drive out on the mountain bike trails with me, though.

I had thought about just getting her a Tamiya CC-01 and building the Unimog kit, but after upgrading to a more scale type motor (55t Axial), a nicer ESC, and all the recommended bearings, I was at the point where I was going to be spending more than the Ridgecrest costs to begin with...and the Ridgecrest gets me a radio for her to call her own, too.

So anyways...for just some leisurely driving out on some mountain bike trails with no major obstacles, just some tree roots and some nice climbing grades, would the Ridgecrest be a viable option for her with no real upgrades??

I thought about going with a Dingo kit, but the 'crest prices out for less with everything that I'd need for her, and if she doesn't like it, I can work on making it into a more dedicated crawler for myself.

Thoughts?? Ideas?? Suggestions for other vehicles??

I also had the Venom Creeper Safari on my short list, but it's ESC doesn't have a drag brake on it...and that's a real drag. :lmao: I know, I suck...:mrgreen:

Thanks!
Jeff

Does your wife enjoy driving your Honcho? If she does I personally would just get a dingo kit, make sure she likes the body and then paint it up how she wants it painted. You would have two rigs capable of about the same thing with nearly identical parts so you wouldn't need to worry to much about spares.

If your wife doesn't enjoy driving the Honcho and you are looking for an excuse to buy a ridgecrest, then yes I'd get my wife a ridgecrest. My ridgecrest shows up on Tuesday :). I plan for it to be more of a fun bashed type vehicle with lights and a brushless system. Maybe my wife will like it.

I've made my wife try almost every RC vehicle I've owned, stampede, slash, boost(she wouldn't even try it), honcho, micro-t, and the only one she seemed to get any enjoyment out of was the micros, which I didn't really enjoy lol. I sold the micros, but thinking back on it I enjoyed driving with her more than I disliked the micros... Anybody got some losi micros for sale?

Re: Ridgecrest: Good Trail Truck for the Wife???
 

its a good truck for anyone......easy to work on.....nice rc .. few mods in any direction and you have a basher or crawler......just a great rc out of the box

Re: Ridgecrest: Good Trail Truck for the Wife???
 

Well, that's what I'm not sure of. She doesn't drive the Honcho, but she also hasn't seen it get driven at all.

So, I'm kind of thinking that it will end up being one of those things that I give her, she looks at me with that "you bought that for you" look, and then I start playing with it myself.

I've thought a LOOONG time about getting her a Dingo, for the reasons that you listed...similar in ability and the fact that all the parts would be basically interchangeable, so if something broke on one of them there's a good chance I could make SOMETHING work from the spare parts that come with each.

But it seems like it ends up being more expensive all around. $250 for the kit, I really like the AE-2 ESC (and I have a Castle Link for easy programming) for $75-ish, and then a motor for $15-ish. I think I have a servo that would be sufficient laying around, so that's not an issue. I also have an extra FlySky receiver that I could bind up to the Honcho RTR transmitter for her to use. I guess that comes in at right around $340, without paint and such. Tower's coupon drops $50 off that purchase because I'm a member of the Super Special Save You Lots of Money Club or whatever it's called. :) That gets me the Dingo with motor and ESC for $290. I'd say around $310 after I get a decent cheap servo from HobbyParts.

The 'crest, on the other hand, after the coupon comes in at $260...and I wouldn't have to worry about potentially buying another servo if I don't have one that works, and I end up with another RTR type radio, I get to keep my extra receiver for whatever I want to use it in, and I end up with a platform that is different from what I have.

I don't know...I'm so up in the air on this.

And of course, right when I'm looking to get her something, I am having ZERO luck finding a lightly used roller or RTR for a decent price.

Right now my list is still at this:
Dingo Kit with electronics similar to RTR Honcho
Ridgecrest
Tamiya CC-01 kit of some type with similar electronics to RTR Honcho
Venom Creeper Safari (which I don't really want, because it comes RTR with an ESC that does NOT have drag brake, so that would have to be swapped out)

I'm still lurking in the for sale section, though.

I opened mine out of the box and ran it as fast as I could solder deans plugs on!! Only thing u should do is check/tighten almost all the screws on the side of the chassis and tranny screws I had a few loose out of the box and a quick snug on them and I ran it in our mud, rocks, water and hill climbs with no problems to date!!!!! It's a great truck with good speed and power ready to go!!! Jeeze youd thing axial was paying me to say that lmao but seriously its solid

Re: Ridgecrest: Good Trail Truck for the Wife???
 

MY SHORT ANSWER: Just go buy a damn Ridgecrest, you'll have no regrets!


MY LONG ANSWER:

They are great and sooo easy to work on!
They only mod I'd recommend is getting Axial Universals.
Sooner or later a dogbone will pop out of the cup and take out a knuckle or a Chub.

Beyond that , if you add 3 oz per wheel, and flip the shock mounts at the axle, you will have a truck that crawls well, and handles well at higher speeds.

Comparing my Ridgecrest to my Wraith(as a reference point):
12.1-inch wheelbase vs. 13.5-inch.
5.5 lbs vs. 6.5 lbs.

The Wraiths longer wheelbase and added weight makes it easier to drive, more predictable.

The Ridgecrest is more sensitive/responsive, a tad harder to control at higher speeds, but in a REALLY FUN way, and it still crawls so well!

I snuck mine out the other night while my son was asleep, strapped on a headlamp, and went bananas. Its a really fun truck.

Re: Ridgecrest: Good Trail Truck for the Wife???
 

If you really care if she will like it you should let her drive your honcho first and show her the dingo and see what she thinks of the body before you buy anything.

If you are buying new electronics the castle sidewinder is a superior ESC for less money($68 at Tower).

Me personally I enjoy assembling a kit, so I would lean toward the Dingo for the fun of assembly and the personalization that can be achieved by painting it yourself.

So from your list
1. Dingo - that would be my choice... the upgraded steering and lower links make it worth a little premium over the ridgecrest and the fun of assembly.
2. Ridgecrest - Buying it for yourself... I mean for your wife.
3. Tamiya CC01 - I've always wanted to put one of these together, but I know they are not nearly as capable as either Axial. That one for $109 with the butt ugly body someone recommended in your other thread is tempting though.
4. Venom Safari - Transmission on these are incredibly huge. I personally don't like the body and I would imagine you will replace all the electronics.

Obviously these are all my opinons and you know what they say about opinions... on a similar note I'm gonna send you a PM to throw another monkey in your wrench.