Taking the Dive, Sort of.

[NoDecoDiver]

Well, I've been in RC for a long time, and I was out at the lake yesterday running my big trucks around the little beach area, and I ran into a bunch of guys with 2.2 crawlers. I knew they existed, and of course I've seen them in HobbyTown all the time, but I never realized how freakin' cool they are.

I drove some of their around for a while and I am hooked. But of course, there is a problem, otherwise I wouldn't be here asking for advice.

I would like to setup a 2.2 crawler - I'm a long way from competition, but it wouldn't hurt to head that way I guess.

I would like to spend about 250-290 on the kit, and I'm willing to buy all the electronics, so I don't need an RTR.

I'm looking at an AX10, WK, Creeper and Losi Comp. The prices seem to all be about the same, and I know absolutely nothing about DIG, worm gears, etc, etc, etc.

All I know is that in the next month or two I'd like to have a working rock crawler that could possibly be setup for competitions at some time in the future. I"m not out to start a flame war between manufacturers, because I'm not out to find the best crawler possible.

I'm out to find one in my price range that gives me the most flexibility for the limited money I have to spend.

In the opinions of you guys here, is there a reason to wait for a creeper or Losi Comp instead of just getting one of the AX10's now?

I want to do basic crawling like the rocks at the Lake's Dam here, or on the couch, around the backyard, etc.

Again - I'm not buying this to go straight to competition crawling, nor do I think I would be a good enough driver out of the box to even attempt it.

Thank you so much for any help in advance, and hopefully I'll be bringing you all some good pics of my setup in the next few weeks!

[mockknight]

Ax10 ARTR nuff said...

And I'm pretty sure most people on the board will agree. There is not a better crawler to start out the hobby with

[bob1961]

i was in the same boat back in the summer when i was ready to get one....i did tons of reading here and came to what i did and that was not starting with a kit, then replacing things from plastic to alum....i went the route of buying axle housings, bearings, alum C's and knuckles and so on....till i had what i needed to add to the tube frame i'll be starting soon....i looked at it as why spend 200+ bucks on a kit that 75% would be changed out to hoped up alum parts anyway as the plastic broke or wore out....ya can look at my build thread here to get an idea what i did, it's not much of a build yet but you might get another idea how to go....i started from scratch again since i was into racing back in 1985 and no longer had anything related to R/C....all new from the radio to nuts and bolts bought in bulk for my build, hope i helped a bit...plus as my profile says.......bob

finally started build............

....

[Hildy]

If you go Axial, be prepared to spend lots in 'extras'.

While a well setup Axial is great...I know it cost me close to 1000 dollars on each of my previous comp-ready Axials.

On the other hand...I recently built a Berg for alot cheaper than the Axial. Also, it is alot less setup required and no hassles with anything. Especially the dig. It easily outperforms my previous rigs and does so with alot less maintenance. The built roller cost me around 500...plus elecs.

[NoDecoDiver]

What kind of extras did you have to buy?

Will I not be able to do difficult courses with the ARTR out of the box, so to speak?

[Tupers]

I really love my Axial/Black Jack but if I was to start again I would go for the Losi.
Although we've yet to see how it really performs I have suspicions it'll be the way to go. It seems like a very well designed rig and being losi I'm sure it will be of a very high quality.

[mm3lee]

I think I would just wait for the Losi. That thing looks like it is going to be pretty dialed out of the box.

[Calderwood]

Why isn't Newage Berg on your list?

[Metal Masher]

Originally Posted by Hildy

If you go Axial, be prepared to spend lots in 'extras'.

While a well setup Axial is great...I know it cost me close to 1000 dollars on each of my previous comp-ready Axials.

On the other hand...I recently built a Berg for alot cheaper than the Axial. Also, it is alot less setup required and no hassles with anything. Especially the dig. It easily outperforms my previous rigs and does so with alot less maintenance. The built roller cost me around 500...plus elecs.

The only "extras" I put on my AX10 comp tuber was rear lockouts and I did just fine at any comp I was at. I never broke a C or shaft and right now the only thing I plan on getting is a set of chromoly lockers. you don't need to spend a tone of $$ on an AX10 especially of you primarily plan on using it for recreational use.

Additionally if you ever decide to go the scale route then Berg axles are defiantly out.

[jedsled]

sure, if you wanted to go "all-out competition", it would make sense to buy bully or berg axles, and follow a build-up thread to put it all togather (if your a newbie, the build-up threads tell you almost everything you need to know) for cheaper than it'd cost you to mod an axial. however, if you think you might eventually venture into the scale side of things, or if you're not specifically doing comps with your rig, axial is the way to go! if thats the case, get the artr kit. imo, with a good driver, the modded axial will still run great at comps, even though moa rigs are getting the most attention nowadays.

the losi looks like a well-designed rig, and will most likely be prefered by most comp guys over the axial (if it doesnt have problems when it comes out), but it doesnt give you the flexibility of later running it as a more "realistic-looking" scaler rig. the axial is the more flexible platform to buy.

[FrankyRizzo]

I would recommend waiting for the Losi rig. They did their homework and it looks like a winner right out of the box.

Another thing... this facet of RC is a virus. It will become part of your DNA. Once you get in you will be hooked.

As far as competing goes... Just do it. You will learn faster when you compete. There is no cut and dry point A to point B in competing. You will find your own groove and this community is more than willing to help in any way.

[sdmf7]

Like FrankyRizzo said, you have to try a comp. You'll be hooked. Another option is the for sale section. I've seen some comp ready crawlers on there for cheap, when you look at what they got into them.