Where do I start!?!?!

[Tinbum]

First post alert!

I'm in my 40's and have been into RC for 30+ years. I've had tamiya kits in the past, but in more recent years I've been into airborne RC.
I live in a rural area near the beach so have a great variety of rocky, sandy and woodland areas to run a car or truck and I've been looking at crawlers.

So far I've fallen in love with the RC4WD Gelande 2, but I wish it came with a multi speed transmission (can one be retrofitted?) the Cross 6x6 and 8x8 trucks look awesome, if a little big, and the Axial offerings are a whole subject in themselves!

I want a builders kit as I enjoy making things, I want scale looks and performance, but having seen the Wraith and Yeti, I might want speed too! I know the Yeti is new, but will it crawl? The wraith doesn't seem very fast, is it a bit pointless?

Discuss.....

[Hammer!]

it honestly depends on what you want it for; crawling, speed, jumps, racing or what not. I'm not going to tell you what to get but i can hopefully answer a few of your questions. you can buy an aftermarket 2 speed transmission for the gelande 2. i don't know too much about the yeti, but i assume it doesn't crawl that well (or as well as the others), as it is designed as more of a racing buggy i think. as for the wraith, they have pretty decent speed, in fact i found my brothers relatively speedy (especially compared to to others) and with all the cars you can always swap out the motor for something with more torque or more speed. also, the wraith is a rock racer, so in general the idea is that it crawls but has speed. hope i helped!

~Hammer

[GraniteBandit]

Originally Posted by Tinbum

- in my 40's
- into RC for 30+ years
- live in a rural area near the beach
- been looking at crawlers.

- multi speed transmission

- want a builders kit as I enjoy making things
- want scale looks and performance

Discuss.....

I see a Trail Finder 2 in your future.

[Tinbum]

Thanks Hammer. You're right, I need to sort myself out. I think I want to start scale trail with mild crawling. If I find I want speed I think I'd be better off getting another car built for it.

GraniteBandit. You are sooooo right! Except SWMBO prefers the Defender. If I can get her on board with the rc one a real one may follow......... On the subject of Hi lux's, how much better is the TF2 than the tamiya high lift?

[axial 4x4 crawler]

Besides the TF2, a scx-10 honcho is also a awesome mild crawler and scaler. In my opinion it has much better performance than any other rig..including the rc4wd rigs. I'd suggest a new rtr as a starting point or..get a good used scx10 but then again it's all up to what you want.

[sickcivic95]

Since the aforementioned ^^^ does not have anything that you listed as a want, stick with the TF2. You get the 2 speed trans with the kit, you get way better looks and more realism than with anything else out there. You could also look at the tamiya bruiser, or a highlift as they both hit the bill for scale, have a 3 speed trans, but are not as capable as a tf2.

The tf2 is a blast to drive and with a few minor tweaks and mods is a very capable rig, I own two one I run with leafs and the other I 3/4 linked and both are a great time. I'm sure if you check out the tf2 threads you'll see what it's all about

P.s. Also the gelande can be fitted with the two speed just get the shorter coupler for it as well to go to the transfer case and you should be good also remember to shim the axles correctly on either tf2 or gelande and they will last forever,.......

--Dan

[Wade]

Welcome to the forums,

As others have stated if you want scale/crawling I would stick with an SCX10, the TF2 does look like it is decent though. If you decide on wanting something with more speed down the road you could get the new Yeti or a Wraith......I have a couple axial products for trail and crawling, but when I want speed or bashing I have traxxas vehicles for that. I am currently making a slash into a baja bug for bashing. I know you can build wraiths for bashing and such, but IMO there are other vehicles designed for that, unless you just want to build a basher wraith or yeti just cause you can.

Cheers,
Wade

[TacoCrawler]

JM $.02

I'd go with the SCX-10 chassis for a crawler...
Lots of support/aft mkt parts out there...
and yer not limited to RC4WD like with the TF2
But if leaf sprung scale realism is your thing...
The TF2 is a good choice IMO

btw... you can mount any body incl. the Mojave or Hilux styrene body
to the SCX-10 chassis.
Want a 2 speed ? yep you can install one into the SCX-10 as well.
IMO the SCX-10's popularity/support is where it's at.

But if you want to go fast...
get another rig... as the crawlers are just not designed to do that well.
I'd recommend a chassis that is IFS/IRS for the go fast scene.

[Johnnysplits]

Originally Posted by Wade

I am currently making a slash into a baja bug for bashing

Sweet!! So did I