First post from a total newbie: 1/10 RTR Crawlers for my 8-year-old and me?

[NerdDoc]

Hi all,

So I'm almost 40 and have wanted an RC car since I was a teenager. My daughter has been loving her cheapo Target version for the last 2 years and wants a better rig... so I decided that we'd both get a crawler that we can run around on dirt trails and in the back yard.

Budget for hers is about $200 (max if possible) and $400-450 for mine.

I want them both to be weatherproof so we can run them through the snow and in some small creeks up in the woods. I was leaning toward the Yeti for me, but it sounds like I might break it pretty quickly?

I don't mind having to do some work on them down the road, but I want to make sure I get into a couple of decent rigs that we aren't going to kill on our first day I like building jigs and tools for woodworking and I build my own PCs, so that side of things doesn't intimidate me (maybe scares the hell out of me, because I know I'll eventually want to build my own rig!) ... but I want to start out with a quality RTR if I can.

Thanks for any suggestions! I'll be sure and update with a couple of videos of us tooling around after our shopping spree next week!

[mikro383]

The Redstone crawlers can be had for about $130, can be waterproofed, check the electronics thread for water proofing, and can use axial parts for upgrades

[mikro383]

Sorry its redcat

[sic1to]

With $650 you can buy 2 scx10 deadbolts & have a great platform with resale value & the biggest aftermarket support! That would be best route in the short & long run!!! pick up couple batteries & a charger then enjoy!!! Check out Harley's youtube channel & thread(budget deadbolt)

[NerdDoc]

Originally Posted by sic1to

With $650 you can buy 2 scx10 deadbolts & have a great platform with resale value & the biggest aftermarket support! That would be best route in the short & long run!!! pick up couple batteries & a charger then enjoy!!! Check out Harley's youtube channel & thread(budget deadbolt)

That sounds like a pretty good option. I like the green Scout-looking body but my daughter won't be to hot about it. What's the difference between this and the Yeti? I was reading that the Yeti uses a different rear axle... but if I'm going to be swapping out plastic for some aluminum or steel parts later down the road, I'm not sure what the advantages of a Yeti would be over this SCX10 deadbolt. I kind of like the idea of us having matching rigs, so when I go to work on something, the learning curve would be smaller...

[Wade]

^Ditto^

Axial is the way to go

[NerdDoc]

Originally Posted by sic1to

With $650 you can buy 2 scx10 deadbolts & have a great platform with resale value & the biggest aftermarket support! That would be best route in the short & long run!!! pick up couple batteries & a charger then enjoy!!! Check out Harley's youtube channel & thread(budget deadbolt)

I like the idea of 2 of the same rig for sure. With regards to the deadbolt versus the yeti, are they on 2 different platforms? The yeti seems to have a lower center of gravity, but I don't know the difference between the two.

I want to be able to haul around over rocks and stuff like I'm seeing in the Yeti videos - I don't want to do super slow crawling and maneuvering over rocks. Is this something we can do with the Deadbolt? Just wondering what the differences are between the two.

Here's the link to the of pretty much exactly what I want to do with my rig, same with my kid's. Can I do this with the Deadbolt? If so, it sounds like I'd be able to get into a good rig fairly cheap and plan on upgrading later? Thanks!

[NerdDoc]

I like the idea of 2 of the same rig for sure. With regards to the deadbolt versus the yeti, are they on 2 different platforms? The yeti seems to have a lower center of gravity, but I don't know the difference between the two.

I want to be able to haul around over rocks and stuff like I'm seeing in the Yeti videos - I don't want to do super slow crawling and maneuvering over rocks. Is this something we can do with the Deadbolt? Just wondering what the differences are between the two.

Here's the link to the of pretty much exactly what I want to do with my rig, same with my kid's. Can I do this with the Deadbolt? If so, it sounds like I'd be able to get into a good rig fairly cheap and plan on upgrading later? Thanks!

[TrailSnail]

The Yeti and the Deadbolt are two different platforms. The Deadbolt is an SCX10 (there are a few different SCX10 bodies available). A stock SCX10 is going to be slower than the Yeti that comes with a brushless motor setup. The Yeti is pretty new, so finding a $200 one is not likely. If you don't mind different brands, you can pick up a USED Traxxas Stampede 4x4 for around that price for your daughter (brushless or brushed motors). I wouldn't buy one of these new, they lose value pretty quickly. Good luck on the search and welcome to the forum!

[sic1to]

Originally Posted by NerdDoc

I like the idea of 2 of the same rig for sure. With regards to the deadbolt versus the yeti, are they on 2 different platforms? The yeti seems to have a lower center of gravity, but I don't know the difference between the two.

I want to be able to haul around over rocks and stuff like I'm seeing in the Yeti videos - I don't want to do super slow crawling and maneuvering over rocks. Is this something we can do with the Deadbolt? Just wondering what the differences are between the two.

Here's the link to the of pretty much exactly what I want to do with my rig, same with my kid's. Can I do this with the Deadbolt? If so, it sounds like I'd be able to get into a good rig fairly cheap and plan on upgrading later? Thanks!

The yetti is a rock racer with ifs front suspension & roll cage! The scx base is more scale with ladder frame rails & endless options(trucks, suv's, jeeps) of bodies. The wraith & yeti are limited with body choice with cage setup! Go fast rigs require more maintenance & usually break more due to wheelspeed vs stock plastic parts!!!!!!!
The SCX10 is the best choice with $650 budget & starting out with 8yr old.

[StomperCrawler]

Originally Posted by sic1to

With $650 you can buy 2 scx10 deadbolts & have a great platform with resale value & the biggest aftermarket support! That would be best route in the short & long run!!! pick up couple batteries & a charger then enjoy!!! Check out Harley's youtube channel & thread(budget deadbolt)

These were my thoughts as well. The scx10 moves pretty fast on 3s lipo batteries; makes me run to keep up with it when trail driving. LOL I'm 40 as well and after more than 25 years in hobby-grade rc I can tell you that the scx10 is fantastic fun; my favorite in fact. Anything faster tends to hit curbs and break things, especially for n00bs. My advice is to check the link in my sig below for more information getting set up with a couple of scx10's using a coupon from Tower Hobbies to save you some dough-ray-me.

[Wade]

Also if you want to have less down time, then factor in the cost of a new charger and batteries on top of the cost of the vehicles. The included charger takes a long time to charge, where as a decent charger will charge a battery in around and hour.

Cheers
Wade

[NerdDoc]

Okay, well it sure sounds like the SCX10 platform might work for me. I don't care about catching big air or anything, but I like the ability to be able to haul across some bumpy terrain. Independent front suspension sounds kind of nice to have, though. Is this something I could add to this platform, or will I wish I'd gotten a wraith or yeti platform? I don't really care much about looking true to scale or anything, I'm just all about tearing around rough terrain. I agree, I don't want to go much faster than these rock racers go.

I don't feel like I know enough yet to buy used. Back when I was new to DIY and woodworking, anytime I bought used I ended up inheriting a tool that had a problem I didn't catch until a couple uses down the road.

So back to the Yeti video I shared - will something on the SCX10 frame be able to do the same kind of thing? That's really how little I know about these things

[Wade]

The scx is more of a scale/crawler, sure you can go fast with it but is more for trails and going sloooow over rocks. The wraith or yeti is more of what is called a rock racer. Where it is meant more for going faster, but can still crawl a little.

Scx= crawler 1st. Speed 2nd

Wraith/Yeti= speed 1st. Crawler 2nd

Cheers
Wade

[cabron]

watch a bunch of videos on utube to get ideas as to what they can do,
there are many available and for most platforms

also look at the different build threads to see what other people do to theirs,

seems that most people start altering and modifying their rigs right away, some have
inherent weak points that have been found and catalogued

independent suspensions, whether just the front or both front and rear are for the go fast types
but they will need constant tuning and repair since they will be the weakest parts
i had an emaxx and every time i took it out it cost me at least 100.00 in suspension parts
but i could do the block in way under 10 seconds.

enjoy

[NerdDoc]

I really appreciate the help everybody - lots of good suggestions. I definitely don't want something I have to put money into every time I take it out and the explanation of the independent suspension was helpful. I watched a bunch of videos last night and I agree, the SCX10 looks like the rig I want for my daughter and I - and I definitely want the waterproof so I can take them through mud, snow, and creeks!

I wish the deadlocks had more than one body color, so that we could keep them straight. Is there any chance that Tower would swap out one of the bodies in the RTR with a different one? An orange Deadlock or even a dingo would be fine... but I don't really want to pay another $40+ for a different body yet. I suppose I can just have my daughter put a bunch of stickers all over hers too

Now for batteries:
Should I get the $10 2200 mAh 3S that are on the awesome guide that Stomper put together, and just get more of them instead of spending $40 on a 4000-5000 mAh battery? The Deadbolt only uses 1 battery at a time, right? I'd like to get a charger that will charge more than one battery at a time since we'll both be using them.

Thanks for the help!

[sic1to]

No to the body swap from tower.
Yes 1 battery required for each rig.
Yes 2200mah 3s is exact battery I run.
The charger is key to keeping packs good for a period of time! The best route is classifieds on here. I seen a "new" quad charger for $100 Hitec that has great options to charge, fast charge, balance, storage, etc. The dual onyx charger is ok also.....most dual ac/dc chargers run $80-$150 new! Thats why classifieds are best!

[NerdDoc]

That's good to know, I'll look around for a used charger. How long is your run time on the 2200?

I know with my brushless DeWalt impact driver, the battery lasts more than 2x as long as my non-brushless driver. If I upgrade to a brushless motor down the road, will I notice better battery life, or does it just give me more power/speed?

[sic1to]

Power & speed mostly! The 2200mah runtime is 30-45min depending on terrain & user. Brushless is great but drivetrain will not hold up unless upgraded! I would go with 13t torquemaster from Holmes Hobbies $34.99 & a HH BRXL wp esc $119 & if you still want more then swap that setup to other rig & go BRUSHLESS.

[StomperCrawler]

Grab some designer duct tape off eBay or for a craft store to trick out one or both crawlers so you can tell them apart.