New to Scaling/Crawling - NH

[skinnyj]

Hey guys.

Since I got my house and have room for hobbies, I'm thinking of getting back into RC. The last vehicle I bought (and still own) was a RC-10T, to put a date on myself... I'm leaning towards a scale crawler, as I think it would be fun to take it out trailing in the woods, as opposed to looking for a wide open space to run a SC truck. Also, my local shop has a scale course and runs loose competitions.

Having said all that, I'm still on the fence about what to get. I love the Ascender, but the aftermarket support seems questionable. The SCX10 needs a couple of upgrades right out of the box (suspension & steering) but aftermarket support is robust and I can get parts at my LHS.

I think I'm leaning towards a SCX10, but if anyone can tell me different on the Ascender, I'm listening...

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

Hey guys.

Since I got my house and have room for hobbies, I'm thinking of getting back into RC. The last vehicle I bought (and still own) was a RC-10T, to put a date on myself... I'm leaning towards a scale crawler, as I think it would be fun to take it out trailing in the woods, as opposed to looking for a wide open space to run a SC truck. Also, my local shop has a scale course and runs loose competitions.

Having said all that, I'm still on the fence about what to get. I love the Ascender, but the aftermarket support seems questionable. The SCX10 needs a couple of upgrades right out of the box (suspension & steering) but aftermarket support is robust and I can get parts at my LHS.

I think I'm leaning towards a SCX10, but if anyone can tell me different on the Ascender, I'm listening...

Vaterra Ascender RTR! There are less vendors selling upgrades because it does not require any, I have not broken anything on either of mine and I've been trying. There are more aftermarket vendors onboard with it now though:

SSD, GCM, STRC, Hot Racing, Knight Customs, DinkyRC (interior and scale parts), RC4WD and I'm forgetting at least one or two others.

Upgrade, slight mod here and there as things break or wear out, so far not much has broken, one bumper and that's it. I easily fixed it with a leftover plastic shock end trimmed and drilled to fit. I've done several mods to crawl better, rear swaybar, lowered body, lowered ride height, stamped steel wagon wheel beadlocks with Crawler Innovations foams, slight body trim and just been driving the heck out of it. I'm working on more scale details now. The transmission can be converted to 2-speed later if you want lower crawl gear and high gear for a little more speed.

Read through some of the Ascender build threads and ask questions as needed.

[skinnyj]

I do love the Bronco version of the Ascender. They now come with the HD pinions and drives shafts, correct?

[Natedog]

Yes, both mine came with HD pinions and driveshafts!

[skinnyj]

How about a budget friendly battery and charger to round it out?

Also, is there anything I should get for "just in case?"

[Natedog]

SMC shorty 2S lipo is what I'm mostly running in mine, I have the SMCs and a Team Orion 2S "Carbon Pro" 100C LiPo Shorty (7.4V/4500mAh)
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...ory&path=67_91

Team Orion 2S "Carbon Pro" 100C LiPo Shorty Pack Battery w/4mm Tubes (7.4V/4500mAh)
Team Orion 2S "Carbon Pro" 100C LiPo Shorty Pack Battery w/4mm Tubes (7.4V/4500mAh) [ORI14066] | Batteries - AMain Performance Hobbies - AMain Performance Hobbies

Turnigy makes good lipos too, but sometimes thier measurements are off a little bit, I've had good luck with their soft packs but haven't tried thier hard case shorties due to mixed reviews.
Batteries & Accessories>Turnigy Lipoly

With RTR electronics I get 3 - 4 hours of crawl time using the SMC or Orion 2S shorty packs.

AC/DC good budget chargers:

Sky Charger B6AC 6-in-1 DUAL POWER Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Cell Lipo/Lilo/LiFePo4 + 1-15 Cell Nimh/NiCD w/ USB PC Charging/Monitor Software
Sky Charger B6AC 6-in-1 DUAL POWER Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Cell Lipo/Lilo/LiFePo4 + 1-15 Cell Nimh/NiCD w/ USB PC Charging/Monitor Software

Thunder AC680 Professional Dual-Power LiPo Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo/ 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software
Thunder AC680 Professional Dual-Power LiPo Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo/ 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software


EDIT: For just in case with all my crawlers I buy and carry driveshafts, spur gears, body washers (Traxxas white ones work great), body clips, wheel nuts, grubscrews for driveshafts (3x3mm), blue Loctite. Spare transmitter batteries (or lipo pack), Losi mult-wrench and pair of needle nose pliers.

Losi 8-in-1 Hex Wrench Kit, LOSA99120
http://www.losi.com/Products/Feature...odID=LOSA99120

[skinnyj]

3-4 hours of runtime?

That beats the heck out of the 5-6 minutes I was getting back in the day...

Thanks for all the info!

[Natedog]

With RTR electronics (35T stock motor works great) I get 3 hours easily....4 without my lights on. Yes, I remember the nicad days too. You're welcome!

[skinnyj]

So, you really don't need more than one battery per vehicle? Maybe two, tops?

[new2rocks]

Another vote for the Ascender over the SCX-10 from someone who has both. The Ascender is just that much better out of the box and now has plenty of aftermarket support. Re batteries, two tops is all you need. I get 3-4 hours easily out of my 5000 mah 3s packs and 2-3 hours out of my 5000 mah 2S packs. I've never gone through 2 whole packs in an outing.

[waw]

in you wanted to run a stock SCX10, this thread might help you in knowing how to maximize its potential

here you go

[CODYBOY]

You will be sorry if you don't get a Ascender!!!

[Itali83]

Vaterra for the win! I've got one of each and the vaterra is FAR superior. Out of the box it's better, with a few cheap mods for handling it's better than substantially modified scx-10's. Can't go wrong. I'll second the 3-4 hour run times with my 4500mah 2s batteries. Check out natedog's build and mine too if you have time. I've followed natedog's build and done mine similar and am very happy with it. The local scx guys are now buying vaterra's because I'm a complete noob, with a RTR blazer going mostly where they are with experience and modified rigs.
Ben

[Ditchrat]

Originally Posted by skinnyj

Having said all that, I'm still on the fence about what to get. I love the Ascender, but the aftermarket support seems questionable. The SCX10 needs a couple of upgrades right out of the box (suspension & steering) but aftermarket support is robust and I can get parts at my LHS.

I think I'm leaning towards a SCX10, but if anyone can tell me different on the Ascender, I'm listening...

I can't speak for the difference between the two as I only have a scx10.

Not new to rc but new to a scaler, I bought one at Christmas time. Since the I have had 2 months of working in my shop tinkering, building parts, doing upgrades and so on. Two nights ago I sat down and looked at the truck and thought to myself its done, I have it where I want it there is nothing left to do, except put on the new tires I ordered last night.

I really enjoyed the last two months of digging through the internet, looking for mods and being able to work a little each night. Even things as simple trying out different battery mounting locations had some level of enjoyment.

Tonight I am setting off to build a land anchor.

With all that said an done, I guess I am suggesting that not only do you ask yourself what rig is going to be best for you, but what rig is going to provide you with the most opportunity to enjoy the hobby past running it.

Don't get me wrong. My yard is an acre of stone rows, wetland and woods. I run my rig for 45min every night with my son. But once he is in bed it is nice to have a reason to hide in the shop as the wife watches dance moms.

[Itali83]

I totally agree with you on the past the crawling fun part of the hobby. I love working on my ascender and do almost every day. But I do things that I don't NEED to do that I feel I would HAVE to do if I bought an scx-10. I've added lights, servo winch, bec, different wheels and tires, sway bar, and a few other scale items. All of those were because they made the rig mine and more enjoyable to me. None caused frustration like I would get with having to replace bendy plastic suspension and steering links after my first run. That's only one example and I'm not bashing axial really, just stating that I like tinkering on things I want to change, not NEED to change just to keep up with others on the same terrain. Yes I'm competitive in everything I do and if I were just out in my backyard by myself I might not notice as many things that need upgrading.

I just think the ascender is more enjoyable out of the box and allows for more personal upgrades instead of replacing broken parts. Also, the turning radius if nothing else is WAY better on the ascender too.
Ben