Need advice on a new basher/crawler

[Mattyice]

Gents, just dropped my Associated SC10. Was fun running the clay tracks but with a four year old now I’m finding less time to make it to the track. Thinking of grabbing a basher or crawler. Something I can mess around with outside and at the park, on the beach, etc.

I’ve seen the Axial, Losi and Arrma stuff. Wondering what opinions and experiences you can share with me? Probably about a 500 dollar limit all in. Maybe could boost it up some to get a second one. see below:

Would also like some opinions on something for a four year old and dad to run with together. Would something like mini z’s be good for indoors just messing round?

[mewalsh100]

Well, you're working with a pretty solid budget. My Recommendation for most bang at that buck would be the Traxxas TRX-4. Portal Axles, 2 Speed trans, etc. Having said that, you could get 2 of the Traxxas RTR TRX-4 Sports for a bit over your $500 budget. One for you and one for your son. If you decide to go with the full "baller" TRX-4, you could always get your son the Barrage RTR 1.9 rig. It's quite a fun, solid little rig.

[Derr429]

Axial bomber or an scx10 is also good. My son is 4 and he has an SCX10 and loves it. He is always looking to put something new on it. For his birthday he wanted new rims, tires, light bar and a winch. We just got done putting all his stuff on it and now he wants a new motor. It’s great getting to share the hobby with my kids.

[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by mewalsh100

Well, you're working with a pretty solid budget. My Recommendation for most bang at that buck would be the Traxxas TRX-4. Portal Axles, 2 Speed trans, etc. Having said that, you could get 2 of the Traxxas RTR TRX-4 Sports for a bit over your $500 budget. One for you and one for your son. If you decide to go with the full "baller" TRX-4, you could always get your son the Barrage RTR 1.9 rig. It's quite a fun, solid little rig.

Interesting thought with two Traxxas. I’ll check it out!

Any experience with the Losi Rock Rey?


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[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by Derr429

Axial bomber or an scx10 is also good. My son is 4 and he has an SCX10 and loves it. He is always looking to put something new on it. For his birthday he wanted new rims, tires, light bar and a winch. We just got done putting all his stuff on it and now he wants a new motor. It’s great getting to share the hobby with my kids.

This is awesome and exactly what I hope to get into with my daughter.


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[Jim85IROC]

If you want one vehicle that can be a crawler and a basher, I'd lean toward a Bomber, a Yeti, or a Rock Rey. The Bomber is definitely the best choice if you want to lean more toward a crawler, and the other 2 more if you want to lean more toward a basher. I don't have a Rock Rey (yet), but I've got a Bomber and a Yeti. The Yeti is a lot more stable at higher speeds, and is fun to go fast with on rough terrain and on easier trails. The Bomber isn't as much fun at higher speeds because it is hard to handle, but on gnarly terrain, steeper trails and more "crawler" type stuff, the Bomber is a blast.

If I had to choose between my Bomber and my Yeti, I'd choose the Bomber every time, but you need to try and decide what kind of terrain you're most likely to use the vehicle on, then decide which vehicle to consider.

One last option that I'll throw out there, is to consider a pair of Gen7 Sports. At $200/each, you can get one for you and one for your kid, and still have a little bit of mod money left over. I think this is a much better option than getting a TRX4 for yourself and a Barrage for your kid for the simple reason that the Barrage will never go most of the places that the TRX4 will, and that'll frustrate your kid. If you go with 2 RCs, stick with RCs that are very similar in capability so that your kid doesn't end up with something that can't go where Dad's goes. There's no faster way to turn your kid off to the hobby.

[JatoTheRipper]

A TRX-4 would be great to enjoy at home if you have obstacles to crawl. And it's slow enough to where you could let your 4 year old give it a try. And it's an awesome trail rig. I wouldn't want it on the beach. If you get a basher forget about letting your 4 year old drive it.

A Bomber is a good compromise of go-fast and crawler, but it's not great at either so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It'll roll over easily when trying to turn while going fast. The Rock Rey, with it's IFS, would probably be a better "basher" but I can't say for sure because I don't have one.

The SC10 is actually a great basher. That along with a Slash would have been great for you and your child to run together.

Mini-Zs are on the delicate/fragile side so I wouldn't recommend that for a 4 year old.

You have a wide variety of requirements. I don't think one rig will be a fun basher for your house, the park, the beach and also good for your 4 year old. So think about your most important requirements and I'll be able to help more.

[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

If you want one vehicle that can be a crawler and a basher, I'd lean toward a Bomber, a Yeti, or a Rock Rey. The Bomber is definitely the best choice if you want to lean more toward a crawler, and the other 2 more if you want to lean more toward a basher. I don't have a Rock Rey (yet), but I've got a Bomber and a Yeti. The Yeti is a lot more stable at higher speeds, and is fun to go fast with on rough terrain and on easier trails. The Bomber isn't as much fun at higher speeds because it is hard to handle, but on gnarly terrain, steeper trails and more "crawler" type stuff, the Bomber is a blast.

If I had to choose between my Bomber and my Yeti, I'd choose the Bomber every time, but you need to try and decide what kind of terrain you're most likely to use the vehicle on, then decide which vehicle to consider.

One last option that I'll throw out there, is to consider a pair of Gen7 Sports. At $200/each, you can get one for you and one for your kid, and still have a little bit of mod money left over. I think this is a much better option than getting a TRX4 for yourself and a Barrage for your kid for the simple reason that the Barrage will never go most of the places that the TRX4 will, and that'll frustrate your kid. If you go with 2 RCs, stick with RCs that are very similar in capability so that your kid doesn't end up with something that can't go where Dad's goes. There's no faster way to turn your kid off to the hobby.

What’s your take on parts availability for some of these models though? Coming from a Team Associated that has parts available everywhere, how hard is it to find things for some of these models? Especially things like a Gen7?

As far as terrain, it’s southern lower Michigan so it’s dirt and roots and pavement for the most part. It will attend up north trips though where it could see a lot of sand.


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[Mattyice]

And some light water


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[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

A TRX-4 would be great to enjoy at home if you have obstacles to crawl. And it's slow enough to where you could let your 4 year old give it a try. And it's an awesome trail rig. I wouldn't want it on the beach. If you get a basher forget about letting your 4 year old drive it.

A Bomber is a good compromise of go-fast and crawler, but it's not great at either so I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. It'll roll over easily when trying to turn while going fast. The Rock Rey, with it's IFS, would probably be a better "basher" but I can't say for sure because I don't have one.

The SC10 is actually a great basher. That along with a Slash would have been great for you and your child to run together.

Mini-Zs are on the delicate/fragile side so I wouldn't recommend that for a 4 year old.

You have a wide variety of requirements. I don't think one rig will be a fun basher for your house, the park, the beach and also good for your 4 year old. So think about your most important requirements and I'll be able to help more.

See, I didn’t think the SC10 was a great basher at all. A smooth, clay or dirt track, sure, but it wasn’t great for any sort of climbing or going through taller grass. That’s why I’m leaning towards some ground clearance and 4WD.

Maybe dad needs to just build a Rock Rey or similar and just detune it a bit when the little one wants a try.


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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Mattyice

What’s your take on parts availability for some of these models though? Coming from a Team Associated that has parts available everywhere, how hard is it to find things for some of these models? Especially things like a Gen7?

As far as terrain, it’s southern lower Michigan so it’s dirt and roots and pavement for the most part. It will attend up north trips though where it could see a lot of sand.


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Jim loves his Redcats. A lot of people aren't as sold on them. Do your research if you go that way. I don't own one at this time. If I was going to get a Redcat, which probably won't ever happen, I'd be waiting for the new Gen 8.

Originally Posted by Mattyice

And some light water

What's more important - going fast and jumping or scale speeds and crawling? There's a huge difference between a basher and a crawler and very few rigs fall somewhere in between.

[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

Jim loves his Redcats. A lot of people aren't as sold on them. Do your research if you go that way. I don't own one at this time. If I was going to get a Redcat, which probably won't ever happen, I'd be waiting for the new Gen 8.







What's more important - going fast and jumping or scale speeds and crawling? There's a huge difference between a basher and a crawler and very few rigs fall somewhere in between.

Seems like I’m leaning towards a “basher” then since going fast, jumping and dependability are the top things I’m after.

With that said, this is probably in the neighborhood of an Arrma, Losi Rock Rey or Axial Yeti then?


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[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by Mattyice

See, I didn’t think the SC10 was a great basher at all. A smooth, clay or dirt track, sure, but it wasn’t great for any sort of climbing or going through taller grass. That’s why I’m leaning towards some ground clearance and 4WD.

Maybe dad needs to just build a Rock Rey or similar and just detune it a bit when the little one wants a try.

This is the information I was pulling for!

An SC10 won't be great on grass. Not many RCs are good on grass. But for streets and mild dirt it's an awesome basher. If you want to go on grass then, yes, you need something with a lot of ground clearance. That doesn't necessarily mean you need 4WD though. The Traxxas Stampede and Bigfoot, for example, have ground clearance and they are RWD.

Even the Slash does fine on grass with the correct tires. But your battery will die faster.

Originally Posted by Mattyice

Seems like I’m leaning towards a “basher” then since going fast, jumping and dependability are the top things I’m after.

With that said, this is probably in the neighborhood of an Arrma, Losi Rock Rey or Axial Yeti then?

The Yeti is junk. I'd stay far away from that. And for a pure basher even a Rock Rey probably isn't what you should be looking at. Check the vehicles from Arrma and Traxxas.

It's way out of your budget, but the Traxxas UDR would be awesome for what you want to do.

[mewalsh100]

Originally Posted by Mattyice

Interesting thought with two Traxxas. I’ll check it out!

Any experience with the Losi Rock Rey?


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Don't have any experience with the Rock Rey. But, I do own a Baja Rey and it's a total freak'n hoot to drive on 3S with the solid axle and suspension travel. Could pretty much get rid of the servo as it's primarily steered with throttle!

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by mewalsh100

Don't have any experience with the Rock Rey. But, I do own a Baja Rey and it's a total freak'n hoot to drive on 3S with the solid axle and suspension travel. Could pretty much get rid of the servo as it's primarily steered with throttle!

Good point. I always forget about the Baja Rey, but I shouldn't. Losi makes great stuff.

[Browneye]

Jato is on it - Arrma or Traxxas. Slash, senton, or one of the monster trucks. Tune-able, slow them down or speed them up. I would get something simple and durable for a kid - some of these specialty vehicles can be pretty fiddly and break easily. Some are way too fast - you brick-wall or curb them and they break. LOL

I dunno, I started out there as well, but soon found the crawlers to be much more enjoyable. You can only run circles for a time before it gets boring. Crawling opens up a whole world of obstacles to concur. [shrug] A pair of them would be great fun for trailing, parks, and outdoor jaunts, rather than just standing on a street culdesac, sidewalk or field.

I have some eight hundred to a grand in my Bomber so not really a kid's toy. You really need to think about two rigs - way more fun for father-son play.

[Mattyice]

Feel like I’m leaning towards a Losi product due to past experience. Baja or Rock Rey. Maybe one of the 4WD desert trucks? Or possibly an Arrma, something like a Notorius/Outcast.

I know this is a crawler forums, but anyone with experience on these? Opinions?


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[Jim85IROC]

Originally Posted by Mattyice

What’s your take on parts availability for some of these models though? Coming from a Team Associated that has parts available everywhere, how hard is it to find things for some of these models? Especially things like a Gen7?

As far as terrain, it’s southern lower Michigan so it’s dirt and roots and pavement for the most part. It will attend up north trips though where it could see a lot of sand.


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The Bomber and Yeti have substantial parts support. The Rock Rey seems to have very good OEM parts support and decent aftermarket support, but nowhere near the huge aftermarket that the Bomber & Yeti have.

The Gen7 has excellent OEM part support, and very good aftermarket parts support IF you can be a bit creative. Aside from some HSP/Redcat aluminum parts, there aren't dedicated Gen7 parts out there, but in most cases, parts for the SCX10 are 95% identical, save for some minor trimming or tweaking.

I've done a ton of upgrades (and some repairs) to my Gen7, and never had problems keeping the rig going.

I have a whole video series on the Gen7 Sport that will help you see exactly what I'm talking about:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lir_...oV5WKzuXyr1ggr

[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by Browneye

Jato is on it - Arrma or Traxxas. Slash, senton, or one of the monster trucks. Tune-able, slow them down or speed them up. I would get something simple and durable for a kid - some of these specialty vehicles can be pretty fiddly and break easily. Some are way too fast - you brick-wall or curb them and they break. LOL

I dunno, I started out there as well, but soon found the crawlers to much more enjoyable. You can only run circles for a time before it gets boring. Crawling opens up a whole world of obstacles to concur. [shrug] A pair of them would be great fun for trailing, parks, and outdoor jaunts, rather than just standing on a street culdesac, sidewalk or field.

I have some eight hundred to a grand in my Bomber so not really a kid's toy. You really need to think about two rigs - way more fun for father-son play.

My original thought with the crawlers is that they may be more fun in confined spaces at slow speeds. Get her used to control and basic commands of a vehicle. But really starting to spin my thoughts at this point.


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[Mattyice]

Originally Posted by Jim85IROC

The Bomber and Yeti have substantial parts support. The Rock Rey seems to have very good OEM parts support and decent aftermarket support, but nowhere near the huge aftermarket that the Bomber & Yeti have.



The Gen7 has excellent OEM part support, and very good aftermarket parts support IF you can be a bit creative. Aside from some HSP/Redcat aluminum parts, there aren't dedicated Gen7 parts out there, but in most cases, parts for the SCX10 are 95% identical, save for some minor trimming or tweaking.



I've done a ton of upgrades (and some repairs) to my Gen7, and never had problems keeping the rig going.



I have a whole video series on the Gen7 Sport that will help you see exactly what I'm talking about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lir_...oV5WKzuXyr1ggr

Thanks! Will check this out.


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