Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

Hello all from WI. First I want to say thank you to all of you that share endless information on this site. It is truly amazing on how much information is posted. Overwhelming to say the least.

Anyway, relatively new to the RC arena. Our 10 year-old runs a Traxxas Slash around the yard at times. The plan is to look into a couple of crawlers for him and I. Originally the plan was to build a short course in the yard, but determined it was a bit too much use of space for the boss to accept. This conclusion lead us to go the route of making a crawler area. It seems we should be able to make such course in a much more compact area. Doing research on how to build a nice course along with researching all the different options for crawlers.

Most likely going to stick with a RTR at this point and have been looking at the following:

RC4WD Marlin Crawler
Traxxas TRX-4 Chevy Blazer
Traxxas TRX-4 Gelande D90
Element Enduro Sendero

Open to all your thoughts on the above including any information directing me to building ideas for courses. Thanks in advance.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

I have an RC4WD TF2 which is the chassis under the Marlin Crawler and it is nothing more than a shelf queen these days. It was not nearly as enjoyable to drive as my TRX4s are. Traxxas offers a Land Rover Defender D100 RTR but not a D90. The Defender body is nicely detailed but it is top heavy compared to the Blazer/Bronco bodies. The Sport RTR is the lightest body but is a stripped down version of the TRX4 chassis with no 2 speed or lockable diffs. Personally, I would recommend one of the TRX4s. As for building a crawler course, it is possible that a challenging crawler course can double as landscaping if planned out well.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

Hello,

I've been in the hobby for 5-10 years with a few breaks however i have mostly raced at the indoor clay track (class specific 2wd buggies, stadium trucks and short course trucks). While i love the tuning, driving and repetitive practice that comes with racing, it really didn't translate for me outside the track.

- The novelty of speed wears off and building a race track as you're seeing... just requires space and a lot of work in terms of getting the distance right between rhythm sections, berms, turns etc... So yeah, rock crawling course is much more doable!

A few of the guys at my track have been rock crawling and took me out along with showing me a few of their home tracks.

I start building my own and a few take aways so far early on?

- Get some driving time in... i had a vision of the course (watching youtube) but until i went out to a few of top rock crawling spots and driving their tracks really changed what i enjoyed driving on and challenge.

personally, the bigger the rocks and higher.. the more fun.. i like the technical climbs and descents but i do know some enjoy the scaled look.

Like the above, any of the TRX4's seem to be a good choice, my group mostly run Axials (few Tr4x) so i just followed their lead.

Conclusion: I think the ability to create a course that is challenging, creative and ever changing is much easier to accomplish in rock crawling than a high speed track for your respective slash.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

I’ve been in the RC Hobby for 7 years now with all of mine being bashers.

E-revo
Granite x 2
Yeti XL
Tekno 410.3
Tekno MT410
Losi Rally

Last week I finally moved over to the crawler side and was in a similar boat as you. After a lot of back and forth I decided on the SCX10 iii. Now for me I find It a lot more enjoyable and fun to do the kits vs the rtr.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

Haven’t decided yet and now I am thinking a kit may be the way to go. This will allow us learn as we build. I have been researching and the Element RC kit has some pretty good reviews. The other option is to get the RTR and make some suggested upgrades I have been reading about. I do have to stop looking at that Vanquish. That sure looks awesome.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

Same boat here. Looking at a crawler to join my son in on the fun he has out front of our house with his banchee ridgerock which was probably my favorite 120 bucks spent on amazon! I am leaning towards the axial capra based upon capability and looks.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

Welcome to the site!

Cross off anything RC4WD from your list especially as your first scale crawler.

The TRX-4 is a great rig and super durable. That is the best go-to for a child.

I also think you'll love the TRX-4. The Sport will be more capable and more simple than the Blazer, Bronco or Defender. It all depends on if scale and features are more important or if you're more interested in performance.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

You had mentioned getting two. Both the TRX and SCX10III are great trucks. Get the SCX10III as a kit for you and your son to work on together while having the TRX 4 RTR to play with right away.

What you learn from building the kit will translate to the TRX 4 if / when you want to make changes to it or need to fix a broken part.

Re: Newbie Considering a Rock Crawler(s)
 

SRJ,
Welcome to RCC, love my TF2 tons of fun and realistically similar to my real 1981 Toyota rock crawler!
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/rc4wd...iny-truck.html

Vaterra Ascender has been rock solid for me, runs linked instead of leaf springs.
http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/vater...-ascender.html

SCX10III is a great new kit option!
https://www.horizonhobby.com/1-10-sc...ator1_03192020