There's been a few topics on RC cars over the years; I've chirped in as I've got a crazy nitro 3.3cc monstertruck (that's forever breaking)..
Getting fed up with nitro, I thought i'd go for an electric car the kids would be OK to play with.
Having seen the Videos for the Traxxas TRX4 I was proper impressed with the scale crawling scene!
I almost bought one, but then say the Carisma SCA-1E trucks contain all you need for about £200.. 4AA batteries and a NiMH battery too!
Of course, the first thing I did after an initial play with it was:
-get a lipo battery
-upgrade the steering servo
-metal (Ti, actually!) steering links
-stick my Spektrum RC gear into it.
Having the better controller/receiver is great as I can limit the EPA (end point adjustment) of the throttle on the fly - so when my daughter has a go I can limit it to 40% throttle and it just slowly crawls about the place.
It's been good fun as my lad can get involved driving it over the rocks on the seafront, as well as helping me make and paint the shell and the scale bits and bobs..!
Yeah, it's all a bit geeky but I like it, and my therapist said that this "is me", and I've been "not me" for so long that I should be proud of my geekyness 😀 !!!
The transition from new truck to redneck-scrapper!!
Anyways.. RC Scale crawler trucks - great fun!!
DrP
Looks great with the guns and pallets! So tempted to buy one!
Do it - they are proper impressive when you get the throttle control just right! The things this can climb up and over... really satisfying!
And the 'scale' aspect - decorating and making scale models - that's also really fun!
I'm in the process of making a mini chicken cage (with chickens) for the flat bed! Proper country truckin'!!
DrP
I like that, top dad!
🙂
I must admit to having a Traxxas TRX4 myself (an indulgent 50th present) and it is great fun - especially with the massive battery life I can get out of the huge lipo (3+ hours) so we often take it out on family dog walks as it helps stop our girls getting bored.
Be sure to charge / store your battery correctly (ideally in a fireproof bag) - when thy go they really go.
love that. The mini pallet is AWESOME 😆
The truck is cool too 👍
It has been a long time since I was into RC, last I had was a Tamiya Bug of some sort like this
Seem to remember battery life and top speed being a bit disappointing, sounds like electric RC has come on a bit!
What sort of battery life do you get?
The top speed of this truck is slow..but that's because it's not a race car as such..
Traxxas have an off the shelf car that will go 100mph...!!!
Electric + brushless + lipo means fast cars with great battery life...
The crawler scene is more sedate, so you'd probably get 2 hours of out my £27 lipo battery...
Johndoh.. I'd love a TRX4!
DrP
It is good fun I have to admit - twin speed so proper crawling speed (which is adjustable) and can be set to cruise control so it just goes at whatever walking pace we are going at or it can be set to high speed which is fun on open ground for doing jumps and stuff (but you have to be careful when steering as it will flip easily at that speed).
you need a dead mouse in beside the pallet so it looks like you've been hunting monster mice
likes
(but not the lack of a like button on this forum. no-one likes that)
edit: and i hate myself because thier is making me twitch when it shouldn't
👍👍👍
Just saw this from Tamiya, looks pretty good and doing scale speeds helps, I think.
Have you got any video of yours crawling OP? it looks properly amazing!
Will try to get some... I guess I'll get my lad to drive, and I'll film!
DrP
It's a lovely wee truck, the Coyote. Not massively capable because of the ground clearance/small tyres, a stock RGT bowler Rock Cruiser is much more capable frinstance- but the point of a scaler isn't to get up everything, it's to noodle around and look great and feel satisfying as it works its way through whatever puzzles it finds.
13thfloor, yes, electric has come on loads. They go like ****, and for like 30 minutes at a time.
Crawling looks like a lot of fun.
Yep. For the last month I have been mucking around with a Tamiya CC-01 Landfreeder, although I have just put a Defender body on it. I have bought both my boys MN D90s for £32 each (after a wee discount) from Banggood.com
This all started when I discovered and slightly rejuvenated my Tamiya Fox that I built 30 years ago, following an RC thread on here.
My wife is complaining a lot. I pick the kids up from the child minder and take them crawling in the woods, then we all come in muddy when the batteries are flat.
I put a 45t motor in the CC01 and with a 3300mAh battery, it runs forever.
Great stuff, a fantastic bit of bonding for you and your kids ... some of my fondest memory’s as a child are playing around modifying and building rc cars with my dad.
If your enjoying building little bits and bobs with your lad you could go “full geek” and build a scale garage for it to live in!
I’m not sure where in the country you are but the rc scale nationals are in a couple of weeks at Bracken rocks in Derbyshire if you or anyone else fancy a good day/weekend out with your toys! Not very competitive, it’s more about the fun.
Used to have a 1/8th nitro buggy years ago, went like a mad thing. Used to come up our steep drive and jump it into the garage until I got it wrong - should have seen the size of the dent in the chest freezer!
Tempted by an electric truggy I must admit.
I've got a few rc trucks. The ftx outlaw is getting the most use at the moment. It's an ultra 4. Tops out at about 30mph & can crawl. 😊
That's lovely.
I like my cheap Maverick Scout Crawler and Tamiya buggy, but the Tamiya Lunchbox gets the most love.
In most respects it's an awful RC - old fashioned, bouncy and unstable (much like myself 🙂) but is so much fun.
Not the fastest, doesn't handle and needs upgrades (Sport tuned motor, shocks, bearings, foams and alloy body mounts) but for some reason it's ludicrously enjoyable to play with.
I was going to get a scaler or a nice crawler, but tbh I don't think I'd have as much fun.
Still getting the Tamiya 2CV Rally, but that's more for the looks than anything.
Try one, you might be surprised.
We got a FTX Mauler in the summer and we've had great fun with it. We got a spare battery and a fast charger. With the 2 battery packs we can get about an hour of fun. The drive shaft did pop off but nothing was broken so i was able to reattach it and it appears to be fine.
Great for messing around on the local rocks.