choosing MY first crawler

[fatsachs]

Hello rc fans! As I always do with hobbies, I have had an interest explosion into the rc world recently. Specifically crawlers. I can't say how much I know but I'm thinking it's just the basic basics? I'm having rc dreams already and I don't even have a rig yet. That's my problem, I want it by tomorrow but don't know what EXACTLY I should even get today.

i will try hard to give you the info needed to steer me to exactly what I want. So, here's what I think so far.

I want a realistic looking AND performing rig. The trucks that look like they're "toy" trucks bumping along stiffly in the dirt don't have any appeal to me. I saw a fella on Youtube by the channel name DoubleClicked who had a trailfinder 2 Hilux that looked and performed absolutely like the real thing. Suspension reacted right on par with a real truck. The cool factor went through the roof for me with that rig! Hopefully all my other wants here will fit together with this one.

I definitely want something that can really crawl slow (a "comp crawler" perhaps?) but also be able to move at a decent enough pace for trail driving. Good ground clearance, lots of travel and the ability to scale some wicked obstacles at a SLOW pace sound like what I want. I'm not interested in mudding with it, some water crossings maybe but nothing very deep. That all sounds like a mess to deal with and I get enough of that with our dirt bikes. Mainly obstacles, trails, rocks, dirt, sticks, homemade courses, challenging technical climbs and stuff. My son and I would be sharing this truck, he is 12 and has plenty of motor skills and dexterity with remote controls believe me. We definitely don't want anything "beginner" or anything.

I know I don't like the looks of rigs like the Wraith or the Berg or the night crawler. That low, small body/long wheel base look I guess? I like the looks of rigs like the SCX10 Recon G6 and the Trailfinder 2 a lot! I realize looks and the performance I'm after may clash here but if I can get an all around great package for all my wants then that's great.

I want simplicity of RTR and my total budget is around $400 right now if that can get me what I want and rolling. I'd have to save longer to get around $500 and I'd rather not. I can make upgrades later on when extra money comes around.

I'm not big on the idea of used, I don't have much knowledge at this point so I wouldn't feel comfortable buying something I had no real idea what to look for wrong.

I guess all the bodies are totally replaceable with different shells right? I may be focusing too much on body looks and not realizing that can be tailored to my liking later? So far I've been eyeballing the SCX10 really hard, will that be a good choice to start with to get me the vehicle I've described so far?

I'm at that place where your mind is spinning with all these questions and interest, I realize you guys probably get this post way too much here but I didn't get any help at my LHS, just a guy trying to push his in stock truck on me. Thanks for any help you can offer me, I'm painfully excited to get the ball rolling on this new hobby for me, I'm selling older hobby stuff right now to get on top of this. lol

Thanks,
JR

 

[mikelshrum]

Yea man the scx10 is nice I had one and it does look real but out of the box didnt flex as good as I thought it was really easy to turn over. I added some weight down low and changed the shocks to some stock wraith shocks I had and it helped alot. Dont know if that helps any. And used isnt bad you save a lot of money that way. Best thing to do if you cant see the classifieds is buy a green star for 20 bucks there is a few honchos on there right now for less than 400 with upgrades. And welcome to the addiction man.

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[fatsachs]

Yea man the scx10 is nice I had one and it does look real but out of the box didnt flex as good as I thought it was really easy to turn over. I added some weight down low and changed the shocks to some stock wraith shocks I had and it helped alot.

So stock shocks are probably too stiff then for what I really want to see and get from that rig? I kinda get the impression that most of the trucks come like that. Maybe there's a good reason, I don't know. I'm just judging from how many I see that don't really "bob and weave" like a real truck's suspension would on rough terrain. Sounds like realistic looking but also functional suspension may be one of my biggest obstacles?

 

[mikelshrum]

Its pretty realistic but if your wantin it to be really stable like on the side of a hill your gonna have to do some work . And I know you said you didnt like the look of the wraith but they do have some other body options like an early bronco 70s model chevy blazer and from me having had both I like the wraith more it can crawl and if need be power over stuff and is more stable with a little work like moving the battery up front under the hood

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[mikelshrum]

And they make other shocks that look even more realistic that would help with it like I said man I know you want new but you can probably get a great deal on a used but modified rig and all you would need to look brand new again os a 30 40 dollar body

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[jboehler04]

It sounds like your leaning towards an scx10 pretty good. I have one with a ford f250 four door body on it and does awesome and looks close to scale if I was to build a 1:1 rig. Well a 1:1 would be a dodge but dodge bodies are hard to come by in the ROC world. Anyways a stock scx is gonna require a lil modding to get to where your gonna be pulling good lines. Mounting the battery up front, some shock tuning or replacement, weight where needed, tires to your liking and what have you. They do really well out of the box but once you open that box there's no turning back. You'll be looking for ways to change it before the nights over. Lol. Also the scx will be a great rig for your son to learn as well. They are pretty durable. And for your budget your probly gonna wanna go with a rtr and pick up a battery and charger for the battery. Good luck tho and hope to see another one join the crawler side.

 

[fatsachs]

After some more careful consideration I have ruled out the Wraith indefinitely. It's much larger than I want. I hope to get more opinions, they all help me in narrowing this terribly hard decision down. I'm looking at the ax10 deadbolt right now and it sounds like the performance I want but it doesn't have that "real looking" appeal to me though! It seems I want the ax10's comp crawler performance but in a realistic looking frame and body like the scx10. Does such a rig exist?

 

[Epcampau]

I would go with the scx10. It performs great out of the box with the ability to crawl and move a bit for trailing. There is a huge support for aftermarket upgrades. The things you can do with these are just endless.

That's just my two cents thou. Hope you get what you want!

 

[fatsachs]

I would go with the scx10. It performs great out of the box with the ability to crawl and move a bit for trailing. There is a huge support for aftermarket upgrades. The things you can do with these are just endless.

That's just my two cents thou. Hope you get what you want!

I think you're right, it'll be a perfect baseline vehicle I can tailor just a bit more to get exactly what I'm looking for in the end. So between the honcho and the wrangler rtr models is there any performance difference? I see they have a cost difference.

 

[Pgambardella]

SCX-10, it has the most after market support and is a great value, the sky is the limit with one of these things, as of wanting something slow, you can swap out motors and gears to fit your needs. Anything from 2-20 mph, it is up to you.

 

[jboehler04]

You won't get the flex out of a scx like you can a ax10 they're two totally different chassis and built different for different genres of crawling. You can get a more scale body for the ax10s but the chassis won't be scale. Its either one or the other for looks and performance. If your wanting both then you may need to reconsider the wraith and do a bronco, jeep, or blazer body on it. The wraiths really arnt that much bigger then the ax10 or scx.

 

[fatsachs]

I'm thinking scale is really important to me for maximum enjoyment. I'm sure the SCX is my best fit and from what I've seen its pretty capable of serious enough crawling. I suppose if they offered the best of both worlds in one truck they would only sell half the truck huh. lol Figures. Thank you folks for talking me through it, often that's all that's needed is another head or two to bounce it off of.

 

[Matty221133]

any of the axial scx10s are the best start rig straight out of the box imo just for the fact there are strong and reliable parts are readily available and cheap and also so are the hopups yes they have a couple of little problems like the shocks leaking for starters but even still I think its the best straight out of the box scaler you can buy

 

[fatsachs]

Ok, here's something I'm not getting. Where do the detailed full interiors and seating come from? I'm looking at scx bodies and such and all they are is the shells. How are all these folks getting interior seating, flooring, consoles and such?

 

[mikelshrum]

Its a kit

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[jwall046]

Not sure but you might be expecting a lot for $400.
I'm new to this also and I'd recomend a kit and enjoy the build and customisation process. But it cost a bit more than $400 I bet.
Have fun

 

[jboehler04]

Most interiors are from either a different body like new bright or other toy grade rc vehicles or some are interiors made for other rigs ie the tamyia hilux/bruiser interior kits or honcho interior kits. And some are jus plain out hand made outta styrene.

 

[fatsachs]

Not sure but you might be expecting a lot for $400.
I'm new to this also and I'd recomend a kit and enjoy the build and customisation process. But it cost a bit more than $400 I bet.
Have fun

See that's where I gotta be honest though. I do expect a lot for $400, that's a lot of money for a toy truck! I respect the hobby don't get me wrong but it's not as if the thing is gonna make me breakfast and tell me I'm handsome, they just drive around in the dirt. I don't know. I mean I can get a real truck to transport my person for $1500 ya know? Perhaps there's an explanation I'm unaware of for the enormous price tags?

 

[jboehler04]

Because its a hobby. Its like people that collect guns for hobby or model trains for hobby. Or its like people with sand rails or dirt bikes or stuff of that nature. Its what some people like to do in spare time and yea of your really deep into it they comp and can make money off it. Jus like real 1:1 rock crawling and 4x4'ing. $400 can get you quite a ways in it if spend properly. On a $400 budget I would consider looking used. If you find something and aren't sure about it post up some questions on here about it. Thinks to really look for when buying used is what kind of electronics are in the rig. And if it looks like its been abused or normal wear and tear. I would suggest you buying the star on here and browsing the classifieds and seeings what's there before buying new. You would be surprised at what people are selling stuff for. And the condition its in. Jus my .02 tho.

 

[fatsachs]

Because its a hobby. Its like people that collect guns for hobby or model trains for hobby. Or its like people with sand rails or dirt bikes or stuff of that nature. Its what some people like to do in spare time and yea of your really deep into it they comp and can make money off it. Jus like real 1:1 rock crawling and 4x4'ing. $400 can get you quite a ways in it if spend properly. On a $400 budget I would consider looking used. If you find something and aren't sure about it post up some questions on here about it. Thinks to really look for when buying used is what kind of electronics are in the rig. And if it looks like its been abused or normal wear and tear. I would suggest you buying the star on here and browsing the classifieds and seeings what's there before buying new. You would be surprised at what people are selling stuff for. And the condition its in. Jus my .02 tho.

That's a lot of good info, thank you very much. I guess I was just ticked that another hobby I've become interested in is so expensive. This is always the case for me. Anyway, we just got back from another local hobby store where I got a lot of good info from a very courteous and helpful owner. My son and I are settled on an scx10. I do think I'll take the used route however as in this field it seems very smart and not very dangerous. That way at my budget we can probably get a real nice rig once it's spent and all's said and done. I do have one question I'm not sure how to figure out on my own. I'm trying to decide between the Honcho RTR and the wrangler RTR. So the cages are different on both right? I want to go with the 80's Blazer body with a chopped top once we get the rig. Will I be able to use the cage on either of those RTR's with the blazer shell or is that not possible? I cannot wait I swear, the anticipation is just killing me.