Coming back to RC

[dabbill]

Hello all,
I am trying to get back in to the RC hobby. I use to compete back in 2010 / 2011, but sold all my RC gear around 2012. I have been away from the hobby since then. I am looking to get back in to the hobby.

I am looking to get back in for the $500 - $600 range. I still have most of the tools needed, but nothing else. What would be a good platform to start with now. When I got out of the hobby it was pretty much Axial or nothing. Now I am kinda eyeing the TRX4, Element RC, or SCX10 III.

What would be a good platform to start with now, that is not going to need a ton of replacement parts shortly after getting it.

I am looking to do trails, and scale to extreme? scale rock crawling. I find super technical stuff fun, but do not want to get back in to comp crawling or as they say a cheater truck. I think I would want something that is still a full body / overlanding adventure pickup. I really do not think I want any sort of tube buggy type. I like the looks of the TRX4 with Expedition Rack.

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Dabbill

 

[Jeff6x6]

You cannot go wrong with anyone of those. Upgrading is only limited to your time and wallet. Research customer service also. Traxxas is great with that. I have two TRX-4 and one TRX-6. I got rid of the defender body as it was a little top heavy but was still very impressive. If you enjoy tinkering like I do...it is easy to jump right back into the hobby. Expect to replace the stock steering servo and horn. I have not broken anything in 2 years of enjoying technical steep rock climbing.

 

[Inspector86]

The TRX4 is arguably the most durable chassis currently on the market. Traxxas electronics, like most oem manufacturers, are marginal and most replace the steering servo/horn early on. The TRX4 comes in two forms one with 2speed trans/lockable diffs and the Sport with a single speed trans/spool diffs. Take a look at the aftermarket support for each of the brands you are considering. The SCX series and TRX4 have a huge aftermarket.

 

[Twp]

I am also getting back in the hobby after being gone for 13 years or so. Man some things have changed so much. The biggest change for me are the lipo battery’s. I have been reading all I can to understand them.

 

[Levi]

Welcome back. I cant speak about your other 2 choices. But the trx4 is a great truck, just pick a platform. It's a very good durable truck right out of the box. The RTR servos can suck sometimes. My boy has a bronco slightly upgraded. My wife has a stock defender. I've got a defender as well but has been upgraded and winched to a jeep, yes another jeep lol. I love the fact there is tons of aftermarket stuff out there for the trx4. Have fun with whatever you get and keep us updated on what you get.

 

[Timmahh]

Traxxas is Traxass. Great right to the Electronics. Which still suck ass. lol but the TRX platform is solid, new servo and its a start. NEver been a great fan of their ESCs/ Motors were decent. Not much has changed there with Traxxass, but their ESCs have gotten a little better, and the Vanelion systems seem pretty good for the most part. But their servos still suck ass.

Axial has been doing much over the years as the SCX 10 III shows. They have the RTR now at 5 bills and the kits at 369 where you still need to toss your leccys into.
I just got back into drawing in March. Got out around 2012 myself. Not seen, dealt with the Element but its Team Associated so you know its pretty good to start out.

The III wasn't out when I got back in. I looked at all the options and for an rtr to get back on the rocks, I chose the RedCat Gen8 AXE rig. To be clear the HW AXE system was part of my decision, along with it having the Reefs Sevo and Fly Sky 6 chnl radio with it. For 500, it had about 300 in upgrades in the AXE ESC/Motor, the Sevo, and Radio. That is what sold me on it as an tr.
I was never a Fan of RedCat. They were ok but problematic when they come out into the 5th scale arena in the mid-2000s. But they are still here and expanded their platforms. They have improved a fair bit since a decade ago. Still not as good as the other 3 rigs listed, but almost there honestly.

The biggest question today seems to what are you going for in terms of scale look and use, what you going to do with it to some extent, and then figure out which platform is easiest to most adequate to get you there. The new IFS (Independant front suspension) from whomever it is (Element I think) expands the build possibilities to almost any older or modern day truck/trail/rock rig you could see in 1:1 life.

While I got the RedCat AXE RTR rig to start running, I also grabbed the SSD Trail King Kit which is an upgraded SCX10 II basically, and a killer kit and nice build to have some wrench time besides what the Axe would need as I ran it. Like it so much I bought a 2nd kit. lol

Anyways, if the III had been announced and released, I probably would have gone with it, as the Dig onboard is a big move for a Branded Kit, and Axial does things pretty dang well. So I will probably get a III anyways. All the bills are paid, but I do need to redo my bathroom and finish the kitchen dining/living room remodel. Which would have been done by now, had I not got sucked back into this damn hobby. lmao

My neighbors and other guys I run with all have TRXs. Good Rigs. No real issues so far other than the norm out of the box stuff. Happy to report all servos are still working too. lol At least on his TRXs. His Xmaxx, not so much.
Did I mention Traxxas Servos still suck ass? heh

 

[dabbill]

I ended up going with the TRX4. I have upgraded servo, and light kit on order. Along with BEC to go with the servo. :mrgreen:

 

[Timmahh]

Nice. One of the rigs my neighbor has is the defender. Pretty much stock and doing well so far. He also has the Red and Black Blazer.

 

[OnTheTrail]

I love that color. Wish they had that when I ordered mine.

Best of luck and welcome back to the hobby!

 

[Jeff6x6]

I am also getting back in the hobby after being gone for 13 years or so. Man some things have changed so much. The biggest change for me are the lipo battery’s. I have been reading all I can to understand them.

If you want a little more kick but have to train your trigger finger to be sensitive with the throttle...get a 3S. If you are just doing slow crawl technical ..a 2S. I have one of each. I run 5200 MH and get around 2 1/2 +hours of use. After using your battery put it on store mode for the charger. Balance for charging. Get a fireproof small foldable lipo Battery Storage box on eBay to store batteries and while charging. Make sure to match the plugs to the rc car. Traxxas has theirs. Axial usually uses Deans connectors. Some people run a smaller battery size due to easiy placement in the rc truck and weight distribution.

 

[Levi]

Good choice. Sounds like your on a good start with a servo and bec. Good looking trx4. Wish traxxas would have clear windows on all their models and not just certain ones. If I cared enough I would make my windows clear on my defender.

 

[Inspector86]

I ended up going with the TRX4. I have upgraded servo, and light kit on order. Along with BEC to go with the servo. :mrgreen:

I sincerely hope you didn't buy the Traxxas light kit and 2280 BEC. They are worthless! You need a MytrickRC UF7 based light kit and a CC 10a BEC to be on the right track. Later you can add a HW1080 ESC.

 

[dabbill]

I sincerely hope you didn't buy the Traxxas light kit and 2280 BEC. They are worthless! You need a MytrickRC UF7 based light kit and a CC 10a BEC to be on the right track. Later you can add a HW1080 ESC.

I did get the Traxxas servo, bec, and lighting kit. Everything I was reading is they were decent. I was trying to stick with stuff made for the car at this point, and will get more in to custom stuff as it needs to be replaced.

 

[meatmonkey]

Just about any electronics with the Traxxas logo are dodgy at best. Other than the 21 turn Titan motor, that's actually decent. Keep us updated with how long that Traxxas servo lasts

 

[dabbill]

Just about any electronics with the Traxxas logo are dodgy at best. Other than the 21 turn Titan motor, that's actually decent. Keep us updated with how long that Traxxas servo lasts

Will do. So far I have not had any issues, but car only has about 10 hours of crawling on it as of right now.

 

[Inspector86]

Let us know how it goes once you get around a 1000 hours then we can talk. I have five TRX4s the newest has about 500 hours run time the only stock electronics remaining an any of them are the shift servos.