Newcomer to Micro-Rock Crawlers

[HeJay]

Hi there, my 5 year old son has birthday in 1 month. We have a 500sqft no maintenance yard with small rocks in it. I think he would enjoy very much some entry level RC crawler, building obstacles and getting through them.

I found "Basher Rocksta" online, do you think it's good idea to get him that as a gift? Also, I would like to be able to customize parts of the vehicle too, is basher rocksta easy to disassemble and play with changing tires/shocks and other parts?

Would you recommend getting brand new crawler, or sourcing a used one from e.g. craigslist? Do people on this forum buy/sell vehicles and parts too?

Thanks

 

[1tuffmj]

Basher rocksta is a great rig.has a bunch if hop ups and my son gets a kick out of 4ws.but it is a motor on axles rig and can be a bit of a challenge to replace metal gears in housing.it only runs on 2s lipo so there is always that. barrage/rgt/outback is nice rig but more if a trail truck then crawler.there is a couple coming out in month or so that looks to be good.but in the end nothing wrong with good used losi crawler or trekker

 

[ed1]

hejay,u can buy the rocksta with metal gear upgrade installed from new[if u dont buy 1 with this already done,u will av 2 upgrade at sum point].if u intend building sum rock sections in ur backyard,this is ur best model.it as 4-wheel steering/4wd as well as motors on both axles.
most other micro models are for trail crawling in a forest/riverbank/park etc.
regards

 

[TheLetterJ]

What's your budget? My boys both have micro crawlers (Redcat Sumo and ECX Temper) but they rarely use them except when the weather keeps them stuck inside. My older son started with a 1/10 when he was 5 (now 8 )and my younger son started with the 1/24 at 3 1/2y.o. and got his first 1/10 at 4 1/2y.o. (now 5.) I would suggest looking at larger scales if outdoor use is the goal, they tend to be more capable, more durable, with parts more readily available, all else being equal as compared to the micros. If I had it to do over again, I still would have gone with 1/10 first, and add the micro later. I also would have gone with the 1/24 ECX Barrage had they been available at the time.

Your 500sqft yard is more than big enough to become challenging for even a 2.2 wheeled car (large end of 1/10 scale.) Might I suggest visiting your local hobby shop (Sheldon's hobbies) to see what models they stock parts for? I know they have a small indoor crawler course too. At 5 years old, being able to keep it running is probably the single most important thing, so being able to get parts locally would be a major plus.

 

[HeJay]

As my son is very young (5) and I'm not sure if and how he will like the new hobby, I was thinking of spending <$100 for the crawler. Used one from craigslist, ebay or any other place could be very good idea too.

I'm also considering sourcing some parts and building the rest.

My son loves arts & crafts. He would enjoy making & painting car body out of cardboard for example. That's why my focus is on solid frame/electronics that won't break after a week. Anything visual we can deal with on our own.

I've been researching more, checking craigslist for used stuff and I didn't find anything better than basher rocksta so far. All of the rigs on craigslist are priced $250+ and they are usually heavy used and abused.

I already have lipo battery charger and I might have actual lipo batteries, will double check. I'm planning on purchasing Basher RockSta 1/24 4WS Mini Rock Crawler (RTR) (Metal Gears) from hobbyking.com for $79.95. I think it should be good entry level crawler for 5 year old who might not even like the hobby after all.

Other than the vehicle with metal gears, what else should/could I get so I don't pay shipping twice? My main goal is to keep the car running, don't need to go fancy yet.

@TheLetterJ, as per your suggestions, I will check Sheldon's hobbies and also look into 1/24 ECX Barrage and larger scales.

- I already have 2x nano-tech 7.4V 300mAh 35-70C batteries - are they good for basher rocksta?
- I have ECO-SIX Hobby King Balance Charger - is that gonna work for basher rocksta batteries?
- Is there anything else that I should buy with RTR Basher Rocksta while I'm on it?

I'm thinking of buying the RTR basher rocksta $88.60 with metal gears:
https://hobbyking.com/en_us/basher-rocksta-1-24-4ws-mini-rock-crawler-rtr-metal-gear.html

Is that all that I need to keep it running?

 

[1tuffmj]

I love my basher.seen a used one on eBay but have to dig for it.i have metal gears and torque motor but have yet to install as waiting to brake it first.only issue so far is broke a servo horn but got one from shape ways.but order a extra set of rims cause think the stock tires stink.but my son that's 5 loves the 4ws and the crab walking mode