Off Road R/C 'Truggy' / Buggy

[RichP]

Thinking of getting on of these for my kids for Christmas:

Maverick Strada XT Evo RTR Truggy

I have no experience of these things - need someting that follows a basic criteria:

- manageable now, but enough fun to provide interest for some time to come (probably for me as well....)

- bomb proof - it'll get crashed, mucky, wet etc etc so waterproof gearboxes, connections, motors, servos, diffs seem like a good idea

- good spares availability for when (I imagine not 'if') it gets broken

- like the idea of brushless motors for my use, but think they'll be too fast for the kids (10 year old). They're also rather expensive, as are nitro cars.

- reasonable life between charges

- must off off road as it'll get used in a park, dirt tracks etc

Any feedback based on experience would be appreciated.

Cheers

Rich

[AdamR]

They are a bit like anything really - you get what you pay for... Typically I have found the cheap ones use a lot of plastic/resin parts that tend to break at the first contact with a rock/kerb/floor from a great height.

Waterproofing is kind of non existent as far as I remember, but the shell keeps splashes off fairly well.

As for spares, might be worth nipping down to your local model shop, they will have a good idea which brands/models they keep spares for and which brands tend to have good supply of them! Stuff like body shells and wishbones are what I broke on my (cheap) one...

[RichP]

Thanks Adam - would you consider £115 as a cheap one? Just trying to get an idea - as you say most of the parts are resin / plastic.

[AdamR]

I would really - especially including the radio gear (last time I looked a half-decent set of radio gear was at least half the price of that combo). Others may have different opinions though!

For a 'toy' it would be good fun, but if it was to be taken off road and thrashed/crashed (which as you said, is what always happens with these!) I think it will probably break pretty quickly unfortunately...

That Maverick brand seem to have a lot of spares available mind you, which can only be a good thing!

Would a 2nd hand one be an option? You never really get warranty on these things since they are crashed so much, and they seem to go for less than half of RRP from memory.

[Pilot Pete]

Have been out the game a lot of years but I would go down the traxxas route for a buggy/truggy, used to always make the best budget stuff about with loads of spares and 'hop ups' available.

[RedditchJay]

I have a Hyper 7 nitro car for sale with loads of spares in very good condition BUT like any petrol / nitro engine they require some TLC and setting up....

parts are cheap tho if it gets crashed,

[Barry Ashcroft]

I've got a Traxxas Revo great fun but not the cheapest

[RichP]

Thanks for the feedback all - as ever there's more to this than I thought.

Jay, unfortunately I need to get 2 of these things basically the same to prevent aa minor war! Otherwise yours would be a good idea.

Now looking at these - appear to be upgradable so longer lasting?

http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/backwash-nitro-radio-controlled-buggy.html

[hoppy504]

Check out these firms, they have been going for years.

http://www.teamassociated.com/

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/

john

[flyingbanana]

I have a Traxxas nitro truck and it's fun but I'd go for something electric for first time- Quiet, clean, easy to setup and run, and not a problem to use in a small space.

[RedditchJay]

plenty of choice................ some good electric and nitro trucks to choose from

[langy]

No matter what you end up buying it'll require spare parts fairly quickly. So as mentioned before, ensure that spares are readily available from either a local model shop or online.

From my experience (albeit a good few years ago), things that are likely to break include: wishbones, gearboxes, driveshafts, steering linkages and steering servo. If you can buy a replacement chasais you know it's rebuidable, if you can't it's a disposable toy.

If you are going down the nitro route, is it pull start or does it require a starter box ? the pull start will probably get gunged up, can it be replaced.

As mentioned nitro engines can be a pain in the to setup after they've had a bit of abuse. If it's your 1st venture into RC buggies, i'd recommend electric.

HTH

[RedditchJay]

avoid...........Schumacher Menace.... I had a couple of those and so weak everytime out it broke a wishbone or a part.......

[Carl]

QUOTE

I've got a Traxxas Revo great fun but not the cheapest

+1 I am constantly surprsied at home "un breakable it is"

[dombanks]

i have a hobao hyper 7. they are pretty unbreakable. the only major bits were the turn knucles which i snapped, the steering servo but i used a cheapo one that wasnt really up to the job and a drive shaft again snapped.  

we used a mondeo MK1 saloon boot lid as a ramp which when hit at full speed was amusing.

the only problem i had with it was finding somewhere to use it. the noise tended to annoy people and an opemn field just got boaring.

edt: something else to consider: it may have changed but when i got my hyper 7 it had to be run in for ages. several tanks of fuel IRC. so it wasnt straight out of the box. if tis still the same your kids might get a bit annoyed at first.