Djackson

I'm a complete noob in the hobby and before I bought my redcat I searched and searched everywhere on what rc to buy. I may be in a somewhat unique situation where I'm getting my whole family of 7 into the hobby where price was the most important thing to consider, but saying avoid redcat at all costs seems to be what from I've seen 75 percent of people say. Where a couple people in my situation (trying to get a hobby grade rc as cheap as possible) asked for advice on what to get for 150-200 were pretty much told to find used or sorry you are out of luck. I bought the blackout xte monster truck first. At 129 shipped and rtr minus 8 aa I couldn't see any other way I could afford to buy 7 rcs so everybody could have one. I was sick of buying toy junk rcs every year for Christmas. Ever since I was a kid I've always wanted a hobby grade rc but never thought I could afford it. I freaking love my redcats. I have bashed the heck out of them. I bought them for the 2 11 year old boys and being worried about how well the would last after all the hating on forums I tried them out to see if they were worth getting for everybody. I literally couldn't stop playing with them. I played with them so much that my girlfriend told me to keep one and she would take the other because they wouldn't pass for new anymore. Since then I've bought 2 more blackouts (1 brushed and 1 brushless so I could swap motors and esc's to make mine faster) and 2 volcanos for the 2 8 year old girls. I read that the volcanos have been around for a while and even though they cost ten dollars more each I thought they would be better for the girls since they are slower. I can tell the quality difference between the two. So trying to make a super long story not so long maybe check out their newer stuff. Being a total noob I admit I know nothing but maybe somebody who does know something can check one out. I have had no problems with mine at all. I have rolled and cartwheeled and done everything bad to mine that I can think of and the only thing I've had to buy is a shock cup? And a tie rod. Other than that the occasional popping the tie rod back on has been it. I saw an old post where a kid wanted a 150 dollar rtr rc for a school project and possibly getting into the hobby and other than one person mentioning redcat they were totally overlooked. The blackout has officially got my girlfriend and I into the hobby and possibly 5 more next generation hobbyists. I live in southeast Ohio and from what I can see the hobby is almost dead in my area. I know one older guy I used to work with that still does it and that's it. My moms neighbor used to be into it but last time I drove by his track was gone. In my eyes a good entry level rc for 129 bucks might be the best thing for the hobby since brushless motors or lipos. I never would have imagined there was such a nice rc truck to be had for that price.

1spunspur

iTrader: (1)

Hi Djackson,I don't know anything about the Redcat except for what I have read,and until now, I haven't read anything nice.And about you being a noob, it seems you've learned the most important steps about r/c.Just go out there and have fun and bring the family.When I first started racing there was a three generation race team at the track and a brother & sister and dad race team.They didn't always race on the same day but they all seemed to have fun.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

While it's seems to be improving, build quality was very inconsistent for a number of years. Few of us at my job bought 3 five years ago. 2 caught fire, mine ground up the rear diff within the first 10 feet of driving. Screws had not been tighten. Would have had to taken car apart to even have chance of seeing this.
Just never trusted it afterward. The other issue for some is lack of aftermarket support. Pretty much only Redcat, or the 3 or 4 other names they are sold under, makes parts for them.
Hey if you having fun with them great. That's what matters. You might get lucky and get a bunch without issues.

flou

iTrader: (18)

I had 3 24th scale redcats and they were decent. And there are plenty of parts available thru redcat. Stock and aluminum

Djackson

Wow, 0 for 3? I see where you wouldn't buy one. There were a few reviews like that on Amazon where people had a lot of trouble right off the bat, which prompted me to try them out before buying a bunch. I will admit the volcano looks kind of sketchy once the body is off. It's been over a month since I hid it away for Christmas but I remember seeing the esc or something just held on with a sticky pad. The blackout to me makes the volcano look like kindergarteners designed it. On the blackout there is like a tray with a lid that holds everything in place. Everything to me looks well thought out except for maybe the way you set the gear mesh. You have to take half the rear end and move the motor mount in order to maneuver the motor, which changes the mesh once you put it all back together. Having only set my hands on the blackout I don't know if that is harder or easier than most. All I've done with the volcanos is plasti dip the body pink for my daughter and put it up so I know almost nothing about it. I would love for somebody who knows something about rcs to take a good look at a blackout and give an honest unbiased opinion. I like everything I see with it and I wonder if I will be disappointed if I spend 3 or 4 times the amount to get a good brand named rc or not.

Djackson

Thank you. I'm excited about us all getting together and bashing and maybe racing if they are into it. There's almost nowhere to run them except for a small track at a friends campground 45 mins away and a club that has races in middleport Ohio (I think). I can't seem to find anything on their website on open practices or anything like that. I'm just going to have to go to their monthly meeting and ask questions. I'd really like to get them all into the hobby any way I can. They are getting close to the teenage years and I want to keep them close so they don't start growing apart from me. They all love their toy grade ones they have when I can keep them running and I expect their minds blown on Christmas. I plan on building a small track in the yard but we rent our house so nothing spectacular.

DirkW

iTrader: (1)

That is actually pretty normal, even for high-end racing chassis.

I've never owned, touched or even seen a redcat from up close. All I've read is that e.g. materials are poor. Non-hardened aluminium, bending (and later breaking) easily. So for bashing, durability might become a problem.

Racing... I don't know these cars myself, but usually cheaper cars have less options for setup changes. Also it can be hard to find racing setups (unless you have some experience and like to tinker and find out all about it on your own). Worst case would be that the design is so off, that you cannot get it to run well with setup. Also they might not fit into any racing class (again, not knowing these cars well enough). Plus the possible durability/quality issues mentioned above.
So while it's not impossible, it's sure a lot more work to get these cars going fast and consistent.

For starters they're ok - and much better than any toy RC from Walmart or such. But if you guys really get into it, you may want to upgrade one day, sooner or later.

chazekxt

iTrader: (82)

same here.

Mogg2112

I started out with a couple ExceedRC cars a few years back (I think made by the same OEM as Redcat since many of their parts are interchangeable). They were great at first, but became a real headache when I started having problems and the parts were hard to find, plus the customer service was non-existent. Like Billy said, the aftermarket does not support these brands, so they are rather limited in that regard. From what I understand though, Redcat has gotten a lot better over the years and people seem to like them a lot more now. It sounds like your experience with Redcat has been good so far and that's awesome to hear. They are very well priced vehicles for sure and as long as you're able to continue getting spare parts and support you need, that's what's most important!

realsickclown

this has got me thinking that a redcat might be a great starter rig. Just to see if the nephew is really interested in the wrenching around or he just likes to help me out. it sure is a lot more gratifying to fix them when they are yours. This thread has been very helpful,thanks.

flou

iTrader: (18)

Redcat parts are always available thru redcat or amazon. And they have hop up options for every rig they sell

hotrod87

iTrader: (252)

I have had 4 or 5 rs10 crawlers a ground pounder a avalanche and another one so long ago I dont remember the name lol. Had very good luck with all of them. It was easy to order parts from redcat when I needed something, which was not something broken but something missing when I picked up a used one. My middle grandson sstarted with a rs10 crawler and has graduated to a hpi crawler king not because it is so much better but because I dont care much for moa rigs. Only part he ever broke was a servo mount and that was not the trucks fault. I've been really looking at the redcat everest for some new crawlers. Hard to beat the price and how universal they are.

Djackson

Before I bought them I checked out replacement parts and most of them are on Amazon and all are on redcats website. I do love to tinker and also ordered a 3d printer so maybe I can make my own hop up parts? I have been looking for hop ups and haven't been able to find anything at all. I assume any esc, motor, and all that will fit the space in there will work, and I just have to find how tall the shocks are and find some that fit. That's where my limited knowledge comes in. What else is there? Differentials? Longer arms?

Djackson

That's funny, the last rc I have to buy is for a 5 year old. I was thinking of an Everest 10 because I assume it will be a lot slower and he likes to see his giant new bright gravedigger climb stuff. Btw I have a brand new one in the box minus the battery, lol. People complain redcat doesn't have parts support. They should try new bright. Got the first one and one of the wheels didn't work, called new bright and they didn't even have any to get a new gravedigger, I told them I'm adept at working on toys and they told me to fix it. I did and the second time I charged the battery it exploded and the poor kid didn't have an rc for 9 months until we saw another 90 dollar one at Walmart. There was literally no battery's for that to be had.

Djackson

What really made me make that post was a lot of people trash talk the company. I used the search function and typed in redcat looking for stuff people have done to their redcats and maybe some help on buying aftermarket bodies and stuff like that and almost everything I found was trash talk. one post where this person was asking how much participation his kid that's grounded should have while going to the track. Most were helpful but one person said "get him a redcat". That comment there was what got me going. People seeing that might be totally turned off by redcat. If I had seen tons of stuff like that before I bought mine I might not have bought them. Then I never would have been in the hobby. I'm really glad I did, even if they are sub-par.