Best car for camping and around the yard fund
 

I'm looking for the best car to have fun with. No racing, just around-the-yard fun, camping, and running around sand dunes.

I thought I wanted an HPI Savage X, which can be had for around $250-300 on ebay. But then I heard one (no idea what pipes/mods it had) and it was loud. I don't want to be the a-hole with the noisy car in a peaceful campground. I've seen dual-pipes that are supposed to be a lot quieter, but I haven't heard a car with one yet.

Then I found the HPI E-Savage, which sounds great, but it more expensive out the door than the gas.

Clearly both have their advantages. Electric is nice and quiet, but battery life is short, and the cars just don't seem to be as cool. Gas is nice because you can just pour more gas in and away you go.

I'm not looking to race, and most comparisons I've seen talk about $$ spent on mods, new motors, etc... which I would never do - not unless mine broke.

I'm looking for advice for my situation - casual user concerned with noise, but not wanting to sacrifice fun (if the electric can't get up a sand dune, then its just a waste of money for me).

I've heard nothing but good things about the HPI savage cars, but I'd be open to any recommendations, especially ones that will save me some $$.

Thanks for the advice!

Traxxas Revo. You'll have a blast with one. Even if you want to throw it on the track its very competitive.All you need is batteries and fuel. Good luck on your hunt.

The guy said he doesn't want to be the ahole at the campground with the loud car, so... REVO?!?

It sounds like for what you want, you may want to stick with the E-Savage. In the long run, it will be much less expensive than a gas car. The only things you may want is an extra set of batteries (like some IB4200's if you can swing it) and a good charger, although it comes with a charger that can charge both packs at once (and it does come with 2x 3300 packs).

$320 at Hobbypeople...
http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/261755.asp

or if you dont mind to pony up quite a bit more money, get a gasser like the HPI Baja 5B....fun but quieter than the nitros, but also $900-1000 :-(

sand messes up moving parts like bearing and spur gears btw.

Why not think about getting a rock crawler? Get an electric one. Totally quiet battery powered. It isn't the fastest but it sure is fun. It will be cheaper than your savage too. Then you can set up a rock pile in your back yard too. I have a rock crawler just for this purpose so I can take with me camping.

Check out www.rccrawler.com

As long as he doesnt run the revo at 2 in the morning he'll be fine.How many quite campsites do you know of in the afternoon in the summer? revo's are pretty quite. More so than the guy next to you who wants everyone in the lot to hear his favorite song. Respect the curfew at the sites and a revo will be his best bet. (in my opinion of course.) Besides he can get traxxas parts literaly anywhere..

All I can say is I would complain to someone if I have to listen to some sort of a weedeater sounding engine. I go camping to relax, hear nature and other relazing sounds such as kids playing and people having a good time. I think the original poster is trying to be extremely considerate and that is excellent for the hobby.


Any sort of electric monster truck I think would be a nice compromise. If you stay with Nimh the 4200 will give you some ok runtime. I personally have been using lipo's. But the cost is higher short term. Long term I have had a pack last me for over 1 year. It just recently died. To get the same performance in NIMH I would have had to purchased 6 packs min. That is well more than I paid for the lipo.

for pure ease of use, i would say the hpi baja....all you need is you weed eater gas, the car an radio.....if you are carefull that is it...if not, a few tools and spare parts......no afterrun oil, or batterys to charge(other than the rec)

as a camper, the nose would not bother me, if it was not done late at night, or early in the am......most campsites have areas that you can go and not bother ppl....

the downside is the price......

I think the HPI E-Savage would be OK, but to save some $ you could go 1/18th scale.

AE RC18MT/T/B
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKCC2&P=ML

Losi Mini-T/Mini LST
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=LOSB0200
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=LOSB0217
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=LOSB0215

and there are plenty more choices out there!!!

1/18th would be easier to transport as well.

If you want something electric then this is what I would do.

Get a kyosho half8t.
You can find these for around $120 off ebay new.
They are the most durable of the minis and have enough clearance to play around with in most places.
Then I would purchase
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXHAH8&P=0

The system will provide more torque then the higher revving mamba systems which is what this needs. You can expect speeds to be around 20-25 mph with a 2s lipo battery which will be plenty enough for a smaller area.

For batteries and charger go with these.
http://maxamps.com/products.php?cat=52
The 7.4 volt version. for battery, if your budget will allow I would recommend picking up two of these and you will virtualy be able to run non stop. You should get around 30 minutes of run time and the pack will be close to 90% peaked in 30 minutes. They slow down a lot in charging rate for the last bit of time.

For a charger
pick out any charger that can charge at least a 2amp rate and charge a 2s lipo.
You should be able to find these for under $60.

The battery won't be a pefect fit but you can make it stay in place with some velcro tape which you can pick up at wal-mart for a couple dollars.

The rtr buggy, a mamba system, a charger, and 2 lipos will set you back around $350.
It will provide you with a system that will allow you to run for 40 minutes to an hour non stop w/out charging. Most chargers require a dc power suply, a car battery is a suitable dc power suply which means that you can charge it multiple times while out camping.

I would recommend shopping at your lhs for your mini so that you will know that you can pick up spare parts for it. Not to mention if you need help working on it they can always help you out. The mini infernot if my personal favorite, however which ever one you can get the most support for at your lhs is the way I would go. Pretty much any of the minis can be made bullet proof with an extra $50 on alum. parts off of ebay. The only parts I would worry about replacing are the following.
a-arms,pivot blocks, hubs, shock towers if you are jumping off of stuff. A few of the cars may need the diffs upgraded to handle the brushless motor.

This guy plans on driving in sand dunes, how the heck is an 1/18 going to run in sand?

Don't get anything smaller than a 1/10 monster truck ( Savage, Revo, E-Savage, Baja, Monster GT).

If noise and mainenance are things you dont want to deal with then it's going to be tough to find what you want. Either the E-Savage or Emaxx fit the bill , but you'll need to get extra batteries.

Nitro's aren't just " gas up and go" , their is a ton of maintenance, the engines can live short lives if you suck in sand ( which happens to everyone), the sand eats away at the plastic components, and you'll need to carry around a starter, fuel, glow plugs, tuning screwdriver, and perhaps an extra air filter. All you'll need for an electric is extra batteries that are already charged.

I would think a 1/10th scale stadium truck w/ paddle tires should get around pretty well in the sand as well. You could pick up a new rustler for $145 new.
Then pick up a pair of 2100 mah 6.6 volt pack made by a123racing.com
You will also purchase the charger here as well. These batteries take like 15 minutes to fully charge and will give you plenty of run time. You can find the battery and charger for less money as well. You can use your car battery to power the charger. These packs are only rated for 6.6 volts, however it is a true 6.6 volts. The pre-assembled nimh packs you would probly be purchasing otherwise will operate at close to the same voltage as the a123 batteries. Due to the fact that brushed motors do heat and and it can damage them I would recommend running the car for 7 minutes and then letting it sit for 7. Then you can pop in a new battery. So basicly you can run all night, run for 7 and sit for 7. Since you are looking to run for long durations I would recommend eventualy picking up a brushless system. The mamba max w/ the 4600 motor would probly best suit your needs, this would be another $200 on top of the rtr the struck and special battery w/ charger though.
Here is a link to some cheaper packs, not sure how cheap they go though on other sites.
http://rcpcrawlers.com/batteries.html
The 5-10 minutes between charges and a battery running out will allow the motor to cool which is good fot it. If you go to the brushless system I mentioned then look for your runtimes to surpass the 10 minute mark and there won't be a need to let your electronics cool off. If you go brushless you can contact a123 about what the voltage cutoff should be set at for the longest expected life of your packs. The mamba will come w/ a cutoff built in to it. For driving in the sand just pick up a set of paddle tires for the rear and you should be able to get around.

lots of opinions here. I would say since you would be runnnig this in a camp ground, etc. You probably want some ground clearance, but nothing insanely big or complicated. Just something simple and fun.

Electric is probably your best bet. I would go with this:

1. Traxxas Stampede with a spare set of sand style tires
3. Good 3300+ stick packs or whatever you are comfortable with
4. Used Reedy Quasar Pro charger (excellent for nimhs, and cheap used too)

With the mamba, you don't have to worry about sand getting in there or messing with cutting comms, etc. Though, you can stick with the RTR stuff too.

The Stampede gives you monster truck clearance, but is 2wd so has a simple drivetrain.

The wheely king may also be something to look into.

stampede
 

the electric Traxxas Stampede would have to be one of the best bashers out there.they handle abuse,are pretty quick and can take all thats dished out.