MongolPete

Howdy RC Madmen,

My son (7y/o) is asking Santa Claus for an RC, a kit to be more specific, so he can build it and learn all about it. He has a 2WD Slash currently. I was looking at Tamiya Midnight Pumpkin, but then I saw the ECX Amp MT BTD kit. I like that for the price, but now I see that the ECX Barrage kit is coming out later this month. I showed him some video and he seems cool with crawling, but is it fun? No zoom zoom? I myself don't really see it, but I never tried one, and my RC experience is limited to a Falcon and Pumpkin in the 80s, the boy's brushed Sla2h, and a Tekno mt410 that I've just about finished building but haven't run yet. The terrain is rough where we are and there will definitely be some snow and ice running when it's warm enough to be outside. Thanks for your thoughts.

-Mongol Pete

harry697

iTrader: (121)

I have a few crawlers for some reason. They're about as fun as watching paint dry.

But seriously, I have some fun with them every once in a great while. Usually winter time when it's not ideal racing weather. There are a few really nice spots near me for crawling. The thing is, I've never gone more than 2 hours tops before being completely bored and ready to go home. But when it comes to racing on a track, there aren't enough hours in the day.

OSRC

iTrader: (10)

Tough crowd here for a crawler question. I sold almost all my "go fasts" to fund my crawlers and scale trucks. We were out for 5 hours this past weekend and had a ball.

If you like tinkering, building, and the modeling aspect of the hobby, you'll really like crawlers. If you like to pin the throttle and do donuts or live to race, you'll probably find them boring.

An Axial bomber kit might be what you are looking for. With the right power system, it can do all the slower speed crawling you want, and still have plenty of zoom when you want it.

MongolPete

What kind of paint?

Haha. Thanks for your honest reply. I am leaning toward the ECX Barrage kit coming out later this month. I figure he has the Slash for speed. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life, no?

MongolPete

OSRC, the Bomber looks like a really nice kit, but I want something he could (mostly) build himself. I like the way the ECX manuals seem to read like Lego directions.

claytrackstar

iTrader: (1)

Yup. Bomber or wraith for a little speed and some crawling action thrown in for good measure. I race and crawl. They're very different experiences but crawling is really fun in a group with other crawlers.

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

I’ve been on the fence with the crawler/trail truck thing for few years. Never quite got the scale thing. Has a model train feel to it.

Plus in suburbs not a lot of off road trails left.

That said. The Traxxas TRx4 has my interest for awhile. For price I could get past the 12mph top speed. Now there is a new one coming from Carisma. The Coyote. Price looks more appealing to me.

SteveM

iTrader: (165)

I went all-in on an Axial Jeep trail/crawler and after getting it all pimped out, it was fun for about 5 minutes. Just not my cup of tea.

harry697

iTrader: (121)

A whole group of us have the same story. Went and bought trucks, bought all kinds of goodies to make them look and perform better. Was cool for a minute, but now they mostly sit in the corner and collect dust.

It's a shame because there's a very nice crawler spot about 30 minutes from me. Very professional and lots of people there all the time. They have occasional tournaments and what not also. I was blown away the first time I went there and saw all the amazing obstacles that were out there. Just seemed like once the battery kicked, which was an hour or so, we were ready to move onto something else.

vintage1

I think smaller scale ones, where you could build different obstacle courses in the house, could be fun. Having a trailer with you on hikes is definitely fun. If you have a wood pile or something where he could find a variety of obstacles it would be fun. If you have more of a wide open space, they're pretty boring. That said, my night crawler, wraith, and ax10 deadbolt are all pretty good in the snow.

1/4milecrazy

iTrader: (5)

Crawling can be a LOT of fun. Especially when you get into building, modifying scale crawlers. BUT dont think you are gonna go out and buy a cheap RTR kit and give it to a 7 year old and expect him to enjoy it.

Find local crawler groups. Or buy two of them. Follow each other through trails and over obstacles. Make it a competition or else it will be boring. You also have to have some really cool places to crawl, I have a 1/8 scale super class MOA crawler and it actually gets boring because I can not find anything that challenges the truck. I have been looking at the barrage myself.

I also have a Losi Micro crawler and built obstacle courses on folding tables and actually had more fun building the tables than driving on them. Honestly they have been put away since about 2 weeks after building them.

tvih

I'm planning on a crawler for spring. But I must say I'm a bit worried about the longevity of that particular interest. Basically I'd be doing it alone, and mostly on days when the race track isn't dry enough. Non-scale crawlers look too silly to consider, but the TRX-4 is expensive and the HPI Venture is still a question mark, though even it is likely to cost 400€ here. So not an inexpensive "miss" if I end up not doing much crawling! Even my race cars and mini-Traxxas were a bit of a miss prior to this summer due to not actually driving much for various reasons. Of course since getting more into it, over the summer and autumn I've gotten four new race cars...

MaX-D

iTrader: (2)

I thought crawlers were stupid until I drove one three years ago. A local county park has a huge crawling course the size of a football field. My son and I went down to check it out. A guy in his early twenties was kind enough to let both my son and I Drive His Wraith. After 5 minutes we were hooked. We both got Axial Wraith's for Christmas that year. If you can crawl or drive where it's challenging, it makes it more fun from a crawling aspect. I don't find trail running very fun though. I recently moved and I'm building a small crawling course in my backyard. I have a slash 2wd to bash around with as well as two different monster trucks. I like to go both slow and fast!

Malazan

iTrader: (2)

No

hairymuffin

iTrader: (105)

I love it , and for me it all depends on where you crawl. Location is key. If you crawl spot sucks, it can get boring really quick. Not to mention, it’s more boring crawling alone after a while. As a racer, I love it. Most racers don’t crawl