I've been looking around for a first RC and have settled on getting a monster truck. But in looking I can't decide which would better suit my needs, an E-MAXX or a mini-LST.

Being new to this I have no idea about the reputation of either.
Both seem to have good parts availabilty and upgrade potential.
I'm a little concerned that the maintenance cost of the E-Maxx will be higher.
And I'm thinking the E-Maxx may run out of space in the yard (1/2 acre).
Is the M-LST more difficult to work on because of it's size?

Anybody have an opinion one way or the other?

I don't have either one of these particular trucks, but since no one seems to be answering you I would say E-Maxx all the way. Both are cool, but the E-Maxx is arguably one of the greatest and most successful r/c vehicles of all time. You can't go wrong with something like that. I'm an Associated man myself......

I don't have any personal experience with it, but I would seriously consider an E-Savage.

Might want to check out this review.
http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...article_id=802

E-savage all the way, tough as he!!, and for hop ups great after market, I love mine and have not regretted getting it....

have a t-maxx which is great for bashing in my opinion and my 8 year old son runs the mini lst which has been excellent so far. i've just had to replace ball cups on it but other than that no complaints about them.

E-MAXX is a beast plus there are sooo many hop ups u can get for it(ex: brushless). and if you get one by the end of the month you can get free big bore shocks($100)

if all you are doing is bashing around the yard,or even a bmx track go and have a look at the Traxxas Stampede.they are one of the most fun and most durable trucks on the market.
http://www.rctech.net/forum/showthread.php?t=179764
this thread has a heap of movies featuring stampedes so you can get an idea on how tough they are.my pick would be the VXL Stampede (brushless)

mini lst might be a bit small for backyard work being a mini and all.

emaxx is a good truck as is the e savage but both require 2 batteries to run etc.

Traxxas is hard to beat for back yard bashing. The EMaxx would be my choice of what's listed here. Can't go wrong with an EMaxx.

I have an Emaxx and its pretty decent with the exception being the shock towers & bulkheads, both are very weak and will break for sure. With aluminum bulkheads and RPM towers it will run forever with the stock Titans. If you go brushless you will HAVE to upgrade the tranny, driveshafts, & diffs. The new E-Savage sounds good, comes with batteries & charger too. The new Traxxas VXL brushless trucks look like they are built well and require only basic maintenance to keep running (No brushes/comms to wear out). There's lots of great stuff out there, as with everything RC you can lose you mind with all the aftermarket stuff upgrading whatever you get and make it "your" truck. Good luck.

from the choices, i'd go for an e-maxx

Mini-t is too small, will get boring after not too long.

I have owned both and the e-maxx is by far the sh!! over the mlst.If you are new and looking for something easy to work with then the traxxas stampede is something you should check out.Traxxas makes nice trucks.

I haven't used a MLST personally, but my dad had a RC18T with oversize monster wheels. It had serious trouble going through anything besides freshly cut grass.

It also doesn't take much to upset the chassis of a 1/18th scale vehicle, they simply do not have the weight behind them.

After I moved up to 1/10th scale I haven't looked back. The larger size and weight of the Emaxx allows it to go over pretty much any obstacle.

I was in almost the exact same position as you a bit over a year ago, and I got an 18t, only to find that it would not do what I wanted it to do. My dad got an Emaxx a couple of months ago, and I built an E-Revo. Needless to say, my 18t is now for sale. Just keep in mind that it will be more expensive. Make sure if you get the Emaxx, to buy high quality batteries, I bought some Tenergy batts from ebay, and they lasted about 2 months before becoming useless. Look for either IB(Intellect), GP(Gold Peak), and I've also heard that EP makes good batteries.

Greg

Hi, if you are keen on the mini lst, get the LXT (single servo conversion kit) body kit from exotek. If not, u will really hate your mini lst.

Yep, I bought an E-Maxx a couple of days ago. Plus I get free upgrade shocks to boot.