DennisNyholm

iTrader: (7)

I am looking to buy my nephew his first hobby grade RC. I have been out of the hobby for a while myself (Still have a freshly built Xray T2 sitting on the shelf, never run!), so I am not certain of what may have changed.

I am looking at the Traxxas Stampede due to the ruggedness, go anywhere, basher ability. He will be using it at his house, so mostly grass, gravel, and street use. I was thinking the Slash or Rustler may work as well, but the larger ground clearance might be necessary with the Stampede. Any suggestions?

Also, the kits seem to come with everything he needs, but I noticed a 4 hr DC charger is included. I would like to purchase him a simple AC (quick)charger with it as well. Simple and cheap are what I need. Please point me in the right direction. I could give him my Duratrax ICE with AC power supply, but I think it is a little too complicated and past his needs at the moment.

Parts....what will I need to buy him as standard replacement parts? What breaks often? I am assuming the arms and the axles may need replacement since he is learning on this truck. Is there a larger bumper that seems to protect better than the stock bumper? Anything else regarding simple upgrades to make the truck tougher?

Any other input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well!! Thanks in advance!

MODS: If you think this is posted in the wrong forum, please move it. I did not want to post in the Electric Off Road forum and get the non newbies mad!!

Mogg2112

The Pede is a great truck for a beginner. I own a Rustler myself, which I love, but I've driven and worked on the 2wd Pede and Slash a number of times since my buddies own them. Are you looking at the 2wd or the 4x4 version of the Pede? I only have experience with the 2wd version so I will share a bit about that. The 2wd Pede is an awesome jumper/basher and it wheelies on command. However, it's high center of gravity causes it to flip over a lot. This issue can be remedied though by getting wider a arms and longer links though.

For durability, get aluminum steering components (caster blocks and bearing carriers front and rear), RPM a arms, and an RPM or T-bone front bumper and it'll be quite durable.

For chargers, I use a Duratrax Onyx 235 charger, but it's pretty lame compared to other chargers available at the price point. Will he just be running nimh batteries or are you going to have him run lipos as well? You might as well get something that can charge both.

DennisNyholm

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the reply. We are looking at the 2wd model for simplicity and cost. I may have to get him some aluminum parts since he will break stuff. I haven't looked at cost, but if it is anything like my old Losi XXXs, it is going to get expensive!

I don't want him into the Lipos at the moment, I think the care and maintenance will not be done and he wont need that speed for a few years. Though lipos are new since I ran cars, can they be used with standard motors for just extra run time or do you need to go to a brushless setup to use them? It would be great if he could get 45 minute runtime just by switching out a battery!!

flou

iTrader: (18)

Stampedes are tough. Slashes are tough.parts galore. But in its stock form with the brushed model you won't break anything from being overpowered. And yes lipo use is possible on brushed models as long as they say lipo capable and have lvd.slash and stampede share lots of parts and both are tough. Now when upgrading to brushless is when the real mods start.

Nemecide

great choice going with the Stampede I got the 4x4 vxl model. run time goes by size of the battery pack or MaH if you will the more MaH the battery has the more run time you'll get out of it. Brushless does help as well with runtime. I'm still running on the stock battery on mine cause it's simple to charge and discharge. Lipos you have to be very very careful with or they will catch on fire. So I'm plenty happy without lipo for the time being. If you have questions about the 4x4 vxl I'll do my best to help you out.

theoutbackdream

The stampede is an excellent choice. I don't own one so I can't really say, but i have owned a 2wd slash. It's a great RTR kit, and fun!

From my personal experience, the things that broke first were the A-arms, and bearing carriers. Nothing an RPM part will fix! After upgrading to RPM parts, I didn't break many things!

Mogg2112

Yeah, you'll be fine running lipos with brushed motors as others have said, but you want to make sure low voltage cutoff is switched on the ESC (green light). One thing to be aware of is that brushed motors don't last very long and extra long run times/high temps will shorten their lifespan. Just ensure you break the motor in correctly, let it cool off between packs, and keep it cleaned out with motor spray and put a couple drops of machine oil on the bushings occasionally. Brushed 540 motors are cheap, and it's a good idea to keep couple spares on hand. Another thing you may want to get is a cheap IR temp gauge to monitor temps. They are a valuable tool to have to keep your electronics safe. You can find them on eBay for less than $15 if you search around.

DennisNyholm

iTrader: (7)

Oh nice, maybe I will look into lipo batteries then. I have loads of motors from my stock class cars, might be better to stick one of them in the Stampede to slow it down. I can't remember but I think they were either 19t or 24t. Much less than what the stock motor offers! Heck, if he can get a 45 minute runtime from a lipo battery and a stock motor, I think that alone is worth it! If he burns out a motor, I'll just swap it out, cut the arm and replace the brushes. Hopefully that will be enough to keep him going!

Tesla

Hi the stampede is a great choice . a Lipo is not I think its best to stay with the 7 cell nimh much safer ,,
the stock radio
has a trainer mode that is a good option for him to learn to drive
as for the Ice it is a ok charger but has its flaws of over charging batterys and i think its a good beginner charger for a 7 year old to learn

as for parts get front c hubs from rpm and caster blocks front n rear..along with front A arms . Id also recommend the gear case or trans as i call it from rpm.as the stock has a tendency to warp and motor movement can be expected in these and you will go thru spur gears

DennisNyholm

iTrader: (7)

Hmm, I showed him the slash, Stampede and rustler a d by looks he picked the slash. I think he would be better off with a rustler or Stampede but I will probably let him make the choice. I'm just worried the slash my not be able to go over curbs, grass, and rough gravel and stuff. Does anyone have any input on that? It seems the slash is very popular just not what I would choose myself.

hotrod87

iTrader: (252)

Get him a slash leave it stock and run nimh. He'll love it. Ive had all three amd in multiples. I think its the toughest out of them. If I can run off the road at 60+ hit a rock bigger than the truck fly 15ft in the air and 30 some feet out land it (pure luck) and not break it. Its tough or I'm really lucky.

flou

iTrader: (18)

Get him the slash 4x4.and grab a used or new set of monster truck tires for extra clearance.I've owned both stampede 4x4 and slash. The only real difference is chassis length and center driveshaft length. And all other parts interchange. I can also recommend a few simple and reasonably affordable mods to just about bulletproof one.

jonage

whats up guys, new to these forum, which i really like so far. This guy has it right. I just got my 10 year old a new slash (2x), charger and 2 extra batteries (NiMH) and he hasnt put it down. It is great for a kid to learn on if you put the esc in beginner mode.

He has taken good care of the truck and had more fun driving rather than just bashing it and trying to kill it so for being a responsible driver I just bought him some new pro-line power stroke shocks

*my dad never bought me pro-line shocks

subi_life

I've had a stampede and a slash. I prefer the slash. Get him the 4x4 version. Keep it stock until he learns how to drive. Parts are cheap also!

rc car freak

i have had a 2wd stampede a sc10 2wd an emaxx and a crawler and used other cars and by far i like stampede best idk maybe its ability when set up right to go fast and be capable off road. make sure to have an extra spur gear in case because mine has stripped few times. rpm a arms are a must just sayin... i cant but im sure someone else will suggest a replacement brushed motor because the stock ones dont last. 2wd is fun because wheelies.