Can anyone advise this Noob on their first electric Monster Truck purchase?

[UberNoob]

The more research I do, the more uncertain I get over what to buy. I was hoping someone can point me in the right direction, if I explain what is important to me in a truck and models under consideration so far.

 

I know for sure I'd like:

 

- An electric monster truck.

- for the purpose of bashing and crashing (rather than serious racing)

- with a decent battery life (if this takes purchasing a superior battery, no problem. But ten minutes from a charge seems like not enough. 30 - 45 mins+ would be great)

- that you can drive slowly if you want to (although being faster than an opportunist thief can run would be an advantage!)

- that is rugged and tough enough to take some knocks, jumps and crashes without being destroyed.

- that is waterproof enough to take a few spalshes/puddles.

- that has replacable/upgradable parts available in the UK.

 

- 1:10 size would be good, but I'm pretty flexible on that either way. I plan on taking this to the woods etc so would bigger be better?

- 4WD would be good... but I could be persuaded. 

- RTR at around £100 would be cool, but I could be persuaded to pay more for the right truck. I don't want to get too serious on my first purchase, top speed is not really an issue.

 

I've looked at this: http://www.nitrotek.co.uk/rc-cars/electric-cars/1-10-scale/bug-crusher-electric-radio-controlled-monster-truck.html

 

But I'm not convinced on the quoted drivetime of ten minutes - would I be able to increase this with bigger batteries? Can that be driven slowly as well as fast?

 

Any recommendations for trucks meeting these criteria would be much appreciated. 

 

Cheers. 

 

PS Apologies if this is the wrong part of the forum for questions like this, couldn't find a beginner thread.

[Kpowell911]

Hmm. Personally, I think youre going to struggle to get that for £100. To get your desired run time you could essentially be spending close to your budget on a pair of batteries and a charger alone! Bigger than 1/10th is going be a huge ask on your budget, An RTR 1/8th Scale monster truck is going to be around £500+.

Id avoid the Nitroktek, purely because they have a horrendous reputation. Poorly made, weak and questionable parts demand. I genuinely cannot make you any recomendations that would come close to your budget.

Youre looking at best a 1/10th 2WD truck, running a brushed motor. ID say running NIMH batteries, but Lipo's are now in my opinion better value for money. If your willing to go second hand, ID look for a Traxxas Stampede, but even then, I doubt youll get close to £100.

The Nitrotek may be your only option, but I honestly would recomend setting fire to 5 £20 notes instead, as that would possibly provide a more enjoyable experience than owning a Nitrotek.

Hopwfully someone more helpful will come along, but I think you will struggle immensly to match youre desired criteria with £100.

[UberNoob]

Say, I doubled my budget, pushing it up to £200. Might that be more realistic?

 

Could you recommend anything at that level? 

 

Thanks for the tip Re: Nitrotek. I was attracted by the simple layout of their site, but will now know to avoid. 

 

[Kpowell911]

Would you be prepared to go second hand?

[UberNoob]

To be totally honest, I'm personally just a bit wary of second hand. 

 

 

[Kpowell911]

Fair enough, Here's where Im at:

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-stampede-xl-5wp-2.4ghz-rtr-black-/rc-car-products/389486

 

Technically. Thats everything you need to "run". It includes a charger, but is a 12v one. You could add this to your original purchase to allow you to charge off the wall plug:

 

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fusion-vector-nx86-delta-peak-ac-dc-fast-charger/rc-car-products/394915

Technically, it hits all of youre criteria bar run time. Id suggest getting something like that, then when funds allow, invest in a new charger and a couple of packs of Lipos. This can be achieved for very little if youre willing to purchase from Hong Kong.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2016 by Guns

[Kpowell911]

When budget allows, this is avaliable FROM THE UK. This should get you your run time. An hourish to charge each battery and you should see 20 minutes run time from each pack

 

A Basic mains lipo charger

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__95982__Accucell_S60_AC_Charger_UK_Plug_UK_Warehouse_.html

2 or 3 of these:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__26671__Turnigy_5000mAh_2S_20C_Lipo_Pack_UK_Warehouse_.html

 

But do a fair amount of research on Lipos before you purchase, they are perfectly safe, but need a little more thought and care than a regular battery.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Guns

[UberNoob]

That looks really impressive, might be the one. Thanks for the tip!

 

With the right battery (for example the suggested series 5 at £35.99), could you estimate what run time I might achieve driving at slow - moderate speeds? 

 

Edit - you've already answered this. Cheers! 

 

Edited May 25, 2016 by UberNoob
I must have scrolled past post re batteries without realising.

[Kpowell911]

Id get the charger and batteries from Hobbyking as opposed to the one at Modelsport. The charger is cheaper plus can charge lipos so its more future proof. The batteries are the cheapest ive ever seen! Just research lipos first

Edited May 26, 2016 by Guns

[dazp1976]

Personally the only way you are going to see good run times of 20 mins+ (especially if ran on grass) is to have more than 1 battery but you would then need a more powerful charger to charge them in parallel with a para board. 

For a single 2s battery a 50w charger is fine, anything bigger and a 50w is a waste of time if you want a 40 min charge time.

If you will definitely be looking into more than 1 battery my advice would be to not waste money on a AC unit and go straight for this:

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__35179__HobbyKing_350w_25A_Power_Supply_220v_240v_UK_Warehouse_.html

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__56454__Turnigy_TQ4_4x6S_Lithium_Polymer_Battery_Pack_Charger_UK_Warehouse_.html

Perfect for up to 4x 2-3s batteries

 

If you will be looking at a bigger vehicle in the end with a 4s battery then get the above power supply with one of these when in stock:

http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__57969__Turnigy_Reaktor_300W_20A_6S_Balance_Charger_UK_Warehouse_.html

And a parallel board for up to 4x 4s. This unit is 6 times!! more powerful than a single AC charger and when you factor in the power supply it isn't even twice the cost!!  No brainer 

 

These systems don't cost that much more than your bog standard AC 50w charger (which imo are a rip off) and will give you a lot more flexibility  Buy your batts and charge kit from Hobbyking at the same time and it will save a bit with postage too.

Another thing is that a DC charger is a lot cheaper to replace than the AC unit. You'd already have the psu

 

I run 6s in my 1/8th and on a 40 min charge I can just about get 12 mins flat out on grass, I wasn't too impressed with this once I realized that all you read on the net about 30+ min runs is BS! I now have 10 lipo's and 1000w charger.

In the beginning I went straight in after a lot of research with 4 lipo's, 540w psu, 400w charger, parallel leads and didn't regret it. Trust me it makes sense 

If I'd listened to the modelshop and took their £50 AC charger 50w I'd have been peeed, the 540 + 400 was only £105 total at the time.

[jony nitro]

Hi this is around your budget, and not much leeway on other stuff but there is a 2WD option at £139

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ecx-ruckus-1-10-4wd-monster-truck-brushed-rtr-int/rc-car-products/394422

 

option 2

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/ecx-ruckus-1-10-2wd-monster-truck-charcoal-silver-rtr/rc-car-products/394424

 

option 3 bigger than you think

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/losi-1-14-4wd-mini-8ight-t/rc-car-products/389415

 

Edited May 26, 2016 by jony nitro

[UberNoob]

Thanks for all the great suggestions Gentlemen. I'm really looking forward to making a purchase now, more than ever! It's great to go in informed.

 

I'm going to take my time putting aside a little more £ and researching reviews of these models for a while before committing to a purchase, so anyone with further suggestions please fire away! 

[UberNoob]

Thanks for all the great suggestions Gentlemen. I'm really looking forward to making a purchase now, more than ever! It's great to go in informed.

 

I'm going to take my time putting aside a little more £ and researching reviews of these models for a while before committing to a purchase, so anyone with further suggestions please fire away! 

[jony nitro]

Or some of the Helion offerings at freeprawn

[stretch]

1 hour ago, jony nitro said:

Or some of the Helion offerings at freeprawn

 

Yep the invictus gets good reviews.

[UberNoob]

I'm really liking the look of the invictus actually. It has 4wd over the Traxxas stampede's 2wd and according to google has slower speed and lower centre of gravity - which I'm assuming will be beneficial to a total beginner. 

 

I've noted there are various model numbers that I'm told have different parts. Does anyone know if there are model numbers to look out for/avoid? 

 

Are the parts tricky to get hold of in the UK? 

[Kpowell911]

Must admit that Helion does look good, I went with a stampede cause I KNOW parts supports is second to none as is the upgradability. Helion, I'd say is questionable regarding the parts support. I know free prawn are saying they stock stuff, but I'm guessing it won't be to a Traxxas extent. If you broke a Traxxas Stampede, I could confidently say you could have any part delivered within 48 hours tops.

[Freeprawn]

We support the Helion cars very strongly and all of the range too.  Distributor Warranty and customer technical support is also excellent.

 

Most parts are available from stock from us, Supplier stock is also very good.

 

Not saying Helion better than Traxxas, just saying Helion spare support is cushty :o)

[UberNoob]

5 hours ago, Freeprawn said:

We support the Helion cars very strongly and all of the range too.  Distributor Warranty and customer technical support is also excellent.

 

Most parts are available from stock from us, Supplier stock is also very good.

 

Not saying Helion better than Traxxas, just saying Helion spare support is cushty :o)

I may well take the risk and go with the Helion Invictus, as the 4wd and oft mentioned beginner-friendly features are a big selling point to me.

 

Would you be able to confirm if Freeprawn stock the most recent model, with the 3000 four pole motor and 50A ESC? As the specs on Freeprawn site and Helion site are different..

 

Many Thanks.

[Kpowell911]

8 hours ago, Freeprawn said:

We support the Helion cars very strongly and all of the range too.  Distributor Warranty and customer technical support is also excellent.

 

Most parts are available from stock from us, Supplier stock is also very good.

 

Not saying Helion better than Traxxas, just saying Helion spare support is cushty :o)

That sound very promising! A brushless 4x4 example will be a much better choice than the brushed Stampede

[Noj]

For note, Helion own the distributor.... So parts supply should never be an issue. 

 

 

 

 

[Deafty]

distributor name?

 

please.

[Noj]

JPerkins.