Is a stadium truck what we want?

[Kowalski86]

4 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

.TT-02, truck wheels, whatever body

+ tough enough, good value, 4wd, Tamiya, that bit of non-standard making it ours. Some spares crossover with other cars I have. I fancy sticking a Stadium Blitzer shell on it. 

- presumably nowhere near as tough as the Traxxas. Even with truck wheels it might be one that still wants for height over grass, and with stock arms I think the body will have to sit high and be very cut out. Feels like more of a dad project than a boy project, for some reason. 

Traxxas Stampede

+ tough, sounds like a suitable build experience, should be fun to drive and a good compromise between speedy performance and monster truckiness

- have to buy with electronics, and they're proprietary. The evil Traxxas corporation. And it's got that generic characterless toy truck aesthetic.

I think the Traxxas is ahead by a nose at the moment, largely because its downsides are all dad downsides, none boy downsides. But I'm not there yet. Still searching for ideas. What say you? What am I missing? 

If you went the TT-02 route you're looking at TT-02Bs, which while they are reasonably durable they're not great off roaders and bigger wheels would take a bit of extra work.

The Stampedes easy to fix with adapters, plenty of aftermarket shells and wheels to customize it too. The ESC is the only proprietary electronic.

20 minutes ago, Ziddan said:

Nissan Titan? Looks relatively similar to a Stadium Blitzer but on a DT02 chassi.

Saw this reddit post this morning, it has a comparison pic:

 

The DT-02 is a decent chassis, but it's very similar to the OPs DT-03 in terms of durability and design.

[Kpowell911]

17 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

I can't find the $99 kit, but with Traxxas you'll be getting decent plastics, hex hardware, bearings, and oil shocks.

On brushed models I just run adapters to get around the proprietary nonsense, brushless I'd solder. Stock servos are adequate if slow, I've had good luck with Titan motors but I'm careful about gearing and maintenance.

They are fun though, it'll go over grass without bogging down and it'll jump over curbs without scratching up the chassis.

Im not 100% you get bearings in the hubs. The kit isnt a great build, itll be over before you know it. Id buy a used one personally and upgrade anything that breaks

[Kowalski86]

1 minute ago, Kpowell911 said:

Im not 100% you get bearings in the hubs. The kit isnt a great build, itll be over before you know it. Id buy a used one personally and upgrade anything that breaks

The 4x4 should have them, the 2wd has bronze bushings. I'd agree with buying used but here in the States at least a used Traxxas will often cost the same as a new one.

[BuggyDad]

1 hour ago, Kowalski86 said:

If you went the TT-02 route you're looking at TT-02Bs, which while they are reasonably durable they're not great off roaders and bigger wheels would take a bit of extra work.

Yeah I meant to write TT-02B. I think it got autocorrected. Not great off road? Is that mainly about the relatively low ground clearance for a buggy? Why would truggy wheels take extra work? I figured they ought to fit straight on like they do on our other buggies.

The TT-02B plus necessary extras would be one of the cheaper options, so that's perhaps the main reason it is on the shortlist. Base kit is only £100. It is otherwise perhaps a bit less what we want. 

Rather I think something like the Stampede would be more suitable, being the sort of independent suspension wider monster truck basher that feels like the format of choice here. So something similar to that is perhaps most likely, especially if I can find a decent £200 kit.

The more I think about it, it really is a shame there's no kit Mad Van though - I'd be a bit sad paying more for a brushed Traxxas Stampede than for the Kyosho with brushless power, the format we want, bags of character and a stunning shell. Hmmm

[Kowalski86]

1 hour ago, BuggyDad said:

Yeah I meant to write TT-02B. I think it got autocorrected. Not great off road? Is that mainly about the relatively low ground clearance for a buggy? Why would truggy wheels take extra work? I figured they ought to fit straight on like they do on our other buggies.

The TT-02B plus necessary extras would be one of the cheaper options, so that's perhaps the main reason it is on the shortlist. Base kit is only £100. It is otherwise perhaps a bit less what we want. 

Rather I think something like the Stampede would be more suitable, being the sort of independent suspension wider monster truck basher that feels like the format of choice here. So something similar to that is perhaps most likely, especially if I can find a decent £200 kit.

The more I think about it, it really is a shame there's no kit Mad Van though - I'd be a bit sad paying more for a brushed Traxxas Stampede than for the Kyosho with brushless power, the format we want, bags of character and a stunning shell. Hmmm

It's the low ground clearance, truggy wheels will fit straight on but you'll have to gear it differently, and you risk chewing up the rear diff.

I have a somewhat hopped up TT-02B and I like it for what it is, there's very few 1/10 scale 4wd RCs in its price range and it is reasonably durable, biggest problem is the diff when you beef up the power, and screws backing out.

Both the Mad Van and the TT-02B are based on touring car chassis, for what it's worth. I don't know much about the Mad Van admittedly other than it has deans plugs and bearings, Kyosho body shells can be expensive.

I'd personally go for the Mad Van, you'll end up re-building it and working on it in the long run. The TT02B wouldn't be a bad pick but understand that it'll need some work from the get go.

[BuggyDad]

1 hour ago, Kowalski86 said:

I'd personally go for the Mad Van

The thinking man's choice, but I can't quite get myself over the RTR hurdle. Yet. It irks me. 

[simalarion]

[Re-Bugged]

3 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

The thinking man's choice, but I can't quite get myself over the RTR hurdle. Yet. It irks me. 

I was that way too…..until I got one 😃

The thought  that I hadn’t ‘built’ soon disappeared after its first beach run.

A couple of things I did to it though was add a bit more grease to the spur/pinion as I found it a little noisy, then reinforce the corners of the body with mesh and shoe goo. One corner started to split but has been fine since.

Its great fun and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Fazer type chassis over a TT02.

 

[Kowalski86]

39 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

The thought that I hadn’t ‘built’ soon disappeared after its first beach run.

A couple of things I did to it though was add a bit more grease to the spur/pinion as I found it a little noisy, then reinforce the corners of the body with mesh and shoe goo. One corner started to split but has been fine since.

Little details like that are always good to do on a rtr, could be handy to check the shock oil too.

[Bash]

The stampede kit has been discontinued in the past year unfortunately. You might be able to find one on the shelves at a hobby store, but I'd imagine it could be a difficult task. The Arrma Granite and Team Associated Rival MT10 are both very similar to the Stampede and a better value for the money, but don't come in a kit form sadly. The only other similar kit that I can think of is the Tekno MT410, but it costs much more and is made to run on 4S electronics which are very powerful and expencive. Would buying a used or new rolling chassis be enough assembly for you? If so, the Arrma and Traxxas can be easily found in this form and often for a good price, I regularly see upgraded models go for less than $170.

[BuggyDad]

53 minutes ago, Re-Bugged said:

I was that way too…..until I got one 😃

The thought  that I hadn’t ‘built’ soon disappeared after its first beach run.

A couple of things I did to it though was add a bit more grease to the spur/pinion as I found it a little noisy, then reinforce the corners of the body with mesh and shoe goo. One corner started to split but has been fine since.

Its great fun and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Fazer type chassis over a TT02.

 

That does look a lot of fun.

This is my first real look into the world of monster trucks and the like and it seems like it's as RTR dominated as crawlers? Associated, Losi, Kyosho look pretty much to only sell RTR. Axial SMT10 comes as a builders kit but there seem to be few others. I shouldn't be surprised at this after crawlers, I guess. 

Fazer chassis much more durable than, for example, something TT-02 based would you say? 

If it was for me and wasn't for my desire for my son to build it, I would just order the Mad Van. As it is, I still might,  building notwithstanding it's a mile in front, but my little brain has to chew through the issue some more.... 

No matter, no rush. Its the kind of thing that needs to await a birthday/Christmas anyhow. 

[Kowalski86]

2 hours ago, Bash said:

The stampede kit has been discontinued in the past year unfortunately.

Would buying a used or new rolling chassis be enough assembly for you? If so, the Arrma and Traxxas can be easily found in this form and often for a good price, I regularly see upgraded models go for less than $170.

I'm not surprised, Traxxas has been phasing phase the 4x4 Stampede for the Hoss from what I've heard.

I am curious to know about how a Fazer compares to a TT, other than that one's a kit and the other rtr. I've heard that TTs are generally durable.

[Sogogi]

5 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

I was that way too…..until I got one 😃

The thought  that I hadn’t ‘built’ soon disappeared after its first beach run.

A couple of things I did to it though was add a bit more grease to the spur/pinion as I found it a little noisy, then reinforce the corners of the body with mesh and shoe goo. One corner started to split but has been fine since.

Its great fun and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another Fazer type chassis over a TT02.

 

That does look fun. One of vids ive watched mentioned about weak diff gears but kyosho has hardened version. For me that style is more tempting than full on monster truck..

[El Gecko]

1 hour ago, Kowalski86 said:

I am curious to know about how a Fazer compares to a TT, other than that one's a kit and the other rtr. I've heard that TTs are generally durable.

That's what I was wondering, too. The Madvan looks like a TT02B with Lunchbox wheels and tires.

[Sogogi]

15 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

That's what I was wondering, too. The Madvan looks like a TT02B with Lunchbox wheels and tires.

I just saw this review about mad wagon on amain

 

“KB10 platform is new but it does use the drivetrain from the 1/8 scale Inferno Neo 3.0 with some hardened steel gear upgrades available,so it should handle some power.”

[Re-Bugged]

7 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

 

Fazer chassis much more durable than, for example, something TT-02 based would you say? 

If it was for me and wasn't for my desire for my son to build it, 

 

3 hours ago, El Gecko said:

That's what I was wondering, too. The Madvan looks like a TT02B with Lunchbox wheels and tires.

 

4 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

 

I am curious to know about how a Fazer compares to a TT, other than that one's a kit and the other rtr. I've heard that TTs are generally durable.

I don’t have a TT02B for a direct comparison, but this gives a bit of an idea..

The main thing in the TT’s corner is they are cheap. There have been many a member on here that have been more than happy even pushing one to its limit power wise very successfully. I’m sure your son @BuggyDad will thoroughly enjoy the build being in the early days of his RC career. I would only add minimal hop ups though  (bearings & a Sport Tuned motor?) The one comment that does come up a lot about them is the lack of ground clearance.

My personal opinions in comparing the 2 is in the hand the Fazer just feels so much nicer in terms of the quality of plastics etc. It has Oil Shocks, Bearings & ‘essential’ hop ups included.

 
I’ve built 2 TT’s (a basic one & a Type R) and I can’t say I really enjoyed it myself to be honest. The front end of them just feels like it’s been made out of odds and ends from the parts bin. (Again that’s just me). Looking at the front end of both above you can see how many more parts there are on the TT.

I currently have a Calibra body spare at the moment and just can’t bring myself to buy another TT to sit it on 🤷🏻‍♂️. It will probably end up with a Fazer chassis kit later on.

Although the Mad Van is predominantly off road, it was just as good if not better than my basic TT going round a Racing by Post track.

 

[BuggyDad]

4 hours ago, Sogogi said:

I just saw this review about mad wagon on amain

 

“KB10 platform is new but it does use the drivetrain from the 1/8 scale Inferno Neo 3.0 with some hardened steel gear upgrades available,so it should handle some power.”

The Mad Wagon is a different chassis. It looks really good but is a chunk more money. 

However, I think there are metal gears in the van too, and definitely upgrade ones available. It looks a step up from TT, assuming reasonable parts availability. Although plastic drive cups surprises me. 

1 hour ago, Re-Bugged said:

 

 

I don’t have a TT02B for a direct comparison, but this gives a bit of an idea..

The main thing in the TT’s corner is they are cheap. There have been many a member on here that have been more than happy even pushing one to its limit power wise very successfully. I’m sure your son @BuggyDad will thoroughly enjoy the build being in the early days of his RC career. I would only add minimal hop ups though  (bearings & a Sport Tuned motor?) The one comment that does come up a lot about them is the lack of ground clearance.

My personal opinions in comparing the 2 is in the hand the Fazer just feels so much nicer in terms of the quality of plastics etc. It has Oil Shocks, Bearings & ‘essential’ hop ups included.

 
I’ve built 2 TT’s (a basic one & a Type R) and I can’t say I really enjoyed it myself to be honest. The front end of them just feels like it’s been made out of odds and ends from the parts bin. (Again that’s just me). Looking at the front end of both above you can see how many more parts there are on the TT.

I currently have a Calibra body spare at the moment and just can’t bring myself to buy another TT to sit it on 🤷🏻‍♂️. It will probably end up with a Fazer chassis kit later on.

Although the Mad Van is predominantly off road, it was just as good if not better than my basic TT going round a Racing by Post track.

 

Yeah it sounds to me like it'd be a mistake really to liken the Fazer to the TT. They share broad layout ideas but so do many other models, and the similarities seem pretty much to end there. 

[Gebbly]

From all your posts so far @BuggyDad it sounds like deep down you have your heart set on a Mad Van, and theres nothing wrong with that. If thats the case it doesnt really matter what we can learn about any other option, if you get something instead of a Mad Van, whenever you take it for a spin you'll just keep thinking "yeah but it isnt a Mad Van  ", I'm sure we've all been there done that at some time 

In which case it seems like the best option might be to keep saving the pennies and then get a Mad Van for yourself and something else that is more of a father/son build project for your son?

[BuggyDad]

A wise man said:

5 hours ago, Gebbly said:

From all your posts so far @BuggyDad it sounds like deep down you have your heart set on a Mad Van, and theres nothing wrong with that. If thats the case it doesnt really matter what we can learn about any other option, if you get something instead of a Mad Van, whenever you take it for a spin you'll just keep thinking "yeah but it isnt a Mad Van  ", I'm sure we've all been there done that at some time 

In which case it seems like the best option might be to keep saving the pennies and then get a Mad Van for yourself and something else that is more of a father/son build project for your son?

But I ought really to focus on a kit for my lad - it's not like I need any more!