Cost of crawling

[Rinskie 860]

I'm not normally one to complain or even make a comment on the cost of the things I want. To me money is simply a function of time. If I can't afford it now, I'll save and buy it when I can. I have always  been that way and either lose interest in what I was saving for or I finally bought the thing. That said I have been considering a trail truck lately. I have been looking at the Axial Base Camp kit which runs about $270. That's super reasonable for what the kit contains (compared to Tamiya). BUT....I started adding up all I needed to get it running and was shocked it was almost $800. The items I added to my cart were tires, wheels, motor/speed control, a single steering servo, body, and a small 3 cell lipo. Non of the items I selected were top of the line, more of a mid level build but still $800! Now I could do a lot cheaper if I purchased a RTR and replace the entry level electronics over time but we all know that's the more expensive way to going about things. All this is to say I am actually considering NOT getting what my little heart desires just because of the end price. I mean crawling and trailing look like a blast but $800 for the entry and we all know over time it will need new tires, another body and blah blah which would creep it all to a $1000 toy truck. I mean I could get new wheel for my Subaru for that. That said....I keep touring myself with Axial Fest videos and it just seems too cool for school. But is it $800 cool?

[Kpowell911 2164]

Just buy a TRX4 and be done with it. They’re incredible out the box and dont need any upgrades

[Frog Jumper 3815]

Stop looking at the spreadsheet!

Is it $800 or is it “time”???

I live by the axiom “do it cheap, do it right, or do it fast”.  Pick 2 of the 3”.

YMMV…

 

[Rinskie 860]

1 minute ago, Frog Jumper said:

Stop looking at the spreadsheet!

Is it $800 or is it “time”???

I live by the axiom “do it cheap, do it right, or do it fast”.  Pick 2 of the 3”.

YMMV…

 

LOL, that's the funny thing. I am not totally sure which one it is. Maybe it's all the other things you could get with that time or money. Thanks for bringing back the spreadsheet idea. I lost sight of that. When I built my TT02 I just bought the thing then started adding stuff over time and it ended up to be somewhere around 8 bills too. If I knew that going in I most likely would have gotten the crawler to begin with. 

[Rinskie 860]

7 minutes ago, Kpowell911 said:

Just buy a TRX4 and be done with it. They’re incredible out the box and dont need any upgrades

Dude, I thought we were friends? 

[Badcrumble 4415]

If you go all in, crawling can be expensive.

But are you going rock crawling or trail walking?

If the latter, you may already have what you need to get started - something with big wheels or a monster truck?

Sticky tyres are nice but expensive and does your terrain demand them?

You've already got batteries - do you you really need a massive capacity 3S LiPo?

Or maybe find someone who got bitten by the bug but now needs to offload their gear - bargain!

[Kowalski86 4075]

Most crawler stuff is crazy overpriced imo, it's like the more that they use the word "scale", the more they can charge for body shells and 1/10 toilets.

If you just want a trail truck look into the Redcat Gen 8 for $330, I've been running a Gen 7 Pro and I've had good luck with it other than the stock reciever going bad. Just budget for a better servo, you could probably get away with a 35kg no name. You won't be going fast enough to need anything precise.

An alternative would be one of AEs "Element" crawlers, if you're okay with oilite bushings instead of bearings. There's a handful of body styles to pick from and they use Deans connectors. Beware of blatantly paid off youtubers praising the budget cuts between previous gens though.

The TRX4 isn't half bad, but like everything Traxxas it's crazy overpriced imo. $500 and it doesn't come with beadlock rims nor basic LED lights, and basically every upgrade for it is $100.

Some things to keep in mind with trail trucks and crawlers. They hardly ever break due to their slower speeds, and tires generally last a long time (especially compared to on-road tires). You can get away with a HW1060 in FWD/REV mode and a cheap Holmes Hobby "Crawlmaster" motor.

[SupraChrgd82 1434]

That sounds about right.  Unless you buy a secondhand rig, $500-800 is about what a finely dialed crawler will cost.  RTR’s are largely garbage with atrocious electronics and floppy plastic links.

Shop around for sales and clearance kits if you want to buy a new one.  Be wary of chinesium on Amazon. 
 

Comparatively, it’s less expensive than most other genres of the hobby.  You wont be crashing into curbs at 50mph and routinely replacing A-arms.  Low speed tumbles rarely break anything.

[Rinskie 860]

Thanks @SupraChrgd82, that's the sort of thing I was looking for. I have always thought crawlers looked cool but thought I'd get bored with it in short order. It wasn't until I realized how much fun my GF01FT is crawling over stuff that made me consider a "more serious" trail truck. My wants are simple, a reliable transmission without any over/under drive, no portal axles and a reliable design with no weird offset drive shaft angles like the Element. I want it to be sorta scale, no crazy hard body rusted up projects with canoes and coolers. I prefer just a simple lightweight lexan body on a mechanically sound chassis. And it has to be a kit which cuts out the vast majority of crawlers on the market. 

[SupraChrgd82 1434]

I’d suggest an Element Builder’s Kit I. The drivetrain and dampers are head and shoulders above Axial in terms of smoothness. Steel tranny gears add good weight and durability as do stainless links.  A little overdrive makes for improved turning radius.  Aftermarket offers endless parts support.
 

A Hobbywing 2in1 is low maintenance and inexpensive. 
 

Traxxas is out for ethical reasons. Cross RC is just plain weird. RC4WD is too scalerish.

My buddies and I have found more enjoyment from crawlers than buggies or touring cars.  They go everywhere from local parks, camping trips, hiking trails, river beds, backyards….the fun extends into cutting trails, building obstacles and hunting down new places to drive.  No more playing in a pre-made parking lot.  Everything is now your playground.

[Kowalski86 4075]

1 hour ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

.RTR’s are largely garbage with atrocious electronics and floppy plastic links.

Shop around for sales and clearance kits if you want to buy a new one.  Be wary of chinesium on Amazon. 
 

Comparatively, it’s less expensive than most other genres of the hobby.  You wont be crashing into curbs at 50mph and routinely replacing A-arms.  Low speed tumbles rarely break anything.

Oh but according to Element, floppy plastic links are good for durability over rougher terrain! And oilite bushings means less maintenance!

Joking aside, good points. Chinesium stuff can be a gamble and will fall apart on trails out of the box (still waiting on parts for my WPL Jimny).

Used crawlers can be a gamble, they usually won't have the snot beaten out of them like a basher, but they might have rust if they've been driven in water.

[Nikko85 3774]

I know you said no portals, but take those off and put on a TL01 and then let the GF01 be the monster truck it wants to be.

The portal axles will take care of the gearing and the longer wheelbase will stop the wheelies! Just an option.

[Saito2 7325]

1 hour ago, Rinskie said:

I want it to be sorta scale, no crazy hard body rusted up projects with canoes and coolers. I prefer just a simple lightweight lexan body on a mechanically sound chassis. And it has to be a kit which cuts out the vast majority of crawlers on the market. 

I was in this market last year, looking at some of the same options in the field. Outdated though it may be, these are the reasons I bought a used CR01. It always come back to Tamiya in my case and when I go for a more trail-oriented truck this year, Tamiya will get my money again with a CC02. Maybe I'm a hopeless fanboy (at my age, nothing seems or feel "boyish" internally anymore though, lol). I know there might be "better" for cheaper, but for some unknown reason, I never feel too screwed-over by Tamiya. Aside from the MAP nonsense years back, Tamiya do what they do and things cost what they cost and I never feel overly "taken advantage of". Maybe its just the joy and fun they inject into their designs that I sense vs. the hype and marketing and "Xtreme!"/serious nature of other manufacturers at times. 

[markbt73 5697]

Why not just look for a decent mid-grade RTR to see if you like it? Redcat, Carisma, Element, Axial, and Gmade all have decent options around $300. The included electronics are completely useable; you don't need more than that just to get your feet wet. You're not likely to break anything; we're talking jogging speeds. And they all come with perfectly good tires. If you like it, you can upgrade stuff if you want. If not, you aren't out nearly as much.

(I used to be staunchly anti-RTR, but much like automatic transmissions, I have somewhat given in to the inevitable. Life's too short to be that contrarian all the time.)

[JimBear 859]

The AE Enduro 12 Sendero would have been my choice today if I would do it all over.

But I've put about 300 euros into my secondhand CR-01 all told, and I am happy. It's not going to do any competition crawling, but it can do the trails around here. As @Saito2 writes, the CC02 might be interesting too, if you feel like building.

[Sogogi 3358]

As many folks mentioned above,

building from kit costs quite a lot. I bought trx4 sport kit and all other electronics. It was good cause i used electronics i wanted, but unless you want to hand select parts, i would recommend rtr. (I dont normally recommend rtr exception for decent crawlers)

[Nick-W 1788]

6 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

I live by the axiom “do it cheap, do it right, or do it fast”.  Pick 2 of the 3”.

I always go the cheap and fast route!

[OnTheTrail 1170]

7 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

Just buy a TRX4 and be done with it. They’re incredible out the box and dont need any upgrades

^^This^^   If you like to trail the rig as well as rock crawl, I'd recommend two speed and the locking diffs (just avoid the "High Trail" versions if you want to crawl).   I have a decked out Defender and a virtually bone sock 2021 Bronco.   Both great performance and only issue was a stock ESC on the Defender (Replaced with a HW1080) but otherwise amazingly tough.   

[Pylon80 3421]

I think I'm with others on considering a RTR car. The question is: do you want to crawl out do you want to build a crawler? If you just want to crawl for now, there nothing wrong getting a RTR and trying your hand at it. Then if you become obsessed with it you can build something higher spec later and it will cost a lot of money. And the RTR can always be resold to a low baller village idiot on eBay 😅