Basher buggies - where do you run yours?

[Twinfan]

Until recently I've been using a local open area (walking distance) or a slightly further away larger park (need to drive there) to take my runners out for a drive.  I'm mostly into buggies and tend to just hoon around having fun with a couple of cars until the batteries run out.  So far so good.

However, over the last year or so I've not been out quite so much as the two areas I'd been visiting were no longer having their grass cut as frequently as they were.  They're council maintained and I totally understand why (re-wilding being fantastic for nature with the added bonus of cost saving) but it now means that the areas aren't really suitable for my cars (Fire Dragon, Hornet, Neo Fighter etc).  The longer grass doesn't mix well with a lower ride height buggy  

The large park does have a couple of cycling areas that would be perfect, especially the junior one for kids with small inclines/bumps which is almost like an old-skool off-road track.  Unfortunately, it's super popular with the kids and as the park covers a really large area with a massive amount of nearby housing it's always busy.

I've been racking my brains trying to think of somewhere I could take my cars for a decent run but I'm really struggling to come up with anywhere.  Unfortunately I'm not near the coast so there are no nearby beaches or sand dunes, so I guess I need to try and find some kind of woodland area?  To try and get some ideas can you folks tell me what kinds of places you're taking your buggies out to?  Cheers!  

 

[Mad Ax]

Woodland with a clearing can be fun, but twiglets like to get stuck in the suspension arms and jam up the dogbones, which can make it frustrating.  If you can find a clearing in a woodland then that can be fun, the roots and rough ground make for good running space.

Otherwise my favourite is a gravel car park, like the sort you get near woodland.  Winding the clock back almost 20 years to when I returned to the RC fold and bought a Dark Impact, I would drive nearly an hour to get to a woodland reserve which had a fairly big dirt and gravel car park in under the trees.  From 7pm onwards it was usually pretty quiet, not too many cars around so plenty of space for bashing around.

Also, if there's a local country park that's grazed by sheep, it'll be perfect - they trim the grass very short but don't damage the ground underneath, so it stays smooth.  BITD our Tamiyaclub local meets took place at just such a country park, and we would run buggies all day long on the grass.

[toyolien]

I agree with @Twinfan

The couple of off road areas I used to run are no longer well kept and get over grown very quickly. I have a nice clean carpark that is empty on Sundays, but buggies are a little overkill for this, so I tend to just use my XV-02 there.

My local off road club closed last year after 35 years. I was a member and had the gate code so could just take my buggies to the track during the week. It was only a mile away.

I'm not a collector and like to use what I build, so I've recently been thinking of selling most of my buggies and getting back into crawling. We'll see.... 

[Saito2]

My buggies typically get run in two areas outside of my own backyard, playgrounds and baseball fields. Ball fields have been less available as parents seem to be cramming their kids into as many organized activities as possible. I've seen ball fields being used in the middle of January. I can't complain though as that's what the fields are meant for. I'm the trespasser in this case, sneaking in and putting little car tracks everywhere  (albeit, never on a freshly prepped and lined field).

Left to their own devices (pun?) however, most kids in the States around me wouldn't be caught dead outside playing and would rather have their heads buried in a screen. This means playgrounds and are almost always empty. My daughter is very much "not of her era" and still enjoys climbing about on the equipment while dad does some "RC-ing". Mulch shooting up in rooster tails is cool too.

 

[Andreas W]

I run at big gravel covered areas where they had barracks for accomodation when the railway and E18 was built out some 15 years ago. Unfortunately most of these spots are getting more and more grown by now, but there are a few places near critical electrical infrastructure for the railway where the gravel is kept in decent shape. The snow is also moved away there, so I even run there during winter. The access road for one of these spots is paved and is just big enough for our typical Postal Racing courses. 

 

I also like running my buggys on astro. Then I run on one of the nearby soccer pitches. Most of these used on the lower levels have astro surface here by now. During winter they get salted, so then I stay away. Only the clubs on the top level have heating (which where I live is kept off due to cost), but then we are talking about stadium facilities which are always locked anyway.

[markbt73]

Well, I haven't had a chance to run any of them at my new home yet, but I have 1.8 acres to play with, so they'll probably never leave the property unless I take one on a trip. If SWMBO will allow it, I'd like to eventually build an actual track.

[ADRay1000]

the front yard! I’d thought of carving out some space in the back and building a proper track, but this has worked great (as long as it’s recently mowed) for the wacky races. 

[Kpowell911]

This is potentially going to be controversial, but its a continuation from the ‘shelf queen post’ on here currently. Heres your issue Fire Dragon, Hornet, Neo Fighter etc arent bashers. Theyre not big or powerful enough. Other RCs are what you need for these venues. This is why (controversially) I cant fathom why people are running Tamiya’s as anything other than a light run. Theyre shelf queens. In the area’s youre talking about in the UK, I run my Traxxas Maxx cause its big and powerful enough to perform in that environment.

I have a brushless Tamiya BBX, arguably more capable than a Fire Dragon, Horner, Neo Fighter etc. in the real world, its pathetic in reality.

[Kowalski86]

I run my off-roaders in gravel/dirt lots, sometimes on asphalt if I have a set of throwaway tires to shred.

I will give Short Course Trucks some credit here, where they can work on dirt or asphalt without changing their tires. Old school pin spikes don't like asphalt very much.

 

[donfilippo]

There are two larger car parks (hiking trail heads) in my community that are suited well to buggies. Then there is a park with a variety of terrains, but I need to pick times when it is not over-crowded with people. I have also found that around larger construction sites there are often good spots.

One day I will build a car that can be run in my backyard on my ill-kept lawn! 

[Twinfan]

18 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

This is potentially going to be controversial, but its a continuation from the ‘shelf queen post’ on here currently. Heres your issue Fire Dragon, Hornet, Neo Fighter etc arent bashers. Theyre not big or powerful enough. Other RCs are what you need for these venues. This is why (controversially) I cant fathom why people are running Tamiya’s as anything other than a light run. Theyre shelf queens. In the area’s youre talking about in the UK, I run my Traxxas Maxx cause its big and powerful enough to perform in that environment.

I have a brushless Tamiya BBX, arguably more capable than a Fire Dragon, Horner, Neo Fighter etc. in the real world, its pathetic in reality.

Fair enough, but I'm nostaligically attached to Tamiyas, as are many of us here. I just need to find the right area to run them, and a gravel area sounds like the ticket from the other posts (thanks everyone).

I'm not interested in fitting the car to the environment, it has to be the other way round for me. 

[dannymulder]

For me the only place to run my buggy's is on the beach, but for me it is a 10 minutes drive from my home, and thats for me the only suitalble place for them, a lot of parks the grass is to long, and here there  are no places with gravel.

One time I run them  in a park on grass then my buggy was covered with dog **** so bad that I had to take apart the whole car en clean it , so I do that no more.

[Kowalski86]

20 hours ago, Kpowell911 said:

Heres your issue Fire Dragon, Hornet, Neo Fighter etc arent bashers. Theyre not big or powerful enough.

You can't really compare buggies and significantly more expensive 4wd monster trucks, they're very different classes of RC.

As for "why" people still run Tamiyas, it's the same reason why some people own classic Mini Coopers when a Toyota Yaris is "better" in every way. Everyone has different tastes.

[Gruntfuggly]

I have an old all-weather pitch near me from a school that was knocked down to build houses - it's perfect for running an off road basher, especially as kids over the years have dug it up and made jumps for BMXs.

However, my favourite place has to be a sandy beach. Sure it takes a while to clean the sand out, but having large expansed of smooth sand is great and you always have the option to build jumps. 

[nowinaminute]

Anywhere I can really!

Unfortunately, some of the better places local to me have become inaccessible which is a pain.

I love bashing on dry dirt, and fine gravel etc. 

Sand is good, too, I especially like the dry stuff that doesn't require loads of maintenance afterwards, it does require a decent brushless motor IMHO though for extended runs, cause it's high drag and will eventually kill brushed motors, especially with a lipo.

I like grass, too, but I find over a certain length, it makes for a lot of traction rolling when turning plus the same thing about it being high drag and making brushed motors red hot.

I find with loose dirt etc, it's a nice compromise between slidey fun but not being too harsh on motors.

My 2 favourite places for kicking up dust local to me are no goes now, which is a shame. I keep an eye out for places here and in the main town, too, but thin on the ground at the moment.

I live in a small valley in Wales, so I'm all set for training and stuff like that, but bashing is a bit trickier.

Unfortunately, most of the nice patches of dry forest floor with dead leaves etc here are on the side of hills so not very practical to use.

[nowinaminute]

On 6/22/2024 at 11:07 PM, Kpowell911 said:

This is potentially going to be controversial, but its a continuation from the ‘shelf queen post’ on here currently. Heres your issue Fire Dragon, Hornet, Neo Fighter etc arent bashers. Theyre not big or powerful enough. Other RCs are what you need for these venues. This is why (controversially) I cant fathom why people are running Tamiya’s as anything other than a light run. Theyre shelf queens. In the area’s youre talking about in the UK, I run my Traxxas Maxx cause its big and powerful enough to perform in that environment.

I have a brushless Tamiya BBX, arguably more capable than a Fire Dragon, Horner, Neo Fighter etc. in the real world, its pathetic in reality.

Not controversial, just seems like a baseless comparison.

Sounds like OP just had trouble finding suitable areas for his vehicles.

Not sure why you've decided to air your personal definition of what you consider to be a "basher"

The term bashing was a thing long before brushless monster trucks came along.

"Bashing" doesn't exclusively relate to massive air and 50mph+ large scale trucks.

It's not a black and white distinction.

I "Bash" my Traxxas and Arrma stuff in a very different way to how I bash my Tamiya stuff, but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy both equally in their own way.

The OP is clearly aware of what terrain suits his vehicles, so I'm not sure whey you're telling him what he already knows.

Modern brushless MTs might be a bit more versatile in terms of where you can take them and what you can do with them, but it doesn't automatically mean anything less capable should be left on a shelf. Just a matter of finding areas that are appropriate for the scale and power of the vehicle.

[Elbowloh]

I'm not really interested in huge jumps and seeing if I can break the thing i've spent hours making and painting.

So I mainly drive my TCs on the drive or use them for postal racing. My buggies are used on the green in the middle of our cul-de-sac or take them on holiday and run them around wherever I'm staying. I haven't actually tried a beach, but have regretted taking it to a beach recently as it had a really firm surface on which to run.

[ad456]

There’s an access area a few streets below me that I take my Wild One to sometimes. It’s a nice gravel road with a few garages etc. Way too small an area for my bigger rigs but ideal for giving a Tamiya a good hiding, there’s a few more littered around the town that I know of.
And beaches, always beaches! Love the Wild One on the beach, it just rules Gotta clean it right after but worth it!!!
Some of our playparks are fairly well trimmed and empty and the schools are fairly good through the summer holidays, some have gravel areas on top of the typical grass and tarmac. 

Another one that comes to mind is community centres as ours usually have a good carpark and some trimmed grass and are often closed on evenings and weekends.

We have a few wooded areas but they don’t really have the space I’d want for ripping around in anything but a crawler, just not really open enough for me.

Historic Monuments can have cracking bits of grass that’s super well trimmed, I never go anywhere I’d get accused of being disrespectful but there’s plenty of open area around some that wouldn’t end up in any drama. 

A scan of google maps can sometimes show up areas that are good but aren’t obvious from the street/road. 

Hopefully some ideas that help. 

[Gun Slinger 393]

Just started marking a layout out on a a unsed horse ménage I’m lucky enough to have. 
I actually have access to a lot of family land that is mostly unused and I’m very open to building a bit of a private facility for people who are willing to help out building it