Say what you will about Traxxas as a company...

[markbt73]

...but the good old 2WD Stampede is everything a fun RC truck should be. It's tough, cheap, easy to drive, and doesn't need a lot of extra parts or a huge motor to be a hoot. In fact, it's everything I always wished my Blackfoot would have been back in the day.

I still won't give them any money for new stuff, but this old beast will always have a home among my regular runners.

[guggles]

Cool looking willis stampede! Im about to build a nitro one myself. 

 

[Pylon80]

I never gave much thought to Traxxas stuff (besides fond memories of the original T-maxx circa 1999). But I was pleasantly surprised when I drove a 2WD Slash for the first time this year. Easy to drive and quite fun!

...now I do have a bit of a negative bias against Slash's given that they always seem to crash at every corner and steamroller over my car at the local track. Or even hit me in the legs when I want to be the nice guy marshalling cars during practice

 

 

[JatoTheRipper]

That looks awesome!

I love Traxxas.  They singlehandedly reinvigorated the hobby in the US.  And they are still dominating.  They are very good at doing what they know how to with bashers.

When people bash them for defending their own patents, I just laugh about that.  

[Kowalski86]

On 9/6/2024 at 5:57 PM, Pylon80 said:

But I was pleasantly surprised when I drove a 2WD Slash for the first time this year. Easy to drive and quite fun!

The Slash is probably the easiest to drive out of the 2wd line-up, due to its rear toe-in and long wheelbase.

The Bandit/Rustler were originally just cheap takes on "racier" designs while the Stampede chased after Blackfoots, but it used a simpler design and better plastics. The Stampede can be fun but it's very difficult to keep up right on asphalt.

Whats really nice about Stampedes, at least the early ones, is their tire life. As @markbt73shows, you can still get some mileage out of the very old Chevron styled tires. Meanwhile Rustler/Bandit tires will go bald in a few runs on asphalt. Slash tires last longer but still wear out quicker.

Trying to jump my Monster Beetle like this broke parts on every outing, and parts were not cheap. The Stampede only popped a shock cap and a servo saver, the Slash never even complained.

My main gripe with Traxxas will always be how they manhandle LHS's, there's a reason why the model section usually has more brand variety than the RC section at your LHS.

And to a lesser extent...I'm sorry, but a rear heavy, oladtic motor mount, screw-pin suspension arm design from 1994 isn't necessarily "brushless ready" in my book.

[guggles]

Hmmm, what other company still produces models from around 94 or so, and much more that are even older. 

Could be Tamiya Im thinking?

It would be a good laugh if Traxxas re-released some of their iconic racing models and to see everyone go out and buy them. Atleast I would have more confidence in getting parts unlike AE 

I do really like my Tamiya cars, but I like to drive them very gently, I like my Traxxas cars to be slighly more rough on and not have to fuss over.

 

[Kpowell911]

The Stampede is my favourite ever RC. If you look at my entire RC lifetime, I was probably happiest in RC when I had a Stampede. Id have been 18ish, working full time, shifts like 12-8pm so had some funds,  and Id be browsing the US Traxxas forums late at night/early morning. It was so active back then. Combined with the better GBP/Dollar back then I got everything from Tower, using their mental voucher codes. I remember putting the Novak SS5800 brushless system in one when they first released. It was like alien technology back then!

[El Gecko]

18 hours ago, markbt73 said:

...but the good old 2WD Stampede is everything a fun RC truck should be. It's tough, cheap, easy to drive, and doesn't need a lot of extra parts or a huge motor to be a hoot.

I still won't give them any money for new stuff, but this old beast will always have a home among my regular runners.

Ol' Sludgy agrees

This old Sledgehammer has more miles than any of my other RCs by a LONG shot. The precursor to the Stampede in the "fun truck" category. These are Monster Beetle tires, but the original chevron tires are still kicking too. These are more grippy for trail walking though, it's a little billy goat now! Steep loose grades are no longer a big problem, it just motors right on up there.

Unfortunately parts are not cheap or easy to find anymore. As guggles mentioned, it would be cool to see a re-release of some of the pre-1994 cars, since the original parts are scarce and tend to break too easily. I've had to get creative on some of my repairs because I refuse to pay too much for vintage parts.

Hawks are great too, like primitive Rustlers. Possibly one of the first stadium trucks available fully RTR with radio etc. All these old gearboxes are the absolute noisiest of all my cars (a common complaint back in the day, too) but the suspension is lovely and the handling is very neutral. These were my cousin's cars, which he beat up really badly and then just left for dead, so I have to be a little careful because some of the parts are barely hanging on in some ways, but they still put a smile on my face every time I go for a drive.

[markbt73]

Nice! I'm working on a bitsa Hawk/Sledgehammer hybrid right now, with some custom-made parts.

[MadAtComputer]

I enjoy my stampede. I had wanted one back in the early 2000s but could not afford one. when getting back into R/C this summer after a 20+ year absence I bought a new one. It's a blast stock with the 12 turn 550 .That said I probably won't be buying any new traxxas R/Cs. I'd go second hand if I get more. 

I was pretty annoyed that it has bushings stock. A $13 pack of sealed bearings took care of that, and the wheelie bar was a must too to keep asphalt from chewing up the gearbox.

[Kowalski86]

3 hours ago, MadAtComputer said:

the wheelie bar was a must too to keep asphalt from chewing up the gearbox.

Wheelies will chew up the body too, that part should really be standard given modern power systems.

[MadAtComputer]

6 hours ago, Kowalski86 said:

Wheelies will chew up the body too, that part should really be standard given modern power systems.

Yeah they should be stock. I think the newest version has it included.

[guggles]

Gotta love a Pede'

 

Anyone remember the Swami Rc wheelie bars? Those were the ones to get bitd/

 

[MadAnt]

I have a few Traxxas trucks. One of which is an old Rustler that still has a mechanical speed controller and the 20 turn stinger. I really need to revive it and put a new body on it, it just needs a few things and it's back in action. I like running my Tamiyas, but having a Traxxas for bashing is less stressful when parts are easier to get.

[magnumb]

On 9/6/2024 at 8:13 PM, Kowalski86 said:

The Slash is probably the easiest to drive out of the 2wd line-up, due to its rear toe-in and long wheelbase.

The Bandit/Rustler were originally just cheap takes on "racier" designs while the Stampede chased after Blackfoots, but it used a simpler design and better plastics. The Stampede can be fun but it's very difficult to keep up right on asphalt.

Whats really nice about Stampedes, at least the early ones, is their tire life. As @markbt73shows, you can still get some mileage out of the very old Chevron styled tires. Meanwhile Rustler/Bandit tires will go bald in a few runs on asphalt. Slash tires last longer but still wear out quicker.

 

Trying to jump my Monster Beetle like this broke parts on every outing, and parts were not cheap. The Stampede only popped a shock cap and a servo saver, the Slash never even complained.

My main gripe with Traxxas will always be how they manhandle LHS's, there's a reason why the model section usually has more brand variety than the RC section at your LHS.

And to a lesser extent...I'm sorry, but a rear heavy, oladtic motor mount, screw-pin suspension arm design from 1994 isn't necessarily "brushless ready" in my book.

The Ford Raptor Slash is actually the easiest to drive...even longer wheelbase 

 

 

[Kowalski86]

3 hours ago, magnumb said:

The Ford Raptor Slash is actually the easiest to drive...even longer wheelbase 

The "pro scale" Raptor Slash is 4wd, while the 2wd Raptor is just a regular Slash with a boxing body on it. 

Confusing no?