Monster Truck for Kiddo

[jkelm24]

The other day while running the M05 Mini out front with my 4yo kiddo, he says "Daddy, we should get a monster truck RC". Obviously that immediately lit the fire!!!

So, now I'm trying to decide: should I go simple and just get a Stampede? Or, should I get a Clod or Blackfoot...?

Stampede -

Pro: cheap, easy to find/replacement parts (kiddo could bash the curb as many times as he'd like). It's been around for over 15 years and doesn't appear to be going anywhere. Parts are immediately available at the LHS.

Con: blah... can't build it... doesn't speak to my own nostalgia... blah... and blah.


Clodbuster -

Pro: I've wanted one since 1988! Fun build! Legit "monster truck". I've wanted one since 1988! Oh, and I've wanted one since 1988...

Con: expensive... not very durable out of the box and would require more $$$ to turn into a legit curb basher for me and Kiddo. Replacement parts not immediately available at the LHS.


Blackfoot Rere -

Pro: Less expensive than a Clod. I can build it. I had one as a kid and it would hold some nostalgia.

Con: Not very durable. Replacement parts not immediately available at the LHS. Not sure how long it'll be around as a ReRe and parts might dry up again in a couple years.


Midnight Pumpkin -

Pro: Relatively inexpensive. I can build it. Added goofy-bouncy fun factor. It's from our generation and would hold some nostalgia.

Con. Not very durable. Replacement parts not immediately available at the LHS.


I'm an Analyst by trade and the utilitarian in me is calmly saying "Stampede". But the kid in me is screaming Clod as loud as he can! I'll let you all know how it turns out!

[jwscab]

if it was for the little guy to drive around, the stampede makes the most sense. this way if it's broke, there's no sentiment, just fix and go.

you can find a nice use clod on ebay and old school pretty reliably and reasonably priced.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

X2 on the Stampede. They're tough as nails and a lot of fun to drive. It would also be the easiest to upgrade if he really takes an interest and wants more performance.

[Halgar]

I wanna talk to the voice screaming for the Clod!

I recently sold the two Clods that I've had since '99. One had a home brew lift kit, ESC, and oil shocks, the other had only had an ESC and motors put in it. That's it for upgrades to either, they were both basically stock trucks and I never had any serious failures with either of them and I was not gentle either.

As with anything, the sky is the limit with what you can spend on these things, but I found them to be virtually bulletproof right out of the box. The top 2 "must do" things that you will need before you run it is an ESC and Super strong steering servo. Actually, I'm not sure if the current version of the Clod, NIB, has an MSC or an ESC, it might already come with an ESC.

I say, get a clod, run it stock for a while, see what it can do and what you need to do to make it do what you want to do. I'll warn you, clods are made for slow, rough terrain, if you start trying to make a speed buggy out of them, they get expensive in a hurry, and they start breaking things.

I would also encourage you to come over to Clodtalk.com, we talk about all things "truck", not just clods.

[DaveM]

I have a Wheely King, I bought cheap.

I lengthened wheel base.

Metal gears in the gearbox.

Diff lockers front and rear, constant 4 wheel drive.

Stock diff gears, well shimmed.

I have run it with all sorts of motors,

from a 55 turn brushed to 5700, 3.5 turn, Brushless.

It has taken all the abuse.

Only part I can remember breaking was one axle shaft.

You should see it move and the sound it makes with the 3.5 turn.

It sounds like a jet.

It may not be the best truck, but it has been a hell of a lot of fun!

As a crawler it is fantastic for kids and adults as well.

Drive up to a wall and it will climb the wall, until standing straight up and then tip over.

Kids just love it!

[Halgar]

I believe that the Wheelie King is a shorter, 2wd version of the clod. As the name would suggest, it is designed to wheelie, so unless you lengthen the chassis, it won't be worth much as an all purpose rig, even then you'll be limited to 2wd.

IMHO, half the fun of a clod is watching all 4 tires dig and claw at whatever the truck is pointed at.

[DaveM]

Hi,

The best thing about this Wheely King is how cheap it is, and the

FUN OF MODIFYING IT!

To start with run it stock, it is fun to see it pull wheel stands.

Amain Hobbies 4WD Wheely King, RTR $219.99 with a 2.4 GHz Radio, free shipping.

https://www.amainhobbies.com/hpi-racing-wheely-king-4wd-rtr-monster-truck-hpi106173/p216299

As I said Kids love it!

Adults love it!

I'm not saying buy it, I was just saying I have one, and it is fantastic!

The Clod from Tower Hobbies is $299.99 that is $80.00 dearer.

Does the Clod come with a 2.4 GHz radio, NO.

You can take that $80 and buy the metal gearbox gears and the diff lockers.

Metal Gears from Tower hobbies.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFRRX&P=7

Then the diff lockers.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVGX4&P=7

Extending the wheel base is very cheap.

3mm all thread and some carbon fiber tubing from the hobby shop,

and some Traxxas rod ends, 2 packets.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJG69&P=7

Traxxas drive shafts,

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSP55&P=7

Traxxas diff output yokes, 2 sets.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDDS6&P=7

My neighbors lad absolutely loves playing with it and he is 4 years old, as a crawler it is fantastic!

It did not matter what he did to it, I did not care, you just can't break it!

It was almost a fight between him and his dad for a turn.

There are replacement parts every where including E-bay.

Servo relocation Bracket,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/120712746887?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[aconsola]

My boys started with rere tamiyas. We don't do any RTR unless it is used and we are planning on taking it apart to rebuild.

Lunchbox or midnight pumpkin is a great durable easy to build choice, that is fun to drive we have several of them.

Have him build it with you.

With my kids I started them at about that age finding screws and hardware that were laid out in an organized parts bin and matching them up with the true to size diagrams with every step in the tamiya manuals. Also have them search for numbers and letters on parts trees to get the parts for the next step(see mom, we are reading not just playing with cars!).

Building a grasshopper and a lunchbox in parallel with 2 kids was a winter-long process that I could have knocked out myself in one evening, but they both love driving their cars they built.

Have Fun!

[scr8p]

I say get a Bruiser. They're relatively inexpensive.

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

I say get a Bruiser. They're relatively inexpensive.

And easy to build!

[matt1ptkn]

I prefer the Clod. I got one as my first real RC when I was 8. Helped my dad build it over the course of a week. Ran it through the front of my hermit crab's terrarium. Ran the heck out of it. Very durable at stock speed. Now the super clod comes with an ESC for much better reliability. I still use an MSC in my stock one for nostalgia. The cool thing about a Clod is that it can bounce off anything unscathed. The others would also be fairly durable and the Stampede should be very easy to find parts locally. It really depends on what you want to do with it. As stated above, the Clod will crawl around over anything. Great in the yard, woods, etc, but not a speed truck. The other trucks are faster, and arguably, better handling. The stampede is probably the best for speed and "racing", while the other Tamiyas are good for bashing. Really, I don't think you could go wrong with any of them. Building, playing and driving RC cars with my kids is the greatest, no matter the vehicle.

[jkelm24]

Over a year since I posted this thread. I postponed the purchase for Kiddo last Xmas after deciding he was still a little young to fully enjoy hobby quality RC (he was four last Xmas). He's now five and continues to say he want an RC monster truck from Santa.

So... I'm back at it and debating which direction to go. I've wanted a Clod since I was 13 and am extremely tempted to pull the trigger. But, that would mean that the two of us would have to share drive time. I'm also thinking that I could get two 2WD trucks for the same price as a single Clod, and we could have a ton of fun driving together.

I'm now debating these choices:

1) get a single Clod
2) get one Stampede for him and one Blackfoot for me
3) get one Lunchbox for him and one Pumpkin for me


The Clod would be awesome and we could take it anywhere, but we'd have to share and it wouldn't be as fun as us both driving at the same time. The Pede/Blackfoot would allow him crash all he wants with easy repair, and would feed my vintage bug. The Box/Pumpkin would just be cheap and fun, but they wouldn't be very good in long grass, mud, or snow (then again, neither would the Pede or Foot).

[GoMachV]

Pedes do great in tall grass- well, our tall grass anyway. The stock brushed motors are plenty fast as well. The waterproof electronics are great. The radio is basic but very durable. I’ve had it fall over 6 feet off a shelf and it’s still going. I couldn’t recommend the stampede more. I love mine. I put old school chrome wheels and a proline Raptor body on it. When your ready to upgrade I sell a longer wheelbase chassis for them too

If you want to try one out come on by sometime.

[tamiyadan]

.

[shodog]

one vehicle that hasn't been mentioned is the Wild Willy 2. the body isn't super durable but the chassis is bullet proof.