Any RC owners/enthusiasts here on Oppo?

"Van Man, rocks the Man Van" (jacoboconnell)
08/15/2015 at 18:27 • Filed to: RClopnik, remote control

Here’s a bad picture of my RC truck, a 2014 Redcat Volcano EPX.

I got it for Christmas last year, which means I’ve owned it for about 8 months (6 of which it’s been operational, but more on that later). It’s my first real, hobby-grade RC. It has an MSRP of $200 and features a brushed motor, 2000 mAh battery, and independent 4 wheel suspension.

Here’s my mini-review (that ended up being very long):

So far, the truck has been a lot of fun. It’s quick on pavement, fantastic off road, and will even do rooster tails or powerslides if you manipulate it correctly. However, I was always bummed out because the 2000 mAh only lasted about 10 minutes before dying.

I solved that problem a few weeks later by buying a much larger 5000 mAh battery. The battery increased the top speed (from about 18 mph to about 25 mph) and lasted for 20-30 minutes without dying, even under hard running.

A bit later, I made my second modification: I removed part of the front axle (how this works is hard to explain with out images) to make the truck RWD instead of 4WD. This completely changed the character of the truck. Now, coupled with the powerful battery, the truck would spin its wheels for days, doing burnouts, donuts, and drifts. It was fun, but I plan to return it to 4WD soon.

Despite what I’ve said about my truck’s performance abilities, that’s not really what the Volcano EPX is about. If you want more performance, get a Traxxas Rustler or something. This truck is more of a basher, something you beat up just for the fun of it. It’s ton of fun on jumps because of all of the suspension travel, and fantastic on uneven terrain.

However, my Redcat Volcano has been durable, but not very reliable. Allow me to explain: I first got this truck in winter, so naturally I did some snownuts and other forms of hooning in snow. However, some water got into the supposedly waterproof electronics. The on/off switch was toast.

I also had a problem with the screw that holds in the the steering servo. Namely, it kept falling out. Finally, about two months ago, one of the screw that connects wheel hub to the suspension came out and got lost. I haven’t been able to find a suitable replacement, so the truck has been sitting in my basement for the past two months. If I find the time, I’ll be sure to fix it.

Overall, the Redcat Volcano EPX has been an interesting truck to own. Even though some of the parts haven’t held up very well, this is still a great truck for a beginner because fixing it has taught me a lot about how it works. Even without that element, I just like to have fun with it in various ways.

Now I want to know: what kind of RC do you want/like/own? Tell me about it in the comments and feel free to ask me any questions about my car or (if you’re new to RCs) about remote control vehicles in general.

Also, I can include more pictures of you want, just haven’t been able to take many yet.

DISCUSSION (40)

1111111111111111111111 > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 18:35

I was totally into rc 20 years ago, but it was too expensive for me. Recently I’ve taken it up again, but more into quad/hex rotor stuff. I can get my rc fix as well as my tech geekout.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 18:36

Yes.

I have an E10 with an RX-7 body. It’s currently broken because it was my first and I absolutely beat it to death.

A Traxxas Slash 4x4 VXL. Absolute blast. I jumped it way too much to be healthy for the truck.

And some sort of x-Ray buggy. 1/8 scale. I know nothing about it.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
08/15/2015 at 18:45

Drift cars like the E10 are cool, but I could never get one because my the only place I could use it would be my driveway. That wouldn’t be much fun because there’s not a huge amount of space. That’s why I prefer 4x4 trucks.

A Slash VXL would be awesome, but I’d be really scared to break it since they’re expensive. How fast does it go? Some of Traxxas’ VXL models are rockets.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > 1111111111111111111111
08/15/2015 at 18:47

My neighbor has a quadricopter, and I’ve flown it a few times. It’s a relatively basic model (at least compared to some of the others I've seen). It was still really tough to fly, but lots of fun nonetheless.

Nobi > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 18:51

I’ve been in and out of R/C for the last 15 years. I’ve had everything from beater TYCO cars to a tube frome Clodbuster. Right now, my collection is down to a Traxxas Ken Block Gymkhana Fiesta with mini Revo shocks, rally wheels, and treaded tires to look and drive like his WRC car, a 1:43 tank that fires pellets, and a Radioshack XMOD truck I started to customize into a monster truck that I gave up on before finishing. It’s an awesome hobby, but insanely expensive.

Haimatox > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 18:55

I have a Traxxis Slash 4x4 that is currently in a state of inoperability. With a full battery, the front wheels will turn, but it won’t drive forward or backwards. The diff kind of rattles, but there’s no movement.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Haimatox
08/15/2015 at 18:58

The Slash is awesome. I’d love to get one, but I think I’ll stick to my Redcat for a while.

About your Slash: maybe the gears are ground down? Maybe you have an ECU problem? Could be a number of things. I specifically remember a situation like yours in the troubleshooting section of my owner’s manual. You should check yours.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Nobi
08/15/2015 at 19:05

The Traxxas Fiesta is awesome! It is a lot more expensive than it seems like it should be though. That's why I currently only have one RC car.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:14

I’m trying to sell my tmaxx and get an electric rc buggy. But some asshole on eBay did the buy it now, and hasn’t paid, so I’ve had to open a case with eBay and long story short, it “sold” on July 19 but its still sitting under my desk,

What a clusterfuck

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
08/15/2015 at 19:19

Why would you sell a T maxx? They’re awesome! However, if you do go for a buggy, a Bandit VXL is fast and a lot of fun. My friend has a non-VXL and it’s still pretty quick and great to drive.

Stinks about the eBay situation. My dad had an experience involving someone buying a phone with a stolen credit card. Needless to say, he hasn’t used eBay since.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:27

I drove my e10 on some seriously rough roads and sometimes some tight packed gravel without big rocks. I also jumped it a lot which was stupid considering how low it is. The bottom is completely torn up. The Slash is crazy fast even on a 2s lipo. The stock ESC will take up to a 3s. You’d have to hit it crazy hard to break anything. I jumped it into an empty pool (a drop of about 5 ft) and it took multiple jumps no problem. It has more than enough power to spin all 4 wheels too.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:32

Oh man. RC racing was one of my past addictions. And I never sold any of it. I’ve got everything from a FWD Tamiya M-05 with a silver can motor all the way up to a nitro methane powered Traxxas slayer that’ll do 80 mph. I’ve fixed most of them so often there probably aren’t many parts left from the original kits. Here’s the slayer in action.

On Board: Traxxas Slayer:

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Haimatox
08/15/2015 at 19:34

Is it a sensor less or sensored motor? Check all your connections too. Even the one going into the radio receiver. Check for dirt or corrosion. Also, if you have a spare radio, transmitter and recover try that. Sometimes one channel I’m my old Spektrum radio would lock up until I took it apart.

TheHondaBro > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:38

Yep. Here’s my Axial Exo having fun on the Pacific coast.

Kinja'd!!!

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:45

I hate the maintenance that is involved with the nitro engines, I want something I merely turn on and goes, put 10 bucks a quart for nitro is obnoxious, plus I’m trying to make money on it (I only have about $90 into it (including the price of the truck) other than fuel because I bought it at a yard sale).

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts
08/15/2015 at 19:48

You’re welcome to give me some!

Seriously, that Slayer looks awesome. Random question: did you ever find a track or RC club to use some of your cars at? I've looked in my area but can't find any good ones.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
08/15/2015 at 19:50

90 bucks for a T maxx is amazing. If it weren't for the maintenance, I might have gotten a nitro truck, but thank goodness I didn't. It's so much better being able to turn on and go.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 19:58

It has a ton of extra parts, I think I might throw it up on oppo later today once I’m home and can get to my iPad wucih has the pictures of the tmaxx on it.

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 20:06

There are like 3 tracks within 45 minutes of me, and I only live in a city of 25000 people with no major urban areas around, (the closest city over 100k people is 2 hours away). I bet there is something around you.

1111111111111111111111 > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 20:08

I like the fact that it’s hard. And a lot of people are racing now. That’s about half of what I want to do.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
08/15/2015 at 20:09

My town has 35,000 people and is with half an hour of a major city. However, I've only found a 2-3 tracks within an hour and all but one are bad and the other is only open during certain seasons and won't allow monster trucks.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
08/15/2015 at 20:19

Actually, I looked around for a bit just now and did find a few decent ones. However, most of the good ones are more than a half hour away from me, and I'm not sure I want to invest that much time just to get spanked in a race.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > 1111111111111111111111
08/15/2015 at 20:20

It takes a lot of getting to.

TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 20:26

I have actually. My work schedule prevents me from racing Saturday, that’s the outdoor pavement racing, but during the winter we race indoors on a carpeted track. Electric only obviously. I race a brushless 21.5 F-104 in there.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheVancen- In Pursuit of a Greater Payday and Car Parts
08/15/2015 at 20:32

How did you find yours? What I mean is: did you happen to stumble across it or did you just google “RC track [whatever area you live in]”? I’ve found a few decent ones via www.xtraactionsports.com but a lot of them have bad websites with limited photos/info.

DiExMachina > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 20:37

Rc cars are awesome. I have an old rc10b2, sc10rs, rc10t3, rc10b4.1, slash 2wd that I race in a spec class. I want a sc10b and a ProRally, loves me some rally cars.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > DiExMachina
08/15/2015 at 20:38

Holy alphanumerics!

DiExMachina > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 20:46

That’s Team Associated for you.

Nobi > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 22:22

Yeah it is. I bought mine when it came out as a package with Dirt 3. Looking back, I shouldn’t have, but what the hell, it’s fun to beat around the yard with, and insanely quick for its size.

wafflesnfalafel > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 22:35

had one of the old aluminum chassis RC 10s and a Losi truck years ago...

NJAnon > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/15/2015 at 22:45

Kinja'd!!!

Props to those that keep the RC group going. All I can add is:

NotRichBMWOwner > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/16/2015 at 01:51

I try to race 2-3 weekends a month. 1/8th nitro and Ebuggy are so much fun!

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheHondaBro
08/16/2015 at 09:59

Nice! Could you tell me a little more about it? Looks like a cool buggy.

TheHondaBro > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/16/2015 at 11:41

It has a Castle Vanguard 2900kv brushless motor, Traxxas 2075 servo, stock Axial receiver, and that day I was running it with a 5000 mAh 2S lipo.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheHondaBro
08/16/2015 at 11:47

Wow! Must be pretty quick. Do you compete? Also, I’d love to take my RC to the beach at some point to hoon it.

TheHondaBro > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/16/2015 at 11:56

Its actually not that quick, which is a blessing because its also fragile. The selling point for these was never the speed, it was the handling, which is amazing.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheHondaBro
08/16/2015 at 11:59

Is it good off road?

TheHondaBro > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/16/2015 at 12:00

Very. Absolute delight.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheHondaBro
08/16/2015 at 12:01

Sounds like an awesome car.

MM54 > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
08/18/2015 at 21:05

I don’t seem to have any pictures on hand, but I have 2 RCs I regularly drive:

1) A Traxxas T-Maxx 3.3 which I got over a decade ago and thrashed on a stripmine for years before putting it away for a few years. This past spring I fabbed up some mounts to convert it over to a full 4S LiPo brushless system and waterproofed to to the point of it being submersible. It’s a lot of fun.

2) A Team Associated SC8.2e which also runs a 4S LiPo brushless system, and is more AWD than the 4WD of the t-maxx (it doesn’t have a locked center diff, but all three are viscious-quasi-LSDs). Sitting much lower with the scale suspension travel and everything, it’s an absolute blast to rip full speed through the woods (on dirt paths etc) as well as on pavement and in light snow/rain/ice storms.