Newbie. Need help please.

I'm totally new to this so forgive me if I ask stupid quesions. I am looking for a RC vehicle for my 14 year old son for Christmas. I want something that he can run on pavement, packed gravel parking lots, and cut grass fields. No heavy offroad stuff, but something that can be run in dirt, or possibly wet grass etc. I want something that has parts available for future repairs and possible upgrades. I was looking to spend around $250 or less for vehicle, battery and radio, but may be willing to go to $300 if necessary. I have looked at some of the traxxis vehicles and they seem pretty nice, but have a couple of questions.

1. Truck, monster truck, or buggy.

2. Brushed or brushless motors. I read that brushed motors require more maintenance, but how much and how difficult.

3. 2wd or 4wd. I read that 4wd is easier to control, but how much so.

There seems to be so many models of the traxxis vehicles available that its confusing what to start with. Any recomendations on specific models would be appreciated. I do not have a hobby store nearby, so online vendor recomendations would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any recomendations.

I think a Stampede 4x4 or Stampede 2wd will meet your standards. Low price, durable, and kind of a monster truck.

You should go with the Traxxas Slash 4x4! It's durable with many possible upgrades and pretty cheap too. I've put mine basically through hell with only stripped gears once in a while. Great for beginners too with not a lot of matenence!

There are no stupid questions when you're looking to spend $250 or more on something you know very little about :)

I have neither the Slash nor the Stampede (both are great RC's).

1)My suggestion would be to first find out from your son what kind of vehicle he wants (stadium, monster, truggy, buggy, etc.). Is he interested in eventually racing?, or just bashing around? Use YouTube to look at videos to see what kind of terrain and driving you all like. ALSO, decide if the type of terrain they're driving on is compatible with that where you live.

2)Many folks start off with brushed motors simply from an initial cost standpoint. Once they decide to stick with the hobby (or race) they upgrade to brushless. Brushed Traxxas RC's are also waterproof (so are VXL brushless, but at a price premium). If you do not go into water it's neither here nor there.

3) Most 4wd's by their nature do a little better in rough terrain and grass. This is sometimes at the cost of shorter run times and a little more maintenance. 2wd's can really scream on dirt and asphalt (and off road too).

Another thing to consider is batteries, Traxxas RC's usually ship with batteries and an overnight/slow charger.

You also have a choice of NiMh or LiPo batteries.

You'll also eventually want a "fast" charger if ya'll get bit really hard by the RC bug.

You seem to be off to a good start with your research so far. As far as online vendors, I do not have a clue. I do know that E-bay has been a great resource for spare parts at reasonable cost. My nearest hobby shop is an hour away.

Research some more and fire a few questions back :)

Good Luck !!!!

definatly monster truck. most durable kind there are. and they look cool. 2wd is cheaper but with 4wd you have more options to where u can run the vehicle. traxxas is teh way to go 100% for beginners, excellent support/customer servce, cheaper than some other companies, theres an absolute WORLD of upgrades for when your son decides it time to upgrade, you can find traxxas replacment and upgrade parts on EVERY rc website. Brushless is the way to go but more power comes more speed which a 14 year old can handle (im 13 and a half and more speed is fine once you get used to it). but brushed is cheaper and is able to teach the basics of driving an rc car. for brushed, traxxas 1/10 rustler xl5, traxxas 1/10 stampede 2wd xl5, traxxas 1/16 summit/erevo. for brushless, traxxas 1/10 rustler vxl, traxxas 1/10 stampede 2wd vxl, traxxas 1/16 summit/erevo vxl, duratrax evader brushless, or the traxxas 1/10 stampede 4x4 vxl. it really comes down to looks. I would either recommend these 4 cars; traxxas 1/10 rustler vxl, traxxas 1/10 stampede 4x4 vxl, traxxas 1/16 summit vxl, or the duratrax evader brushless. and as for vender, rcplanet.com has some cheaper prices than buying the car from the companies website. o yes, i almost forgot, the traxxas xl5 and vxl cars are waterproof so iif he wants he could jump is into a lake or what ever, but not into salt water. Have fun RCing!