RC trucks have been existence for more than 30 years now and have seen lot of modifications and advancements in their design, construction, technology and capabilities during this long period. From the most primitive ones that had limited power and worked on short-life batteries, much more powerful and long-ranged trucks have evolved. These high capacity and high performance RC trucks mostly work on gas powered engines. Though these high performance have grown in popularity, they haven’t captured the market fully yet. Battery powered trucks still enjoy the majority of market as they serve the amateur enthusiasts and children due to their simple working and cheaper costs. Gas powered RC trucks are favored by those who yearn for more power and speed especially in dirt racing and tough terrain racing sports. These new rugged versions can survive any abuse and have been specifically designed to face any sort of torturous terrains, extreme speeds and destructive accidents; and still survive all of them. So, if you are in a competition and have a passion for winning, you can’t afford to compromise with an ordinary battery powered truck and have to hit the road with a super performance gas-powered RC truck.
So what makes these giants so special and thrilling?
Everything you can notice about RC trucks is big. Big size, big frame, big wheels, big engines, big speed, big power and above all big heart – they will give you all the thrill you are hoping for and will survive to most difficult acid-tests. They are designed to zip through dirt hills and tracks, rocky terrains and steep surfaces.
Now we know what RC trucks are capable of and how much excitement they can provide, we can go into bit more details about RC trucks. We will discuss the various types and specifications in which the RC trucks are available. Each of these different types of RC trucks can be used in some specific place or role. Therefore, after knowing about each of these types of RC trucks, the next task for you will be to know where you want to use your truck. Do you want to run indoors, outdoors, the empty lot down the street or your local race tracks? Or, chase the cat or dog around the house? Because only when you know that where you want to put your truck, you will be able to decide which one to pick up.
To get started let us look at the different sizes of RC trucks. The sizes of RC trucks are specified in 1/x scale, where higher the x the smaller is the size. We will start from the smallest size and go to the largest from there.
The smallest size of an RC truck is the 1/36th scale. An example of this size of RC truck is the Team Losi’s new Micro-T Stadium Truck which is one of the smallest in it class.
It is a two-wheel-drive electric powered truck. The size specifications read a length of 4.5 inches (114mm), a width of 3.5 inches (89mm) and a wheelbase of 3 inches (76mm). It features a fully independent suspension, 3 speed transmission with gear differential and slipper clutch. The Micro-T can fulfill your need for speed just about anywhere. On the tabletop, around the house, or just about anywhere you would like to take it. Its highly compact size gives it the advantage of fitting in an almost any place. So, even if you don’t have a luxury of going outside in large places, you can still enjoy your little baby’s adventures right in your home without the risk of damaging any of your household items.
The next in the list is an 1/18th scale RC and another member of the so called mini family. They are one of the fastest growing in popularity because of their capability of running on your commands at almost any place. Because they have got more power than their little brothers, they are very much capable of treading the outdoor terrains as well. It is a four-wheel-drive version and measures a length of 10.25 inches (260.4mm) to 10.75inches (273mm), a width of 8 inches (203.2mm) to 8.5 inches (215.9mm) and a wheelbase of 7 inches (117.8mm) to 7.5 inches (196.85).
Most of the popular models in this category are still running on battery power and many of these Mini monster trucks run oil filled coil over shocks, extra long suspension arms, slipper clutch and three differentials. So, as you see, their small size is just misguiding fact about their capability as they can be really tough and perform superbly in treacherous conditions. They can pack some punch in their little package!!
The next RC truck in the line is the 1/10th scale truck that is also popularly known as the stadium truck. They will measure in with a overall length of 16 inches (406.4mm) to 17 inches (431.8mm), a width of 12.25 inches (311.15mm) to 13.25 (336.55mm) and a wheelbase of 11 inches (279.4mm) to 12.25 inches (311.15mm).
The stadium RC truck is a two-wheel-drive and best thing about this category that it comes both the battery powered and nitro powered versions. So it can suit both type of enthusiasts: those who are looking for economical versions and those who are hungry on power and performance. Both of these models are great for both on-road and off-road terrains. The 1/10th scale stadium truck are famous for showing some great speed performance; some are advertised as having a top speed of 65mph. This is true irrespective of what power they are using, be it battery powered or nitro powered RC trucks. With all that speed they can be a hand full to keep control of.
The secret of the 1/10th stadium trucks being speed champions lies in their transmission and clutch technology. The transmission used is either a 2 or 3 speed shift on the fly transmission and a slipper clutch is used. Moreover, the 1/10th scale speedos have fully independent suspension, with coil over oil filled shocks that makes the suspension very adjustable for different conditions. One issue that comes as a part-and-parcel of their speeding capabilities and that can be considered a limitation of these models is their habit of doing wheelies. In some of the RC stadium truck models, this habit can be as frequent as associated with each shift. So, don’t get surprised if your racer topples over its lid when you try to speed it up. You can do with it by putting it back on its wheels while it does so just for the early stages till you get used to its controls and habits. By then you will be proficient enough to prevent the wheelies even when you touch top speeds.
Now we come to the last in the list but definitely not the least, in fact far from it. This one is the real star in the arena of RC trucks and you ought to get your hands on at least one of these real monsters if you are a true fan of RC truck. We are talking about the ever popular 1/8th scale RC trucks. This class primarily consists of two models – the Truggy (named so because of the combination of a TRuck and bUUGY) and the Monster truck. Both of these modes are four-wheel-drives. We will look at each of them in detail as they are the most famous ones among RC trucks and deserve a detailed mention under this topic.
First we will look at the truggy. As mentioned, the name comes from parts of truck and buggy. The history of truggies can be traced back to the times of RC nitro buggies which started with combination of Monster truck parts on their buggies. Bigger tires and longer suspension arms are just few of their noticeable strengths. The initial versions were mere modifications of the existing models. Manufacturers used to construct truggies by just modifying the existing chassis and suspensions on a monster truck’s buggy to turn them into the truggy. But truggies have come off that age and have their own stand alone identity these days. Today almost all manufacturers build a chassis and the entire suspension for especially for the truggy.
Truggys are going to measure in at around 20 inches (508mm) to 22 inches(588.8mm) overall length, with a width of 16 inches (406.4mm) to 17.25 (444.5mm) and a wheelbase of 13.5 inches (342.9mm) to 14.5 inches(368.30mm).
Though the truggy is available in both the battery powered and gas-powered versions, the gas powered or the nitro powered class is obviously more popular and successful. This is due to the simple reason of their hunger for power which can only be satisfied by the more powerful nitro-powered engines. However this trend may be close to seeing a change with the new brushless electric motors and battery technology making their way up into the market. As a result, you may soon see more of the battery powered truggies on the block.
The last one on the block is the most popular of them all because this model is the one that does real justice to the thrills and excitement of the sport. For this very reason it has rightly been named as the Monster Truck.
The monster truck is going to measure in with a huge variance in overall length, width and wheelbase. The rc monster truck has an overall length around 21.5 inches (546.1mm) to 24 inches (609.6mm), a width of 18 inches (457.2mm) to 21.5 inches (546.1mm) and a wheelbase of 14 inches (355.6mm) to 15.5 inches (393.7mm)
Its popularity and extensive use has led people and manufacturers to do lot of designing, innovation and experimentation with all its components, especially the chassis and suspensions. This has resulted in the monster truck market being full with lot of variations and options to choose from that suit your style, requirements and budget.
And obviously the options are added through the power source choices as well. Though traditionally these monsters have been feeding on nitro-power, as nothing else feeds their hunger for lot of power, today many are changing their monster trucks over to electric power due to the availability of better electric power sources. So now you can suit your requirement even if you are more inclined towards battery powered monsters. Effectively, there is not much difference in the speed and performance of these two variations; they both have their own advantages and disadvantages. The users themselves will be better judges of what is higher on their priorities and what is more suited to their requirements.
These discussed sizes and specifications are most standard commonly used ones. Though there are also scarcely used variations that include 1/16 scale and 1/5 scale titan variations. The 1/5 scale titan is a petrol powered version.