Radio Controlled off-road vehicles?

If it runs on batteries, someone here should know about it, right???

I am looking for a radio controlled vehicle capable of running across a field (mostly dirt, with some scattered grass clumps.) Range needs to be at least 100 yards. Ideal top speed would be about 20 feet per second, and it should be capable of pulling a trailer that will weigh under a pound. The field is fairly level, but there are some surface tree roots that are big enough for me to trip over. I want to stay under $200. I don't care what it looks like, and it needs to be pretty much ready to run out of the box.

Any suggestions? Thanks. -jack

I used to race off-road RC dune-buggies. Even had a hobby store sponser. That was my first EV, I guess.

I'm so out of it now, that I can't suggest anything off the top of my head. But you have me WAY curious as to what you're planning on doing here. Sounds like an interesting project. What up?

I think I saw radio controlled M1A1 tanks on a website once, and it really shot BBs. I think it was under 200 bucks.

Yeah, I'm curious to what you're doing too. I have 3 old R/C cars and trucks sitting around, I've been thinking about trying to fix them up again. I think 20 ft/sec is about 13 mph. Any of those cheap ones you get a radio shack would be fast enough for that, but probably not when pulling something. The good ones will probably be twice as fast. But if you're gonna be pulling something, and the field has roots, you're better off with a monster truck type car w/ bigger tires, kinda like this.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGA82&P=0

I remember trying to do something similar with my 2WD car, it didn't work too well, just kept doing wheelies. This is probably a good one

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUU88&P=0

but out of your price range. Here's your solution if you have the money

http://home.earthlink.net/~jbonnardel/docs/panzer.htm

oops, got a little too excited and forgot about your price limit.

By the way, since I've been out of this hobby for almost 10 years, does anyone out there know what the current prices for some Trinity Motors? I have about 20 brand new one's laying around, 19-27 turns, along with a ton of other R/C equipment like dischargers, bodies, etc. I'm looking to sell. Where's a good forum for selling this stuff?

check out www.towerhobbies.com

for a good electric truck that works like it should you will spend nearly 500 by the time you get batteries,charger, and upgrades which are neccesary because most r/c cars from the factory are crap. you won't do this for 200 dollars. most have problems running through grass without pulling anything. I to was very interested in this hobby for a while but it started to seem like more work than play. also check the land rc board on google groups

Chris

Try this:
http://horizon.hobbyshopnow.com/products/description.asp?prod=HBZ2226

Although i'm not sure about the range, but it should be sufficient.

InTheDark: shoot me a PM and I'll give ya plenty of advice on how to sell that stuff.

The project is to provide a moving target system for pistol and rifle practice. Rifle range is 100 yards, so that sets the distance requirement. So far, the thinking is to use helium balloons as the targets, tied to individual short strings, which are then tied to a single, longer string, which is then tied to a mast on the trailer. The combination of long and short strings should keep all of the balloons reasonably close together, but at enough of a distance to protect the mast. The main purpose of the trailer is to get the mast 6 or 8 feet behind the R/C truck, which should minimize the chance of someone destroying the truck. (Making the truck bullet-proof would cost too much in money, weight, or speed.)

We have played with moving targets that slide across the field of view on a wire, but they require a lot of down time to reset the target. That is fine for matches, but is a lot harder on a practice range shared with other shooters.

With an R/C truck (or that tank that looked *VERY* impressive) we have the advantage of being able to bring the system back for restocking while other people are still shooting. (And it also adds a "fun" factor.)

When I looked at the title of the thread, I thought you were talking about full sized remote control 4x4's. Now that would be really cool.

Seriously, keep in mind that you'll sometimes overshoot the balloons, and in any case want to make sure you don't overshoot the range. Other than that, it sounds like fun, but I'd be willing to bet any amount of money that eventually, maybe sooner than you'd hope, somebody will shoot one of the cars.

Make em sign a waiver - if you shoot the R/C car/truck, you're liable for replacement costs.

Ah, I see exactly what you want. Try looking in www.towerhobbies.com for a Traxxas Stampede RTR (Ready to Run). They are about $180, go about 22 mph out of the box, and all you need to get is batteries and a charger. If you gear it down, it should have no prblem doing 15 mph and pulling the weight you mentioned.