ASK Cubby- Your Questions, My Bullpucky

“You guys have a wicked site!!

Hey guys my name is Joey, I’m 43, and I have been in rc for a number of years. Just want you guys to know I love the site. I really utilize your site for reviews and shootouts. I love the whole Site. My question is I’m from northern eastern PA and I’m working on getting some rock crawlers and bashers together. I’m just wondering your or you and the staffs opinion on what you think is the best price RTR rock crawler on the market. Thanks Bro.

Joey B.”

Cubby- Hey Bro, is it arm day yet? That’s right, it is ALWAYS arm day. But seriously, thanks for the email and for the props Joey.

So what was your question again? Oh yes, what is the best “affordable” RTR crawler on the market.

Ya know, a lot of questions are hard, thankfully, yours is really easy. The best RTR crawler on the market right now is the Vaterra 1972 Chevrolet K10 Ascender. It has great styling, decent electronics, but more importantly, it is a very competent crawler right out of the box. Yes, it could use stickier tires, but that is easily enough solved thanks to companies like Pro-Line. Otherwise, I found it to be incredibly capable without any mods. I was a huge fan of the LCG battery tray and of how the bodywork didn’t get in the way during serious crawling.

Go buy one, take some pics, then, shoot me a thank you email. And yes, you’re welcome.

“Connectors and such

Hello Cubby,

Just wanted you to know that I never miss a day of reading Bigsquid. I love your reviews and can’t wait to read the Cub report every Monday.

Do you ever plan on doing a battery connector shootout? The truck I have uses Tamiya connectors and I want to switch them, but there are so many that I am confused on which one is best for me? Can you help a fellow hobbyist out here? What do you think?

Bradley W.”

Cubby- Yo hey ya there Bradley, don’t forget to send me your snail mail for a sticker pack.

So… you fail to mention exactly what truck you have. Small trucks, like lets say a 1/18th scale Dromida, don’t require a very large battery connector, where as a big truck like an ARRMA Nero requires the best of the best.

Given that I know virtually nothing about your situation, here is what I would recommend to you…

Some people say “t-style/Deans” connectors are dead, but they are still good connectors that work in a large variety of applications. If you never plan on going 8th scale, Deans will work well for 1/10th scalers and smaller.

In the past I have been a big fan of Traxxas connectors and they still work well in many applications. The TRX connectors are well suited for use in both 1/10th and 1/8th scalers, but their real high point is how easy they are to solder and how easily they can be reused. In my eyes they have one downside, they don’t last as long as some of the others on the market.

What I am using the most of right now are the 6.5mm connectors from Castle Creations. The Castle units do a great job of flowing electrons but have the downside of being slightly harder to solder up than some of the others on the market. They are also quite large, which is a downside in certain 1/10th scale installs.

So there we go people, another ASK Cubby is a wrap. Do you have a question? Need love life advice? Can’t figure out why your parents hate you? Ever wonder why all your homies on FB unfriended you? Send me an email- thecubreportrc at gmail dot com is the addy you want.

Until next week, CA glue your trigger WFO and bring a broom to sweep up the parts.

YOUR Cub Reporter