Rating:

Ok, I probably should have let the battery get fully charged, there is only a red/green light on the charger and it charged for over 2 hours and was still red, but I was eager to give it a test. After following the instructions about the first ride, I put it on the ground and let the Stampede loose! Oooooo boy, what fun. The dog couldn’t even keep up. I was flyin’ down the street doing 180s (rolled it twice and had to pick it up, rolled it twice more but it landed on its tires), hitting a small little grass jump and the truck flew 4-5 feet before landing…and kept going!! I was in a little dirt/sand with no problems. The dog was going crazy and kept trying to catch it but when I steered it towards the dog it ran. Anyhow, I had a blast. The stock Traxxas battery 8.4v 7-cell NiMh, NOT FULLY CHARGED, lasted about 10 minutes. Well, seemed like 10 minutes but I was having so much fun I can’t tell exactly how long. Can’t wait till it is fully charged…I also ordered another battery so I can have twice the drive time. Needless to say I haven’t seen to many cons with this truck just yet. I’ll list the pros/cons below in a list.

Pros –

Hella fun.

Great big truck, big tires with good looks.

Good grip on the pavement and runs over grass like nuttin’.

Awesome power and speed.

Nice jumping form, was nice and balanced so as to land back on all four tires utilizing the shocks.

This model came with a battery, charger, extra parts, and decals.

Quiet, especially compared to a nitro (gas) powered. Lose some speed compared to a nitro but fast is fast.

Cons –

No wheelie bar to start. Have to buy it extra. Scratched up the back some…

Watch the speed…turns at high speeds will roll ya. Just have to get used to it. (not really a con)

I guess that’s it really. Other than needing some new battery technology to run longer!! Thanks Traxxas!!

I bought my Stampede from Horizon Hobby for $164.99 with free shipping! I think the price has changed since then but shipping is only like $1.99 now. Horizon Hobby shipped it from Illinois and it was fast. I would recommend them when looking for the Stampede model I purchased or any other Traxxas or RC models.

Hope you found this review useful. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to post ‘em. Thanks!

UPDATE! 11/03/09

After running the truck numerous times, lost count, I went to run it and it didn’t work. After some troubleshooting I figured the motor went out so I called Traxxas support. After doing some more troubleshooting with the tech he informed me the motor must have went out. So he said he would send me a new one with a new gear pinion. After talking to a local hobby store owner there is a problem with the gearing and it makes the motor run to hot but Traxxas is quick at replacing the motor when it happens. I have received my new motor, took about a week to get, and am getting ready to install it. Can’t wait to get this beast running again!!! Also, I have uploaded a video from the birth of the truck! Let me remind you I was a virgin RC driver at the time…

Rating:

Overall, it’s very fun and easy to set up right out of the box. The ‘training mode’, which runs at 50/50 power, is nice if you wish to let the kids drive the truck. Full power mode is easily capable of doing wheelies and reaching speeds of 25-30mph with the right batteries. I’m running a Duratrax 7.2V 4600 mAh battery, and it provides plenty of power and runtime for this truck. Please keep in mind this truck uses the special Traxxas hi-flow connectors, so be sure your battery has the same connectors, not the standard molex connectors.

I made a few mistakes when driving this truck in front of my house as I have already broken 4 parts by accidentally driving into a curb at a high rate of speed. The parts I’ve broken are: caster block, steering block, front shock tower, and shock cap. I’ve upgraded a few of those broken parts with aluminum pieces, but upgrading can become very expensive, so please be very careful when driving this thing on the street.

Rating:

The more I have used and understood this car the more I am impressed with it (I read the manuals after using it 5 times). It has race, training and off-road modes. It has a clutch to reduce tie spin.

I bought 2 x 4300 mAH Nickel hydride batteries from Ebay for 56 USD including charger. These last about 30-40 minutes each!!!

What I love about this car:

-Cornering, acceleration and general handling were awesome.

-It’s ready made yet can be rebuilt

-Quality of components compared to other similar priced models

-Availability of parts

-Design- It’s simple, yet functional

Dislikes

- It has a steering wheel type radio unit- perhaps I am getting old. I prefer the lever radio units.

- Through my own stupidity I drive it too fast and keep hitting objects like sidewalks. The result is it rips apart the servo saver used in the steering. It takes 2 minutes to replace but in 40 runs I have now replaced this 3 USD piece 4 times. Durability could be improved here.

Bottom line- you’ll love this car if you want an off-roader.

Rating:

As with the Losi MRC (MINI rock crawler), the micro is a true RTR, meaning all the necessary items needed to run it are in the box! No need to buy anything extra! It makes choosing the micro an easy one.

My Great-Grandson LOVES the micro! Of course, because of it’s size, it can’t do the kinds of things the mini or 1/10th scale crawlers can do, but for inside the house, it just takes a bit if imagination to come up with your own rock crawling course, a few books, odds and ends around the house, and GO!

My Great-Grandson has already modified his, copying the mods I made to my own MRC;

If you move the battery to the plate on the rear axle, and move the ESC/receiver to where the battery used to be (it takes a little modification), the top plate will be flat. Place velcro the top plate.

Now New Bright Toys makes a 1/20th scale version of a Jeep (they also have other makes/types you can choose from) that can be used, once you remove the body from the chassis, and with a bit of judicious cutting and sanding, and placement of a piece of velcro on the bottom, stick it to the micro chassis, and Voila! You have a micro-Jeep that is very detailed, and looks like the real thing! Also, if you remove the springs from the shocks (be VERY careful here, as it doesn’t take much to damage them) and place rubber bands (you’ll have to experiment) between the upper and lower shock mount bolts, it becomes a “droop” system, and makes the micro more stable on whatever it crawls over! He has done this to his micro, and it works great! You can also add a little weight to the wheels, and it will stay planted better. Of course, you don’t have to make any mods to the micro to have a blast, and it’s the perfect choice for indoor fun on a rainy day (or any other kind of day, for that matter)!

Losi just keeps pumping out the best, most fun and easy to operate RC vehicles of any company! The micro crawler is easily a five-star item!