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SmartTech RC Monster Trucks

by: blue-busa( 5055Feedback score is 5,000 to 9,999) Top 5000 Reviewer
17 out of 17 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 1999 times Tags: rc | tamiya | monster truck | traxxas | smartech


PLEASE VOTE "YES" AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE!

I'll probably get alot of nasty emails about this one, so I'll go ahead and say "I'm sorry all you TMaxx and high dollar RC truck owners and hobby stores".  I'm writing this from my personal experience...I DO NOT sell these trucks or am I sponsored in any way by Smartech....just my experience with this truck.

I picked this up off of Ebay about 3 years ago.  I did a little research and after seeing the high prices of the Tmaxx trucks and other BIG name trucks, a co-worker and I decided to take a chance with these Smartech trucks.  We paid $199.00 for each truck and that included shipping!  We figured if price reflected quality, we might see 3 or 4 hours of run time with these.  The trucks arrived in about 7 days and I couldn't wait to get them un-boxed and running.  When we opened them, we felt like kids on Christmas morning....I couldn't believe how cool they looked.  We installed the tire/rim assemblies with the supplied multi-wrench, installed batteries that were included and poured a little fuel in each one.  After 10-15 minutes of decal placement and removal and the 15 minutes it took me to get my antenna wire through the straw (aarrgh!) we figured the glow igniter had charged long enough to at least get 'em going.  After priming and about 10 pulls on the rope we had ignition!  I couldn't wait to get mine going as well.  We totally ignored the break-in period and headed to the street.  He was the first to flip his over and we were scared to even see the damage.  NOTHING BUT A SMALL SCRATCH!  We run them about 5 minutes and shut them down for the night.  We messed with them some more over the next few days AND read the owner's manual and started doing some tuning.  We ran alot of tanks through them and we both were very pleased with the performance.  We race them at a local BMX track here in Louisville and they are still holding up quite well, considering the jumps, flips and wrecks they have been through.  I did have an issue with the radio in mine....after running it about 10 minutes, the throttle would stick wide open!  If you turned the transmitter off and back on you could regain control.  Otherwise, you watched it run around like crazy until a crash flipped it over.  That's the biggest problem we have had and I fixed mine for $28 with a nice Futaba transmitter, receiver 2 servo package on Ebay.  The components were used, but in new condition.  Parts are easily found on Ebay...I have used Excel Hobby for most of my parts, but the local hobby store has quite a few Tmaxx parts that interchange with this truck quite nicely.  (Ebay won't allow me to post their website here, but it has three W's at the front, excelhobby in the middle and a .com at the end)  Their parts are very inexpensive and they are great to work with.  ( example: 8 piece A-arm set for $19.98, 8 piece shock set for $25!) If you do decide to pick up one of these trucks, here are some things to watch out for:

  • Purchase a used xmitter/receiver servo set from Ebay and replace the Smartech set.
  • DO NOT take the truck to the hobby store...they'll laugh at it and say no Traxxas parts will fit it...WRONG!
  • Take the part you need replaced to the same store and they'll say "oh, ya need a part for a Tmaxx, huh?"
  • Replace the thin body that comes with it...they are pretty thin compared to a nice ProLine body.
  • Don't be scared to use Excel Hobby for parts.  I have ordered from them a couple of times.  Go ahead and order some spares just in case.  You'll save in the long run on shipping, plus, less down time!
  • Truck came ready-to-run and included the truck, transmitter, 12 AA alkiline batteries, glow starter, recharger, tool kit and gas bottle!

If you have any questions about this truck or any of my items or guides, PLEASE send me an email, or click on the "ask seller a question" link on any of my auction pages.  I would love to help you decide if the Smartech truck is for you! 

Notice the homemade dual exhaust I made and installed...it now has the power to wheelie and flip over on take off!!


Guide ID: 10000000006628950Guide created: 04/09/08 (updated 10/22/09)

 
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