That question is not as easy to answer now as it used to be. For many people starting out, it was recommended to get an electric RC truck. They were easier to take care of, ran quiet and were usually ready to go right out-of-the-box.
Many gas RC trucks used to come unassembled as kits. That required you to do quite a bit of assembly work before you could hit the road. Many time it resembled a complicated model. There were body parts, engine parts, and transmissions… all requiring some assembly. Then after assembly many times you had to do decal & body painting.
So to run your first race… it usually required a pretty knowledgeable hobbyist to a gas RC truck on the road.
The higher level of hobby skill use to be a natural barrier.
However things have changed in the past few years. More and more manufacturers are making trucks, ready to run right out a box. You don’t have to do the assembly anymore. You don’t have to do any painting can. You just pull it out. Gas up and go
The hobby has seen a lot of changes for the good. I remember my first truck was electric truck. It was a toy compared to today’s standards. It lacked the power of a good Nitro RC truck. And even though it was slower than its gas-powered cousin, I still got a lot of enjoyment out of it and had a lot of fun.
I stayed with that electric powered truck for many years. I have to admit one of the reasons was because I was intimidated to go get a gas-powered truck. I wasn’t sure if my skill level was good enough to assemble and maintain one. However that’s just not the case anymore.
Now don’t get me wrong, you still have to maintain and take care of your gas-powered truck. If you don’t maintain your truck you will a performance dip, or even break down. But it’s much easier than what it used to be.
This opens up the hobby to a lot more people. And also opens up the hobby to one of the big reasons of owning one. Is to get out there and have fun drive in and around
There are still some factors a new hobbyist has to consider before getting a nitro RC truck. Some factors, such as the noise level. Gas powered truck is loud, and you might annoy the neighbors. So you have to consider, are you far enough away from your neighbors that they won’t be bothered by the noise? Or do you have a place you can take your truck were the noise level is not in issue?
Another factor is the speed. In most cases, gas trucks go faster than a lecture. Are sure you will be able to handle driving something that goes so fast? Today’s trucks handle much better than they used to. So this is not as critical of a factor as it use to be.
Personally I think many beginning RC hobbyists can go right to a gas powered RC truck. The barriers aren’t there like they used to be in the past. Which is nice, because I believe a gas powered RC trucks will give you much more enjoyment and you have a much better time than regardless of your skill level.
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