Remote Controlled Trucks

The purpose of this website and this page in particular is to provide useful information on remote controlled trucks and cars. In addition to providing information on remote controlled trucks in general and 1:5 scale rc cars and trucks in particular, we want to provide the best deals from the best suppliers of gas remote controlled trucks for you too.

Remote Controlled Trucks

The first thing you have to realize about the term remote controlled trucks, is that it does not a;ways refer to remote controlled models of actual trucks. It is rather loosely applied to any large remote or radio controlled vehicle - replicas of real vehicles or not.

Having said that, the market for remote controlled trucks has come a very long way in the last 30 odd years. In those early days the majority were capable of only a limited range, which they could not exceed because they were battery powered.

Since then has emerged a larger and much more powerful range of remote controlled trucks. Although battery powered electric cars and trucks still dominate the market, a new group of enthusiasts wanting high performance has emerged and new, powerful, gas powered remote controlled trucks have been developed to satisfy the needs of those wanting more power, speed and sheer dirt climbing fun.

The key word in the market for gas powered remote controlled trucks is 'size' and it is the bigger the better. Bigger tyres. Bigger frames. Bigger scale models (1/8th scale is the norm, but 1/5th is making headway) and much more powerful engines. The high performance models are obviously meant to withstand a lot of abuse, because they are not the puny plastic models of old that fell apart after a week.

The majority of the monster 1/5th remote controlled trucks these days are gas (petrol) powered, which means that they have more torque and that the power distribution to the wheels is constant. These trucks are designed for racing up mud banks and trails and believe me, once you have tried one out, it is difficult to go back to anything less powerful.

Most of today's RC (remote or radio controlled) trucks and buggies are meant to be used straight from the box (RTR or ready to run) without any but the simplest of self assembly.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of die-hard enthusiasts who like to build their own trucks from scratch, but the trend has definitely swung in favour of ready assembled, RTR trucks, because it is easier and quicker to get started.

The battery powered, more inexpensive remote controlled trucks are intended for beginners, children or just occasional use on pretty flat surfaces such as pavements or tarmac, but Nitro or gas powered RC trucks and cars are constructed to have a greater clearance, which allows them to go easily on just about any surface, be it on rocks, grass, gravel, or soil.

The latest, 1/5 scale gas powered remote controlled trucks are truly awesome. Most of them are over a metre long, some are two metres long and over a foot high. Being gas powered, they can usually travel at speeds that exceed 40 mph.

These engines are very reliable and will usually last the lifetime of the vehicle after which they can be transplanted into the next remote controlled truck. They rarely, if ever need tuning too.