Redcat Volcano-16 1/16th scale brushed monster truck.

[slick2500]

Looks slow as balls.

$99.99 MSRP
Specifications
Length: 270mm
Width: 215mm
Height: 130mm
Wheelbase: 175mm
RTR: Ready-To-Run
Motor/ESC: 390 Brushed Motor & Splashproof Brushed ESC/Receiver
Radio: 2.4GHz Radio System
Batteries: Qty. 2 – 7.4V Li-ion 800MAH Rechargeable Battery Packs
Charger: USB Li-ion Battery Balance Charger Cable Included
Battery Connectors: T-style
Chassis: Durable Plastic Tub Chassis
Drive System: 4-Wheel-Drive
Transmission: Single Speed
Differentials: Front and Rear Gear Differentials
Suspension: Independent Front and Rear Suspension
Shocks: Adjustable Coilover Threaded Plastic Body

Needed to complete:
2-AA Batteries for the Transmitter
USB Power Brick or USB Outlet


https://www.redcatracing.com/products/volcano-16
https://www.redrc.net/2020/11/redcat-volcano-16-1-16th-scale-monster-truck/

Looks to be a rebranded HBX 16889 @Custnam has one of these. The brushless HBX is the same price but the Recat looks nicer. https://www.banggood.com/HBX-16889-...del-p-1590319.html?rmmds=buy&cur_warehouse=CN

 

[Engineer]

Interesting. The biggest concern for me is always parts availability. Got one of those cheap WLToys 144001 earlier this year - promptly roasted one of the diffs and waited almost a month for parts from banggood (or maybe AliExpress) which sucked. Time is short - if Redcat can bring parts into the US then it might be worth looking at otherwise it’ll probably be a pass.

 

[slick2500]

Interesting. The biggest concern for me is always parts availability. Got one of those cheap WLToys 144001 earlier this year - promptly roasted one of the diffs and waited almost a month for parts from banggood (or maybe AliExpress) which sucked. Time is short - if Redcat can bring parts into the US then it might be worth looking at otherwise it’ll probably be a pass.

I just thought it looked nice, sort of like a mini Kaiju.

 

[3d-rc.myshopify.com]

parts are here as far as i know. my lhs has a whole isle of just parts for redcat

 

[slick2500]

Found a review for the Truggy version https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/sg-1602-review-an-excellend-budget-brushless-116-truck

 

[leroychurchill]

View attachment 112495
View attachment 112496
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View attachment 112498

Looks slow as balls.

$99.99 MSRP
Specifications
Length: 270mm
Width: 215mm
Height: 130mm
Wheelbase: 175mm
RTR: Ready-To-Run
Motor/ESC: 390 Brushed Motor & Splashproof Brushed ESC/Receiver
Radio: 2.4GHz Radio System
Batteries: Qty. 2 – 7.4V Li-ion 800MAH Rechargeable Battery Packs
Charger: USB Li-ion Battery Balance Charger Cable Included
Battery Connectors: T-style
Chassis: Durable Plastic Tub Chassis
Drive System: 4-Wheel-Drive
Transmission: Single Speed
Differentials: Front and Rear Gear Differentials
Suspension: Independent Front and Rear Suspension
Shocks: Adjustable Coilover Threaded Plastic Body

Needed to complete:
2-AA Batteries for the Transmitter
USB Power Brick or USB Outlet


https://www.redcatracing.com/products/volcano-16
https://www.redrc.net/2020/11/redcat-volcano-16-1-16th-scale-monster-truck/

Looks to be a rebranded HBX 16889 @Custnam has one of these. The brushless HBX is the same price but the Recat looks nicer. https://www.banggood.com/HBX-16889-...del-p-1590319.html?rmmds=buy&cur_warehouse=CN

Nice-looking body.

 

[gotnitro]

Can I cram a MAX8 combo into it?

 

[slick2500]

Can I cram a MAX8 combo into it?

I think with a little fab work you could get a Max10 SCT in there.

 

[Rcproponent]

View attachment 112495
View attachment 112496
View attachment 112497
View attachment 112498

Looks slow as balls.

$99.99 MSRP
Specifications
Length: 270mm
Width: 215mm
Height: 130mm
Wheelbase: 175mm
RTR: Ready-To-Run
Motor/ESC: 390 Brushed Motor & Splashproof Brushed ESC/Receiver
Radio: 2.4GHz Radio System
Batteries: Qty. 2 – 7.4V Li-ion 800MAH Rechargeable Battery Packs
Charger: USB Li-ion Battery Balance Charger Cable Included
Battery Connectors: T-style
Chassis: Durable Plastic Tub Chassis
Drive System: 4-Wheel-Drive
Transmission: Single Speed
Differentials: Front and Rear Gear Differentials
Suspension: Independent Front and Rear Suspension
Shocks: Adjustable Coilover Threaded Plastic Body

Needed to complete:
2-AA Batteries for the Transmitter
USB Power Brick or USB Outlet


https://www.redcatracing.com/products/volcano-16
https://www.redrc.net/2020/11/redcat-volcano-16-1-16th-scale-monster-truck/

Looks to be a rebranded HBX 16889 @Custnam has one of these. The brushless HBX is the same price but the Recat looks nicer. https://www.banggood.com/HBX-16889-...del-p-1590319.html?rmmds=buy&cur_warehouse=CN

Had to have one for my kid... we’ll see how it goes. For 99 can’t go wrong..

 

[CallMeTex]

As there don't appear to be any reviews of this out there that seem to be honest consumers... I feel obligated to share our experience.

We bought two of these for the kids for Christmas. It's now been 3 weeks, and the kids have run 2-3 charges a day through these when not raining. So combined, we're looking at around 75 cycles.

Performance: These things are way faster than I expected. They are the first RCs I've purchased or played within probably 20 years so I haven't got much to compare them to except my recently purchased Senton 4x4 Mega (was having too much fun with the kids' trucks). They "feel" like they accelerate quicker, and are only slightly slower in top speed. The smaller size and much tighter turning radius make them a real good time and I'm closely watching for the 1/16 e-revos to get back in stock. The handling is decent, but the shocks are not oil filled and are super bouncy. I've ordered upgrades already but won't get them for a month or two probably (see below).

Durability: My kids are 5 and 8, these are their first RCs. One of my son's favorite "stunts" is to ram the back of the box blade on my tractor at full speed so the truck does a back flip. More than a few times he's missed and put a 3/8" thick steel plate, edge on, between the wheel and body. We've got several dirt jumps setup as well ranging from 18 in to 5ft. So far nothing has broken from crashes or bashing except the body shells. They wore through pretty quickly on the corners from sliding on the roof.

Reliability: I'll be honest... I have done zero maintenance on these cars. Since everything is plastic and nothing is sealed, it seems silly to lubricate them as it will just hold more dirt the next day. Cleaning them also seems pointless since all our play areas are dirt, gravel, mud, and grass. We store them in the house so the AC helps with rust development in the bearings. So far, we've had a transmitter fail, one car has worn out the steering linkages (a link fell off and got lost), and numerous screws have backed out (one was stripped from the factory). One truck is also acting like the servo may be starting to fail. Most of these issues probably could have been prevented by cleaning, lubrication, inspection, or just generally less nasty terrain. The customer service on the remote replacement was great. I filled out an online form, explained the troubleshooting I'd done (easy since we had a second car and transmitter), and a new unit was shipped out within 48 hours. I had called a few times prior to see if there was a solution and the wait times were short and the reps were polite. They just weren't familiar with this product.

Parts: Redcat has everything in stock, including chassis. Their prices are reasonable on everything but screws in my opinion. Upgrade parts are available from them as well. If you are willing to wait a while, you can also order upgrades from Banggood for slightly cheaper, but not substantially so in most cases. The HBX 16889 is the same vehicle. A brushless version is also available from Banggood. Personally, I'm glad I bought it from Redcat for the customer service and warranty. Banggood has its place, but everything is pretty much sold as-is and even the domestic shipping is slow for me.

Downside: The suspension is not adjustable except for spring preload. That wouldn't bother me much except for the extreme amount of toe-in on the rear. I'll be trying to rig up some adjustable arms in the future as upgrades aren't available. Another downer is the ESC and receiver are integrated and not waterproof. It uses a 5-wire micro servo, so upgrades are limited unless you change the receiver, which also requires changing the ESC. If you upgrade the electronics or want a bigger battery, there isn't much room in the chassis, you'll have to strap something on top. The battery tray in particular is limiting and I don't like the idea of strapping one of the heaviest components higher up from a dynamics perspective.

Conclusion: If you are mostly running on dry pavement or packed dirt, I think you'd get months of daily bashing out of one of these without too much trouble. I feel we are getting our money's worth, even if I am spending more money weekly on upgrades. Afterall, most of them aren't really necessary The kids are learning and improving quickly. As they crash less, the trucks should survive better. I'm already looking to upgrade them both later this year, but I'm going to keep these and fabricate upgrades where required because they are really very fun and the size is perfect.

I'll toss the bodies on and get a picture later. I'll show a before and after 3 weeks of bashing.
Christmas Day - After first drive

Tonight - After 3 weeks of bashing

And since it's my first post and I probably sound like a shill... My Arrma.

 

[slick2500]

As there don't appear to be any reviews of this out there that seem to be honest consumers... I feel obligated to share our experience.

We bought two of these for the kids for Christmas. It's now been 3 weeks, and the kids have run 2-3 charges a day through these when not raining. So combined, we're looking at around 75 cycles.

Performance: These things are way faster than I expected. They are the first RCs I've purchased or played within probably 20 years so I haven't got much to compare them to except my recently purchased Senton 4x4 Mega (was having too much fun with the kids' trucks). They "feel" like they accelerate quicker, and are only slightly slower in top speed. The smaller size and much tighter turning radius make them a real good time and I'm closely watching for the 1/16 e-revos to get back in stock. The handling is decent, but the shocks are not oil filled and are super bouncy. I've ordered upgrades already but won't get them for a month or two probably (see below).

Durability: My kids are 5 and 8, these are their first RCs. One of my son's favorite "stunts" is to ram the back of the box blade on my tractor at full speed so the truck does a back flip. More than a few times he's missed and put a 3/8" thick steel plate, edge on, between the wheel and body. We've got several dirt jumps setup as well ranging from 18 in to 5ft. So far nothing has broken from crashes or bashing except the body shells. They wore through pretty quickly on the corners from sliding on the roof.

Reliability: I'll be honest... I have done zero maintenance on these cars. Since everything is plastic and nothing is sealed, it seems silly to lubricate them as it will just hold more dirt the next day. Cleaning them also seems pointless since all our play areas are dirt, gravel, mud, and grass. We store them in the house so the AC helps with rust development in the bearings. So far, we've had a transmitter fail, one car has worn out the steering linkages (a link fell off and got lost), and numerous screws have backed out (one was stripped from the factory). One truck is also acting like the servo may be starting to fail. Most of these issues probably could have been prevented by cleaning, lubrication, inspection, or just generally less nasty terrain. The customer service on the remote replacement was great. I filled out an online form, explained the troubleshooting I'd done (easy since we had a second car and transmitter), and a new unit was shipped out within 48 hours. I had called a few times prior to see if there was a solution and the wait times were short and the reps were polite. They just weren't familiar with this product.

Parts: Redcat has everything in stock, including chassis. Their prices are reasonable on everything but screws in my opinion. Upgrade parts are available from them as well. If you are willing to wait a while, you can also order upgrades from Banggood for slightly cheaper, but not substantially so in most cases. The HBX 16889 is the same vehicle. A brushless version is also available from Banggood. Personally, I'm glad I bought it from Redcat for the customer service and warranty. Banggood has its place, but everything is pretty much sold as-is and even the domestic shipping is slow for me.

Downside: The suspension is not adjustable except for spring preload. That wouldn't bother me much except for the extreme amount of toe out in the rear. I'll be trying to rig up some adjustable arms in the future as upgrades aren't available. Another downer is the ESC and receiver are integrated and not waterproof. It uses a 5-wire micro servo, so upgrades are limited unless you change the receiver, which also requires changing the ESC. If you upgrade the electronics or want a bigger battery, there isn't much room in the chassis, you'll have to strap something on top. The battery tray in particular is limiting and I don't like the idea of strapping one of the heaviest components higher up from a dynamics perspective.

Conclusion: If you are mostly running on dry pavement or packed dirt, I think you'd get months of daily bashing out of one of these without too much trouble. I feel we are getting our money's worth, even if I am spending more money weekly on upgrades. Afterall, most of them aren't really necessary The kids are learning and improving quickly. As they crash less, the trucks should survive better. I'm already looking to upgrade them both later this year, but I'm going to keep these and fabricate upgrades where required because they are really very fun and the size is perfect.

I'll toss the bodies on and get a picture later. I'll show a before and after 3 weeks of bashing.
Christmas Day - After first driveView attachment 120083
Tonight - After 3 weeks of bashing
View attachment 120084View attachment 120086

And since it's my first post and I probably sound like a shill... My Arrma.
View attachment 120087

Nice review and summary of your experiences with these cars. Most of the Youtube "reviews" are just the people who got them as a freebie. I had a Mini E-Revo once did not like it at all, quite literally the biggest little money pit in rc.

Seems it might be better to spend the extra $10-20 and get the Tacon Valor MT with coupon 013118 the price is $110.45 before shipping https://www.nitrorcx.com/25c133-14-valor-mt-red.html
Threaded adjustable oil filled shocks.
Sealed oil filled diffs.
Adjustable camber and toe front and rear.
Adjustable droop.
Hobbywing rebranded WP1625 esc.
380 brushed motor.
2 channel 2.4ghz transmitter(not sure if the Tacons still come with the Batan or if they swapped over the Flysky unit like LC Racing did).
Adjustable shock positions. 2 on the a arm 2 on the shock tower.
Solar D655 3 wire servo.
Hex Hardware.

The battery it comes with is rather meh it is only a 1100mah 6 cell NIMH. The esc connector is kind of funky and I changed mine out for XT60 connectors. And the wheel hubs ride on bushings instead of bearings, but the wheel bearings are cheap https://casterracingmi.com/index.ph...duct_id=1782&sort=p.price&order=ASC&limit=100

 

[CallMeTex]

Hah...that power connector is what came on a zippy battery I ordered for a project that never happened last year. It was a pain in the rear to find an adapter to make it fit the senton.

It seems like an odd choice to use bushing when they spent the extra on oil filled shocks and adjustable suspension links. The volcano does have bearings.

 

[slick2500]

Hah...that power connector is what came on a zippy battery I ordered for a project that never happened last year. It was a pain in the rear to find an adapter to make it fit the senton.

It seems like an odd choice to use bushing when they spent the extra on oil filled shocks and adjustable suspension links. The volcano does have bearings.

Yeah it was a HXT 3.5.

Right? The brushless models come with full ball bearings though and they are much better.
Aluminum chassis.
Aluminum shocks.
Aluminum shock bodies.
Front cvds.
Rebranded 16BL30 esc.
2850 4500kv brushless motor.
4 gear diffs instead of 2 gear diffs.
Adjustable motor mount.
Slipper clutch.
These are what WL Toys copied to make the 144001.

 

[CallMeTex]

Sweet...I'll have to keep an eye out for a sale on that brushless one. It looks like a good alternative to the revo I was considering. Thanks for the money pit notice... Googled it a bit and spending $150 on bulkheads to avoid tanking diffs seems ridiculous.

 

[slick2500]

Sweet...I'll have to keep an eye out for a sale on that brushless one. It looks like a good alternative to the revo I was considering. Thanks for the money pit notice... Googled it a bit and spending $150 on bulkheads to avoid tanking diffs seems ridiculous.

And that isn't even the tip of the iceberg of the stuff that needs to be upgraded on the Merv.

 

[Xelk]

As there don't appear to be any reviews of this out there that seem to be honest consumers... I feel obligated to share our experience.

We bought two of these for the kids for Christmas. It's now been 3 weeks, and the kids have run 2-3 charges a day through these when not raining. So combined, we're looking at around 75 cycles.

Performance: These things are way faster than I expected. They are the first RCs I've purchased or played within probably 20 years so I haven't got much to compare them to except my recently purchased Senton 4x4 Mega (was having too much fun with the kids' trucks). They "feel" like they accelerate quicker, and are only slightly slower in top speed. The smaller size and much tighter turning radius make them a real good time and I'm closely watching for the 1/16 e-revos to get back in stock. The handling is decent, but the shocks are not oil filled and are super bouncy. I've ordered upgrades already but won't get them for a month or two probably (see below).

Durability: My kids are 5 and 8, these are their first RCs. One of my son's favorite "stunts" is to ram the back of the box blade on my tractor at full speed so the truck does a back flip. More than a few times he's missed and put a 3/8" thick steel plate, edge on, between the wheel and body. We've got several dirt jumps setup as well ranging from 18 in to 5ft. So far nothing has broken from crashes or bashing except the body shells. They wore through pretty quickly on the corners from sliding on the roof.

Reliability: I'll be honest... I have done zero maintenance on these cars. Since everything is plastic and nothing is sealed, it seems silly to lubricate them as it will just hold more dirt the next day. Cleaning them also seems pointless since all our play areas are dirt, gravel, mud, and grass. We store them in the house so the AC helps with rust development in the bearings. So far, we've had a transmitter fail, one car has worn out the steering linkages (a link fell off and got lost), and numerous screws have backed out (one was stripped from the factory). One truck is also acting like the servo may be starting to fail. Most of these issues probably could have been prevented by cleaning, lubrication, inspection, or just generally less nasty terrain. The customer service on the remote replacement was great. I filled out an online form, explained the troubleshooting I'd done (easy since we had a second car and transmitter), and a new unit was shipped out within 48 hours. I had called a few times prior to see if there was a solution and the wait times were short and the reps were polite. They just weren't familiar with this product.

Parts: Redcat has everything in stock, including chassis. Their prices are reasonable on everything but screws in my opinion. Upgrade parts are available from them as well. If you are willing to wait a while, you can also order upgrades from Banggood for slightly cheaper, but not substantially so in most cases. The HBX 16889 is the same vehicle. A brushless version is also available from Banggood. Personally, I'm glad I bought it from Redcat for the customer service and warranty. Banggood has its place, but everything is pretty much sold as-is and even the domestic shipping is slow for me.

Downside: The suspension is not adjustable except for spring preload. That wouldn't bother me much except for the extreme amount of toe-in on the rear. I'll be trying to rig up some adjustable arms in the future as upgrades aren't available. Another downer is the ESC and receiver are integrated and not waterproof. It uses a 5-wire micro servo, so upgrades are limited unless you change the receiver, which also requires changing the ESC. If you upgrade the electronics or want a bigger battery, there isn't much room in the chassis, you'll have to strap something on top. The battery tray in particular is limiting and I don't like the idea of strapping one of the heaviest components higher up from a dynamics perspective.

Conclusion: If you are mostly running on dry pavement or packed dirt, I think you'd get months of daily bashing out of one of these without too much trouble. I feel we are getting our money's worth, even if I am spending more money weekly on upgrades. Afterall, most of them aren't really necessary The kids are learning and improving quickly. As they crash less, the trucks should survive better. I'm already looking to upgrade them both later this year, but I'm going to keep these and fabricate upgrades where required because they are really very fun and the size is perfect.

I'll toss the bodies on and get a picture later. I'll show a before and after 3 weeks of bashing.
Christmas Day - After first driveView attachment 120083
Tonight - After 3 weeks of bashing
View attachment 120084View attachment 120086

And since it's my first post and I probably sound like a shill... My Arrma.
View attachment 120087

Hello Tex,
Thanks for your review, I just bought two of the same volcano16 for my kids and it is over my expectations, kids had lot of fun. But now, I'm thinking how to upgrade it. Just for instance, I want the aux button on the remote to open/close the led lights, is that possible ? Is there a catalog of cool upgrades, better tires for instance. Thanks

 

[slick2500]

Hello Tex,
Thanks for your review, I just bought two of the same volcano16 for my kids and it is over my expectations, kids had lot of fun. But now, I'm thinking how to upgrade it. Just for instance, I want the aux button on the remote to open/close the led lights, is that possible ? Is there a catalog of cool upgrades, better tires for instance. Thanks

You need an led controller to do that, something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FLZXSD...abc_K1FFXTS8C69G2Q38PDKP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Xelk]

I may have to change the receiver to use that led controller. I looked around and compatibility with the Volcano 16 seems very limited and hard to find. Do you have a suggestion for a receiver I could consider ? Thanks a lot!

 

[Ginglehopper]

I have one. I bought it used, then upgraded the crap out of it. I got all the upgrades availble from redcat, and then some. Oil filled shocks, metal center driveshaft, metal rear dogbones, metal front CVDs, metal diff outdrives, metal axles, metal diffs, internal and external, and wheelie bar. The only thing I didn't get was the 1300mah batteries. I went with some Amazon special 1500mah Lipo batts. Duct taped the body.

The only thing left to do is to make it brushless, maybe 3s???? I'm thinking of getting the HBX 16889 motor for it, and using a BLX100. Maybe use a 20kg servo.

Oh yeah, I tried to break it at the skate park and it wouldn't break!!! I'm talking full speed into concrete blocks, lauching off of 4ft quarter pipes, slamming into rocks, etc. The only things that happened were the front input gear fell off of the driveshaft (screwed it back on with loctite this time) and I bent the center driveshaft a TINY bit. (straightened it in a vise.)

 

[CallMeTex]

Yeah, our original two are still providing tons of fun. I've added fast Eddy and Boca bearing (fast Eddy didn't carry the larger ones) and put all the standard metal drivetrain upgrades in. I just ordered a 3rd to use as a backup. The first one to have an electronics failure gets a full upgraded kit with brushless, servi, and better radio. I think a 20kg servi is overkill. The one in there is closer to a 9kg micro in size which is what I have for our replacements.