Okay so I taught I’d just address the question most of you are asking which is “Why don’t I just buy an RC excavator?”. Well there are a few issues with the plan.
1. Small Scale RC Excavators are well…….rubbish!
The below video is an example of the quality of model you can expect from a cheap RC excavator. It’s made from plastic to cut down on weight because strong servos are big and expensive which makes the product design tricky. They usually have control over the tracks and a button which simply extends and retracts the excavator arm which is really not what most of us are looking for.
With that all said there is the possibility that you could use a model like this as a base to build a good excavator yourself as it will be much lighter than a diecast model. I can’t guarantee this however as I haven’t taken one apart. If anyone would like to see a video of me doing that then start a thread in the RC Tractors Forum and if its a popular idea I’ll invest in a sacrificial model to keep you guys happy.
2. I want a real hydraulic RC Excavator!
If this is the case then get out your check book because they are not cheap, I mean thousands of euro!! Not to mention they are also quite large so you’ll need a sizable piece of land to enjoy them fully.
There are however many plus points to this, real hydraulics are a million times better than servos which means you get lovely smooth control with no servo jitter. They are also much more powerful, these machines can really dig and that is why they are more expensive, they really are just scaled down versions of the real diggers. They are not models converted to move, the arms have been designed to cope with the stresses of a functioning hydraulic system.