Fed up with RTR boats...

[Skullcracken]

No gripes with the retailer, just the manufacturer.

[capnswanny]

No gripes with the retailer, just the manufacturer.

Understood...and I too find the rusty screws quite annoying, even the cheap Chinese SS screws would only have been a few cents more per unit.

[tlandauer]

Rusted hardware is frustrating, the water outlet on a popular 29" cat is rusted and I can't get it out to replace it. I have never sailed on salt water either and I am very good at maintenance, go figure. I am sure we would be happy to pay the few dollars more that are required to equip these RTR with better material.
Since I have been bitten by the FE bug and now have a number of builds under my belt, I look at RTR with a different perspective. But I am aware that they served their purpose well on me and I will always look forward to the next build or something that is built by a well respected member here at the Forum.

[Darin Jordan]

Rusty Fasteners on RTR boats? THAT is what we are complaining about now?

Hmmmm... Well... that's pretty cool then... we must be doing something right if the complaints are now down to that.

I've been racing RTR boats for more years than many of these have actually been on the market, and haven't really suffered from "Rusty Fastener Syndrome"...

But, then, I take pride in my boats and don't put them away dripping wet, always wiping them down and setting them out to dry before storing them away.

I'd like to see these RTR offerings be delivered equivalent to the $600.00+ custom rigs you see out there as well... but, I'm certain that none of you would pay the price for them if they did.

And, honestly, I'd rather put the limited budgets we do have to develop these boats into the things you CAN'T easily upgrade.

All that said, just like with the Traxxas Stampedes and Rustlers of yor... these boats serve as a very valuable and excellent entry point into the hobby, and offering them at the most reasonable price possible is going to continue being key.

[Brushless55]

......

[Brushless55]

Beat up RTR's all you want...but without them...FE would probably be next no nowhere today.

Yes..!

Ya gotta start somewhere. If it wasn't for lower cost RTR, a lot of us wouldn't be here! Thanks for the playground Steve

Yes..

Rusty Fasteners on RTR boats? THAT is what we are complaining about now?

Hmmmm... Well... that's pretty cool then... we must be doing something right if the complaints are now down to that.

I've been racing RTR boats for more years than many of these have actually been on the market, and haven't really suffered from "Rusty Fastener Syndrome"...

But, then, I take pride in my boats and don't put them away dripping wet, always wiping them down and setting them out to dry before storing them away.

I'd like to see these RTR offerings be delivered equivalent to the $600.00+ custom rigs you see out there as well... but, I'm certain that none of you would pay the price for them if they did.

And, honestly, I'd rather put the limited budgets we do have to develop these boats into the things you CAN'T easily upgrade.

All that said, just like with the Traxxas Stampedes and Rustlers of yor... these boats serve as a very valuable and excellent entry point into the hobby, and offering them at the most reasonable price possible is going to continue being key.

Agreed!

[fox88gt]

I must say, as a newbie to FE boating, the RTR's certainly drew me in from on-road RC car racing. The last few years brought out an excellent crop of RTR FE's (Impulse, Revolt, Stilleto (wish PB still made that one). I race RC cars at the local hobby shop in the winter, and I would ogle the RTR boats on display between races.

After doing much research, I decided to go RTR for my first FE boat and I do not regret the decision (keep in mind, I've played with full-size boats my entire life). Look at the list of boats I mentioned in my first paragraph - all excellent vessels with proven hardware, good electronics, and nice hulls - and available at less than half the cost it would take to scratch build similar boats. Sure, there can be isolated quality issues, but that goes for anything that is mass produced. Ever notice that cars get recalled all the time?

Anyone with more than a week of RC experience should know that RTR means Rebuild-Then-Run (or at least Recheck-Then-Run). RTR gives hobbyists room to upgrade before taking on a scratch build (or kit build), allowing people to learn & grow at a pace that each individual is comfortable with. Or, they slam it into a seawall at full throttle and say "f that".

Of course, there are good RTRs and bad RTRs. That being said, if I'm purchasing an RTR, I buy it at the local hobby store so I can inspect it first. Then there are no surprises when you open the box.

Jeff

[Doby]

I just looked at my 2 season old Revolt.....nothing rusted....Hmmmm

[Doby]

Just looked at my 4ish season old PB Thundercat.....water outlet rusted a tad....nothing else rusted.......Hmmmmmm

[Doby]

Just looked at my 5ish season old Rio 51.....nothing rusted.......Hmmmmmm

[Cooper]

I guess it also comes down to demand and manufacturing equations, if 50,000 rtr boats are made and an added expense of $.10 is incurred per unit that is costing the manufacturer another $5000. Now for a retail unit costing $500 the manufacture probably has about $100 in it maybe more. So they could have made another 50 units. Now if the manufacture is wholesaling the units for $300 then a profit of $200. Now the manufacturer could have netted another $10,000.

Several good points made, most of any product now days has a life expectancy in the eyes of the developer. How many times will it get used on a basis of average customer. As said above most likely a dozen times for these toys. The economical battle is to decide how much a unit will cost and at what amount the demand is. If demand is high then product can be skewed to a more durable side. Right now the $100 mark is where retail starts to separate from impulse to target customer in my opinion on toys. So for a manufacturer to put several hundred dollars into a product they must have a specific target. And let's face it toy boats are not in demand. Yes they are to all of us but not the mainstream.

Look at video game consoles. $800 for some, but they are flying off shelves. So the demand is warranting the huge cost of manufacturing. And not to get on a off topic but they are highly (huge) marked up!!! Sony and Microsoft are making a pretty penny off those games!!! But also spending a pretty penny in development. And this is fueled all by the customer.

So I guess I'm agreeing with every little cost savings when a bulk consumer product is made from the retail/manufacturing side of things. And for the consumer side of things I usually don't buy the best most expensive product when I'm ignorant or just getting into something new. Once I familiarize myself and realize that I will use the product more then that warrants me to spend the money for better quality product, even if the original has worn out or broken. So the initial cost savings from initial purchase is appreciated.

[Doby]

Just looked at my ancient and abused SV 27.....nothing rusted....Hmmmmm

[Doby]

Just looked at my 3ish season old VS-1....wood hasn't rusted.....Hmmmmmm

[Doby]

Just looked at my Motley Crew (prototype so God only knows how old it is) ....nothing rusted......Hmmmmmm

[Doby]

Conclusion...Proboat water outlets rust a bit......