[pigeonfarmboy]

Definitely some good points. Wish I had this information when I was first buying equipment.

To be fair though, Joe you haven't touched on any negatives for the Vario Excavator. I've got a pile of cash tied into mine and it's currently sitting in my basement not functioning. I think it has a total of 10 hrs currently and I've had it apart a couple times already.

I think the key point to make here is it doesn't seem like any available models are put through the paces in development to assure a quality product in the end. On the other hand I don't know of any RC product that lasts under hard use without needed repairs/maintenance.

It also greatly depends on what material you expect to work with. Dirt/sand/gravel without a doubt makes the model work much harder.

I suppose noone has mentioned the RC4WD excavator option in this thread. Depending on your available funds to get into this crap, it may be your only option you can currently afford.