Monster truck? No its definitely a truggy.
As far as batteries go, the previously mentioned turnigy 2.2Ah 2-cell batteries are the best choice.
Running it on 3s is going to create alot of heat, I ran 2 on parallel when i first got mine and it overheated about 6 times or so.
It was the middle of winter too. But I didn't realize i was supposed to gear it down.
I'm very wary of running 3s in a mini e-revo, as I've stuffed 6 diff and pinion's on 2s, with shims.
The stock diffs are crap and will not last; shimming them doesn't work if you gear them up or run 3s they just strip anyway.
Hot racing make a steel spiral gear diff and pinion that is very, very strong. I've one in the front and back and they are amazing, and I run mine with an over-sized motor/esc.
You can get away with shimming the diffs though, the rear takes most of the punishment and it will hold up for a while, and the hot racing diffs are $35+ on ebay. Each.
But one in the rear and you'd never have a problem with it for a long time, and it comes with shims too which must be used.
The spiral gear design makes it indestructible in acceleration, but it does have some trouble with very aggressive braking, but much less than a stock diff.
Parallel connector from traxxas are crap, the cable fray off in a month or so, so be prepared for that.
The motor bearings will rust and seize if run submerged in water unless some crc or wd-40 is applied after being run in very wet conditions.
The slipper clutch is crap and will come loose and cook itself, so it needs to be done up fairly tight.
The stock drive-shafts brake after a few months, steel or aluminium centre drive-shafts are recommended as they take more force than the outer drive-shafts which can share the load around.
Pinion and spur must be meshed properly, fi they are too close they create friction and if they are too far apart the plastic spur gear can be rounded off, but only on tall gearing or 3s with the stock motor and esc.
Servo's are rubbish if they brake don't buy the same ones buy anything else and make sure the replacements are stronger and very tough, preferably metal geared. using 2 servo's is very rewarding, they provide more resistance against the servo saver and the steering is heaps better. Stock esc sucks but is waterproof, so replace with anything over 45 amps for more kick, and replace it with a waterproof one if you want to keep the it waterproof.
The esc upgrade makes a big difference, my 2nd 1/16th e-revo has a hobbywing 45 amp esc and it goes much better.
The original esc died when a 3-cell traxxas battery exploded while the car was running.
Traxxas lipo batteries are rubbish, don't even use them as they randomly explode and kill your esc.
Axle hubs are rubbish, they last a few weeks before wearing out and creating heaps of slop.
Rpm make great replacements that are cheaper and last 6 times as long.
As mentioned rpm a-arms are a important upgrade as the stock ones are very brittle and snap easily, although only the front ones tend to brake.
Stock wheels are crap, but good for drifting and burnouts.
1/10 buggy rims with good offset and great, and 1/10 tyres are good for smoother surfaces like clay, loose dirt, on gravel and asphalt they wear out quickly.
Dirt hawgs are great for on road, they last forever, but they have very little traction in loose dirt and gravel, they are good on clay and hard packed dirt.
Gladiators on j-concepts rims are the best bet for off-road and all round use, they are fine on road too, they don’t wear as quickly as you might think.
They are simply the best tyre for use on a variety of surfaces.
They also give it some much needed height.
Don’t use aluminium pushrods or toelinks/turnbuckles, they brake easily , except for the hot racing ones. Only use plastic pushrods, you need the durability and flexibility of plastic.
Gpm make some good alternatives to body clips, which disappear every 2 minutes.
Rpm bumpers are recommended.
Basically a 1/16th e-revo is a money pit, I’ve spent hundreds on parts making mine bash-proof. (Just the first one, the second one is a spare)
Some of that cost is replacing worn parts like 7 diffs, 8 axle hubs, toe links, those plastic balls in the toe links, stock servo’s, bodies, body posts, body clips, wheel hub pins, stock drive-shafts, slipper clutches, spur gears, bearings, etc.
That’s my say on the 1/16th e-revo.
I’ve got 2 and I’ve owned one since July last year, the other since august.
They are the most frustrating thing I’ve ever encountered.
Edit: Why did I say the slipper clutch is crap? It's not... Oh well I guess I felt like getting back at the merv.