baja 150 @ pep boys vs. sam's crossfire

Posts: 13

what are the pros & cons of these 2 units and which is better & why? i am planning on getting one for my 12 y.o. daughter and maybe one for me? did anyone ever get one that needed repair from pep boy's or just sams? over all are they good machines? thanks for any input. i anaylize things to death!
john
jackson, nj

Posts: 273

Are you talking about the Dune150 or the Reaction. I'm a father of 2 girls, the oldest turned 13 yesterday, and I would suggest you riding with her before purchasing a buggy for her.
Keep in mind these buggies are capable of 30mph!!! Which is very fast for someone with little or no driving experience. And after driving she may just want to be the passenger. then you can sell it and use all the money for a nice 250 to carry you both with power and speed.

Posts: 80

I had a Crossfire 150R from Sam's. It is a great starter machine for the price. I wheeled it pretty good with out any trouble and the guy I sold it to hasn't had any problems with it yet.

My suggestion would be to get a 250 or 300 and teach your daughter to drive it any where and everywhere you would take it.
If she's into it and really likes it, get her the 150 (if you plan on having two). If she's not at least you have the bigger buggy for yourself. If you have not ridden one of these things yet you will be suprised at how they perform and how much fun they are.

The crossfire is a good buggy but I was always wanting for more power.

Posts: 273

I Second that i like my Dune 150 which is basically the same as the crossfire. It takes major punishment. As for power I'm looking into the big bore kit. The reaction I have is experiencing problems that have yet to be resolved.

The red cart in the following pic is the Dune 150

Greg

Posts: 13

Thanks GMANLV & furball, so the crossfire is better than the baja? i don't think the 250 & 150 are in the budget. if i can get 2 of the 150 crossfires for 32-3400. it should be do-able. i'm 5'9" 175 lbs. she's 4' and change maybe 80lbs. i'm at sea alot so if she likes it i want her to be able to use it.she's very trust worthy.and she could very well just want to be the passenger. but she earned the right for me to give her a chance on her own. worst case senerio. if i fit into it i know one of my buddies would use it with me, or maybe the old lady if she behaves.but i'm hoping she enjoys it. your thoughts are appreciated as this is all new to me.
john

Posts: 3561

Recently some members have been seeing "TJ" stickers on the Baja engines so apparently Baja Motorsports has stopped using the "Howhit" brand engines. Most of the GY6 clones are interchangeable but the Howhit differed in 2 ways: 1 - it had a larger-valve head that some people liked to use on other brand engines for a small increase in performance. 2 - the Crossfire buggy has an improved internal reverse gearbox that's very rugged (in the CF150R models). There have been posts lately of durability problems and I think they are the versions found on the Dune (and other Baja models). The CF still runs with the Howhit and the rugged reverse unit.

Both buggies are very similar. I have the Dune myself but since the reverse unit is an expensive repair I would now choose the CF.

Posts: 13

guy48065 i checked out your pics on the white buggy, nice job! so you would say the crossfire 150R is the best bet. are there any other options i should check on?
john

Posts: 96

The CF150R uses the same engine as my Baja Reaction 150. The parts blowup for the CF150R's forward/reverse gear assembly is identical to the Baja. The engine on my Baja says Howhit on the side cover but the label says imported by TJ Powersports.

Dave

Posts: 3561

The parts and wiring diagrams have been outdated for literally years on these buggies. The companies just copy-paste old info and put a new cover on it.

We're talking about buggies made by 2 different companies. Tomberlin makes the Howhit engines and Baja and Yerfdog have used them in the past but things change. If you've seen a TJ sticker on a Tomberlin buggy, let me know. Tomberlin's president says they don't use TJ engines.