A common theme on the electric side is the notion that you should have at least a 6S system in everything, when there are many, many models that run just fine on 2S or 3S systems. The bigger ESCs / motors have their place, but a Traxxas Stampede isn't it.
My oldest son has a Sledge and it has been a great truck for him.
I built a Tekno MT410 and it has been a great truck for me, through 2 whole packs of 4S so far. :joyful:
My Tekno build was a little bit cheaper than a new Sledge, and I used some fairly basic electronics in mine (Spektrum...