Need a new tripod and possibly a bag, and a remote too!

I have a Rebel XT (which im looking for a battery grip) and my lenses are the kit lens, 50mm 1.8, and a 70-200 F/4L. I take a lot of pictures at the racetrack but dont need a tripod there. I like to do a lot of still car photography, and could use a nicer tripod. Mine is old (dont even know what brand, found it in my closet) and one of the legs is bent at the bottom probably from my 70-200 . I also another leg at the top by the head has a broken screw or pin or something and will fly out when I mess with the legs in the air.

I want a sturdy lens, im sure anything will be better than what i have, Im also getting the remote so i can stop using the timer mode. I dont want to spend a lot on one, just want something cheap and nice that will work.

As for my bad, everything will BARELY fit in my SMALL tamron backpack, so I could use something a little bigger, but again, I dont want to spend a lot, so I might just wait on that.

What is a cheap remote? I thought someone made their own on here and sold them pretty cheap?

Thanks Aaron

For the tripod, check an ebay lister by the name of Amvona. They sell Dynatran tripods, I have a 858B from them and am very impressed with what it is for how much I paid. On top of it I have a Dynatran ATH-03H Ballhead, which is nice, but has a very large plate, you may want to check on other ballheads that they have. I got these both for about $50 total, shipped, you just have to keep on top of the auctions. They have been going rather high lately I have noticed, might come down now that Christmas is over.

I would get a real Canon brand remote for an XT, I got a $13 ebay one for my 20d, but the Canon ones are around $60 for those, and I didn't want to spend that much on it. You should be able to get the Canon brand one for your XT for about $25 new though, and the quality will be tenfold what the ebay ones are. This is assuming you want a corded remote of course, I can't comment on the wireless ones on the XT or if there is a wireless one for that matter.

For the bag I can't help you on a real cheap one. I got a Lowepro Slingshot 300AW, and I love it. It is about $80 on Amazon.com right now, which is a fabulous price, and you get a free neckstrap with it, I also use that strap and quite like it. There is also the smaller Slingshot 200AW, which is about $62 on Amazon (again a great price).