Best bang for the buck would be one of the Nylint rock crawlers you can get at Wal Mart. The bigger one for $150 is the best, but the smaller one for $45 is still good.

Now if you want to build your own "hobby grade" RC crawler, and don't want to break the bank, you can build a TLT for a little cheaper. I won't go into great detail here, but you can PM me for more info on what you need if you really want to build one.

I'll give you a basic build sheet with costs. Keep in mind you can save a lot of money if you build things yourself, so I'll price what it would cost to build one yourself. This is assuming you don't have any of the parts needed below. This is a rough estimate but is close.


Clod (what I have)

Used set of axles------------------$85
Steel/Aluminum for chassis---------$50
Aluminum and ball ends for links---$20
Used Shocks------------------------$20
Wheels and tires-------------------$60
Electronic speed controller--------$80
Servos-----------------------------$80
Motors-----------------------------$50
Radio and Receiver-----------------$30
Batteries--------------------------$50
Charger----------------------------$50
Hardware (nuts and screws)---------$25

GRAND TOTAL-------------$600


TLT (smaller truck)

Axles------------------------------$80
Tranny-----------------------------$40
Drive shafts/hardware--------------$25
Wheels/tires-----------------------$50
Used Shocks------------------------$20
Electronic Speed Controller--------$80
Servo------------------------------$40
Radio and receiver-----------------$30
Gear reduction---------------------$15
Metal for chassis------------------$40
Link materials---------------------$20
Batteries--------------------------$50

Grand Total----------------$490



Ok so maybe the smaller one is not that much less. To build a serious rock crawler, plan on spending $500-$600.

But the Nylint ones are cool for just playing around in the yard every once and a while. The bigger one is better because it has preportional steering and throttle, unlike the smaller one. Makes it easier to control.