Yeap it's got PLENTY of suspension travel. If has 70 degrees of articulation, and if you get any more than that the truck just binds itself up and ends up on its lid way too much. The RTR has a lot of plastic on it, and the Axial Kit has A LOT of aluminum upgrades. On the RTR, all of the links and things like that are plastic. However, you're going to want to swap them out for 30 degree bent links for more ground clearance anyway.
http://eastendmachining.com/axhiclliaxsc.html
One thing that I really like is that hop ups for these trucks are really cheap. If you can, I would definitely go with the Axial kit. The biggest problems with the RTR are the electronics. The servo is weak, and the motor that is in it is more of a rock racer motor than a crawler motor. If you get the kit, you can put better electronics in it from the start, and you will already have all of those aluminum upgrades. Feel free to PM me with any questions that you have. Joe, the owner of east end machining, is a wonderful guy. He will give you a better price than what's listed just to help you get started, along with giving a special discount to RCNT members. If you want something that isn't listed on the page, he can order it and get it really fast too. I can't say enough good things about the way that he goes out of his way for our members. Here's some good sites to look at crawlers and parts for sale.
www.eastendmachining.com
http://www.tcscrawlers.com/
http://www.ckrccrawlers.com/shop
John Robert Holmes owns Holmes Hobbies. He is one of the foremost authorities when it comes to crawler motors and motor/ESC setups and things like that. His site has a ton if information, and his specialty is helping people who are just getting into the hobby, so email him or give him a call if you have any questions. In fact, he's having his own specialty designed motors built just for his crawlers.
http://holmeshobbies.com/home.php
There are a few other RTR trucks besides the axial, but they don't have anywhere close to the product and aftermarket support that the axials have. Axial parts can be found anywhere for dirt cheap, but the others are often VERY expensive when you have to replace parts.
I don't know if you've been to rccrawlers.com yet, but you need to get over there. If I was going to buy a rig, I would go over there and check out the for sale section. Every day there are more crawlers that go up for sale that are completely RTR. They have them for the same price as the new RTR stuff, but these are serious comp rigs that have been built with the best parts out there, and all of the adjustments have been made to get this thing dialed in. I mean for $300 there are rigs on there that already have dig setups, brushless motors and LiPo, and all the necessary hop-ups, and even spektrum radio systems. You will need to register at rccrawler.com and buy a $20 star to support the site, and then you're free to buy and sell.
Sorry for such a long post, but I was really trying to be helpful and answer your questions to the best of my ability. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM. If you're going to buy new, I would HIGHLY reccomend the axial kit.
