Hello, welcome to RCTalk!
I've enjoyed crawling and I think it's a very slow and relaxing part of this hobby.
There's a lot of options for 10th scale crawlers. Here's a general list of popular models:
- Traxxas TRX-4 (starts from $400)
- Traxxas TRX-4 Sport (starts from $330)
-
Element RC Enduro (starts from $250)
- Redcat Gen 8 V2 (starts from $300)
- Axial SCX10ii (starts from $200 without body, tires, electronics; $300 RTR)
- Axial SCX10iii (starts from $370 kit without electronics; $500 RTR)
For the money and quality, I think the
Element RC Enduro Trailwalker is a good choice. It's $250, and all you need is a battery for the car, a charger, and 4 AA batteries for the remote. I'd say the body is kind of boxy, and the tires are smaller than the others (1.55" compared to 1.9") but other than that, it's a great truck. The shocks are among the best in this list (sealed very well, functions very smoothly), it has a lot of adjustabilities (adjustable front overdrive from factory, ESC settings, etc), smooth LCG transmission, decent electronics, and thick steel suspension links.
I heard the Redcat Gen 8 V2 is also good for the money, but I don't really know as much about it as the other vehicles other than the fact that it has portal axles and a licensed scale body. Portal axles increase the ground clearance of the axles so they are less likely to get hung up. It does sound pretty loud and isn't quite as smooth as the Enduro.
Next is the Axial SCX10ii. It's been out for quite some time and has very strong aftermarket support. I don't know too much about the RTR components of this truck (tires, body, electronics, etc), but I can say that the platform itself is very solid. The SCX10iii just came out last year and comes much more bells and whistles. It has a 2-speed transmission, portal axles, and a rear dig function (locks the rear axles so that only the front powers the car; improves turning radius and makes it easier going down inclines), but I'd say the 10.iii isn't as good for the money as opposed to the 10.ii. The reason I say that, is that the shocks aren't sealed very well, and hi and low gear ratios of the 2-speed transmission are too close together, so there isn't much of a difference in speed or torque.
Now, the TRX-4. IMHO, it's one of the best trail crawlers. It has locking/unlocking differentials, 2-speed transmission, and portal axles. The 2-speed hi and low ratio are 2 to 1, so there is a significant difference between speed and torque, which is considerably better than the 2-speed on the SCX10iii. The portal axles also do additional gear reduction near the axles, which virtually eliminates torque twist (torque twist happens when the motor accelerates or brakes and tilts the chassis to the left or the right). The locking/unlocking diffs also help with the stability of the car at high speeds, while also not hindering it's crawling capabilities. A few things to watch out for though. The stock electronics aren't the best, but it's enough to get you going for a while. The servo is a bit underpowered, and the ESC's internal
BEC is a bit weak, so steering is pretty weak, especially under load. It also comes with a plastic servo horn, so it's worth it to spend an additional $6 on a metal servo horn so that it won't strip. Overall though, it has a ton of potential.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the TRX-4 Sport does not have the unlocking diffs and the 2-speed.
