If speed is the key to racing, finesse is the key to rock crawling. RC rock crawling is a test of machine, concentration, driving ability and sheer will. RC rock crawlers carefully negotiate difficult rock formations and surmount obstacles that ordinary vehicles couldn’t even begin to climb. At times, it is a slow, deliberate navigation and at times it’s an almost violent display of brute force.

RC rock crawling is both old and new. People have been playing on rocks for as long as RC trucks have been around, but in the last few years, more and more specialized, purpose-built rock crawlers have been built that perform better, and better emulate the full-size rock crawlers that are growing extremely fast in popularity as well. RC rock crawlers have many different subcategories: there are full-blown competition machines where function prevails over form; semi-scale vehicles that blend competition performance with realistic looks; scale vehicles that while fully functional have scale details that would rival any static model; and even ready-to-crawl toy-grade crawlers available at mass markets such as Wal-Mart and Target.

RC rock crawling is also closer to the hobby’s roots. While there are excellent manufactured chassis kits, many rigs are almost entirely scratch built and use only a few drivetrain parts from existing models. Whether you go with a manufactured chassis kit and convert an existing model or design and build your own creation, you can count on RC rock crawling being a lot more hands on than other forms of RC.