Everything You Actually Need to Buy With Your First RC Crawler
You’ve done the research, picked your truck, and placed the order. Or maybe you’re just about to. Either way, there’s a second shopping list most beginners don’t know about until the box arrives and something’s missing.
The good news: it’s short. You don’t need much to get started, and most of it is inexpensive. Here’s exactly what to buy, what to skip, and what order to think about it.
The Basics — What the Box Doesn’t Include
Most RTR (Ready-to-Run) micro crawlers like the SCX24 and TRX4M include a battery and a wall charger in the box. What they don’t include:
AA batteries for the controller. Every RTR truck comes with a radio transmitter that runs on AA batteries. The truck won’t do anything until you have those. Four AAs, usually — grab a pack of rechargeable ones while you’re at it and you’ll never worry about it again.
That’s actually it for day-one requirements. The charger and battery situation is worth understanding, though, because the stock setup has real limitations.
The Battery and Charger Situation
The wall charger included with most RTR micro crawlers is what hobbyists call a “brick charger” — plug it in, connect the battery, wait until the light changes. It does the job, but slowly and without balance charging. For an occasional crawler, it’s fine. If you’re going to run regularly or want to get more into the hobby, it’s worth understanding the upgrade.
Do You Need a Better Charger Right Away?
Not necessarily. The included charger is safe enough for occasional use. But if you want to charge properly — which means balance charging your LiPo cells, which extends battery life and prevents the kind of puffing that’s bad for a LiPo — a real charger is worth having.
The ISDT Q6 Plus is what I’d recommend as a first real charger. It handles multiple cell counts, charges at a smart rate, and has the balance functionality that actually matters. This is a buy-once piece of gear.
What About Extra Batteries?
If you run on the stock battery until it dies, you’re done for the day unless you have a spare. A second battery the same size as your stock pack doubles your run time. Check the size specifications for your specific truck and get a compatible 2S LiPo from Venom or Gens Ace — both are well-regarded.
The One Non-Negotiable: LiPo Safety Bag
If you’re charging LiPo batteries indoors — which you almost certainly will be — a fireproof LiPo charging bag is cheap insurance. LiPo fires are rare and almost always preventable, but when they happen they’re fast and hot. A charging bag costs a few dollars and contains a problem that would otherwise be a serious one.
Get one. Put it by your charger. Always charge inside the bag. This takes about ten seconds to do and it’s the single most important safety habit in the hobby.
Tools: The Short List
You will need tools. Small RC cars use tiny screws, and a regular screwdriver will strip them immediately. Here’s the minimum:
A hex driver set. Micro crawlers are almost entirely hex screws — almost everything is 1.5mm or 2.0mm. A quality set with comfortable handles is worth the small investment. You’ll reach for these constantly. Look for an RC-specific hex driver set — the handles are better designed for the torque needed on tiny hardware.
Blue Loctite (removable threadlocker). This one most beginners skip until they’ve lost a few screws to vibration. Loctite 243 (blue) is what you want — a tiny drop on threads before assembly keeps hardware in place during the vibration of normal running. Blue is removable with heat and effort; red is essentially permanent. You want blue.
A magnetic parts tray. The screws in micro crawlers are genuinely tiny. If you ever work on your truck over carpet without a tray underneath, you will lose hardware. A magnetic parts mat prevents this and also keeps things organized when you’re mid-disassembly.
That’s the real short list. Everything else is situational.
What to Skip Until Later
A few things you’ll see recommended that aren’t worth buying yet:
Upgraded tires right away. The stock tires on both the SCX24 and TRX4M are adequate for learning the basics. Tire upgrades are meaningful — but they’re more meaningful after you’ve done the brass weight upgrade first, which changes how the truck handles terrain fundamentally. Learn the truck on stock tires, do the brass, then upgrade tires. The improvement in that order is much more noticeable.
A brushless motor conversion kit. If you’ve been on forums at all, you’ve seen people recommend brushless swaps immediately. Don’t. Not because the upgrade isn’t real — it is — but because adding power before you understand the truck’s handling characteristics is backwards. The stock brushed motor is fine for learning. The upgrade makes more sense once you understand exactly what you want more power to do.
A full aluminum chassis kit. These exist, they look cool, and they’re expensive. They solve problems you don’t have yet as a beginner. If you’re still figuring out whether you enjoy the hobby, this is a very expensive thing to regret.
Lots of extra bodies. Tempting — the scale bodies for these trucks look amazing. But it’s easy to drop a hundred dollars on bodies before you’ve even run the thing. Buy one, run it, see what you actually break before stocking up.
The Full Day-One Checklist
| Item | Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| AA batteries (4x) | ✅ Required | For the radio transmitter |
| LiPo charging bag | ✅ Required | Safety non-negotiable |
| Hex driver set (1.5mm / 2.0mm) | ✅ Required | Will strip screws without one |
| Extra 2S battery | Recommended | Doubles run time |
| ISDT Q6 Plus charger | Recommended | Buy-once upgrade over stock charger |
| Blue Loctite (Loctite 243) | Recommended | Prevents hardware loss |
| Magnetic parts tray | Recommended | Essential once you open the truck |
That’s the full list. Not overwhelming, and most of it is under $10 per item. The total for everything recommended above is usually $50–80, depending on what you already have.
Once you’ve got a few runs in and you’re ready to start upgrading the truck itself, the First 5 Upgrades guide covers exactly what to do and in what order. The short version: start with brass weight before anything else.
Browse the full Recommended Gear page for curated picks on everything above.
Product images courtesy of Axial/Horizon Hobby and Traxxas.
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