Crawler Ready to Run
You will hear many folks online talk trash about Ready to Run RC crawlers...but pay them no attention. A person can always build something better - but today's crop of available RTR crawlers out perform the most custom build from 10 years ago! Any of these can be taken out of the box and immediately go on an epic adventure!
Redcat Ascent Fusion
THE UNDERDOG
There is a lot of online snobbery about this truck. Ignore it. This truck out performs it's price point and does so reliably. If the price tag scares you, there is a non-fusion version of the truck for $100 less - but the fusion is the one you want. It has over $100 worth of upgrades on it out of the factory that help it be even more of a no-brainer.
Vanquish Stance
PREMIUM
This truck comes from Vanquish - a hollowed name in rc crawling. Even though it is a RTR, you will still get some street cred showing up with it. I have driven my personal one for MILES and had a really good time. Vanquish also recently released an upgraded version - that fixed the one small issue with the first edition. Buy with confidence!
Element Ecto
ALTERNATIVE
Personally, this is the truck that broke through the "wow" barrier for me for a RTR truck. It was the first that could tackle obstacles out of the box that previous trucks could not. Today, it is still a very solid option for your first truck. Element has also started offering a portal-axle version of the truck - but that design has had some issues. I recommend sticking with the non-portal version.