RCP Crawlers - Not your ordinary hobby shop

In years past, the Radio Controlled vehicle hobby enthusiast could chose a local hobby store in their home town, and walk in; passing by all the Gaming Sections, past the Modelers Section, past the children’s games, past the toy Lionel Train sets and finally get to the dismal selection of RC cars, trucks and parts. Sad but true, these hobby stores had to expand beyond the radio controlled world to stay in business as it steadily slowed and new hobbies increased in popularity. It left the true RC guys looking for parts that could take weeks to order because their local store's inventory was taken over by toy soldiers or Dungeons and Dragons board games.

However, with the increasing popularity of Radio Controlled Rock Crawling, parts and trucks are being milled out around the clock for the evolving sport. The choice in parts and complete Ready To Run crawlers is huge, however, one might spend an entire day researching where to buy parts and trucks, as well as learning which parts work best.

Enter RCP Crawlers! RCP Crawlers is a fairly new company onto the RC scene and they do things differently. First of all, they focus mainly on Rock Crawling, which is sweeping the nation at the full scale level, as well as the RC form of the competitive sport. You can find practically any RC Crawling part or truck that is made, right at RCP. If you don’t live in California, (where RCP owns a football-field-sized warehouse, containing an indoor rock crawling course,) you can access their website, www.rcpcrawlers.com and order from their huge catalog. Shopping on-line with RCP is a no-brainer! Click on the picture of the part you want and purchase it at the lowest price anywhere. That’s right, not only do they have everything a RC fanatic would want and need, they also have prices that are unmatched in the industry.

RCP has also gone outside the box and has recently become the exclusive distributor of the Carnage Crew Hustler Chassis.

If you want the competition winning Hustler Chassis, you only have to click on or call RCP Crawlers! The Hustler broke the mold after being designed by Aaron Dusenberry of Team Carnage Crew. It is a hand-TIG welded, steel chassis that resembles a rock crawling moon buggy. Very light weight and compact in size, the Hustler can traverse obstacles that were once impossible only a couple of years ago. Its unique design allows only droop travel at the axles, keeping center of gravity as low as possible at all times, which is critical during competition.

There are even two versions of the exclusive crawler, the Super Class Hustler and the 2.2 Class Hustler.

Both versions of the Hustler are very similar in design, allowing the competitive driver to perfect their driving skills with one chassis platform.

RCP has also started sponsorships within the rock crawling circuit. Drivers are clad in RCP red and black team jerseys and enjoy the benefits from being a Team Driver for the company. They have effectively assembled a team from around the country, consisting of the best of the best tenured crawlers. Combining the Hustler chassis with their Team Drivers, they have been nearly unstoppable and will have the chance to take the national title this September at the finals in Moab, Utah.

RCP is also working with manufacturers on the production of radio control parts and complete assemblies. With the knowledge that the RCP owners have gained over the many years of being part of the RC hobby, they are a valuable asset to manufacturers that want to produce crawling products that really work. Currently, they are working with companies like Proline Racing and Axial, sharing their real world experiences and helping other companies as well, to get the designs perfected for the hardcore crawler. RCP sells products manufactured by the big boys, like Proline Racing, on their website, as well as in their retail location. There is simply nothing for the RC enthusiast that you can’t get from RCP.

Recently, I decided it was time to build the most capable Super Class crawler that was possible from parts that you could buy from RCP. For the 2007-2008 Colorado Winter Point Series, I will be running the coolest and most hardcore truck available, a Clod axled Hustler. It was very straight forward during the build process and you can also fine tune the truck to your driving styles and preferences.

There are aluminum replacement parts for all the plastic parts that were once used on all crawlers a few short years ago. By going to aluminum, it decreases your chances of breakage at the wrong moment and it looks awesome! The Hustler chassis is sold with a bare metal finish and clear Lexan body panels, allowing you to customize the look of your buggy. The recommended kit to purchase from RCP, whether you are an experienced RC crawler or if you’re just entering the sport, is the Hustler Stage 2, as it has everything you will need to build the chassis into a semi-roller. Chassis, suspension links, axles, mounts, etc, are all included in the Stage 2 kit and all you’ll need to get running are wheels and tires, along with electronics. Of course, you can get the ultimate rock crawler Proline wheels and tires or Axial Bead Locks, directly from RCP. Plus, don’t forget all of the hottest electronics like Brushless motors and ESC’s from Holmes Hobbies.

RCP is growing rapidly and is one of the top online hobby retailers in the country. Don’t let that fool you into thinking that they are too big for their britches! Their customer service is second to none, along with extremely fast shipping times for online customers. Need answers to questions? Drop RCP and email and they’ll keep you informed on the latest in RC crawler technology. Want to meet the owners? Their names are John and Brian all you have to do is attend any rock crawling event in the west and you’re sure to encounter both of these great guys, along with the rest of the RCP Crawlers Team.

If you want to learn more about RCP Crawlers, log onto their website at www.rcpcrawlers.com

Here are a few of the simple steps and parts to get your Hustler chassis up and running to win any competition you enter with it!

Aluminum gear case

Aluminum knuckles, hubs, and diffenrential covers

Aluminum traction bars with heimed ends

Aluminum body oil shocks