As for radios some of the guys use airtronics,some use futaba,some use spektrum.I personally use spektrum . One thing to look at is the more channels you have the more flexibility you will have for future builds.I wish i had bought 2 or 3 radios with a lot of channels instead of having a radio for each truck or piece of equipment,which is what i am trying to do now.I think if you want to do a basic truck get a more than basic radio that way as your truck changes and it will,you wont have to upgrade radios