Outlines the development of a prototype climbing robot for remote testing using standard off‐the‐shelf components. The system construction is modularized so that it can be easily reconfigured for a different task. Describes the desired characteristics of a climbing inspection robot and how the prototype robot has been designed and constructed. Gives the system specifications and performance and concludes that laboratory operation of the CART prototype robot on a steel plate that simulates an oil storage tank has demonstrated that a cost‐effective system can be built entirely from standard, commercially available components.