Monster Truck Madness #25 – Prepared to Race

Hey folks, Doug here with another edition of MTM.

It’s FINALLY time for some monster truck racing, as here in St. Louis, MO we are kicking off the 2018 Trigger King Jamboree Series this weekend. I’m heading into battle with three modified Axial SMT10s, a platform that I adore, and I thought some of you would be interested to see a run-down of what each is equipped with. Here goes.

“Rotten Punkin” Sport Modified Monster Truck

A few weeks back in my Friday Scalin’ blog I posted about a body that I flubbed up. Well, I decided to turn that lemon into lemonade. The “Rotten Punkin” is an Axial SMT10 that is set up to race in our Sport Modified class. The trucks here are a bit slower and the division is themed after early-mid 90’s monster truck racing. Notable mods:

– Axial SMT10 Chassis & Axles
– Jconcepts Tribute Wheels (widest off-set adapters)
– JConcepts Renegade Tires (gold compound)
– RH Designs Short Wheelbase Kit & Sway Bars
– JConcepts ’93 Ford F250 Super Cab Body
– Vanquish Transmission
– Shortened Wild Boar Driveshafts
– Radon 17t Brushed Motor (this is mandated by the class rules)
– Traxxas XL5 ESC
– Pro-Line PowerStroke Shocks
– Hitec 5645 Servo
– Incision Steering Links
– Spektrum RX/TX

“Rotten Apple” Mega Truck

This old girl has been a real workhorse for me. This SMT10 was pre-ordered the moment that the Grave Digger version was first announced in Summer 2016. It has seen a lot of stuff since, as I’ve raced it as a Sport Modified Monster Truck the last couple years. I actually won a points championship with it during one of the campaigns. We decided to add Mega Trucks to the fold this year, so I figured it was time to convert it over and let it get dirty. Notable mods:

– Axial SMT10 Chassis & Axles
– JConcepts ’51 Ford Panel Truck Body
– JConcepts Mega Truck Dragon Wheels (narrowest off-set adapters)
– JConcepts Fling King Tires (gold compound)
– Holmes Hobbies 3500kv Waterproof Sensored Brushless System
– Incision Steering Links
– RH Designs Short Wheelbase Kit (the original prototype!)
– RH Designs 3D Printed “Monster Jam style” Angled Headers
– Spektrum RX/TX

“Nuclear Banana” Pro-Modified Monster Truck

Pro-Mod is the “big boy” class where the trucks are modded to the 9’s. In our club we run a full program of racing and freestyle, so a truck needs to be fast, agile and tough to survive an event. “Nuclear Banana” started its life last year as a relatively stock Axial SMT10 that ran in Sport Mod. Around $500 dollars later, I decided to bump it up into Pro Mod. This class is a freaking blast! Notable mods on the Banana:

– Axial SMT10 Chassis & Axles
– JConcepts 1988 “Snoop Nose” Chevy Silverado Body
– JConcepts Tribute Wheels (widest off-set adapters)
– JConcepts Renegade Tires (blue compound)
– Hot Racing Transmission & Steel Gears
– MIP Wraith Driveshafts
– Front and Rear Axial Sway Bars
– SSD Chubs and Knuckles
– Axial Rear Lockouts
– Grauper 6.5t Sensored Brushless Motor
– Graupner 120R Turbo ESC
– Hitec 7950TH HV Servo
– Spektrum RX/TX

In addition to these three trucks, I have a fourth under construction with plans to bring a fifth on-line before summer ends. Hey, I call this column “monster truck madness” for a reason! More to come throughout the season. Thanks for reading!