Monster Truck Madness – Add a Little Zip to Your Ride on the Cheap
I’ve been doing a lot of building lately. Last week I went into detail on my fresh BigSquidRC Boss build, and I’m back in the workshop again, this time building up an Axial SMT10 out of components sourced from several trucks. This truck is going to be racing as what’s called a “Sport Modified” in our club, which means it’s limited to a cheaper brushed motor. 17 turns to be exact.
With that as the backdrop, I wanted to give a motor recommendation for you budget-oriented monster truckers out there, whether you have a hopped up Axial OR something like a Traxxas Stampede.
Brushless is the defacto way to get big power these days, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way to have fun. With a good, cost effective brushed motor you can get slightly smaller thrills on the cheap.
After doing a lot of experimenting with various brushed motors that retail for under $19.99, there is one that I’ve really fallen in love with. The Yeah Racing Hackmoto V2 17T. My buddies all use them now as well.
You can find them in many major hobby shops for around $15 dollars, give or take a couple bucks, and they absolutely scream for the price. If you get a particularly good one from the factory, you may even get confused and think that you are rocking a brushless motor. Yeah, they can run that well.
Even better is that at 17 turns, many stock ESCs can handle them. Traxxas XL5’s (found in most of the non brushless RTR’s they offer) take them no problem. So do Dynamite WP60A’s found in many Horizon rigs. Axial AE-5’s (like what’s found in the Axial SMT10) as well. Just be careful running on 3S, as with this motor you WILL see a lot of heat build-up.
The only thing you’ll need to be aware of is that the Hackmoto does not include motor lead bullet connectors. However, you can just de-solder the leads from your current motor and attach them to the tabs on the V2.
You are then ready to go! Hey, it might not be big-time brushless power but it’s still enough to have fun; all without breaking the bank!
