Monster Truck Madness – Building something like a Juggernaut?

Hey all, Happy Thursday!

I received a good e-mail from a reader the other day in reference to my 2024 prediction column. I figured it would be a good basis for discussion this week.

Hi Doug.

Big fan of your articles. Reading the most recent prediction one, I noticed something about the lack of a revival of the Juggernaut occurring being the only prediction that did not come true.

It kinda got me thinking. If a large company isn’t willing to give us what we want, what would it take for the community to do it? We have tons of creative individuals who make so much via 3d printing or cnc machining.

If you could pick a readily available “base” r/c, what parts would you think could be used (to mate parts that might not be made for one another) or created (the part doesn’t exist at all) to create your own version of the Juggernaut truck?

Just a thought from a fan would would love to see it happen as well.

Matt Z.

Hey Matt, thanks for your e-mail. Appreciate you reading and writing in.

Well, so here’s the thing. There are different folks/companies out there building and selling chassis and parts that fit the bill for a “true” scale style retro monster truck that features a driveline and suspension similar to what the real trucks had. The issue is that many of them are very small batch and therefore it’s tough for the average hobbyist to get info on them. And then, typically you need to be a somewhat seasoned hobbyist to actually build one.

That’s not to say there is anything wrong with that, it’s just that it stays a hyper niche thing.

I use the Juggernaut II for an example of something I’d love to see re-released because while it’s not a perfect representation of an old school monster, it’s pretty darn close or at least close enough.

I do think of all the big R/C companies out there that RC4WD would probably be the best for it, just due to all the chassis they already have that could be adapted for monster truck use with seemingly relative ease.

Another bonus for a mainstream company doing it is that for those of us that want to race them, it simplifies what kind of rule package to use but that is whole other can of worms!

To be very specific so as to actually answer your question- the long wheel base RC4WD Trail Finder 2 platform is the one I’d love to see some kind of monster truck conversion done on. I think it would be the basis for a very cool retro!

Thanks for the e-mail, I hope that helps explain my thoughts!

As always, if you have an e-mail you’d like to see answered in Monster Truck Madness, e-mail me at doug @ bigsquidrc.com

Until next time, keep it on all 4’s!