Pro-Line Transforms Axial Racing’s AX-10 Deadbolt to “Monster Bolt”

Since the early 80’s, RC Monster Trucks have been a fascination part of the RC community. Their Popularity comes and goes but one thing is certain, they are here to stay. Monster Trucks are currently experiencing resurgence as of late and Pro-Line is no stranger to them. Our offerings that go back just as far as the original Tamiya Clod Buster of the Mid 80’s. With the most recent release of our new #10114-02 2.6” Destroyer Monster Truck Tires, Pro-Line renews that passion again and usher in a new era of Monster Truck performance tires. To commemorate these new products, we have created a series of custom builds. “Monster Bolt” is our high performance racing version incorporating today’s technology into the enduring passion of Monster Truck racing from the past and present.

Overview

“Monster Bolt” started out as a AX10 Deadbolt roller purchased from a RC parts recycler off EBay. There are many sellers that basically take new RTR vehicles and strip them selling sections of the truck. This is perfect for custom builds when you wan the chassis but want to take different / higher performance directions in the build saving money for these parts.

Suspension

Upon purchasing the AX-10 Deadbolt chassis, stock Yeti rear suspension arms and a host of Axial / Vanquish suspension upgrade components were sourced for the build. The Axial Racing Yeti lower rear suspension arms were re-enforced with AX31245 Lower Link Plate sets and AX30830 Wraith AR60 OCP Machined Link Mounts for maximum strength. Titanium upper link sets from Vanquish were installed to keep the axles stable under heavy acceleration. Pro-Line Pro-Spec 6308-30 Front / 6308-31 Rear shocks were added to the front and rear suspension. The Pro-Spec Shocks are a 12mm Big Bore, Low Friction design incorporating an X-Ring style Seal system for ultra smooth operation. A set of KBess Manufacturing KBM-YTVLU Yeti Blue Suspension limiter Straps were added for the final touch.

Axles:

The AR60 OCP Deadbolt axle’s OEM gears were upgraded to AX30395 38T/13T HD Bevel Gear Set’s. The HD gears were mounted Hot Racing’s SCP125R Unibody Super Heavy Duty Differential Lockers. The diff housings were then sealed up with RC4WD Z-S0360 Poison Spyder Bombshell Diff Covers.

Performance Note: When running in Dirt, You can overdrive the front axle with the AX30402 43T/13T Gear set. This will give the truck better drive though when corning / tighter turns on dirt tracks. This modification should NOT be used when running on surfaces like Concrete or Asphalt.

The exterior of the axle housings were updated with a Vanquish VPS06509 Stage 1 Kit and the front axles replace with VPS07370 VVD V1-HD shafts. AX30830 Wraith AR60 OCP Machined Link Mounts were installed to give the suspension maximum adjustability. For the finishing touch, a set of custom made trusses with built in skid plates from BGR Fabrications ties everything together to give the axles bulletproof strength.

Transmission:

The transmission was updated with a Vanquish VPS01183 Aluminum case and a Hot Racing SCP1000T Hard Anodized gear set. A Tekin TT2528 – Pro4 HD 4300kv 550 4X4 SC Motor was selected and bolted up to a AX30860 Machined Motor Plate. The gearing was updated with a Hot Racing SWRA257 32 pitch 57T spur and Axial AX30841 32 pitch – 15T pinion. The sub assembly was then bolted to an Axial AX31100 Aluminum Skid plate and mounted into the chassis.

Chassis:

The front radio box and tray was removed and replaced with a second / forward battery tray to which the Orion Carbon Pro Battery was given a forward mounting position. A TT2301 – RX8 GEN2 Electronic Speed Controller and Airtronics receiver was then mounted in the rear battery tray position (Battery was moved to a forward mounting Position). Upgrade Parts such as the AX34401 Shock Tower Braces and the AX31099 Aluminum Upper Link Capture plates were added for additional rigidity in key area’s.

The AX80118 battery tray is universal front to rear so you can buy a second spare one and mount it in place of the stock receiver box / mounting tray. Adding a forward battery tray also gives you a mounting point for the front sway bar. Wraith AX30781 Front and AX 30782 Rear Sway bar sets were added to keep the suspension and chassis stable. The center shafts were shortened and re-keyed to match the Deadbolts chassis narrower profile.

Wheels and Tires:

Once the chassis and drive line was finished, a set of 6098-00 PRO-2 Clamping Hex’s were installed on the axle shafts and a set of 10114-02 Destroyer Tires were mounted to a set of RC4WD’s Z-W0147 Delrin Universal Monster Truck Bead Lock Wheels. Their Z-S0914 12mm Universal Hex Clod Wheel Adapters and Pro-Line 6100-00 4mm Serrated Wheel Lock Nuts help to secure the wheels and tires to the axles

Body:

A custom painted 3252-00 Ford F-250 Clear Body by Steve over at RugSpin Graphix tops off the truck. Body mounts were custom made using the AX10 Deadbolt and AX80031 SCX10 Extended posts.

Conclusion:

You can start out basic and work your way up or go full bore like I did. No matter what your budget, The Axial AX10 Deadbolt is a great chassis that lends itself to multiple modifications of Monster Tuck Proportions. At the very bottom of this article there is a list of parts that were used to build this truck. You can use is as a starting point to source the parts and work towards your own Epic Monster Truck build!