Electric Mountain Skateboard / Giving It Away for Free

I wanted to have an electric skateboard but the roads in India are not that good, so I ended up with an off-road one. Since I love to make stuff, I decided it would be a cheaper and more robust option for me to build it my self. Many people decide to buy pre-made parts and assemble them, but I decided to build one from the ground up. It is also convenient to use, especially in a crowded city like Delhi where there is a lot of traffic.

I am going to have most of this instructable from the point of working on the project, its a custom job for my needs your needs may differ, what I am showing is one of many ways to go about making this project.

I had a great time with this project. It was rather easy to put together and a whole lot of fun to test. I look forward to playing with it more and may update the video with more antics in the future.

Things you gonna need

• A skateboard

• Tires

• Brushless motor

• ESC (speed controller)

• LiPo battery

• RF transmitter and receiver

• Metal sheet 4 mm

• Aluminum bar

• SS square pipe 1"x1"

• Spring

• Nut Bolts

You can customize or upgrade the parts according to your needs and pocket.

Designing a truck was the most important part and I wanted to make it as simple as possible. I made it in a way that it is easy to dismantle and replace any part in case of any fracture.

I have used a square 1" x 1" stainless pipe as an axel as it gives a good support to the whole structure and easy to work with a square shape pipe. Then I have welded the bolts at the end of the pipe after shaping the bolthead. I have selected the bolt size accordingly in my case its 12mm.

After which I have cut 4 triangles shaped pieces from a 4mm thick MS sheet and dilled a few holes in it to fix it on the pipe as shown in the picture. There is another option to make this thing by making a clip but I chose this one as I believe it will be easier to achieve precision through this. I have bolted the triangle and added a nut between it to make some space for the spring.

To make the upper part of the truck, I have cut 2 pieces of 4mm thick MS sheet and bend it in a clip shape. After which I have a drilled a hole in it, in which I have bolted the lower part of the tuck. I have placed a piece of pipe in between while bolting both the part so that it won't bend inside.

After all the pieces are bolted altogether, you can move forward by adding a sping to it.

To complete the truck, springs are added to it. I have measured the gap between the upper and lower portion and cut 4 small pieces accordingly. After which I have heated the end and pressed it down.

I have also added a spring adjustment mechanism to it, which will help in aligning the board. To make it, I have cut small pieces of pipe and welded 2 washes on both sides as shown in the picture.

After which I welded 2 nuts on the upper portion and have a bolt in it which will help in adjusting the spring.

The final outcome would be something as shown in the picture. It will also help in giving direction to the board.

I have got an old skateboard from a nearby place, which seems to be in good condition and can be used for this project. After removing the old trucks and stickers, it is ready for the project.

I used 2 metal sheets and drilled 6 holes in it. After marking the same on the board I drilled the holes at both the ends. I also put grip tape on the board to give it a nice grip and look as well.

After which I have welded the sheet to the upper portion of the truck and have a look at the image for reference.

Now it's ready for the mountain skateboarding and to convert it in an electric one.

I used an 11mm thick and 230mm long aluminum bar to make the motor mount as I was trying to make it light. I made some slots in it after measuring the holes in the motor and it's quite tricky to make it precisely. I took measurement of the distance between the axel and the holes, considering it as a radius and made a circle, marked accordingly

The bar is needed to be attached to the axel of the truck and for that, I took one more aluminum bar and cut a slot of the size of the square pipe and used another piece as a top. Finally, I welded the motor mount on the top.

I have used a 3:1 gear ratio with 36 and 12 teeth. I bought a gear and weld a small piece of a rod on it. After which I drilled a hole in it of the size of the rim and made 2 holes on the side and put grub screw in it to fix it tightly to the rim. But it doesn't seem sufficient after the testing so I ended up by cutting a slot in it and welding a key to the rim.

In the small gear, I drilled a hole in the center of the size of the motor shaft and on the side as well to put a grub screw in it. The motor shaft was flat on one side so there no need for a key mechanism.

At last, I cut the chain accordingly and added to it.

It is important to align both the gears and I find it quite tricky in my case.

After doing some research I ended up ordering a few electric components which will add wings to the board.

The circuit is quite simple and you can take the reference from the image. I have added some bullet connectors to it. I have also integrated the signal wires of both ESC to one and connected it to the RF receiver.

Below are the small list and description of the components you gonna need.

• Brushless Motor

I have used 6368 280KV motor which gives good torque to the board. I have used 2 of them, one for each wheel

• ESC(Electronic Speed Controller)

I have used a 60Amp UBEC ESC which is good option for a skateboard

• Battery

I have used 12 Volt 4200 mAH LiPo battery which is good for this kind of project. I have also tried to run it with an acid battery but it gives sudden power cut when the board is running

• Transmitter and Receiver

I have used a 2.4 GHz transmitter and receiver system. I took help from the instruction book to pair them and it was quite simple

These components are not easily available in India so I ordered it from Bangoods, which offers a good price as compared to HobbyKing,

After getting all the parts ready and painted, I made a case using a metal sheet, that will give some space to keep the battery and will also provide protection to the motor as well.

Now, it's ready for a ride!!