Ivan Miranda Builds a Rideable Tank Skateboard

We’ve seen a bit of a revolution in motorized skateboards lately, and you can get a decent electric skateboard for just a few hundred dollars. Most of them look like a conventional skateboard or longboard, but there are also some more unique alternatives. One of the most popular model lines is made by Onewheel, which all, predictably, have a single wheel. But even those are starting to lose their novelty value as they become more commonplace. If it’s novelty you crave, then you’ll want to check out this amazing electric tank skateboard built by YouTuber Ivan Miranda.

Almost all of Ivan’s videos are focused on 3D printingprojects, but he impresses us time and time again with the sheer scale of his builds. Some of them, like the electric tank that a full grown adult can ride inside of, are absolutely enormous. This tank skateboard isn’t quite so big, but it’s still very large by 3D printing standards. Even more impressive than the size is the functionality. Despite being made almost entirely of 3D-printed plastic mechanical parts, it seems to handle Ivan’s weight just fine. Ivan has lots of experience with tank tracks from his previous projects, but this setup is especially unique.

Those tank tracks are turned by a single brushless DC motor, which is similar to what you’d see on a drone. It’s powered by a large lipo battery, and controlled by a radio control transmitter. Since there is only one motor, only a single channel on the transmitter is required. That also means that it can only drive forward and backwards. You may be wondering how the thing turns, and the truth is that we can’t tell you. This video is only the first one, and Ivan doesn’t reveal his final plans for the build. We can only assume that it will be maneuvered by shifting body weight, but we’ll have to wait until the next video to find out.