The
first Monster Truck is generally considered to be Bob Chandler's
Bigfoot, a 1974 Ford F-250 that Bob heavily modified between 1975 and
1979. By 1979 Bigfoot was fairly well known and Everett Jasmer
showed up on the monster scene with his modified 1970 Chevy K-10.
It took until 1981 for him to come up with the USA-1 name and livery,
and these two trucks became the father's of the industry. The
truck went through a lot of changes over the years. The engine
went from an original 350ci Chevy V-8 to a 513ci, and finally a 540ci
with a supercharger and nitrous oxide injection making over
1,000hp. The tires went from 38" to 46" to 48" and finally 66"
tractor tires. The second generation body was a 1988 Chevy
Silverado still using leaf sprung suspension, the last truck to do so
before everything went to tube frame chassis and 4-link
suspension. USA-1 was the first monster truck to make use of 5-ton
military truck axles.Kyosho released their version of the USA-1 truck in 1991 using the 2nd generation Silverado body. This was clearly intended to be a Clodbuster competitor with the same sized massive tires, dual motor-on-axle assemblies (360 motors), 8 shocks, four wheel steering, and a big American pick-up truck body. But while the Clod was a licensed Chevy but not a licensed monster truck, Kyosho went all in with the USA-1 livery and body. Kyosho's model also used independent double wishbone suspension instead of solid axles. This quickly became a legendary truck in the RC world, just like the full size world. It was take 3 decades for Kyosho to re-release this legendary truck. The new version, however, has very little in common with the original apart from the appearance of the body. This new version uses the modern Mad Crusher chassis which is much longer, wider, and more durable than the original. There are now only 4 shocks and the motor is centrally located. The modern version is available in both brushless electric and nitro versions.
I had no idea this model was going to be released and had just finished building my own custom USA-1 out of an Axial SMT10 chassis when this was announced. At least that one was the original K-10 body so it looks a bit different. Still, even though this re-release is nothing like the original I knew I had to have this little piece of RC history.
With a 4s capable brushless system, this truck is a real basher. It is fast, will pull effortless wheelies, and jumps like a champ. It is a thoroughly modern chassis and therefore nothing like a Clodbuster. It is not a cheap model to buy, but I can easily recommend it as a lot of fun.
Update: This model was destroyed in the 2022 fire. It has not been replaced.
