I sold my Car and built an Electric Skateboard instead. 

Wow I can't believe this video has almost 25K views! I appreciate every single one of your comments, both supporting and pointing out issues I could improve on. If I'm honest, my passion for E-skate isn't what it used to be. I now have a van I'm planning to build out, and I mostly get around on an electric unicycle instead, just because it's smaller and easier. I still have my board though, and I want to upgrade the battery soon, so maybe I'll make a video about it then. I also DJ and have made a new mix with music that is similar to that featured in this video. You can find it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-X37dngj0QGI.html

This was a fun watch!

I have been using my electric skateboard for over a half year and it's so convenient. The only downside is that sometimes drivers start honking at me although I am clearly on bike lane. In other cases people get mad at me for riding on a sidewalk. Other than that, I personally think for 1 guy it's better than a car. Cheaper, you don't have pay for gas and insurance. Also no regulations so you don't have to wait for the green light on an empty road.

Amazing vid, actually gave me chills at the end. I've been Longboarding to get around 10km radius most of my adult life and the feeling of enjoying travel is special

Electric skateboard (revel kit) + free bus travel all around the uk (I have autism and with a disability you don't pay for busses in the uk) + a drivers licence in case I want to rent a car for a specific event That's the best combination for me personally

your old car is an endless money dump of a vehicle imo. I would have sold it also.

i started on a real cheap board and it almost killed me. Not to be deterred I bought a Wowgo 2s, which served me well for almost two years. It still runs well but I ride it less often after getting my self an Evolve Bamboo GTX. I also have in the pipeline an Evolve Bamboo Gt which I upgraded to fit a bigger battery and changed the trucks round to the GTR trucks because of how much stronger they say they are. When I got into DIY I built a single motor Alien Power Systems build, with a much bigger motor, but with a really short deck and a tail. I'm awaiting the batteries to complete the build. Overall this hobby can turn into an obsession in a heartbeat, but the feeling of getting around on a board is worth every cent. I don't drive either, and as long as I've got a backpack I can do plenty of things on the board, it's a trade off of course, but one I would make again and again because it always leaves a big smile on my face

Ive been riding an electric skateboard for 2 years now as my regular transportation. Started on a backfire (Chinese) board, and built my own board that i love. Max speed of 45-50mph and max range at 20mph of around 45 miles. I live in th US and in my state of NC have no real legal issues. It was a positive life change and im not really willing to go back to cars. Love seeing other take that leap.

Well done! I didn´t sell my car and built an electric scateboard, but the story wend kinda similar: Sold my car and switched to public transportation which is pretty good here - 370€ for a 1 year ticket valid on buses and trains in the whole State ( i live in western Austria, imagine a valley at higher altitude, hills and mountains, snow in winter etc.) Couple years later i added Electric Skateboards as aditional way of getting around during the seasons without snow. Bought a Carbon GT about 4 years ago and upgraded to a Bamboo Gtr recently. They r not cheap for sure, but after not having a car for quite some time i saved up enough easily. Its great fun to ride to and from work , which is about 20 km distance, and if sometimes im to lazy or weather doesn´t fit, i simply get on public transportation . Someday i might try to build my own AT board too, thanx for the great video!

Mate.....excellent video....one of the best ESK8 videos I have seen. You have your head screwed on right mate. Made me really happy and inspired from watching your video. I'm 51 and learnt a lot from you. Thankyou.

I love what you had to say at the end about choosing what's right for you. I'm now considering doing the exact same thing.

Roan! Great to see this video, it was truly awesome to watch. So wicked that you were able to build a AT board for less than $900. Beautiful work with the board and the video. Stay in touch man and hope you're well! - Neil

best way to describe why, how, and for.. Love this video.. BIG THUMB UP!

What a nice video. I bought a meepo 1,5 years ago, never tried skating before but I felt in love with it. Now I'm finally upgrading, building a big board with terrain wheels, it's much better for these small holes, cracks etc.. I live in a small town and I can get everywhere pretty fast and also I'm outside more often since I work from home, I was barely outside, now I can enjoy there rides everyday!

Awesome video mate, really enjoyed that! I've sometimes thought about selling my car and just use my boards, but sadly it's not realistic... yet! But I agree, definitely build your own transport, that way if something goes wrong (like you said) you'll know how to fix it instantly... and if it totally fails then you simply learn and move forwards, with a new or updated build, in a more informed way. Keep the videos coming!⚡️

Suuper underrated video!

I've been riding an electric mountainboard for 6 years now, bought it for $1050 from a local builder. I later swapped the high speed hub motors for lower speed, geared down motors from 2x off-road hoverboards. I charged my boards from a DIY solar charging station I made for the fridge and my pc. I ran with a 36v 40ah lipo block with a 12v 50ah block for a lot of accessories. The build process is really enjoyable. I learnt that not all soldering irons are equal. I learnt that yes, I can put a 600w bass speaker on the back and have underglow, but I learnt if I should. Trying all sorts of things I could do instead of buying the top end high speed high spec boards was much more rewarding overall.

Great video, well thought out, great dialog, good editing and drone work.

Honestly, $1800 for an evolve AT bamboo gtx or $1350 for a board that relied on you scoring second hand parts and using LiPo over lithium ion....well I own an evolve, but for most people I’d say their best option is still an off the shelf board. Ever tried hub motors?

Great video! Not many subscribers but quality is on point, keep the good work.

That thing is BIG! Im gonna buy an all terainer in the $600 range, awesome video man!

Top quality video my mans, hope you are well x

I Onewheel & love it...since owning it, I’ve saved nearly 2,000kms in driving a diesel van. I also have off grid solar, so my board is practically fuels for free & zero emissions (other than manufacturing etc of course). BUT, I’m stuck on the thought of scrapping whole car due to a seized transfer case???? WTF Man? Obviously a millennial or close to. I can see me going on a tangent about the going ppl of today being totally fricken useless. I’m in my 40’s now, but when I was in my late teens & my gearbox seizes in my 4x4 hilux, my first thought was, “which wrecker might have one”. Once I had a 2nd gearbox (which is attached to the transfer case), I had it swapped out & back on the road in fricken no time - like, 1 or 2 hours tops!!! And, I grew up without a father or older brother etc - I just had a pair of balls that I lugged around and fixed shit if it broke myself, like a man should....AND this was in the days WITHOUT endless RU-vid tutorials on every topic....if we didn’t know about the car, we had to BUY A BOOK (made out of paper & ink) MANUAL ON THAT MAKE/MODEL AND READ IT. THE THOUGHT OF SCRAPING THE ENTIRE CAR DUE TO A GEARBOX (or transfer) WOULD NEVER HAVE ENTERED MY MIND!!! On the plus side, I guess with generations of young pussies that scrap their cars because a headlight is out, means less cars on the road, less pollution & more car parks for people who still require a car. 🤗 But, I digress.... CREDIT DUE - great work on building your board...this is fantastic to see!!!! Ditching your car to use an electric board - I hope/wish you inspire more people to do, if not to build, but at least ride an EPV instead of using a car. 👏👏👏

eskates are so fun good video man your pretty underrated keep on going

Nice Video. I am looking into building something like this myself. Thanks for the info.

Love this video, I love my electric chopper ebike and now my diy electric mountainboard custom to me. And they do help with mood and enjoyment. I ride electric to stay young. Thanks

Ye I really enjoyed this video I agree with making your own electric bike,scooter,skateboard etc Great to see a fellow Aussie making a good video

Great video. No mention of other car minuses: Stuck in traffic, traffic tickets, and trying to find parking. And, I don't know how it is there, but car break-ins too.

Thanks for the great video, bro. Nice board too.

You have inspired me! Thank you. Can you share you're Tblueprint?

I'm also a esk8t hobbyist, I had the first electric skateboard in my area. By day I'm a mechanic. Putting a transfer case in that land rover is easier than building a diy electric skateboard, its something like 14 bolts, a couple plug-ins and a pop clip. You probably could of changed it out in like 3 hrs. I really liked the video. You could of built the board and kept the old girl. You could of run biodiesel or convert her to electric.

Nicely thought out and well produced documentary. 👍 I started with an Evolve bamboo GT as my main ride then a bit over a year ago upgraded (sidegraded?) to a Onewheel XR. It's less top speed than the Evolve but the Onewheel is so much faster in general because of the ability to turn on a dime and not need to slow down for grass and obstacles lol. I do my shopping and 95% of my transport on it. 😎

There will be two of us so we're building an electric two seater, pedal assist, weather proof, travel camper/home. It will hve all the comforts of a home but without the mortgage and upkeep. We liked your video. You did a great job explaing the benefits.

Informative and creative content, thanks mate.

Awesome video! Last summer I only used two tanks of gas in my car. I just eboarded everywhere I needed to go for the most part. I can't quite get away with selling my car but I prefer to eboard when I can.

Hey bro I’m just watching this today and enjoyed the entire video! By chance do you have a parts list for the motors and speed controller you used for this project?

Cool Video bro, just got a Fiik board today. Looks sick, but looks like a fun DIY project.

This was a pleasure to watch. 🌹

INSPIRING - Thank You! 😊

Dude this video is amazing how haven’t you made it big in the community?!

Funny, I sit behind diesel wedges, as I like to call them on the UK motorways. They give off soo much tow, you can comfortably sit at motorway speeds and get 3.9KwH per mile in my VW e-golf at a safe distance using cruise control with auto braking. I have a BlackHawk Pro V3 esk8 and have been getting around between charges to my house. It’s not fully water resistant, but if I stay clear of the big puddles, it’s pretty good. I’m thinking about a home-build, so thanks for sharing.

I like the thin deck. People go real crazy with wide decks.

Buen trabajo ! Bonito proyecto está genial!

Could you tell the story behind the little pouch featured in some of your clips? (the one that sits in the middle of your board)

awesome video overall but I just wanted to say I am satisfied with my purchasing of the cheaper chinese electric longboards and do believe that they are a better alternative to the more expensive brands :) I have a wowgo 3x and an ownboard W2

Charging and Discharging your battery between 25% - 75% will increase the cycle life to 14000 to 74% capacity. I'd say go for a battery that can handle the range that is three times or more than your daily commute.

If you want a good board for 450, wowgo 2s max is definitely the way to go. Rode a wowgo 2s for 4 years rain or shine and only had to do basic maintenance (battery connector replacement due to corrosion from a small leak) but I only upgraded because my motor bearings were going out and found the wowgo 2s max was a lot faster and more range for 450. Sorry if it sounds like a commercial, but the budget boards from wowgo are crazy good for the price. Also forgotten mention the esc is sealed in epoxy so there is a very very low probability of a water damaged esc. Also probably the smoothest and most precise esc on the market, as it is a hobbywing.

He forgot to mention all the money he will be saving on women by ditching the car.

nice video and i do agree with those chinese no brand companys as ive had a bad expierence with koowheel but i do believe if that there are some companies that do appreciate boards like meepo and exway

Interesting logic with the rover vs new battery tech. I would argue it would be more efficient if you replace the motor with new tech too

I did the same and now I am so happy!

I'm looking into this now one thing I thought of doing right off the bat was making the battery pack a backpack. I see you wearing a backpack so I'm just wondering have you considered this and if you have why did you decide not to

where do you park your board? or do you just carry it around everywhere?

Love it. Also love the liquid dnb huge

Awesome video! good stuff dude

It's a lot harder to commute like that in the US. Everything truly is bigger here and that includes commute times. I live in the suburbs and have to drive 20 min to get to college. However, an electric board was cheaper than a parking permit, so I just park off campus and skate to class. At home I just cruise around the neighborhood for fun. I wouldn't recommend commuting with an electric skateboard unless you live in or very close to the city. Also get a feel for the quality of the local roads before you get your board. Bad roads will slow you down and make your commute less fun. The roads suck in my city so I plan on getting tires once I get the money. Maybe upgrading my board in a few years to something with a suspension system.

Those questions at the end of the video-Brilliant! Did you ever teach? Because that's called "closure." Usually at the end of a lesson (or at key times intermittently) "the students summarize what has been learned" not the teacher! IMO real teaching and learning requires active engagement/interpretation/integration of content towards applied meaning. Bravo!

Absolutely great and inspiring video. What is the brand mountain board you started with? Specifically those trucks??

Who you gonna call when your skate board breaks down 15 miles from your house

Just one more push into the future. Let's go hover boards.

You should have kept the truck and still get the skateboard. Save and fix the truck when you can while relying mainly on the board and public transportation. At least you'll have a vehicle in the future for practicality reasons. Can be hard not owning a vehicle. Ridesshare and public transportation costs add up and can be inconvenient as well as unreliable. A car keeps you warm when its cold, cool when it's hot, dry when it's raining, and makes shopping for groceries alot easier

okay, not everyone has a metal work friend that would take beer for payment

Would have been nice for a price comparison for those who don't have friends who work as machinists. Eg, new motor mount brackets, etc.

You should find a way to make the batterys charge as the wheels turn or soar panel

I knew you look familiar. You came down to San Diego (Balboa Park) for a demo ride of enertion. Then group ride

How do you lock it up while in shops?

You sound like the “getting over it” guy 😂

I can kind of get on board with this. I was in the same position with a 1994 Subaru that still technically worked but had expired tags WAY out, like approaching 2 years out. At the time I was working an entry level position at target and I wasn't making nearly enough to get the car repaired > pay for safety > pay for registration. All in all, total cost to repair would have been everything in my bank account and most of my tax return for that year. This basically wasn't an option for me, so I went out and bought a piece of shit bike off of craigslist. To call it a piece of shit is a bit unfair because the frame is actually from the golden age of roadbikes. Steel frame Univega with the original paint (albiet a bit of rust). The shit came from all of this garbage the kid had on it. He had turned it into a fixie and, while I can appreciate a good fixie, there was no taste. Cheap begets cheap, and this bike was a couple steps away from collapsing into 5 different pieces. The rims didn't even spin straight. I ended up deciding to keep the fixie style because installing the breaks and gear system was going to take far too long and I didn't even have the tools to put them in anyway. While I certainly had my adventure with cheap parts, I EVENTUALLY (I'm talkin years) turned this bike into a fixed gear beast. I had the hollow SRAM crankset that blew all this cheap amazon bullshit out of the water in terms of performance and reliability. I had Mavic rims that spun perfectly straight and STILL to this day (6 years later) have the best closed bearing system I've used in anything, ever. I ended up using a plastic skeleton seat because I liked the aesthetic even though it was initially a hellish experience to sit on. I think I went through at least 5 variations of handles and stems before I settled on something I liked and found comfortable in my riding position. All in all I must have spent at least 1000 dollars on the necessities including the tools I needed to put everything together. But this was MY BIKE. It was one-of-one. Sometimes I'd see bikes on my 7 mile commute to work. Sometimes these crazy expensive/impressive roadbikes would pass me because I was stuck in a high gear during a headwind. But never did I see a bike that looked quite like mine. There was an extremely satisfying thing to that. I ate shit in the rain on that bike, I've had to make an emergency tire change on the side of the road, I've walked the whole 7 miles home with it because I had no extra tubes, I had a pedal loosen and throw me off going full send speed, I've even been hit by a car on that bike. It's a little banged up and bruised but everytime I bring the old boy out I always get compliments. There is a glowing pride I have with that bike that I never felt with my car (at least not to that degree), and now that my life is a bit more stable and I don't need to use my bike daily anymore, I can't seem to get rid of it. To be honest, it's a feeling everyone deserves to experience.

some chinese boards are really quite good now, it took the market a while to mature but the products out of the chinese market for electric skateboards 500-1000usd range in 2020 are really really good im very familiar. they used to be garbage all around but that's just not the case anymore

Can we get a DIY total breakdown/new build? Idk how to not make one explode 😅

can you set a cap that cuts off charging at 90%

As per your introduction, when a car fails on you, you can't pick it over your head and Chuck it😭

in thailand gasoline very expensive if not necessary i never used my car. i ride my esk8 go for work. from my house go and back about 15 km.

whats the cheapest eletric skateboard you can make?

Busses now get cranky and say you can't bring a board witha battery on them. At least this has been my experience in Brisbane. Trains seem to be fine though. Might just be a Brisbane thing.

That Land Rover was awesome. Not sure about the rest of the vid.

wow 700 for registration in Aus ! thats nuts

But what about weather can I ride this yr round? Are you still gonna take dates and yourself on ubers ?

I do not plan on getting rid of my vehicle (we have kids and animals who need to be taken places often) but I work from home and 95% of my driving consists of round trips of less than 10miles (about 16 km) so I am searching for parts to make my skateboard now.

Cars are subject to being stuck at traffic lights and having to drive a fixed route you on the other hand have been privy of being creative in your routing. Therefore, you are much more faster than a car. Trust me I’ve seen it work

People should know about EUCs - electric unicycles. These are at least as awesome as the electric longboards ;)

I'm wondering, do you still run errands and commute on electric skateboard? I wanted to build esk8 for this as well, but after some time I had to admit that esk8 is just not right tool for it, or at least for me personally. If you build something light, then it has small range and can't go on bad roads. On the other hand big offroad wheels and big battery is heavy to comfortably carry around. I bought Ninebot Max scooter and that's way more practical. It's dirty cheap compared to esk8s, it's almost zero maintenance, it's more reliable, comfort and safety is higher. I can use the scooter all year round even in heavy rain, I can carry week worth of groceries in my backpack without having issues with stability, it's heavy, but I can just lock it anywhere outside (I wouldn't lock esk8 somewhere outside). Nowadays I just run esk8s for fun, but commute and run errands on scooter.

I love riding my board and I wish I could use it all the time instead of a car but I live in the god-awful shithole of Canada where we have cold rainy or snowy weather for 9 months of the year

I think using your feet to accelerate, and only use the Battery for containing speed, is gonna increase range insanely. Currently building my self a 110mm Wheel Longboard Replacing the original 75mm wheels, with 110mm wheels taken from the kick scooter market. My Goal is to make the ride smoother, and have less friction on the ground and over tiny obstacles such as bad surfaces or dirty sidewalks. There's no harm done if I modify my cheap local shop Longboard, just have to expect it to die quicker than if I'd build it with that punishment in mind. I see it as an experiment, especially how the riding safety is effected. Scooter wheels are only as wide as the bearing, and usually rounded out, which means much less ground contact, nice for speeds, but sand could send it flying in the curves Tho all this gives me the chance to also install scooter brakes, which could be used, I can imagine them not being the most effective way of braking, but they also keep rainwater from being shot at my legs by the wheels. If my experience is nice, I will def consider building a much bigger and maybe electric Longboard. And air cushioned wheels are def a big consideration for the future.

The ending do be inspiring

How long were you doing this at the time of the video? Are you still 9 months later?

*Enjoy Riding. It's what matters.*

awesome vid

very well made video.

I liked the video but in the part where he was talking about not buying Chinese boards I would have to disagree, my first board was a meepo and some of my friends ride wowgo, they are excellent entry level boards.

You can get some sick boards from Chinese companies.... I have ridden 10,000km on my backfire ranger x1

It’s defo the way to go

you ever try egg Dampeners in your truck springs.?

awesome video

Nice build. If you charge you battery at 70 % it wil last lot longer

Same here France cheers Australia 🤙🤙🤙

if you are still using it better use some rectifiers and inverters to save batteries and charging . u r using a lot of batteries those can manage

I like that this person only considers “urban” modes of transportation…

What is that beach location

Battery is not damage by charging 100% Only a littel if its 100% and you dont use it for a long time