Mud Motor Kits

I’m looking into building a longtail mud motor.
There’s a wide range of prices.
Do any of you have any thoughts on the currently available kits?

What I’ve found so far are:
mud-skipper.com start @ $300
mudmotorkit.com (Swamprunners) start@ $400
beaverdammudrunners.com start @ $515
backwaterinc.com (Swomp kits) start @ $995
stumpjumpermudmotors.com start @ $1200
godevil.com start @ $4300
mudbuddy.com start @ $6600

Those last 2 may include the engine.
The HF Predator engines are pretty cheap and get pretty good reviews.
I wish they had a 9.9hp version predator.

HF has 6.5Hp 212cc racing go cart engine for $330 and a performance upgrade kit for that engine for $200. That might be a good starting point for a small rig.

My son has has a mud skipper. He has had for a few with no problems. He has a predator motor from harbor freight on it.

Based on your 9.9 hp wish I assume that your looking for a smaller lightweight/barbones setup. I have owned 2 different mudbuddys and they are nice but you pay for the added options and better engine and drive system. I had a buddy build a barebones 23hp predator system a few years back and after he saw what a mud buddy hyperdrive would do for speed and the ability to to get a load/boat up on plane in 8″ of water he sold it.

I assume that the 9.9 hp limit on small lakes applies to mud motors too.

jwellsy wrote:

The HF Predator engines are pretty cheap and get pretty good reviews.

Can’t speak to the mud motor application but I have had great service from Predator motors. I have been using these exclusively in repower applications and they really are good quality motors. Also don’t believe the BS that’s out there about not being able to get parts. Sources of parts are well known and easy to come by, the parts cross reference easily since these are clone engines one manufacturers parts will fit another manufacturer’s motors almost always.

Personally I wouldn’t think you’d give up very much by going with the eight horsepower predator. Especially if you play with the governor a little bit to really be able to open it up. The other thing I found was predator engines is they definitely benefit from changing out the carb Jets to richen up the mixture. Carb jets are available online but it does take some trial and error because there’s no set formula, depends largely on operating conditions. It’s best to buy a jet kit.

Here’s a good review of 3 brands of mud motor kits.