Bigfoot #5: The Tallest, Widest and Heaviest Monster Truck That At any time Was

Bigfoot #5 is actually an outdated truck, but a pretty unique form of truck: it’s the fifth monster truck developed by the founding father of monster trucks, Bob Chandler. Given that 2002 (up to the second of press), it is been the tallest, widest and heaviest truck in the world, as acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Information and one of the most influential hot rods in record.

Range 5 may possibly be old, but it’s even now the best in the activity. It is a historic truck that impresses equally by sheer measurement (it basically places the “monster” in “monster truck”) and for paving the way for a fantastic American custom. It also stands as evidence that no desire is unachievable or too significant if you use yourself. And get the suitable car or truck pieces.

Again in 1974, Bob Chandler was residing in St. Louis, doing work in development and racing in his spare time. He drove a Ford F-250 4×4 pickup and, because of the mother nature of his pastime, it would frequently finish up broken or lacking necessary areas. In time, he designed another passion: that of fixing his truck and building it greater at the exact time.

As he points out in an April 2020 job interview with Barcroft Vehicles, accessible at the bottom of the page, after you get started placing even larger tires on your auto, you have to have a even larger travel shaft and greater axles “and all that.” You move on to larger engines and it retains snowballing from there.

For Bob, factors snowballed him proper into the Guinness E book of Earth Data. Since he noticed a hole in the industry for monster trucks, he and his spouse and friend Jim Kramer created Midwest 4 Wheel Drive, which went on to build greater and larger vans, which they would choose to all styles of activities. Or, as he puts it in the exact chat, they would show up at whichever party would have them, as extensive as they got to demonstrate off their builds.

From driving up filth roadways to crushing vehicles and carrying out everyday living-threatening stunts was just a move. Bob took it, providing monster truck amusement to an at any time-escalating fanbase.

Their initial monster truck had 48-inch-tall (121-cm) tires, and the crew worked their way up from there. By 1983, Bob and the organization experienced already secured a sponsorship with Ford and, in 1986, they have been capable to introduce amount 5 to the earth: a significant truck that sported 10-foot (3-meter)-tall Firestone tires earlier made use of on an Army car in Alaska in the ‘50s. The tires by itself weigh no considerably less than 1 ton, with the overall fat of the truck at 38,000 kilos (17,200 kg). Changing one tire is the type of operation that necessitates heavy machinery.

Bigfoot number 5 stands 15 ft 6 in (4.7 meters) tall and, some 16 several years soon after it was introduced to the community for the 1st time, it finally bought worldwide recognition: Guinness named it the tallest, widest and heaviest monster truck. To this day, regardless of the acceptance of monster vans and the quite a few builders Bob’s creations have influenced to generate their personal, variety 5 nevertheless holds the file.

“Bigfoot was the to start with,” Bob claims. “I’ve received the very best. Nobody else can best it. Even now amazes me when it drives down the avenue. Individuals just stare, awe at this matter. It is just 1 of a variety.”

As for how he arrived up with the title, Bob the moment claimed it all started out as a joke back again when he was even now in development get the job done. His manager at the time held berating him for constantly breaking things about his truck, telling him that “If you’d keep that massive foot of yours off the fuel, we wouldn’t have to do this all the time.”

Though selection 5 is currently getting saved in Missouri as a show automobile, the other Bigfoots Bob crafted are nonetheless roaming out there. Bob’s lineup features far more than 22 of them, with one particular of the most current actually currently being an electric powered auto. But only a person is the largest and meanest, and it’s really a sight.

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