By Colby Buchanan
I still have yet to go to a monster jam or any monster truck event and this video just pushed it up on my list. I can only imagine what it would be like to drive one of these things. Plus, with all the backflips and wheelies they have to be putting down some serious power to get it to move like that.
I don’t know how they do it, but I do know that I want to see them do it. Flinging around the track making noise just for the hell of it. I also think it’s so funny how from the stands it looks like someone’s controlling it with a remote from some tower but nope they really did just almost flip over. Have you ever been to a monster jam and would you recommend it?
Who thinks we should bring Ryan Anderson out to @MonsterEnergy Cup in October ⁉️
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Jeff Glucker
Took my grandkids. Outstanding entertainment. Trucks are loud and huge. Bring good ear protection. Shooters muffs are best.
Got to respect the skill involved – both the driver plus the crew for preparing the trucks for the punishment they go through.
About 15 years ago, a car dealership near my house had a monster truck on display the day before a monster jam. My wife spotted it while passing by, and called me to tell me to bring my son. I don’t know how effectively the event was promoted, but hardly anyone else came by and so my son and I had a half hour or so of private Q&A with the driver. We learned:
Engines are not tuned for maximum power, but reliability. Though mechanically similar to Top Alcohol engines, they are not rebuilt every time they run. Instead, they can run a full season (or longer) without overhaul.
Being fastest around the course doesn’t directly mean anything. Teams get paid an appearance fee. The amount of the fee varies from truck to truck, and is related to popularity with the audiences. The budget impacts the performance. A small budget truck based locally is going to run conservatively and stay upright and try to preserve all the fiberglass and paint. A big budget truck is there to sell toys and will time things to be upside down and mangled at the exact second the buzzer sounds. Kind of like a music festival, the smaller draws go first and the headline acts go last, so if you want to see backflips, don’t leave early.
Tires are the heaviest part of the truck. New tires are shaved with a hot knife. The process is labor intensive (he said 40 hours, and I think that was per set, not per tire). About 1000 lbs of rubber per set is removed in the process.
That truck you haven’t seen before is probably an old chassis with a new theme. It’s relatively inexpensive to build a new set of fiberglass molds; after that, paint and materials costs will be relatively constant regardless of whether they are shaped like a truck or like a truck-sized animal. The same body with different paint is best, because Hot Wheels won’t need to buy new tooling to add another SKU.
LOL at the Hot Wheels re-tooling comment.
They are absurd in every way. It’s like professional wrestling writ mechanical without simulated interpersonal violence. What’s not to love?
Stadium trucks are kind of cool, but I’ve never been interested in monster trucks. As neight428 mentioned, they have a WWE-like vibe that I don’t find very appealing.