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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:07 [TIRES SCREECHING]
00:10 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:14 [TIRES SCREECHING]
00:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:21 [TIRES SCREECHING]
00:24 [ENGINE REVVING]
00:28 Tough Truck Challenge 2015.
00:30 Tough Truck Challenge 2015.
00:35 Tank Trap, 30 minutes to complete this course.
00:37 Let's see who can make it fastest across the finish line.
00:41 Tough Truck Challenge 2015, we're in the heart
00:43 of the infamous Tank Trap.
00:45 This is a third of a mile uphill mud bog
00:47 full of snakes and poison oak and spiders and Sasquatch.
00:54 They've got to be ready for everything.
00:56 All right, man.
00:57 Welcome to the big show, Tough Truck Challenge 2015.
00:59 Let's get this started right now.
01:00 On your mark, get set, go.
01:03 [HONKING]
01:06 Jeremy enters the valley of the shadow of death,
01:09 AKA the Tank Trap.
01:13 My name's Jeremy Brown, and this is my '72 Blazer,
01:16 running 454, running propane, and running the 14 bolt Dana
01:22 60 with Revolution 538 gears and Yukon axle shafts.
01:29 Jeremy Brown dropping right into hole number two.
01:33 Let's see how he does.
01:34 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:37 He's already into the canyon section.
01:48 He's moving quick.
01:48 [ENGINE REVVING]
01:52 Now the drought has been kind to our competitors, at least.
01:59 Not as much water in this course,
02:01 so they fly through hole number three.
02:03 The drought here in Northern California is still going,
02:06 but luckily some spring rains have
02:07 helped us alleviate the moisture content in the water.
02:10 So we've got water now in these water holes, helping them out.
02:15 But it doesn't seem to be much of a challenge for Jeremy.
02:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
02:21 I take that back.
02:36 I said earlier that the water wasn't hindering him.
02:38 It looks like water's gotten somewhere
02:41 where it shouldn't be, and his motors not cooperate.
02:45 So this is a propane burner.
02:49 They're trying to cool things down.
02:50 You can get the expansion of gas,
02:52 just like air conditioning works, freezing components,
02:54 and making things not function the way they were designed to.
02:57 You need to have a gas, not a liquid, going into your engine.
03:00 All right, I'm here with Robin Stover.
03:01 He's the brains and power behind Top Truck Challenge.
03:04 Now tell us what's significant about this year
03:06 and why this year is so exciting.
03:08 Well, it's kind of unlike a lot of the other years we've had.
03:11 Basically, these guys are all really close together
03:13 in one big pack.
03:15 And according to how we judge things,
03:17 this could go any direction.
03:19 10 craps worth double the points.
03:21 So you got anyone's game here today.
03:25 If one guy really excels and a lot of the other guys flop,
03:28 it could be a guy with a lower score.
03:30 And if it's one of the higher up guys,
03:33 he could get way ahead of the other guys.
03:34 But they're all right close to each other.
03:36 So it's going to be really interesting to see
03:38 how it pans out.
03:39 So he's got the engine running, but he still
03:41 has one more massive water hole to go and the uphill climb.
03:45 It's not over for him yet.
03:46 Let's go, Jeremy!
03:54 This is the last disconnect.
03:59 He's got to disconnect it and see if he can get this thing up
04:02 the hill.
04:02 [ENGINE REVVING]
04:05 And there you go!
04:14 There it is.
04:15 Woo!
04:15 [LAUGHTER]
04:18 Now we'll join Christopher Bowman and his co-driver,
04:21 James Pickard, as they tackle the tank trap.
04:23 Christopher Bowman.
04:27 I'm from Mountain Home, Idaho.
04:29 And I'm wheeling a 1988 GMC Jimmy.
04:31 It's got a stock motor in it, built transmission,
04:34 231-205 doubler built by me, some 9-ton axle techs in it,
04:39 link suspension in the front with some FOA coilovers,
04:42 a double-worn winch in the front with an Engo winch
04:44 in the back.
04:45 I think we have a pretty good shot.
04:46 We've got the smallest motor of the bunch,
04:48 but we drive pretty good.
04:49 So I hope we're going to find out.
04:51 Water hole two ends with a large rock in front of them.
04:59 And they're a heavy rig.
05:01 So it looks like they've decided instead of bashing against it,
05:04 they're going to winch out.
05:05 Good call, especially with a heavy rig like that.
05:10 With less than four minutes on the clock,
05:11 they're on the move and heading into the canyons.
05:14 This ought to be interesting.
05:16 All right, this is a good strategy.
05:18 His spotter is out and in front of him
05:20 plotting the course to make it through the canyon.
05:22 This means they will navigate slowly and carefully
05:24 without breaking anything.
05:25 And wait, look at that.
05:26 Watch how Chris drives.
05:29 He's doing the perfect driving here.
05:31 Let's see, there, you can see it there.
05:33 He feathers that tire into the canyon wall.
05:35 Such a huge rig, climbing the wall
05:38 and not doing any body damage.
05:39 Those Mickey Thompson side biters
05:41 just digging into the wall.
05:42 He's coming up to this little ledge here.
05:44 How does he navigate it?
05:45 And look, he goes with extreme left hand side.
05:48 Wow, that was cool.
05:49 So he even avoided that ledge altogether
05:51 by crawling the wall.
05:53 Amazing work in a big rig like this.
05:58 When we asked what he was looking forward to,
06:00 Christopher answered, he said, I want to do all of them
06:03 and hopefully complete all of them.
06:04 That's all of the courses.
06:05 Unfortunately, he fell short in the hill climb
06:08 and the obstacle course.
06:09 But so far in the tank draft, he's doing great.
06:12 Time to winch.
06:16 So Chris has got a really strong rig, but it is heavy.
06:23 I.e., he's got to winch in some places
06:24 where he could have crawled over if he was a little bit lighter.
06:28 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:30 He's into the ravine, and this is
06:31 where your big tires will help you cross that ravine.
06:34 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:37 And he makes it out of hole six in hole seven without winching.
06:44 [ENGINE REVVING]
06:46 And under winch power, he attempts
06:56 to crawl up the top of the hill.
06:57 All right, Judge Jack, what's the time?
07:07 We're in just over 13 and 1/2 minutes,
07:08 getting ready to hit 14 minutes.
07:10 And he's going to make it out of here really fast.
07:12 Go ahead.
07:13 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:24 Now, as you were coming up, I noticed
07:26 you're really in a low, low gear.
07:28 What gear range are you using throughout the entire tank
07:30 trap?
07:31 Everything was in double low range.
07:32 First gear pretty much on the transmission.
07:34 A couple of the climbs, I shifted it up into second
07:37 just to let her eat.
07:37 And we just stayed there calm and cool, man.
07:40 All right, so second competitor in, second competitor out.
07:43 It is getting down to speed, the time,
07:46 who can get through this fastest?
07:48 Because remember, this is a really close race.
07:52 On your mark, get set, go.
07:54 [ENGINE REVVING]
07:56 Kimberly Gray from Amity, Oregon,
08:01 driving my 1975 GMC Purple Minion.
08:04 Didn't really do much to the track.
08:06 We changed from a pinion brake to a wheel-in brakes,
08:09 painted it this beautiful, rich plum so it goes faster,
08:12 added a voodoo rope to it, some nice new Mickey Thompson tires.
08:16 I'm here to make history by becoming the first woman
08:19 champion.
08:22 And bouncing over the logs, coming into hole number one.
08:25 It's the first time hole number one has had water in quite a few years.
08:32 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:34 Ooh, and a little struggle right there getting
08:38 into hole number two.
08:39 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:42 [ENGINE REVVING]
08:44 And there you are, heading up the canyon.
09:01 So Dan, what did you see out of hole two?
09:03 They had to back-- they tried to climb the hill,
09:05 had to back up a couple of times, get a different line.
09:07 We heard a popping noise.
09:08 We thought she might have broke an axle,
09:09 but it looks like everything's still working fine.
09:11 Just crawling up the canyon.
09:13 Cliff walls create a lot of friction, and IE friction, that'll stop you.
09:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
09:21 There she goes.
09:26 She's got her tire straightened out.
09:27 That's the line she needs.
09:28 [ENGINE REVVING]
09:31 There she goes.
09:32 She got that line.
09:33 She's making slow progress up there.
09:35 Little bit of squeal from the power steering belts.
09:37 And she's trying to crank the steering towards the cliff wall, which
09:40 is what you want to do to get traction and alleviate
09:43 that weight of the cab slamming against the rock face.
09:48 No problem at all.
09:49 She's got a straightaway to hole number three.
09:52 [ENGINE REVVING]
09:55 Good job, Kim.
10:09 And hole four sticks another.
10:11 It seems like hole four has given everybody a little bit of trouble.
10:16 And there's Kim's first winch.
10:18 First winch at hole four, that's a good sign.
10:20 [ENGINE REVVING]
10:23 Very unique approach.
10:29 Most people fall into that ravine, but those Mickey Thompsons,
10:32 with their lateral traction, has helped her crawl the far right side
10:37 of that berm.
10:38 Very unique.
10:39 You very rarely see that at Top Truck Challenge.
10:42 [ENGINE REVVING]
10:45 Yeah.
10:56 OK, right there's the exit.
10:57 Aim for that.
10:57 She's driving through this thing.
10:59 [ENGINE REVVING]
11:02 [TIRES SCREECHING]
11:05 Go.
11:10 [ENGINE REVVING]
11:13 Go.
11:14 OK.
11:14 [INAUDIBLE]
11:16 What time are we at, Jack?
11:17 15 and 1/2 minutes here.
11:19 So she's still got plenty of time, and she's doing great.
11:23 She has been so consistent in this event.
11:25 There she goes.
11:25 Hey, everybody, watch it.
11:27 [TIRES SCREECHING]
11:30 [ENGINE REVVING]
11:32 Woo!
11:34 Oh my goodness.
11:35 That was a beautiful run.
11:37 The first time I ever heard you stuff the pedal
11:40 and get it up to around 7,000 RPM was at the bottom of this hill.
11:44 Were you really that anxious to get to the top?
11:46 Hell yes.
11:48 Hell yes.
11:48 That was my whole goal.
11:49 The whole time we came here was to finish the tank trap.
11:51 I did it.
11:52 Awesome.
11:53 [ENGINE REVVING]
11:58 Ryan Agin from Hollister, California.
12:00 I'm driving a 1983 Chevy K10.
12:03 Has a 2005 LQ9 6-liter with a Tilden Motorsports Ultra 4 cam
12:07 package.
12:08 Turbo 400, 203, 205, off-road designs doubler.
12:11 Dana 60 front, 14-bolt rear, linked front and rear.
12:14 43-inch tires.
12:17 It's been done top to bottom.
12:18 Only thing original in the truck is part of the bed and the grill.
12:21 Everything else has been gone through, modified, and changed.
12:24 [ENGINE REVVING]
12:27 Now Ryan just bounced through those logs like they were nothing
12:30 and entered into hole number one.
12:32 Now his rig is not extreme in any sort compared to some other top truck
12:35 challenge rig.
12:36 It's not too big.
12:37 It's not too small.
12:38 It may be the secret sauce of our tank trap.
12:40 [ENGINE REVVING]
12:44 Into hole number two now.
12:47 Let's see if hole number two--
12:48 not even holds him up.
12:50 Holy diver.
12:50 He just went right through that and into the canyon.
12:53 Not even a hiccup.
12:54 [ENGINE REVVING]
12:58 With a minute and a half, he's already halfway
13:02 through the canyon section, and I can barely keep ahead of him.
13:04 [ENGINE REVVING]
13:08 No problem.
13:18 Those 43-inch tires just crawled right over those logs and into the mud hole.
13:22 Let's see if we can slow him down.
13:23 [ENGINE REVVING]
13:26 Not even a hiccup.
13:28 They're both smiling and waving to the crowd.
13:31 They're enjoying this.
13:32 Hole three to hole four.
13:33 [ENGINE REVVING]
13:36 Hey, there you go, good boy.
13:38 [ENGINE REVVING]
13:42 OK, hole four has stuck pretty much everyone.
13:44 There's that steep wall at the end of this hole,
13:47 and they've got to get through that.
13:49 The mud is deep, and sure enough, it stops them.
13:52 And this is the first winch of their tribe.
13:54 [ENGINE REVVING]
13:58 A little over three minutes of their crawl out of hole four.
14:11 [BEEPING]
14:13 So Ryan Agin has only winched once, and that was in hole four.
14:18 He's pushing close to the world record of Top Truck Challenge
14:21 speed through the tank trap.
14:22 [ENGINE REVVING]
14:26 So he's going for a really long pull.
14:36 He's going for a pull all the way up to the midway point
14:40 of the final hill.
14:42 Will this gamble pay off for him?
14:43 [ENGINE REVVING]
14:47 [HORN HONKING]
14:50 Holy diver.
14:52 Nothing broke here on the top.
14:53 Great time.
14:54 This is going to be a really close race.
14:56 Now what was cool when watching this guy in action
14:58 is the way he used hand signals on his winch.
15:00 He's like a combat veteran air pilot.
15:02 He's just so methodical checking his gauges the whole way.
15:05 It's awesome.
15:06 [ENGINE REVVING]
15:10 So Ryan Agin is going to be the winner of this race.
15:12 He's going to be the winner of this race.
15:14 He's so methodical checking his gauges the whole way.
15:16 It's awesome.
15:18 [ENGINE REVVING]
15:19 On your mark, get set, go.
15:20 [HORN HONKING]
15:21 [ENGINE REVVING]
15:25 Eric Cam from Red Deer, Alberta.
15:29 And I'm driving a 1985 Chevy 3/4 ton.
15:32 I bought it when I was 18.
15:34 Pretty much totally stock.
15:35 And it's been through-- this boat pretty much the fifth rebuild.
15:39 It has a Stroker 496 big block in it.
15:42 It has Rockwell 2 and 1/2 ton axles with Overson axles
15:47 and custom double bead locks that I built myself.
15:51 We're running Voodoo synthetic winch cable.
15:54 It's awesome stuff.
15:55 It's good quality.
15:56 And it matches the track.
15:57 [ENGINE REVVING]
16:00 Now Eric Cam may not have a Maple Leaf flag
16:06 on the hood of his car, but he does
16:08 have the very Canadian little mini wheel roller on his roof.
16:11 Let's see if that helps him in the canyon section.
16:14 So far, flawless in the hole two.
16:17 [ENGINE REVVING]
16:20 Cam has had problems with his motor all week long,
16:23 but he finally got it dialed in.
16:25 So he's angry.
16:26 He's out for revenge.
16:27 He's going to rip up this course and show him what he's made of.
16:30 [ENGINE REVVING]
16:34 [INAUDIBLE]
16:37 Turn into me.
16:39 Turn into me.
16:41 Hey, get off.
16:42 [ENGINE REVVING]
16:46 Now typically in the canyon section,
16:49 you want to feather your tires slightly towards the canyon
16:51 wall to alleviate some of the pressure of the cab crashing
16:54 into the wall.
16:55 But if you have the Dave Green patented little tiny roller
16:58 wheel on the roof, you can turn your wheels up
17:00 and let that little wheel do the rolling for you.
17:03 Get it to the roller wall.
17:04 [ENGINE REVVING]
17:09 [INAUDIBLE]
17:11 Now Eric's had a lot of problems with the EFI in his motor.
17:15 So he's had issues all week long.
17:17 He finally just said, forget that.
17:19 He went back to a carburetor.
17:20 He's got a carburetor in there.
17:22 And it's been running great for him so far.
17:26 Again, another really great run stumbled
17:28 by a winching opportunity.
17:30 They were just cranking through the first part of the course.
17:32 Once again, record setting times almost.
17:34 And now hitting this wall in the bottom of hole four,
17:37 they had to winch.
17:38 And that slowed him down quite a bit.
17:40 This is going to be a time trial.
17:41 [ENGINE REVVING]
17:44 Into hole six and into hole seven without a problem.
17:54 Now let's see if he can get up that hill.
17:56 Remember, he said he doesn't want to winch anymore.
17:59 He's a funny guy, huh?
18:02 [INAUDIBLE]
18:03 [ENGINE REVVING]
18:06 [WIND BLOWING]
18:10 Let's hope this winch works for him.
18:12 The Super Winch has been giving him some problems.
18:15 And now it's man tug of war up the hill.
18:17 This is exhausting to watch.
18:19 I can't imagine what it's like to be here pulling
18:23 that cable up this hill.
18:25 [ENGINE REVVING]
18:26 [INAUDIBLE]
18:28 [INAUDIBLE]
18:31 That's it.
18:32 That's all we got.
18:35 Exhaustion finally overtakes him.
18:37 He can't take anymore.
18:37 Dan was helping him down the hill.
18:39 And now he's going to switch places with the driver.
18:41 But the driver's holding the high idle on so
18:44 that the motor doesn't stall.
18:45 [ENGINE REVVING]
18:49 [WIND BLOWING]
18:50 [INAUDIBLE]
18:53 [ENGINE REVVING]
18:56 They have spent more time on this winch at the last hill
19:04 than they did in the canyon.
19:06 This is killing their time.
19:08 [ENGINE REVVING]
19:11 [WIND BLOWING]
19:13 [INAUDIBLE]
19:15 Finally, after what seemed like forever, they're on the move.
19:18 They're making it up the hill.
19:19 He's driving over the cable.
19:23 And man and machine cross the finish line.
19:26 Excellent.
19:28 And boom, there goes machine.
19:30 The radiator explodes.
19:33 Is this like wheeling at home?
19:35 Yeah, tank trap's pretty similar to what we do at home.
19:37 So you're used to this stuff?
19:39 Kind of.
19:40 Good job.
19:41 You rock.
19:41 That was awesome.
19:42 Great hustle.
19:43 The tank trap is demanding on both man and machine.
19:46 And by the way, next year I'm going
19:48 to start a health fitness program for the tank trap.
19:50 It's called the Tank Trap Marathon.
19:52 [ENGINE REVVING]
19:57 A ton of pulling power.
19:58 You saw--
19:59 [ENGINE REVVING]
20:02 [MUSIC PLAYING]
20:05,
20:33 Give way.
20:35 [ENGINE REVVING]
20:38 [MUSIC PLAYING]
20:41 [ENGINE REVVING]
20:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
20:48 [ENGINE REVVING]
20:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]
21:02 [INAUDIBLE]
21:06 [MUSIC PLAYING]
21:09 And there it goes.
21:17 The spotter's got to cross the line with him.
21:19 One, and the spotter finishes.
21:21 There you go.
21:23 Woo-hoo.
21:25 (wind blowing)