THE WORLD’S HEAVIEST monster truck, Bigfoot #5, stands 15ft 6" tall and weighs a colossal 38,000lbs. The truck debuted in 1986 and was officially recognised by the Guinness World Records as “the world’s tallest, widest and heaviest monster truck” in 2002 - holding the record until today. Bigfoot was built by Bob Chandler in 1975 after he modified a Ford F-250 pickup truck. Since then, Bob has introduced over 20 Bigfoot trucks and has helped to invent the entire monster truck sport as we know it today. Bob said: “Bigfoot was the first. I’ve got the best. Nobody else can top it. Still amazes me when it drives down the street. People just stare, awe at this thing. It’s just one of a kind.” The truck resides at the company headquarters in Missouri and is now mostly used as a display vehicle.
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MotorTranscript
00:00Bigfoot 5 is the biggest, it's the widest, the heaviest monster truck out there.
00:30At 4.7 metres tall and weighing in at 38,000 pounds, Bigfoot 5 really is a true monster.
00:47And it was built by Bob Chandler, who didn't just create this beast, he invented the whole
00:53sport.
00:54Bigfoot was the first.
00:56I started out with a stock pick-up truck.
00:58I wanted to go more places so I'd put bigger tires on the truck.
01:01Then the next thing you need is stronger drive shafts and axles and things.
01:04Then you don't have enough power so you put a bigger engine in the truck, right?
01:11I started doing exhibition events.
01:16Went to any kind of event I could find, from mud runs to hill climbs to truck and tractor
01:20poses.
01:21From that point on it was known as Bigfoot.
01:26As performances grew wilder, drivers looked for new ways to entertain the crowds, and
01:31the car crush was born.
01:34You've guessed it, Bob invented that too.
01:37My friend comes to me and says, I've got two cars out in a farmer's field, let's see if
01:41you can drive over it.
01:42And the promoter saw it and he says, I want you to do that in front of a crowd.
01:49When we did the first car crush in front of a crowd, it just amazed me.
01:53They just loved it.
01:55And to me it was something kind of simple, the truck just drove over the cars.
02:01The bar was raised at shows, and as the stunts grew bigger, so did the danger levels.
02:17People were getting hurt.
02:19I know of three drivers that have broke their backs in these trucks early on.
02:23I was doing a show, and the promoter came up to me and says, you need to invent something,
02:26you need to do something, because this truck would drive right up to seats, nothing would
02:31stop it.
02:32It's going to hurt people bad.
02:35We designed a kill switch, we call it.
02:38There's somebody on the sideline that can press a button and stop that truck.
02:42That was one of the biggest things that we've ever done for Monster Trucks.
02:46And for this vehicle, things were about to get even bigger.
02:53We saw this military junkyard, and we see a trailer with ten foot tall tires on it.
02:58And we're looking at that and I said, I want to put them on my truck.
03:02These tires are off of an Alaska land train.
03:06Now sporting one ton tires, five ton axles, and sixteen inch gas cell shocks, Big Foot
03:14Five became the world's biggest monster truck.
03:19I got the best, nobody else can top it.
03:21And the tread on these tires allows for a pretty cool trick.
03:25Jim Kramer, my compadre in this business, he'd get out of the truck, take the tire down
03:31as it's rolling, and then grab the back of it and pull him all the way up and he'd walk
03:34on top of that tire for a while, and then jump back in and finish driving the truck.
03:39Still amazes me when it drives down the street, people just are awed at this thing.
03:44It's just a one of a kind.