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 pickup truck.
00:58I wanted to go more places so you 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.
01:14I went to any kind of event I could find, from mud runs to hill climbs to truck and tractor
01:20poles.
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 the
01:31car crush was born.
01:33You've guessed it, Bob invented that too.
01:36My friend comes to me and says, I've got two cars out in a farmer's field.
01:41Let's see if you can drive over.
01:43And the promoter saw it, he says, I want you to do that in front of a crowd.
01:48When we did the first car crash in front of a crowd, it just amazed me.
01:53They just loved it.
01:55And to me, it was kind of simple.
01:58The truck just drove over the cars.
02:00The bar was raised at shows.
02:03And as the stunts grew bigger, so did the danger levels.
02:08People were getting hurt.
02:18I 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 the seats.
02:31Nothing would stop it.
02:32It's going to hurt people bad.
02:36We 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.
02:45And for this vehicle, things were about to get even bigger.
02:53We saw this military junkyard and we see a trailer with 10-foot tall tires on it.
02:58And we're looking at that and I said, oh, I want to put them on my truck.
03:02These tires are off of an Alaska land train.
03:06Now sporting one-tonne tires, five-tonne axles and 16-inch gas cell shocks, Bigfoot 5 became
03:15the world's biggest monster truck.
03:18I got the best.
03:20Nobody else can top it.
03:21And the tread on these tires allows for a pretty cool trick.
03:25Jim Cramer, my compadre in this business, he'd get out of the truck, take the tire down
03:30as 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.
03:41People just are awed at this thing.
03:44It's just a one of a kind.
03:45It's just a one of a kind.
03:45It's just a one of a kind.
Comments