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
00:00 Bigfoot 5 is the biggest.
00:03 It's the widest.
00:06 The heaviest monster truck out there.
00:10 At 4.7 metres tall, it's the biggest monster truck in the world.
00:39 At 4.7 metres tall and weighing in at 38,000 pounds, Bigfoot 5 really is a true monster.
00:47 And it was built by Bob Chandler, who didn't just create this beast, he invented the whole sport.
00:54 Bigfoot was the first.
00:56 I started out with a stock pickup truck.
00:58 I wanted to go more places so I put bigger tires on the truck.
01:01 Then the next thing you need is stronger drive shafts and axles and things.
01:05 Then you don't have enough power so you put a bigger engine in the truck, right?
01:12 I started doing exhibition events.
01:17 Went to any kind of event I could find.
01:19 From mud runs to hill climbs to truck and tractor poses.
01:24 From that point on it was known as Bigfoot.
01:26 As performances grew wilder, drivers looked for new ways to entertain the crowds and the car crush was born.
01:34 You've guessed it, Bob invented that too.
01:37 My friend comes to me and says, "I've got two cars out in the farmer's field.
01:41 Let's see if you can drive over it."
01:44 And the promoter saw it and he says, "I want you to do that in front of a crowd."
01:50 When we did the first car crush in front of a crowd, it just amazed me.
01:54 They just loved it.
01:57 And to me it was something kind of simple.
01:59 The truck just drove over the cars.
02:01 The bar was raised at shows.
02:04 And as the stunts grew bigger, so did the danger levels.
02:08 People were getting hurt.
02:18 I know of three drivers that have broke their backs in these trucks early on.
02:23 I was doing a show and the promoter came up to me and says, "You need to invent something.
02:27 You need to do something because this truck would drive right up to seats.
02:31 Nothing would stop it.
02:33 It's going to hurt people bad."
02:36 We designed a kill switch, we call it.
02:39 There's somebody on the sideline that can press a button and stop that truck.
02:42 That was one of the biggest things that we've ever done for monster trucks.
02:46 And for this vehicle, things were about to get even bigger.
02:53 We saw this military junkyard and we see a trailer with 10-foot tall tires on it.
02:59 And we're looking at that and I said, "Oh, I want to put them on my truck."
03:02 These tires are off of an Alaska land train.
03:05 Now sporting one-ton tires, five-ton axles and 16-inch gas cell shocks,
03:13 Bigfoot 5 became the world's biggest monster truck.
03:18 I got the best. Nobody else can top it.
03:21 And the tread on these tires allows for a pretty cool trick.
03:25 Jim Kramer, my compadre in this business, he'd get out of the truck,
03:29 take the tire down as it's rolling and then grab the back of it and pull him all the way up
03:34 and he'd walk on top of that tire for a while and then jump back in and finish driving the truck.
03:38 Still amazes me when it drives down the street.
03:41 People just are awed at this thing.
03:43 It's just a one of a kind.
03:45 of a kind.
03:45 (thudding)
03:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]