I am sure I'll show of my girlie side (yeah, I have one!) by picking a favorite truck based on its color or design. I think they need a totally girlie one, but some how I don't think they do. Although, from reading monster truck books with my boys I DO know there are, or at least have been, female drivers! Personally, I think a nice monster truck would come in handy on my daily commute, guy in front of you being a jerk? Just run right over him! Of course, it would make my rather regular runs through the drive thru a little hard!!! Maybe they could make a monster truck that you could drive a smaller car into like some of the kids toys I've seen. First it's a soccer mom in a minivan, but in the blink of an eye it becomes a bully crushing machine! How cool would that be?
But for now I'll just be heading out to get some ear plugs, as I've been advised and heading of to see Monster Jam at the Allstate Arena on February 11th!!
Fun Monster Jam info:
Today’s monster trucks use lightweight bodies and tires so more strength and weight can be put into the frame without sacrificing speed, maneuverability, or safety.
1. Body – Made of fiberglass, a monster truck body is custom designed to create a character or theme for the truck. Custom body trucks can be carved by hand out of Styrofoam and wood to create a “plug” which is then used to create a fiberglass body mold or created by computers.
2. Driver Seat – Most monster trucks have the driver seated in the center of the vehicle so he or she can best see the track for weight distribution. The seats are custom molded to each driver’s body and all drivers use head and neck restraint devices to keep their heads secure during rough landings. As a safety measure, all seatbelts employ a 5 point harness to restrain the driver’s body.
3. Paint – Most Monster Jam® monster trucks feature highly designed, customized airbrushed artwork on their bodies. Airbushing is expensive and time consuming as some trucks require more than 40 hours of paint time. Monster Jam body fabricators are always assured lots of work though, as their custom creations are routinely destroyed during the shows.
4. Engines – Custom-built, supercharged and methanol-injected, a monster truck engine burns up to 10 liters of methanol per run (approximately 80 meters) and delivers about 1,500 horsepower.
5. Suspension System – In order to allow the drivers to withstand the punishing impacts of jumping and crashing a monster truck during a performance, each Monster Jam monster truck is equipped with specially-engineered extra long 76cm shock absorbers filled with oil and nitrogen gas that are installed with each tire.
6. Tires – Each monster truck tire is custom made. They must be 66 inches high and 43 inches wide. The average monster truck team will go through 8 tires in one year. Tires are designed differently to satisfy various track conditions and driver preference. Carving just one tire requires over 50 hours of exacting labor.
Order your Monster Jam tickets for this great price now!
Monster Truck Facts
- Height – Approximately 12’ / 3.6 Meters
- Width – Approximately 12’ / 3.6 Meters
- Length – Approximately 20’ / 6 Meters
- Weight – 10,000 lbs / 4500 Kilograms
- Tire Size – 66”/ 167cm / 1.7 Meters X 43”/ 109cm / 1 meter on a 25” / 63.5 cm Tall Wheel
- Motor Type – Supercharged Fuel Injected Big Block American V8
- Motor Size – less than 575 cubic Inches / 9.4 Litres displacement
- Horsepower – 1350 – 2000+
- Top Speed – 70 MPH/113 KM/H, Monster trucks are equipped with tachometers which measure the working speed of an engine versus speedometers which measure vehicle speed
- Suspension Travel – 20-32” Fully adjustable Nitrogen or Coilovers
- Chassis – Custom Steel minimum of 8 points that attached to main chassis
- Body – Fiberglass Composite with Lexan Windshield
- Fuel Capacity – 22 Gallon/ 83 Litre Fuel Cell
- Fuel Type – 99.9% Methanol (Alcohol)
- Fuel Economy – 7 Gallons per Mile/17 Litres per Kilometer
- Truck Safety
- 50+ point safety inspection before each show
- Remote Ignition Interrupter (RII), Track Officials can shut a truck off at any time
- On Board Fire Extinguisher System
- Driver Safety
- 5 Point Racing Harness
- Fire Resistant Suit, Shoes, Gloves and Racing Helmet
- Transport Trailer (loaded) – 62,000 lbs / 28,000 Kilograms
Snapshot: About Monster Jam Events:
- At Monster Jam, monster trucks face off in two different forms of competition -- side-by-side racing and freestyle:
- Side-by-side racing – traditional bracket racing, where the first truck, with the least amount of penalties, crosses the finish line is declared the winner.
- Freestyle competition – allows drivers a limited amount of time on the open floor to show off their skills. In this category, the fans serve as the judges.
- 2007 was the 25 year anniversary for the Grave Digger Team
- More than 4 million Monster Jam fans attend events each year worldwide
- The World Finals in Las Vegas, NV brings 24 of the top trucks in the world to compete for the World Freestyle and Racing Championships. Competitors are by invitation only.
- A monster truck race team will travel 45,000 Miles / 72,400 kilometers a year by land to attend events.
- Typical monster trucks cost $600,000 yearly to build, staff, compete, transport and maintain on the Monster Jam tour.
- Steel body full-size cars are the vehicles typically crushed during a monster truck event.
o Cars, as well as vans, buses, motor homes, airplanes and ambulances, are attained from local junkyards and returned after each event.
o Average number of cars crushed per year: 3,000.
I remember going with my parents when I was younger. My fave was always Grave Digger.
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