Monster trucks are as American as Baseball and Country Music. All three born and loved by Americans. Please sit back, get comfortable and take this journey that follows the history of monster trucks.
Long before monster trucks or vehicles for that matter, we have had a needed desire to explore and enhance our surroundings. The last century of American life was built around preserving the security and comfort of life Americans grew to know. To achieve the level of peace on our soil, our military had to explore new ways of increasing our ability to handle threat and ways to deter it. The men that invented, added to and built these dreams into reality became the forefathers of monster trucks. The need to explore and push technology forced the world into a battle of whom could do what first and best So, we need to recognize these past achievements for without them, monsters would not be possible.
God bless America and we thank those that have given us the ability to enjoy all we have.
. Is this the first monster truck? It did have 10 foot tires & 4 wheel steering.
TC-264 was built for the US ARMY. This is the only one ever made. June 1954
Delivered in 1962 the TC-497 or "Overland Train" was the only one ever built. It consisted of the control car, ten cargo carrs, and two power generating cars. It was 565 feet long and could haul 150 tons of cargo.
It's cab is now on display in Yuma, AZ
The control cab is all that remains of The Overland Train today, and it may be viewed at the Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center.
The rest of the Overland Train was sold to a Yuma scrap dealer.
This is one of two Alaskan Snow Trains made.
Letourneau made these large tired monsters with many applications in mind from exploration to military and earth moving use.
One day while checking on one of his large tired units in the test field, one of Letourneau's workers backed over his car by accident sqashing it flat. That was in 1957.
M221 Tractor Truck, 2-1/2 ton
After World War II the Army was looking for replacements for its 2-1/2 ton trucks. After competition from GMC, Studebaker, and Reo, the GMC entry became the new "deuce and a half". The tractor version of GMC's M-series was known as the M221. It uses a shorter wheelbase that the M211 Cargo Truck or the M215 Dump Truck.
Produced from 1952-1957, this 6x6 truck had a crew of 2. It was powered by a GMC model 302, 6 cyl, in-line 301.6 cu in, 130 hp gasoline engine with an 8-speed Hydramatic transmission and a 1-speed transfer case.
The US Military used 2 1/2 and 5 ton trucks for many applications. Many of the axles from these aged trucks found their way under many a monster truck.
M35A2 "deuce and a half" 2-1/2 ton cargo truck.
The M35 series of trucks was one of the most long-lived systems deployed by the Army. They were first fielded in the 1950's and continued to serve with various modifications into the late '90s in two dozen configurations. This model is an M35A2 2-1/2 ton cargo truck which could carry 5000 pounds cross country or 10,000 over roads.
Built by Reo, it is all wheel drive and equipped with a 210 hp, Continental LD-465, in-line 6 cylinder, multifuel diesel coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission and a 2-speed transfer case. Multifuel meant that the engine could be set up to run on almost any type of diesel fuel, jet fuel, gasoline, or heating oil.
M52A2 Tractor Truck, 5 ton
The 5-ton 6x6 models, which were introduced in the early 1950's, went through several changes denoted by the A1 and A2 suffixes to the M-series numbers. The A2 designation applied to the third version of the M-series 5 tonners. It is powered by a Continental LDS-465, 6 cyl in-line, 210 hp, 478 cu in multifuel engine (can be operated on CIE, gasoline, diesel, or JP-4) coupled with a manual 5-speed forward/1 reverse transmission and 2-speed transfer case and had a crew of 2.
Capacities: Fuel, 110 gallons; cooling system, 46 quarts; crankcase, 22 quarts.
This series was replaced by the M800 series 5-ton trucks in the early 1970's.
M818 tractor truck, 5 ton
In the early 1970's the Army began purchasing an updated version of the M-series 5-ton trucks. Known generally as the M800 models, the range included all of the basic types which had existed in the earlier series. The earlier fleet had been procured between 1952 and 1965, and many of them were well beyond the age and mileage limitations preferred by the Army. Hence, a new series of somewhat improved vehicles was deemed necessary. Starting in the 1980's, most of these trucks have been replaced by the M900 series 5-tons, although a few are still around.
Manufactured by AM General and operated by a crew of 2, this vehicle is powered by a Cummins NHC-250, 6 cyl, in-line, 855 cu in, 250 hp diesel engine coupled with a 5-speed forward/1-speed reverse manual transmission and 2-speed transfer case.
It has a fuel capacity of 110 gallons.
The M818 can tow a 25,000 pound load on improved roads, or 15,000 pounds cross-country.
Fischer searched outside the farm tire category and found what he thought would work for his customer -- a large flotation tire that had been made for military cargo transports during World War II. It took a year to get the tires and wheels, which did not fit, so a local welder adjusted the wheels to fit the farmer's tractor.
It wasn't long before the tractor with the odd-looking tires got noticed. A fertilizer dealer asked Fischer to put a set of the tires on his truck sprayer. Allied Chemical asked Fischer to bring the tires and wheels to a trade show. Good-year saw the potential, and the company began producing Terra Tires.
"Ross certainly has left his mark on the farm tire industry and, consequently, farming in general," said Jim Bamer, product manager for Goodyear's farm and terra tires. "Without his vision and determination, farmers quite possibly would never have experienced the benefits of flotation tires."
Man kind needs recreation. Because of this we are always looking to adapt things we make for ways to make them fun.
Swamp buggy taken in 1969
Years of Production: 1978-1982
Models: White 4-210, White 4-210 Slope Boss, WFE 4-210
Specifications: 210 hp, 636 cu inch 3208 Caterpillar V-8 engine, 2,800 rpm pto, 3x6 Power-Shift transmission.
Notes: The 4-210 was sold to ski resorts as the "Slope Boss" 4wd. It was sold with large floatation tires that were mounted backwards. The turned around tires allowed for better traction and alowed the 4wd to climp steep snow covered ski slopes. The 4-210 "Slope Boss" was used to pull a drag to groom ski slopes and trails.
Jeff Dane's early years coming soon...
Every major motorsport has an icon – the one person who personified the sport and became the focal point for appealing to the mass market. In stock car racing, it is Richard Petty; in Indy car racing, it is Mario Andretti; and in drag racing, it is “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. The monster truck sport has its own icon: BIGFOOT creator, Bob Chandler. He paved the way for his sport’s wide appeal. His achievements are even deeper, though - Bob is the only motorsport icon to “invent” his own sport!
In 1973, a motorcycle accident put an end to Bob’s construction career. The next year, he ordered a 1975 F250 pick-up truck, and soon Midwest 4 Wheel Drive Center was born in the family garage.
Notice there is no big motor popping out of the hood and BigFoot is visible on the drivers door.
Neighbor and good friend, Jim Kramer, became Vice President and business was good, but they all still took time to go four wheeling. The Chandler family, which now included three children, spent their weekends at off road events and running the gravel bottom rivers in southern Missouri. Due to Bob’s lead foot, the truck was christened "BIGFOOT", and to keep down on breakage and to show off 4 wheel drive products, Bob added bigger axles and made his truck bigger and stronger.
Rear steering was another especially popular innovation, and soon BIGFOOT was attracting attention wherever it went!
In 1979, BIGFOOT performed at its first paid event, a Denver car show. Exhibition truck pulls in arenas and stadiums soon followed. Magazines came calling and BIGFOOT’s popularity spread like wild fire.
Jeff Dane story coming soon...
1979 marks the 1st meeting between Bob Chandler and Everett Jasmer!
Everett Jasmer began to focus on his automotive interest as an adolescent. During and after highschool he would open his own mechanics shop and try his hand at drag racing all by 1972.
Everett bought his first four wheel drive in 1974. It was a 1970 Chevy pick up. In the mid 70's he closed his shop and moved down south to out of state trying his hand as a heavy equipment mechanic and chevrolet mechanic during which time his interest in four wheeling grew. He would find his way back to Minnesota, get married and find work as a mechanic/corvette specialist at a local Chevy dealership. He also ran a part time shop out of his garage for a couple of years. He decided to strike out on his own and moved from his garage to his first shop in 1979, opening Off Road Specialties full time. This would also be the start of him using his 1970 Chevy pick up truck as an advertising tool for his shop.
At the time Bob and his Bigfoot was gaining National popularity, Bigfoot went to a 4 Wheel Drive event in Minnesota with as the feature attraction.
Having heard of this Everett decided to go to the event and meet Bob. After spending the day getting acquainted Bigfoot's exhibition time drew near. Bob asked if Everett wanted to run his 70 Chevy truck as well through the mud. Everett asked to go first, not knowing if he would be able to make it after Bigfoot dug huge ruts with Bob's big tires. Much to Everett's surprise he and his Chevy made it to the other end. Bob was next and made it through with little effort. Now that they had both made it to the other end. They took turns going back through the mud. After 2 or 3 passes Everett said that was enough, he still had a 200 mile drive home. Bob said to Everett hop in we are going to do something special. Everett was riding shotgun in Bigfoot. Bob pulled to the start line, smashed the gas and well.. er.. uh.. Bigfoot got stuck. Note that Bob was showboating and tried this last run in 2WD. After getting stuck, he tried 4WD and was now really stuck. Everett jumped out and went over to his truck. They hooked a couple of tow straps to one another so Everett could reach Bob way back in the mud.
The plaque below speaks for itself and with the help of Bob on the gas of Bigfoot as Everett gave the extra needed to get Bob moving.
The phrase “Monster Truck” was first coined by Bob George, one of SRO’s owners and their show announcer.
A truck with 48” terra tires and military axles drove out and he called Bigfoot a "Monster Truck"
The men who were around during the birth of monster trucks were all doing things that were building up to what it now known as monster trucks. Bob Chandler is the only one of them who seized the opportunity and became a marketing genius that thrust Bigfoot into the lead. Bob along with Jim Kramer were what everyone wanted to see and what other truck owners set as a goal to follow. If it were not for Bob, Jim and Bigfoot who knows what direction things would have gone or how long it would have taken. As it is now, Bigfoot was the marketing magnet that built an empire based on monster trucks. Others would follow and some feets were done first by owners such as Jeff Dane but no one but Bob was able to create the appeal and promote it in such a way to lead the way.
Countless other truck owners also created lifted trucks, some with big motors sticking out the hoods to participate in such events. At the time, the largest tires the trucks were running were 48 inches in diameter.
The early days of Fred Shafer, Jack Willman Sr. and Jeff Dane will be coming soon...
When Bob went to a bigger tire, Everett bought one set of these tires and installed them on his 1970 pick up.
"CHiP's", BJ and the Bear were popular on TV. Smokey and the Bandit and Convoy were popular movies at this time. The relaxed good times of the laid back good ol boy was a growing culture. The CB (citizen band) radio, 4X4 and country music were all big hits with this part of Americana. Because of the above mentioned popularity of such things a new movie was being made to take advantage of this large part of America.
Bob Chandler was asked to take part in the filming of an upcoming movie.
Bigfoot would play a starring roll throughout the movie. Bob Chandler invited Everett Jasmer to bring his 1970 and 1979 Chevy trucks that would be in snippets during the race scene. The movie needed some filer trucks and Everett's trucks fit the bill.
Pulling to the line!
Fasten your belts! 
See the man in the orange shirt, guess who that is? Bob Chandler him self!
In fact Bob and his family were in the movie during the race.
Bob and Everett did not do any of the driving in the movie. Stuntmen were in the trucks for the filming.
The race is on! Look close at the yellow Ford.
Ford's knock off the Chevy's 
UH-Oh, This is gonna hurt!
What would you do if Bigfoot was chasing you? -
Who wins the race?
As the movie ends, we can not give the ending away. Go rent it and see the excitement for yourself!
After filming, Bob Chandler would return home and continue showing his truck at events.
Everett Jasmer took his trucks home and totally dismantled his 1970 Chevy pickup with plans of making it bigger like Bigfoot.
Everett's 1979 never did become anything more and would later be sold.
Jeff Dane in his yet to be named "King Kong", performed the first known car crush to be 'photographed' in Wisconson.
In the February edition of 4 Wheel & Off Road Jeff Dane was mentiond. A picture of his Ford was seen with its front tires on a wrecked car.
Jeff Dane said Bob Chandler called him prior to April and asked Jeff how he did it? Did Jeff chain the cars together and what special things did Jeff do before driving over the cars?
Never one to rest on his laurels, Chandler again tried something that really caught the public’s imagination. He drove BIGFOOT completely over a couple of junk cars, and taped it! A promoter saw a video of the aptly named “car crush,” and a few months later Bob duplicated the awesome spectacle at a stadium show.
The rest is history.
Bob Chandler invited Fred Shafer to a show. This would be the start of the Legendary Bearfoot.
Because of the popularity of Bigfoot, Chandler was forced to clone Bigfoot to try to meet the demand! In addition, inspired by the success of Bigfoot, numerous imitators came forth and the “monster truck” name was coined.
BIGFOOT 1 & 2
USA-1 at a magazine photo shoot
When USA-1 got it's first full coverage in a magazine, the writer of the article called it the Big Blue Ox because of it being from the state of Minnesota and it was the home of Paul Bunyan and his OX named Babe. The truck had no clear name on the truck so the writer took it upon himself to give the truck a name.
Everett Jasmer does his first car crush.
Bigfoot Car Crush - Pontiac, MI 1983
BearfootMany people credit Bob Chandler's Bigfoot IV built in 1984 as being the first stage 2 monster truck, this is a misconception. 1983 saw other trucks owners follow Bigfoot with the 66 inch tire trend and by this time Bigfoot was building a new truck after Ford signed a sponsorship. Bigfoot's new truck is still a stage 1. When Fred Shafer went to his redrawing board, he wanted something stronger and bigger. He added a sub frame to go under the original truck frame giving Bearfoot more strength. This was the first step in taking monster trucks into a new direction from the beefed up factory truck. It was new thinking with new possibilities. Bob Chandler and Jeff Dane would follow this technical leap in the Bigfoot and Kong trucks to follow. Many others saw what Fred Shafer did and picked his idea over Bigfoot's factory look. The other thing Fred did different was go even bigger in the tire area. Can you guess just how large these massive tires are?
King Kong
USA-1 & Bigfoot 1In this special event done just for the upcoming episode of "That's Incredible", Everett Jasmer would face off in a crush to the finish against Bob Chandler.
Bigfoot 1 would come out the winner. Everett Jasmer stated he was not ready when the phone call came asking if he wanted to participate. Fortunately Bigfoot and his crew was on hand to help get USA-1's tires off the trailer. Everett had no way (yet) to move his tires on or off his trailer.
To meet the overwhelming demand requests for his big blue Ford Bigfoot's, Bob plans to build a third truck.
A mouthy cowboy learns just what Big Bob can do to a lil ol Porsche.
Later on, Bob find's out Terra Tires may not be the best idea for a cross country high speed race.
The spring of '84 USA-1 had new bedsides installed and was repainted white. It did one weekend event with no USA-1 markings in Ames, Iowa before returning to the shop to get the USA-1 logo painted on.
The Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. Bigfoot took on USA-1.
Bigfoot IV, Awesome Kong II, Monster Vette, USA-1 Frankenstein, Blue Thunder, Michigan Ice Monster, Rollin Thunder. Bigfoot IV and Awesome Kong II are in the final with Jim Kramer in Bigfoot IV coming out the winner..
Who could have known Bob Chandler would spur the creative thinking to create monster truck spin offs.
Enter the Monster Tank & Transformer.
Mart Williams the owner & driver Southern Sunshine drowned in a non monster truck related accident.
A quite accomplished and feared mud racing driver makes the jump from mud racer to monster trucker.
Is it possible to have two ICONS in one place? As with anything monster trucks have never been 'in the norm' of any realm. We recognize Bob Chandler as the Father of monster trucks and have nothing but respect for his devotion and accomplishments, but we also want to recognize this unique situation. Dennis Anderson has become something of a modern day miracle. Fred Shafer who was as die hard of a racer as anyone can get was known for his ability to out drive most. In the early days it was Bob and Jim from Bigfoot, Fred and Jack of Bearfoot and Everett with his special devotion to mix monsters with drag racing. As time went on in the early days of monster trucks, Jim Kramer emerged as the man in Bigfoot. He was regarded as the worlds best monster truck driver. Fred and Jack had some differences and they split up with Jack taking the original Bearfoot and renaming it Taurus. This left Fred with Lil' Bearfoot and him building a new Bearfoot truck retaining the name.
The constant battle to out do one another advanced the sport in just a few years, this was beyond belief. So many guys were building trucks jumping on the I want to be a monster truck driver band wagon that it was hard to keep track. The advancements and changes were to keep the monster truck fan always looking for the next 4wd magazine issue to stay in the know.
One of the sports pioneers Jeff Dane was constantly trying, inventing and changing things on his trucks. Most of the pioneers would innovate new things and incorporate them into the truck changing little appearance wise. With exception to Bigfoot and USA-1 all of the above would at one time or another change brands. Bob Chandler and Everett Jasmer share one big thing in common, they have remained brand specific since the start. Notable mention is even with the name change, Jack stayed true to Chevy with his Taurus trucks. Jeff Dane started with an older Ford bodied Diesel pickup and moved to newer Ford truck bodies with Chevy motors eventually moving his Awesome Kong to a Chevy body. Fred Shafer and Bearfoot would change from his blue Chevy to another brand later in his carrer. Another name that will pop up in a big way throughout the years to follow is Dennis Anderson. He started as a Ford but changes down the road.
OK, now back to the point from the beginning. Two ICONS - is it possible? A promtion company known today as Live Nation owns the Grave Digger name and Dennis is a hired driver for this promotion company. Live Nation will self title Dennis many years later, but we are making mention of this now for its importance to keep track of Dennis and his grave digger from 1986 to today. Many considered Dennis a reckless and careless driver. It is true Dennis had a unique way of driving but he always did everything with a smile and when he would pull his Grave Digger truck to the line, everyone knew to hold their breath and stand up to see what was about to unfold.
With racing starting to emerge and all of these named men being a part it was bound to take monster trucks from the intermission or last act novelty to main attraction. Many promoters would go on to focus on monster trucks to draw the crowds. Dennis was right in the mix. He would battle with the best and burry the rest. We do not want to explain every moment of Dennis and his Grave Digger at this time. Remember we have only made it to 1986 thus far. We just want to set the stage and prepare you to keep an eye on the yet to be known "Father of Freestyle", the second "ICON" the sport will come to know.
Dennis Anderson was well known all over the eastern Virginia and outer banks area's of North Carolina by now. He has always been one speed-- FAST! He would get in - Smash the Gas and shut her down where she stopped. The early days of the Grave Digger monster truck is something that the older fans of today cherish. These fans share something rare indeed. They were watching the birth of something special. Bob Chandler invented monster trucks, but Dennis Anderson invented what is known today as freestyle. Never one to bow to anyone, Dennis always came to race. He never cried, he always had a smile on his face and he always gave it his all.
Bigfoot moments up to 1988
The world saw the first points series for side by side racing appear
The pace of monster trucks was getting faster and faster. A promoter wanted to run a points series in which the trucks would accumulate points throughout the year and crowning a final winner at the end. Similar to NASCAR, trucks would get points for each show depending on how they did. Here is an example of how a typical show would go in 1988 for the Redman/ TNT points series.
June 11, 1988 Renegade/TNT Motorsports event in Louisville, Kentucky
TNT Monster Truck Challenge 1988 Toledo, OH
The series was won by USA-1 driven by Rod Litzau in a final race against Bigfoot IV in Louisville, Kentucky on October 7th.
This was the first accumulative points series in monster trucks. It was held across the Country at different venues with lots of crashes, hard racing and a little controversy.
The recently built 2nd USA-1 truck did not attend the first races of this new series. Everett Jasmer would drive his new truck at only two events in early 1988 and step down as the driver. Everett found himself unable to concentrate from being overwhelmed with overseeing his 4 x 4 business and running his monster truck business, so he put a new driver in the truck.
When the new USA-1 truck did race it was fast and caught up in points.
TNT top 5
INTRODUCING TAURUS 3. A NEW BREED OF MONSTER TRUCK!
Jack Willman's Taurus 3 and Bob Chandler's Bigfoot 8 have been a subject of debate. Taurus 3 is similiar to Bigfoot 8 in appearance, however the main frame rails of both trucks differ.
tube
Noun
1. a long hollow cylindrical object, used for the passage of fluids or as a container
Taurus 3 used square steel box for its main frame rails. Thus Bigfoot 8 is the first to use a full tube chasis.
Trucks today all are built with all kinds of ideas and even more choices of material. Square box steel is commonly referred to as square tubing. This is neither right nor wrong. It is a debate over the meaning of the word tube.
That is an argument best left to a high school debate team or a group of Steel Mill owners.
Competition trucks of today are for the most part all stage 3 trucks similiar in building and are considered "Stage 3" regardless of the shape of tubing.
As for the first "STAGE 3" monster truck in the world, that would have to be Taurus 3. Bigfoot 8 may have been in the conceptual stage or even as far as the build table, but Taurus 3 was the first to make its public debut- making it the world's first stage 3 truck.
General Tire 4 Wheel Drive & Off-Road Jamboree won by Jim Kramer in Bigfoot VII.
Grave Digger changes over to the Chevy Side!
United States Hot Rod Association Grand Slam of Motor Sports championship. Won by Bob Chandler in Anaheim, CA.
The TNT series ran under a few names during 1989
TNT Powertrax, St. Paul MN
Tuff Traxx TV program
TNT Monster Truck Challenge at
Richmond, Virginia
Lima, Ohio
Should we even go on? I hate the 90's!
