9781422277102

Toughest Trucks Streets to Showtime from the OF A U T O M O B I L E S

OF A U T O M O B I L E S

The World of Automobiles

Written by Norm Geddis

Carmakers from Around the Globe Concept Cars: Past and Future Customizing Your Ride Hop Inside the Most Exotic Cars Toughest Trucks from the Streets to Showtime

mason crest

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, Pennsylvania 19008 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll free)

Chapter 1 Trucks: Hard Work and Wild Fun...........................................................7 Chapter 2 Toughest Pickup Trucks ......................................................................19 Chapter 3 Semitrucks ..........................................................................................27 Chapter 4 Monster Trucks ...................................................................................39 Chapter 5 Stunts...................................................................................................53 Chapter 6 Great Drivers........................................................................................63 Series Glossary of Key Terms.................................................................................72 Further Reading......................................................................................................74 Internet Resources and Educational Videos........................................................... 75 Photo Credits..........................................................................................................76 Index.......................................................................................................................77 Author’s Biography.................................................................................................80

Copyright © 2019 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN (hardback) 978-1-4222-4091-5 ISBN (series) 978-1-4222-4086-1 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4222-7710-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Geddis, Norm, author. Title: Toughest trucks : from the streets to showtime / Norm Geddis. Description: Broomall, Pennsylvania : Mason Crest, [2019] | Series: The world of automobiles | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018018049 (print) | LCCN 2018019231 (ebook) | ISBN 9781422277102 (eBook) | ISBN 9781422240915 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422240861 (series) Subjects: LCSH: Trucks--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC TL230.15 (ebook) | LCC TL230.15 .G45 2019 (print) | DDC 629.224--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018018049 Developed and Produced by National Highlights Inc. Editor: Andrew Luke Interior and cover design: Annalisa Gumbrecht, Studio Gumbrecht Production: Michelle Luke

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Trucks: Hard Work and Wild Fun

trucks vehicles of various sizes and configurations meant for the transportation of cargo pickup truck a vehicle with a small cargo bed and low sides meant for light-duty personal or small business transport monster truck a pickup truck or other vehicle modified with extra large tires and suspension meant for racing and exhibition entertainment semitruck a large industrial truck consisting of a cab and semitrailer intended for hauling large quantities of goods over long distances

What are people without their stuff? They are people who will quickly be looking for stuff to replace the stuff they used to have. If an average household from 1900 and one from 2000 were compared in a bar graph, the amount of stuff piled on the 2000 side would be several magnitudes larger than the one on the 1900 side. Even if the stuff inside the garages was all that was measured . . . wait . . . garages didn’t exist in 1900. Well, there you have it.

Trucks revolutionized ground transportation in the twentieth century, making it possible to move large quantities of goods over long distances relatively quickly.

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Without trucks , a lot of that stuff would be largely unavailable. While cars moved individuals over distances never before imagined, it was trucks that moved everything else. Perhaps even more than cars, trucks revolutionized ground transportation in the twentieth century. Trucks also have been growing in popularity as a style statement. Semitruck owners decorate their trucks with logos and colorful stripes. Pickup truck owners deck out their vehicles with all sorts of accessories. Trucks have become fun things to own, as well as important tools in the economy that most people take for granted every day. Not only is the saying true that around every turn in the road awaits a new adventure, but with a truck, the driver can bring along lots and lots of stuff for the ride. A truck is bigger, taller, and more physically impressive than a car, but a little tougher to handle. Drivers of trucks of any size get an enhanced view of the landscape.

Don’t forget, trucks go off-road too. Sure, some cars and SUVs have four-wheel drive and can go off-road . . . sort of. But they aren’t trucks. Off-road trucks flying over boulders are better equipped than cars, SUVs, or anything else. That’s the distinction. Trucks look their best kicking dirt and conquering rocks. The word itself—truck—sounds like something big and dangerous, like the roar that might be made by a large beast coming down a hill at a trampling pace. The word “truck” goes back hundreds of years. It once had a very different meaning than the one associated with the pickups and semitrucks on the road today. The word was originally associated with a type of small wheel. In early colonial America, around 1610, a “truck” or “truckle” described small wheels like those on a wheelbarrow or cannon. So how did a word describing something small become used to describe something big? It’s all about scale and context. As motorized vehicles, trucks actually go back a decade or so before cars. Steam-powered trucks started popping up in cities around 1870. They were slow, ugly, uncomfortable, and filled the air with hot steam, but they got raw materials from the train to the factory and finished products going back the opposite way. When compared to the enormity of a train and the number of goods transported over great distances in the nineteenth century, the vehicle that got a particular company’s goods from a train to the factory would appear small in comparison. So, the word “truck” distinguishes the much smaller vehicle used in conjunction with much larger trains during the Industrial Revolution.

NASCAR legend Smokey Yunick raced a modified Chevrolet Cameo pickup truck at the Daytona Speed Trials. His run set a class record. The supercharged Cameo went a quarter of a mile in 17.6 seconds with a 0-to-60-mph (0-to-97-km/hr) start of 8.6 seconds, a better showing than any other tested pickup of its era.

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In 1911, a Chicago area newspaper, the Inter Ocean , reported on a truck show at the Chicago Auditorium Building which was occurring the week after a popular car show. The writer compared the two by saying, “The most impressive feature of this week’s exhibitions is its bigness. Where last week stood dainty runabouts, and what even appeared then as huge touring and enclosed cars are gigantic trucks, capable seemingly of carrying the Coliseum and making nothing of it.” World War II changed everything. Before the war, the average person rarely traveled beyond twenty-five miles of the place where he or she was born. If someone was fortunate enough to have access to a vehicle, it was likely for strictly utilitarian purposes. Trucks got goods from the factory and the farm to the train. Cars got businessmen around the city. Out of necessity, lots of men and women learned how to drive during World War II, and lots more who knew how to

Soldiers used to driving Jeeps in WWII found pickup trucks easy to adapt to when they returned to civilian life.

drive got a lot more experienced at it. They also learned how to drive over many different types of terrain. In the United States military, the jeep was the primary mode of personal transport during World War II. When American soldiers returned to civilian life after the war, getting something to drive was on the forefront of their minds. Pickup trucks offered an increased level of freedom. Large pieces of furniture could be hauled home from the store. Driving dirt roads and off-road was easier. With each decade after the 1940s, pickup trucks became more and more popular. Pickup Trucks The first model pickup truck was the Ford Model TT in 1917. As its name suggests, the vehicle was a modified Ford Model T with a heavy-duty chassis and larger rear axle. In today’s pickup truck rating scheme, the Model TT would qualify as a one-ton pickup.

Before WWII, trucks like this 1930 Model A were mostly used for moving goods out of factories and farms.

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As early as 1908, companies were modifying Fords and other cars, converting them into hauling vehicles by extending the body, creating a cargo area, or strengthening the chassis and axles. Semitrucks Did you ever wonder why such a large truck is called a “semi”? That sounds like it should be half of something. Where’s the other half? Well, the other half is the trailer. The “semi” refers to the trailer having no front axle and therefore needing a tractor, which is the cab and engine, to hitch onto. It’s a “semi” part of a larger whole. The first semitruck was invented to solve a very serious problem. In 1899, a carmaker in Ohio received twenty orders for its new horseless carriage. The was problem was that instead of coming from around the Cleveland, OH, area, the twenty orders came from all over the country. Alexander Winton was the owner of the newly successful Ohio-based Winton Motor Carriage Company. He didn’t want his new cars driven to their new owners. That would put more wear and tear on them than they would likely see in several years of around town use. At the time, cars and roads were not made for long-distance travel. So, Winton came up with the idea of building a heavy-duty use vehicle that could pull a trailer through various paved and unpaved road conditions. In fact, few roads outside of cities were paved at the time. The cab portion of his truck was made from an existing touring car, with the trailer sitting on top a rear mounted engine. The cars were loaded onto the ramp of the trailer and then lifted in a similar way to today’s flatbed trailers, though the lifting was done by hand and not hydraulics.

Soon he was making his trucks for other carmakers, though he did not make them for long. Winton was more interested in engines and gave up the truck business. But by then many other companies were making semitrucks. An invention that predated the early steam, electric, and gasoline engines would rise from obscurity and the diesel engine would make trucks more durable and fuel efficient. Monster Trucks Get in a time machine and go back to the mid 1970s. On a Saturday night at just about any dirt race track in America, the air would be filled with the sounds of bumpers smashing against headlights at the local demolition derby. Dozens of old cars would get slammed into each other to see which one would be the last car left driving on four wheels as drivers tried to smash the competing cars into steaming piles of stalled metal.

Demolition derby events of the 1970s were the precursor for monster truck competitions

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On a wet night at one of these derbies, when some cars became stuck in the infield’s muddy pit, someone got the idea to pull them out using a pickup truck. The crowd cheered, and a new event was born. Soon, truck pulling, or mud bogging was an event at demolition derbies everywhere. The objects the truck would pull out of the mud became heavier and heavier and the truck owners began modifying their trucks to do the heavier lifting. It was out of these pools of mud that the monster truck was born. By the 1980s the demolition derby had disappeared just like pet rocks and whoopie cushions (look them up; both really did exist!), and monster truck competitions were drawing tens of thousands of fans. Monster trucks are good to have around in an emergency. During the floods in east Texas after Hurricane Harvey, monster truck drivers brought their behemoths out to help rescue people stranded by high waters. Being many feet off the ground, with huge tires capable of displacing sufficient water, numerous trucks were greeted with cheers by residents sitting on their rooftops.

To compete on the MTRA circuit, monster trucks must meet certain specifications, including being 12 feet tall and 12 feet wide.

In order to compete on the Monster Truck Racing Association (MTRA) circuit, a monster truck must be 12 feet tall, 12 feet wide, and use specific BKT brand 66-inch-tall and 43-inch- wide off-road tires. The tire grade rule is a new specification. Prior to 2015 any brand could be used. The new rule was part of a promotional deal the MTRA made with BKT tires. Also, if every racer is using the same tire, then the competition is fairer for all. The MTRA is not the only monster truck organization. About a dozen others, of varying sizes, compete against the MTRA. Some of them are the Monster Truck Racing League, Monster Jam, and Monster Truck Throwdown.

Watch as a monster truck rescues Texas flood victims.

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The first monster trucks used tractor tires. No specialty tires were available at the time. Today, Goodyear and Firestone, as well as BKT, make monster truck tires. The average cost of a single tire is between $2,500 and $7,500. In basic terms, a monster truck is a pickup truck fitted with extra-large tires and a super duty suspension. These days there are specific size requirements. As monster truck sporting evolved into a body of racing and exhibition stunt events, the definition of a monster truck became solidified in MTRA rules. A pickup truck isn’t necessary. The body of a monster truck can be anything. Some monster trucks start with a car or SUV body, while others are constructed of fiberglass into original shapes like the famous Scooby-Doo monster truck driven by Nicole Johnson, who said to Vice.com that flying through the air during a monster truck stunt makes her feel like, “superhero in a cartoon.”

1. True or False? A pickup truck is intended to haul a large commercial trailer. 2. What are the size requirements for monster truck tires? 3. Where is the engine on a “forward-engine” semi?

Look up the engine power and towing capabilities of early trucks like the Model TT, as well as those of a modern day pickup truck. Make a chart that compares and contrasts the loads trucks from each era could handle.

Until 1924 the Model TT was sold as a chassis and engine only. The body was extra. Starting with the 1924 model, the TT came with a body, while Ford managed to lower the price to $325.

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Toughest Pickup Trucks

cab the enclosed seating area of a light or heavy-duty vehicle heavy-duty truck a classification of truck consisting of those that have a maximum gross combination weight of 80,000 lb (36,287 kg) utility something useful or designed for use

Pickup trucks had been thought of as strictly utility vehicles for years. For a long time, their owners tended to be male and worked directly in or closely with heavy industry or agriculture. Women began buying pickup trucks in the 1990s and people in many walks of life bought them for their style and the fact that they carry a lot of stuff. Since then, pickups have gradually worked their way up the luxury ladder. In 2017, Ford introduced the F-450 Super Duty Limited pickup truck. Like any premium vehicle (with all the options, this truck tops out around $94,000), the interior luxuries are outrageous! Any Nashville star would be proud to pull up to the Grand Ole

For most of their existence, pickup trucks were used for utilitarian tasks like towing and hauling.

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Opry in one of these F-450s. The suede roof inside would match the finest blue suede shoes. The truck comes with stitch leather seats and matching dashboard. The wood trim adds a touch of elegance to an otherwise brutal machine. Next in line as far as the luxury available in a heavy-duty truck is lots of models priced around $65,000.

The first organized pickup truck races occurred in 1983 when NASCAR pro Buck Baker held his National Pickup Truck Racing Association’s first All-American Pickup Truck 200 at the North Carolina Motor Speedway. While the racing media thought the race would be a failure, six thousand five hundred spectators showed up to watch the race in the rain. Buck Baker was quoted as saying, “As hard as it rained and as long as it rained, you keep watching the parking lot and as long as nobody goes home, you know you got a good show.” 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD High Country The 2018 Silverado is meant to carry a lot of weight. Contractors who build home additions and kitchens use them to haul building materials. This one isn’t meant for off-roading up riverbanks. At the same time, it’s great for cutting down on trips to the hardware store. It’s a powerhouse that sports a dual rear axle. Combined with its turbodiesel V8 engine, the truck will pull up to 20,000 lb (9,072 kg). The interior comes in jet black or saddle-colored leather. It comes

The 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 line boasts a powerful yet eco-friendly V8 engine.

with all the electronics standard in Chevy cars, with an 8-inch touchscreen, park assist, lane assistance, and other features. 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali This Sierra was designed to make heads turn with chrome trimmed 22-inch aluminum wheels. Amenities include power steps and a trailer control system. This is the kind of truck perfect for using in conjunction with camping trailers. It won’t have trouble in the power department with a 5.3-liter V8 engine that’s eco-friendly and an 8-speed automatic transmission. 2017 Ram 2500 Limited Crew Cab 4X4 Dodge makes a popular truck with their Ram models. The 2500 Limited has 4-wheel drive and huge turbodiesel engine. Just like

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Luxury features more commonly found on cars include a moon roof, a cruise-control system with a sort-of artificial intelligence (AI) system that adapts to the driver’s style, and a collision warning system. The engine is another 6.7-liter V8 that comes in similarly priced trucks. The price for this one exceeds $75,000. 2018 Ford F-150 King Ranch The new 10-speed transmission from Ford makes this one interesting. While the towing capacity is on the low end at 9,100 lb (4,128 kg), the cab comes with all the amenities of higher priced pickups. The heated and vented seats are the same as in the $100,000+ Ford pickup, while this one costs around $65,000. The cab is roomy enough that one review said that it could fit livestock. Pickup Truck Racing Though pickup trucks have been around for almost one hundred years, the idea of racing them had seemed silly, at least until 1983. That’s when NASCAR legend Buck Baker created the National Pickup Truck Racing Association. The idea was to use the new racing circuit for graduates of Buck Baker’s racing school to have an opportunity to get into racing. Pickup truck races existed in amateur form before Bakers efforts. At least as part of the local demolition derby back in the day, pickup trucks were part of the show, working to pull or push broken down cars off the track. Baker hoped to sell the association to NASCAR. The first year had a ten-race schedule. Trucks were specially made using a 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Series base, with the number of carburetors reduced from four to two in order to decrease the speed of the trucks.

Watch the nearly $100,000 F-450 Super Duty Limited pickup truck in action.

Dodge cars, this Ram pickup comes the popular Uconnect dashboard infotainment system for handling both vehicles settings and media menu systems. Options include a 5th wheel trailer hitch, rooftop camera system, clearance lamps, and other 24/7 workhorse features.

Bryce Menzies holds the record for the longest pickup truck ramp jump at 300 ft (116 m), accomplished in his specially made truck on August 25, 2016, in Santa Fe, NM.

2017 Ford F-250 Platinum Hovering just below the $100,000 stratosphere of the Ford pickup universe sits this treasure of a truck. It comes with one of Ford’s unique type of transmissions called TorqShift. The transmission is closely integrated into the engine in this case. This gives it the advantage of being able to warm up faster in cold weather.

Gottlieb Daimler first patented the supercharger in 1885. The design has come a long way since then.

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1. About how much did a new fully loaded 2017 F-450 Super Duty Limited pickup truck cost? 2. What was the name of Ford’s first model truck? 3. What are the benefits of a TorqShift transmission?

Do some research on NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Then look up the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, and compare the two based on number of events, race attendance and prize money.

Buck Baker created the National Pickup Truck Racing Association in 1983. Today the NASCAR-run racing series features twenty-three races each season.

After two successful seasons, Baker sold the circuit to hot rod builder and racer Dick Moroso. He renamed the series the Moroso Performance All-Pro Pickup Truck Series. Today NASCAR holds the Camping World Truck Series as one of its three national series, along with the Monster Energy Cup Series and Xfinity Series. Racers Jimmy Smith, Jim Venable, Dick Landfield, and Frank Vessels originally founded the truck series in 1995 as the SuperTruck Series.

Drivers compete in a Camping World Truck Series event in Arizona.

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configuration the way the parts of something are arranged diesel engine an engine using a specially formulated hydrocarbon-based gasoline called diesel fuel instead of standard fuel fifth wheel the coupling which fastens a trailer to a semitruck

Semitrucks

There was a particular problem that bothered transportation officials in the 1950s, and it was military in nature. There was no easy route available for the US military to move troops, tanks, and other ground equipment from one end of the country to the other. So a plan was hatched to build a new network of roads across the United States. These roads would be wider, made of the latest materials for smooth driving, and best of all, at no place in this system would a vehicle ever encounter a stop light. Once on the road, a driver could continue without a stop until reaching his or her destination. The new roads would go around cities, not through them, with offshoot roads delivering people and goods into city centers. This network of roads became known as the Interstate Highway System. Work began in the 1950s and the initial road plan was completed in the 1970s. Work continues today maintaining those roads and adding more freeway arteries to suburban sprawl. Until the Interstate system became developed enough to offer coast-to-coast transport by truck, most goods moved from one end of the country to the other by train. The reason for developing road transportation in favor of train transportation was speed. In the 1950s, goods took around ten days to go from one end of the country to the other by train. Once the Interstate system was complete, a truck could make the journey in about four or five days.

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Not everything turned out as planned at first. Certain unforeseen vulnerabilities threatened the trucking industry just as the first Interstate pieces were coming together to create a fast transnational route. The first was instability in the price of gasoline. That caused fuel costs to go up and trucking companies had to pay those costs and charge more for their services. The result was that manufacturers and retailers had to pay a lot more money to ship their goods, so trains were once again looking to be the better option. To solve this problem, one of history’s oldest automotive technologies came roaring back into fashion in the 1970s and made trucking into the coast-to-coast shipping industry it is today. Until the early 1970s, when the Interstate Highway System was nearly complete, trucking was mostly a regional

To compete with diesel-powered trains in terms of fuel costs, truck makers put diesel engines in trucks.

industry. The new Interstates offered wide lanes, smooth pavement, and gentle curves. The problem was that most trucks ran using gasoline engines. Two major gas shortages hit the United States in the 1970s, more than doubling prices over the course of the decade. This meant trains continued to be around the same cost or cheaper than trucks even with the Interstate system. Don’t trains need fuel too? Yes, but their fuel is different and cheaper. Trains run on diesel engines , which are more efficient. This means that a tank of diesel creates more energy, in this case by creating more compression, than

The advent of the Interstate Highway System made coast-to-coast truck transportation a possibility.

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Truck Configuration Semis come in two configurations . The one most people recognize is the forward engine configuration. This is where the engine sits above the steering axle and in front of the cab. Behind the cab sits two drive axles under the fifth-wheel trailer. The couplings on the fifth wheel have a fore and aft adjustment that offers options for weight distribution. Much more common in Europe is the cab-over-engine configuration. This is where the cab sits over the engine, shortening the length of the truck. The downside to the cab-over-engine configuration is that maintenance on the engine requires the entire cab to come off the engine. To accomplish this, cabs are fixed to the truck using a system

would the same amount of gasoline fuel. Less fuel equals less cost. So, the solution was to put diesel engines in trucks. The diesel engine was invented in 1890, even before the gasoline engine. Diesel engines make a lot of sooty smoke, so they were the grubby cousin to steam and electric engines of the time that powered horseless carriages. When gasoline fuel was invented, it became a cheaper option, cleaner than diesel, and eventually won out over steam and electric, becoming the standard energy source for cars and trucks. When being used for hauling commercial goods, semitrucks operate under a patchwork of federal and state laws. The federal government operates the Interstate Highway System. Those freeways are designated with red, white and blue shield-shaped signs. A little older, and operating in tandem with the Interstate Highway System, is the United States Numbered Highway System. Together they are known as the National Highway System. This network of roads can be confusing. The United States Numbered Highway System, for example, consists of roads designated by black and white numbered signs. States have their own individual system of numbered roads and with signage that has its own color and shape. Both these road systems operate under laws governed by each individual state, and highway laws vary from state to state.

Dead Man’s Curve is a famous section of the original Route 66, which is part of the United States Numbered Highway System. This curve is located not far from Chicago. Many accidents happened there, a great number of which ended up taking out the front porch of a house just outside the curve. The house was finally demolished after a semitruck knocked it off its foundation.

European semitrucks typically have a cab-over-engine design, making the truck shorter but also making it difficult to access the engine.

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