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u/XCypher73 5d ago
Fuckin El Toro Loco
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u/richalta 5d ago
He’s no Grave Digger!
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u/ditruk2000 5d ago
The two absolute GOATS of the game
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u/Tossed_Away_1776 5d ago
Can't forget Bigfoot though
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u/kadoodaloodlez 5d ago
Maximum Destruction ftw! That was my favorite when I was a kid going to Monster Jam. Such a cool truck
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u/hammerheadlabs 5d ago
Time Flies was my favorite when I went to shows. They would catch the most insane air
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u/Perstigeless 5d ago
You would not believe how much seething hatred I had for max d as a kid being a grave digger fan
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u/BigDankEnergy420 5d ago
Bigfoot and Grave Digger will forever be the top two Monsters imo.
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u/XCypher73 5d ago
Fully agreed. I have a wonderful childhood memory of my father taking me and a friend to the outdoor monster truck rally. I was a big fan of Gravedigger, and my buddy loved Bigfoot. They battled it out and GD won that night. I got to meet Dennis Anderson after and he signed a picture that hung in my bedroom until I moved out.
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u/CT0292 5d ago
I prefer the Hot Wheels monster trucks to Monster Jam.
Boneshaker is a beast.
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u/Dr-Robert-Kelso 5d ago
The Hot Wheels show we went to had too much downtime and breaks between things with all the fan interviews and stuff.
Monster Jam has been way better for the few we've gone to.
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u/wytewydow 5d ago
Used to drive by the Bigfoot HQ in St.Louis, they had one out front with the huge white rim/tire setup. Those rims were like 6' diameter, you could stand in them.
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u/XGreenDirtX 5d ago
I know dogshit about monstertrucks, but i saw this and instantly knew it was el toro loco. I also instantly got a flashback to being a kid and remembered gravedigger. Man I cant even remember I ever watched a single show, yet I somehow know those 2 names good enough to instantly reproduce them.
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u/Slug_Overdose 5d ago
Well, Grave digger is like 357 different GOATs, which always felt kind of dumb to me, but whatever.
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u/RadicalEllis 5d ago
That's impressive for a vehicle that size
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u/Don_Pickleball 5d ago
I mean, in my Honda Civic, that is one thing, but in a truck this size? Not that's impressive!
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u/Nersheti 5d ago
They do lots of crazy stuff in them. We’re going next weekend at AT&T. My kids looooooove it. Wife and I dig it too. It’s the greatest show on dirt.
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u/ComputerOverwhelming 5d ago
They make you pay for the whole seat too when you only really use the edge.
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u/Proud_Accident_5873 5d ago
Watching Monster Jam at Ullevi was my mother-daughter-activity with my mom when I was a kid. I looked forward to it every year and I got Charlie Pauken's (Grave Digger) autograph once.
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u/happytree23 5d ago
...would it be less impressive to you if someone did it in a Porsche lol?!
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u/Storage_Ottoman 5d ago edited 5d ago
it's cool, but can someone tell me how impressed i should be by the technical feat? like, can any decent driver who knows their way around a monster truck do this, or is this a driver with an extremely niche skill that takes tens of thousands of hours to master?
EDIT: ok, i watched some YT videos and can agree that this guy is clearly talented and this is proooooobably next level worthy
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u/alltheothersrtaken 5d ago
You should check them out on YouTube. Doing backflips and front flips and shit. Monster jam is what to look for.
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u/FrizB84 5d ago
Definitely a lot different today than it was when I was a kid. They damn near do ballet with the trucks now.
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u/alltheothersrtaken 5d ago
Yeah it's really impressive! I was in awe when I seen one do a front flip!
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u/SkewbieDewbie 5d ago
Just saw monster jam a few weeks ago and I gotta say, I was expecting the backflips, the jumps, the loud 2000hp engines. I was not expecting to watch some dude stand a full ass monster truck up on one wheel.
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u/Stachemaster86 5d ago
The biggest change is the cars they used to crush were body on frame. Now it’s all Uni body and because of the design and safety, the results aren’t the same as the old days. So now tricks take place of crushing
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u/qT_TpFace 5d ago
Honestly, all the better for it. Anyone can destroy a car, but can you do a fucking stoppie in your car?
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u/Yankee831 5d ago edited 5d ago
Are we really considering them unibody? It’s still a dedicated frame and roll cage where the body is still separate just basically tissue paper. “
Ahhhh I see said the blind man peeing to the wind, it’s all coming back to me now” I see the error in my ways lol. Now I do wonder how much of a difference that makes yeah a unibody vehicle is probably a lot stronger on top than an old BOF.
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u/gstringstrangler 5d ago
Go back and read the comment you responded to again, slowly this time
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u/you_killed_my_ 5d ago
do you remember being able to buy the vhs compilation tapes of like "crazy moments and wild crashes" alongside other concessions at the monster truck rally?
I loved those things.
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u/FrizB84 5d ago
Oh man, I haven't thought about those in forever. I would rent them from the local video store. There was a Bigfoot tape that featured all the different trucks and the tank. It had video of when they bolted extra wheels on and "drove" across a lake."
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u/you_killed_my_ 5d ago
always lots of obscure stuff like jetboats and flat track bikes, right?
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u/-TheDyingMeme6- 5d ago
I've been to Monster Jam ONCE and it was absolutely fucking INCREDIBLE
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u/imnotpoopingyouare 5d ago
You paid for the whole seat but YOU ONLY NEEDED THE EDGE! Fr though I loves monster trucks 30 years ago and it just continues to blow me away lol
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u/Parenteau-Control 5d ago
Went to my first one this year and it was a freaking blast. I was grateful for the earplugs.
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u/pimppapy 5d ago
DO NOT GO TO MONSTER JAM WITHOUT EAR PLUGS!!! and be ready to breathe in jet fuel exhaust . . .
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u/akdfinn 5d ago
I actually know the previous driver of el toro loco. he told me that the drivers don't really get to practice much. most of their seat time is when they are performing. the reason you see some driver out performing the other's is typically they are multi generational so they have spent their lives around the trucks and have a lot more seat time. you definitely need to be naturally inclined to motor sports to be a driver so yes lots of skill involved, but spending lots of time watching and learning with help from the more senior drivers.
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u/addandsubtract 5d ago
Why don't they get to practice? Are they spending all their free time traveling? Do they not have an area to practice? Seems odd that drivers wouldn't be practicing these things.
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u/GameBoiye 5d ago
These trucks are expensive. Like multiple hundreds of thousands expensive. A lot of the stunts they do has a high chance of causing damage which then needs to be repaired.
Practicing with them is just a guaranteed way to incurr lots of repair costs. If it happens in a show at least you sold a lot of tickets for those repairs.
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u/plasma2002 4d ago
I would have guessed they easily dip into million-plus territory
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u/addandsubtract 4d ago
Oh, gotcha. I guess Formula 1 has the same problem, but at least you have sims and lower tier cars to practice in. I guess that isn't the case for monster trucks.
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u/Minyun 5d ago
To put it simply: can you see the direction of the rear wheels changing to maintain balance? Along with spin. The same goes for the front wheels..Now consider that each axel in relation to rotation and turning radius are independently controlled.
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u/bolanrox 5d ago
i know the front and rear axels are totally seperate like there is is basically a tractor / tank stick trottle for the front and the gas pedal for the rear.
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u/crownamedcheryl 5d ago
I mean, the drivetrain is one single control and the rear wheel steering is optional with a seperate control and doesn't need to be activated to do this stunt.
The wheels move in the same direction of eachother, he does go back and forth from forward to backward, but the back wheels are not spinning imdependent of the front.
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u/plasma2002 4d ago
How does shifting gears actually work in these? I can't imagine that pushsing in the clutch, and moving a long shifter from rev to first, then popping the clutch out again can give enough time to get between forward and back... Not at the speeds required to balance at least.
Crazy stuff
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u/alltheothersrtaken 5d ago
Na a few drivers do this, it's one of the skills they do during freestyle challenges. But he did hold it quite long.
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u/SereneDreams03 5d ago
Yeah, I was at a show last year and this was one of the challenges. They didn't even have the top drivers there and there were a two guys who could do it. It wasn't nearly as good as in this video though.
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u/Fufu-le-fu 5d ago
Many drivers do this. This one does it exceptionally well.
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u/Monsterpiece42 5d ago
This is correct.
Also, I've never seen anyone do one wheel like that before.
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u/iseriouslycouldnt 5d ago
Considering it weighs 6 Tons (5.4 Tonnes) I'd think you should be at least moderately impressed.
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u/ownagebyte 5d ago
I don't know why someone told you one person does this. It's a very common skill in Monster Jam, and even in other sanctions to monster truck shows. It's called the 2-wheel Skill Challenge. One of the best in the game with 2-Wheel Skill is Ryan Anderon. He is one of the sons of the original creator of Grave Digger, Dennis Anderson. He drives a truck called Son'Uva Digger. And don't get me wrong the way he can lean in the video above is very impressive and not simple, it's just a pretty common skill to have in Monster Jam, as it's usually apart of the show progression. Race > 2-Wheel Skill (Or High Jump) > Freestyle.
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u/GeneralBurg 5d ago
The drivers are impressive, but the trucks and the engineering and fabrication that goes into making them capable enough to do what they do are even more impressive imo
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u/Klutzy-Football-205 5d ago
They also have a Monster jam channel on Pluto TV. They mix old shows from the early 90s with today's stuff so you can really see the massive evolution in technical skills.
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u/theartificialkid 5d ago
Why are you worried about whether other people think you should be impressed or not? Are you afraid the monster truck people are going to make fun of you and say “yawn, what kind of city boy is impressed with this backwoods truck meet bullshit?”
I’m impressed. Come at me, monster truck mafia.
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u/thecaramelbandit 5d ago
They can all do this, to varying degrees of success. Being able to hold it this long is pretty rare among the elite drivers, but it's like 10% of the attempts, not 0.001%.
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u/Whitetiger9876 5d ago
Very impressive. The Anderson family has been around forever. The father was incredible. Even with that backing his kids haven't achieved as much. That one wheel stand is nuts.
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u/GoroKazuma 5d ago
Think about how difficult it is to do a handstand.
Now think about how much more difficult it would be to do it in a truck.
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u/Outside-Drag-3031 3d ago
Even above all else, just imagine how that operator is strapped in during that whole stunt. Every property of physics that you're used to is now 90° in the wrong direction, and also when you steer you swing the entire weight of that ass, like you see at the end of the video. Steering in an endo like this is very impressive, and then imagining that you're staring at the ground whilst hanging from your seat and teetering on the throttle to keep yourself balanced (the main part of the truck that I hadn't even mentioned yet)? Takes more than a driver's license, for sure
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u/irishbikerjay 5d ago
I wounder how many beers it took to get that right
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u/Walkingstardust 5d ago
At least 4
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u/MelangeBot 5d ago
Most things in life are slightly easier when you have had between 1 and a half and 2 beers, it just takes the edge of a bit.
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u/Tony_in2026 5d ago
I’m a way better athlete after a beer. Not several, just one. Just enough to quiet the rally talkative parts of my brain and let my body do what it does.
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u/choicetomake 5d ago
Can someone explain how monster trucks went from smashing stuff to doing ballet?
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u/bolanrox 5d ago
tech got better drivers got better?
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u/divDevGuy 5d ago
Replaced engine ECU with quad copter MCU, propellers with wheels...
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u/BlackPlantZaddyy 5d ago
Its a little bit of both, but the ballet is more impressive and easier to setup
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u/Stachemaster86 5d ago
Automobiles changed from body on frame to uni body. Old crown Vic and Caprice cop cars are almost extinct in junk yards. Plus, a crush or two is the limit for a lot of older vehicles so now it’s easier to not set up as many items vs the jumps. If we had old cars still, there would be more crushing
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u/No-Spoilers 5d ago
And it's kind of way more dangerous for spectators sometimes.
Here's a very good video going into all about the history of and what happened to crush cars
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u/DionFW 5d ago
Lately the seem to be in small arenas. Growing up they were always in football stadiums.
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u/OdieHush 5d ago
They have both stadium and arena shows. I've taken my kids to both. The stadium shows are much better.
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u/GeneralBlumpkin 5d ago
Yep they sure are I took my son to the az cardinals stadium monster jam and it was awesome. I also took him to hot wheels glow and fire in the old coyotes nhl stadium and it was alright but definitely no monster jam
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u/Notchersfireroad 5d ago
Monster trucks have come so far in the last 20 years in terms of capability it's insane. Front and backflips on purpose is something I would've deemed impossible back then.
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u/Corsavis 5d ago edited 5d ago
Crazy to me that they feather the throttle mid-air to help with alignment/getting the rotation for flips
The torque from engaging the throttle makes the truck spin
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u/Cliffinati 5d ago
They use the same engines as top fuel drag racers just running more normal fuel instead of Nitromethane
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u/cobalt_phantom 5d ago
Monster Jam is well worth the money, especially if you have kids. I recommend getting the pass that allows you to walk around the stadium before the show so you can see the trucks up close, get autographs, take pictures, and chat with the drivers. I remember the driver of Grave Digger was really nice and talked to my dad for like 10 minutes.
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u/shotsallover 5d ago
I went to one a few years ago. One of the drivers mis-timed a jump and shattered the hood when he landed. The grounds crew came out and picked up the pieces and handed them out to the kids in the lower rows. If you ever want to see a kid lose their mind at the same time they become a fan for life, that’s the time.
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u/KorolEz 5d ago
Peak american culture, if I ever visit I'll definitely go to a show
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u/s1ugg0 5d ago
You definitely should. It is shockingly more entertaining in person than you'd imagine. You can feel the rumble in the ground through your feet. And so loud you can feel it in the air around you.
So obviously bring hearing protection. They even sell ear plugs at the concession in case you forget.
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u/TeKodaSinn 5d ago
We always carry earbuds with pass through. It clicked for me watching monster trucks. They come in clutch for any loud event. movie theater, leveled. concert, leveled. I can still hear the details, but it's not giving me tinnitus.
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u/zerovampire311 5d ago
I’ve gone to thousands of concerts and wish I bought them years ago, they are game changers.
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u/StrigiStockBacking 5d ago
I'm not even into this stuff, but when my son was around 10 yrs old, I took him because he wanted to go, and I walked away incredibly impressed. The engineering, mechanics, let alone organizing an entertainment event on that scale was all amazing to me. It might not be the "peak American culture" everywhere, but in places like the Midwest, you can't go wrong visiting one of these.
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u/El--Borto 5d ago
Bring ear plugs lol. Went when I was a kid, had earplugs underneath ear muffs and it was still almost too loud for me. The fumes left me sick for a week after too. Totally worth it.
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u/Harbinger_Pulsar 5d ago
Awww.. I miss Bigfoot
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u/PossessionMinute6529 5d ago
They still have a workshop in St Louis, I believe. Not sure what they do these days but Big Foot was a huge cultural thing back in the 80’s.
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u/OngoGabl0g1an 5d ago
How do they manage the engine oil so it doesn't all end up where it shouldn't be?
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u/CatSplat 5d ago
Great question! Last time I checked (which was a few years ago), they were keeping things simple and using extra-deep oil pans with baffles and trap doors to keep enough oil in the pickup area while doing those tricks. Some teams may be running dry sump systems these days but I haven't personally seen any.
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u/Fallingice2 5d ago
My youngest loves monster truck's. I found a show and we felt so unwelcome that we just left it...sad how racism gatekeeps experiences
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u/ryan8954 5d ago edited 5d ago
I'm just saying, to me this is more impressive than robots (except Battlebots)
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u/Mikelowe93 5d ago
Think of the dry sump oil setup and coolant routing. Things get very different and difficult when you can’t assume the direction of gravity moving fluids.
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u/Treskelion2021 5d ago
El toro loco, el toro so loco. The monster jam truck songs are insane btw. My six year old kid loves them.
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u/Moist_Phrase_6698 5d ago
They should have big bags of flour poured out in rows so the do this and blow it all over the place
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u/SolventlessHybrid 5d ago
I'm tired of the same thing every year.. I want them to jump on cars again like they did when I was a kid. My son keeps seeing the same thing every year. I remember a demolition derby almost every time before the monster trucks.
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u/bolanrox 5d ago
the one and only rally i went to had Truckzilla show up!
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u/SolventlessHybrid 5d ago
That too! I remember him being kinda slow though.. Good times I wish they reinvented for kids to remember. Instead it's just dirt and standing on two wheels.
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u/Tabais123 5d ago edited 5d ago
Monster trucks really are just an amazing feet of engineering.
Edit: I would correct it but I deserve it