Bigfoot Monster Truck History

Ever wonder how bigfoot monster truck history began? Are you fascinated by these large powerful big tired car crushing monster trucks?

Have you ever wondered from whose creative mind they were conjured up and brought to life?

Well you can thank Bob Chandler for these big tired car crushing giants.

It was from his mind that bigfoot monster truck history was first dreamt up and it was in his backyard family garage that the real monster trucks were first built.

Bob Chandler not only created the monster trucks, he also created the sport of monster truck racing and monster truck car crushing. Both became very popular sports that Team Bigfoot dominated for many years.

For more in depth information on Bob Chandler and Team Bigfoot have a look at Monster Truck History

Below you’ll find information on the actual bigfoot monster trucks that Bob Chandler and Team Bigfoot created and raced.

BIGFOOT 1, a 1974 Ford F-250 pickup truck was the first monster truck built in 1974. It began it's career at local mud runs and truck pulls and had front and rear steering which was introduced in 1979 the same year it starred in the movie "Take This Job And Shove It".

It evolved over a period of eight years and has had 18 different tire and wheel combination's, from its original street look to 120" Firestone Tundra tires, to the current standard-issue 66" Firestone 23 degree Flotation tires.

BIGFOOT 1 is the only monster truck of the fleet to have it's original look, all the other trucks have newer Ford F series fiberglass bodies. BIGFOOT 1's frame however was replaced because it was damaged in the making of the film "Take This Job And Shove It." Today, BIGFOOT 1 is mainly used for display purposes.

Check out this other BIGFOOT 1 page!

BIGFOOT 2, the first monster truck to use what has become the standard in monster truck tires, a 66x43x25" Firestone 23-degree flotation tire is an F-250 and was built in 1982 and debuted in the Pontiac Silverdome the winter of that same year.

BIGFOOT 2 was featured in the movie "Cannonball Run II", during which it drove over a Porche 928. They had to put steps on the other side of the car for the other set of tires to drive on because the car was to narrow for the truck to drive over. It also raced a paddlewheel riverboat on the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia in 1985 and was the first monster truck to tour Australia in the summer of 1989.

In 1992 the truck was converted to the BIGFOOT Safarifoot and was fitted with ten seats in the back and a roll cage covering them for safety, making it possible for many people who'd dreamt of riding in a monster truck to do so. For a small fee one could ride in the back as the truck drove over cars and through mud pits. In 2000, Bigfoot 2 was sold to an independent owner.

Can you still get a ride in BIGFOOT 2?

Another BIGFOOT 2 page!

The following is from the BIGFOOT 4x4 website. Please check out the link below to view the real FLAG BIGFOOT

Also check out FLAG BIGFOOTS Appearance Schedule.

BIGFOOT 3, is an F-250, and took just over 12 weeks to build and premiered at the Pontiac Silverdome in January 1984 with dual 66" tires, on all four corners, making the truck almost 20' wide! Marilyn Chandler used this vehicle to do one of the fastest car crushes ever for the show 3-2-1 Contact and in 1985 it was in the movie "Police Academy 2, The First Assignment".

The truck was remolded in 1993 as Safarifoot 2 a twin of BIGFOOT 2 which is Safarifoot 1 and had a dozen seats and roll cage in the bed of the truck so monster truck fans can have a ride.

The truck currently has a 96 F-250 body. In 2000, Bigfoot 3 was donated to the E.M.T. Financial Fund.

Wanna know more monster truck history? Find out if you can you still ride BIGFOOT 3?

Here's another page on BIGFOOT 3

BIGFOOT 4 was built in the summer 1984 and debuted at the New Orleans Superdome the following year.

It was featured in a series of Ford truck commercials in 1985. It was converted to a race truck in 1988 and finished second on the TNT Motor Sports racing circuit and was the 1990 champion of the Special Events Monster Truck Triple Crown Series. It used the 10 foot tires of BIGFOOT 5 for a while and appeared at some shows as Snakebite and others, sporting the new Ford F-350 Superduty body. Driver Gary Gibbs and BIGFOOT 4 are now touring the United States, primarily doing displays.

Wanna see more, on bigfoot 4? BIGFOOT 4 page!

Built in 1986 BIGFOOT 5 was built for the sole purpose of handling the 10 foot Firestone Tundra tires, it has often sported dual tires, four on each axel. It weighs over 28,000 lbs (38,000 with duals) and stands at 15'6" making it the worlds biggest and heaviest monster truck. The tires came from an Alaskan Land Train used by the US Army in the late 50's and were used on BIGFOOT 1, 2, and 4 before being permanently installed on BIGFOOT 5. Its first show was the Fall Jamboree in Indianapolis where it donned dual 10' tires, making it the tallest, widest and heaviest pickup in the world!

Today BIGFOOT 5 mainly sets on display at BIGFOOT 4x4, Inc. in St. Louis, Missouri.

Another BIGFOOT 5 page!

BIGFOOT 6 was built in the fall of 1986 and was featured in the movie "Police Academy 6, Under Seige. It set a record in 1987 when it jumped over 13 cars at a Jamboree event in Indianapolis. The truck toured extensively in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Iceland and other countries in 92' and 93'. With the 93' tour of the UK being a true "iron man" marathon when driver Jim Greco put the truck through 160 performances in 164 days. It has since been sold to an English promoter, and now tours under a new name.

Check out this other BIGFOOT 6 page!

Which BIGFOOT monster truck was built specifically for a movie? BIGFOOT 7 was built in 1988 for the movie "Road House." In one scene, driver Jim Kramer crashed the truck through a new car showroom, destroying four new cars in the process.

The scene cost $500,000 to stage, and was filmed in one take with seven cameras. In 1989 it also appeared in the Movie "Tango & Cash" with creator/owner Bob Chandler at the wheel.

In 1991 The truck toured Australia for four months and New Zealand in 1992 and 1993. In 1995 BIGFOOT 7 underwent several months of major mechanical surgery and was built as a 10-foot-tire twin to BIGFOOT 5. BIGFOOT 7 was then sold to "Race Rock Cafe", a motor sports themed restaurant, in Orlando, FL where BIGFOOT 7 now residing.

Another BIGFOOT 7 page!

BIGFOOT 8, an F-250 Ford pickup was built in 1989. It was the first totally tubular framed truck dedicated solely to racing and the first monster truck completely designed and blueprinted with the use of an AUTOCAD computer program, a process which took Bob Chandler six months to design. The vehicle has a unique nitrogen shock/cantilever suspension which gives it about two feet of suspension travel. The concept and design ideas have been awarded a U.S. Patent, another first in the monster truck racing world. It has a significantly smoother ride, is much faster and easier to control, making it safer for both participants and spectators.

This truck was so advanced that during the TNT Supernationals in 1990 the officials decided the truck would have to sit out for two months to give the other monster truck drivers the chance to catch up.

Although the other driver upgraded their trucks making it a fair race, BIGFOOT 8 won the race although not by much. In that same year it captured the TNT World Championship Monster Truck Racing Circuit, by winning an unprecedented 60% of the 40 races in which it ran. It was the Monster Truck Racing Association's 1990 "Truck of the Year." In 2003, it became the very first monster truck to offer a chance for fans to actually drive BIGFOOT as part of a driving school. Today BIGFOOT 8 is touring the US.

Another BIGFOOT 8 page!

BIGFOOT 9 also known as WCW Dungeon of Doom and WCW Hulkester was an F-150 pickup truck made in 1990 as a refinement of BIGFOOT 8. In 1995 the truck became a wrestletruck, and was given the Hulkster body and was a monster truck sumo wrestler which is when two trucks are hooked nose to nose and try to push each other out of the ring. In 94' BIGFOOT 9 toured extensively through England and Malaysia, and even visited Brazil in 1998. Unfortunately, shortly after loading the truck into a container to be shipped back to the US, it was lost in a customs debacle.

To this day, this fiasco has not been resolved and the truck was never recovered.

Another BIGFOOT 9 page!

BIGFOOT 10 debuted at the St. Louis Arena on January 31, 1992 and was the product of more then 700 hours of computer design work. It was the most technically advanced monster truck built, all the other monster trucks were modeled after it. It is one of the lightest BIGFOOT trucks, weighing just over 10,000 and was the first to have the engine put in the middle of the truck which was just behind the drivers seat in the center of the cab, giving the driver a very good view out the front window.

It captured the 1992 World Championship of Monster Truck Racing in the Special Events Penda Points Series and in 1993 it took 2nd Place in the points series behind BIGFOOT 11. In 1990 BIGFOOT 10 captured the Checkered Flag Point Championship. Today, it is touring the US.

Another BIGFOOT 10 page!

1998 was the 50th Anniversary of the Ford F series, and some of the BIGFOOT trucks sported the new 1999 Super Duty F-Series pickup truck body.

BIGFOOT 11 was built in 1992 is a refinement of BIGFOOT 10 and has 32" of suspension travel, more suspension than any of the other BIGFOOT trucks. It debuted as WILDFOOT at the SEMA show in Las Vegas November 3 1992 and was the first BIGFOOT truck with a totally different color paint scheme. It was in 1993 at the PENDA Points Series in Lima, Ohio that WILDFOOT made the famous 'wheelie run' where the truck came off the starting line and launched into a wheelie.

Andy Brass, the trucks driver drove the truck by looking through the floorboards. As he hit the last hill near the end of the track the truck sailed into the air and landed on it's two front tires as it crossed the finish line. In 1994, it took BIGFOOT's third consecutive and fourth overall monster truck racing championship. Driven by Eric Tack in July of 95', BIGFOOT 11 set a world record for the long distance monster truck jump, with a distance of 117 feet and in 1999, Dave Harkey drove it to a wheelie record of 217 feet, 3 inches! It is currently touring the US.

Check out this other BIGFOOT 11 page!

BIGFOOT 12 was built in 1992 as a promotional truck for Ford Motor Company and travels to Ford dealerships all across the United States. It is a dedicated display truck with a tubular chassis similar to the race trucks and is the 14th vehicle built in the BIGFOOT fleet! It debuted at a Ford Motor Company display in conjunction with the Super Bowl, on January 28, 1993, in Los Angeles. Since then, it has logged more than 200 display days per year at Ford and Firestone dealers and events across the country. Driver Ron Bachmann is currently touring the United States with BIGFOOT 12.

Another BIGFOOT 12 page!

In 2003 BIGFOOT 14 & BIGFOOT 15 were featured in the movie "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle."

BIGFOOT 14 made its debut at the New Orleans Superdome in January 94'. Running as Power Wheels BIGFOOT, it took 1st Place in the 1995 Special Events Penda Points Series, after finishing 2nd in 1994.

Sporting the traditional BIGFOOT blue graphics, BIGFOOT 14 also took 2nd in the USHRA Points Series in 1994. In 1996, BIGFOOT 14 & driver Dan Runte took their 2nd Championship together after winning 8 of the 13 races!

The new world record for an outdoor long distance Monster Truck jump belongs to Dan Runte & BIGFOOT 14! Dan Runte's jump was a new record long jump of an amazing 202 feet, shattering the old record by more than 40 feet.

• Dan Runte jumps Monster truck over jet.
• Dan Runte jumps Monster truck over jet - four camera shot
• Eric Tack & Firestone Wilderness BIGFOOT jump over jet.

On December 14th Dan Runte jumped seven cars and his 73' Hauler lengthwise in Las Vegas, Nevada. This 175' didn't break his 202' long jump record but it comes in as number two. The landing took its toll, tearing off the right front wheel and bending the chassis.

The jump was recorded for UPN's - "I Dare You, The Ultimate Challenge" televised Jan 18th, 2000.

Even though the wheel broke off during the landing Dan suffered no injuries.

Here's a fantastic front view of the jump, make sure your volume isn't loud, the truck makes a lot of noise. Monster Truck Jump.

Here's a great In-Cab View of same jump Inside racing Monster Truck cab.

When you watch this in-cab view watch for these things:

• Can you see how high the front of the truck lifts up. Can Dan even see where he is going?
• Doesn't it appear that Dan is really struggling with the steering wheel and to keep the truck straight?
• Watch the FLASH from the pyrotechnics that exploded behind BIGFOOT.
• Watch where the video camera flashes out as the truck lands.
• Look at how much dust fills the cab around Dan. Can he see what he is doing?

In 2000, Dan and BIGFOOT 14 took second place in the new ProMT (Professional Monster Trucks) racing series, behind Bigfoot teammate Eric Tack and BIGFOOT 15. In 2001, they took first place in this series, while following up that with another second place finish. This truck is currently touring the U.S.

Check out this other BIGFOOT 14 page!

BIGFOOT 15 also known as WCW Hulkester, WCW Stringer, Snakebite and Firestone Wilderness is an F-150 pickup truck built in 1994. The truck made it's debut in November 1994 at the SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Another BIGFOOT 15 page!

BIGFOOT 16 a 1998 Ford F-150 is still being built with no confirmed date as to when it will be finished.

BIGFOOT has teamed up with Nigel Morris of England to make a BIGFOOT truck that will be running full-time in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. In 2003, Nigel and BIGFOOT #17 won the first ever European ProMT point series. Have a look at bigfoot4x4.co.uk for more details.