Most people are probably familiar with the Bigfoot monster truck. Bigfoot is one of the most well-established brands in the monster truck industry. However, do you know the history behind Bigfoot, which is considered to be the very first monster truck ever built?
The History of Bigfoot
Bigfoot was created by a former construction worker named Bob Chandler back in 1975. Chandler, who owned a performance shop, built Bigfoot using a 1974 F-250 four-wheel drive truck. He lifted the truck and added 48-inch tires to it, and he incorporated a type of technology that was only being used by the U.S. Army at the time. It allowed him to enable steering on the rear axle of his truck.
People were blown away by what Chandler had built. He showed off his monster truck at a variety of car shows and tractor pulls in the late 1970s. He also allowed the producers of the 1981 film, Take This Job and Shove It, to use it in the movie. In addition, in 1981, he filmed himself using Bigfoot to drive over two beat-up vehicles (video below). It was a game-changing moment, as before long, there were people calling him and asking him to come to their venues to drive over old cars. Chandler eventually found a way to add even bigger 66-inch tires to Bigfoot, and he used them to land monster truck show opportunities at venues as large at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.
From there, monster trucks really took off. Ford Motor Company came calling and gave Chandler and Bigfoot a sponsorship deal, and other people started to create monster trucks, too. By the late 1980s, there were monster truck competitions all over the country, and today, the monster truck craze continues. And to think, it all started back in 1975 with a single monster truck created by a guy who spent a lot of his life doing construction.
SCS Gearbox and Monster Truck Parts
SCS Gearbox Inc. knows the history of monster trucks and provides many of the parts that are used to keep them up and running. From heavy duty transmissions to quick change gears to gearboxes, we have everything it takes to get the most performance out of your monster truck. Call us at 419-483-7278 today to purchase the parts you’ll need to increase the power, control, and stability of your monster trucks.