Real Truck Challenge

A few months ago there was talk of a "real truck challenge"  I loved the idea of this and have been waiting to see more info on it ever since.  if im not mistaken one was already held in its experimentation stages.  So what was the outcome?  Is fourwheeler still going through with this?  Where's the coverage?  Anyone heard anything?  

I just received my latest issue last week. It made the front cover, it seemed to go pretty well for a first time thing.   

Yeah thanks, i got my issue the day after i placed this post!  I guess i wrote one day too soon.  it sounds awesome, but it now sounds like they are going to offer it to clubs this  comming year and not to the indiv9idual wheeler.  whats up with that?  

What do you think of the coverage?

I was there with Sam Robichaux & Billy Lawson.

Too bad they didn't give specs & pics of each trucks suspension & interior.

Some of them were....interesting.

Some of them had some strange repair work & modifications.

YEah your right about that, they should have done what top truck did and given alll the specs.  i agree with that.  and maybe some driver info. its like fourwheeler jsut rushed this one, or they were in the trial stages.  i feel like they threw all this stuff together at the end of the month to get it in the mag. 

they shouldve put more coverage and better misc info abou the comp and the drivers/vehicles.  They drag top truck out like its a department in the mag but this was just mentioned once 4 or 5 months ago then dumped in there this month.

anyway cool rigs, if im not mistaken a lot of them are top truck entries that didnt make the cut.  i guess fourwheeler wasnt askin around they just needed drivers.  i hope this club crap doesnt mean no more individual real truck, i had my hopes set on applying this year, but its a club application.  wtf?

We wanted to differentiate Real Truck Challenge from Top Truck Challenge in as many ways as possible to give each event its own unique identity---and frankly, its own unique reason for existing in the pages of Four Wheeler. For instance:

Top Truck = Rigs voted in by readers

Real Truck = Rigs chosen by FW staff

Top Truck = Entrants compete as individuals

Real Truck = Competitors represent a club, or "team"

Top Truck = No cash prizes to the winners, just products, gift certificates, etc.

Real Truck = We're givin' away $$$ this year! (As well as some parts and products, too, most likely)

Top Truck = For 2004 and beyond, no more restrictions on vehicles, i.e., no more street-legal requirements. Think "Unlimited" class

Real Truck = Some restrictions. Think "Pro Stock"

The decision to limit tire sizes for Real Truck was (so far) the most difficult part of deciding who should be eligible and the FW staff is STILL not in unanimous agreement on the matter. Basically it came down to our desire to differentiate the TYPES of rigs that compete in Top Truck and Real Truck. We're gonna try the 40-inch limit this year, see what kind of entries we receive and what kind of feedback we get from our readers, and see where it leads us next year. Which is another way of saying that Real Truck Challenge is still a work in progress, and nothing's carved in stone for all eternity here.

To answer another question on this thread, we would've liked to have given the RTC rigs more in-depth coverage---with individual features and lots of specs like we do with the TTC rigs---and we hope to do this in the future. But lately, the number of pages we're alloted for editorial content are in short supply. We're optimistic that we'll see bigger editorial packages as the year progresses and the economy improves.

Finally, there are a couple more differences between Real Truck and Top Truck that we can't tell you about yet . . . but stay tuned. And thanks for your interest in the event, and for your support of Four Wheeler!

Douglas McColloch

Editorial Director, Four Wheeler

Thanks for sending the added information out, Doug!

I attended RTC this year as a co-driver and can only say the we had an absolute blast!  I think the event was well run, and the professionalism of all of the Four Wheeler staff was second to none. 

The comraderie formed between all of the competitors and their related support people was great!  I hope everyone out there reading this tries to get their Real Truck in this year!  If selected, they will have a great time no matter where they place. 

Your new rules for RTC are certainly welcome!  All of the obstacles presented at the Badlands can be driven over by a vehicle with less than 40" tires.  Just look at the performance of Sam Robichaux's truck with 39.5" Boggers, Dustin's Samurai on 35" Boggers, and Scott Davis' Blazer on 39.5" Boggers (one of only two vehicles to finish the rocks).  The truck just has to be built right. 

While I do not believe 44" (or larger) tires to be out of reach for a "real truck".  I really feel that in the world we wheel in today, forty inchers and less are in the mainstream. 

I would like to see, however, clarification on the use of rear steering, and would also suggest not allowing vehicles with portal axles or agricultural tractor axles to compete. 

Since the RTC rules are a work in process, how about considering the following:  the vehicles entered in RTC must run major components available in that manufacturer's truck family?  I realize this would keep out Jeeps with GM or Ford V8 engines, but we could allow them to run AMC or Chrysler engines.  This would also keep Ford folks from running 14 bolt rears instead of a Dana 60 or Sterling.

Thanks again for a great competition, we truly had a great time!

thanks for the relply.  dont get me wrong the coverage on the event was more than adequet.  but you said FW staff picks the trucks, is that because this was the first one this year and you were just pulling top truck applicants, or your going to take all the entries you recieve and staff is still going to pick em?

and listen do away with the 44" rule.  i run 40's on my rig and am starting to think they are too small when i wheel with some of my friends. 

44's make up for a lot on a real truck, when mods like 10 grand for 4 wheel steering couldnt be done.  i dont see the reasoning in that. 

Regarding your comment about same manufacturer for engine & body, I assume the bronc part of you name means you have a Bronco, and you don't want any of the Jeep's to get the advantage of a real engine.

Let's see....

1st place: LT1 Chevy

2nd place: 509 Chevy

3rd place: 406 Chevy

4th place: 4.3 L Chevy

5th place: 454 Chevy

6th place: SBC (350 I think)

7th place: 350 Chevy

...and a few blue oval boys pulling up the rear.

Perhaps if no chevy engines are allowed, a ford powered truck could win...

All the ones you mentioned also all ran Interco tires.  I have found those to be cheap and easily accessible, but not necessarily round and/or balanceable. 

I like to think of GM engines in the same light, cheap and easily accessible, but not necessarily the best choice.

Let me guess... You are one of the guys who has a late 70's Ford product, the tag under the hood says 351M/400....

But more important...do you even know what engine is in your rig?

I bet you think you can run your Buckshot Mudder tires on a 9" Ford... but perhaps it won't break an axle since your 351M/400 (make up your mind) only has a 2 barrel & 150 HP.

But.. you probably added a K&N air filter, so now you have 200 HP.

What is next, the Tornado for 15% increase in fuel mileage?

Viciousbronc and MUDNUTT---

Thanks for your comments and suggestions. I'll see if I can't address some of them:

Yes, last year we picked our RTC competitors out of the remaining contestant pool for Top Truck Challenge '03. For the first year, we were looking for types of vehicles that could be bought used, at a reasonable price, then built by a competent home wrench with a minimum of custom fabrication required, i.e., a "Real Truck". Which explains the presence of older K-trucks and F-trucks, plus a Samurai, a Bronco II and a Scout. In all, I think we picked a pretty decent field---though with the benefit of hindsight, that Scout with the Rockwells was closer to a TTC Rig than the others.

For this year, we hope to continue to pick the trucks with same criteria in mind, i.e., ease of buildability on a real-world budget. We also want to make sure we include a good geographic cross-section of our readership among the Real Truck challenger pool.

Regarding 40-inch tires: As I said previously, there was some heated disagreement amongst the FW staff as to whether or not to mandate a maximum tire size. In the end, a majority prevailed. As Viciousbronc noted earlier, just about everything you see at Badlands can be successfully traversed with 40-inch tires (or even smaller) and because of this, at times we wondered if some of the events at RTC were too easy for some of the bigger-tired competitors. So we got the idea to "lower" the vehicles a bit by imposing a max 40-inch tire size. Now, with less ground clearance, things like suspension travel, gearing and low-end grunt---not to mention driver and spotter skills---will be of greater importance at RTC '04. At least that's our aim. Either way, we're gonna try it out this year, see what kind of entries we get, see how the event pans out, and if it doesn't work, we'll revisit the rules for 2005.

Portal axles? Well, that got me thinking about how well a stock Unimog or Pinzgauer would do at RTC. Probably pretty well, I'd imagine. Might just wanna let 'em run portals if they want.

But Viciousbronc, your suggestion about mandating OE-offered engines to their respective vehicles is TOUGH!!! I mean, most Chevy and Ford guys wouldn't have a problem with it, but the Jeep guys would KILL us if we tried this! (Not to mention a lot of Scout, Samurai and Toyota guys.) So for now, in the interest of reader harmony (and mechanical creativity) we'll let contestants run whatever motors they want.

Thanks also for the kind words about last year's event. Considering that we were improvising a lot as we went along, things went really well. The competitors were a great bunch of guys, Badlands is a great 'wheeling spot, and the folks in the town of Attica were incredibly warm and supportive. We're looking forward to an even bigger and better RTC for '04.

Douglas McColloch

Editorial Director, FW

The Four Wheeler group took measurements on the RTC trucks, RTI, approach, departure... did the results affect points? 

Perhaps you could give a few bonus points to the "Most Real" or "Best Daily Driver" entry.  

Is a truck with working heater & A/C, quite exhaust, tires under the fenders and enclosed cab with windows more "real" than a gutted truck with no doors & 3" flowmasters that stop right under the cab?

Craig

Ford Ranger, Twin Turbo 454 Chevy

that is some of the funniest ford bashing that i have ever heard! my poor k5 used to have 250k on the motor 35s and 3.08s in the diffs and still whooped my friend's 78 bronco with a 400. fords are always underpowered!  

But seriously... The Ford powered rigs at RTC were all nearly stock motors, the little Bronco had a bone stock 3.8 SC engine. 

If the big Diesel had a warmed up Power Stroke and an automatic trans it really would have done much better.

The big bronco had enough power, but rear axle wrap broke his rear driveshaft & joints several times.

Someone with a 5.0 EFI & auto in a standard cab ranger with Dana 60's on 39.5's would have done very well.