When Trucks Fly

When my son was about 5 I started taking him to monster truck shows. I don’t know why, exactly. He’s always loved cars and spectacle, I suppose. We went to about a dozen all told, driving yearly to Maple Leaf Monster Jam in Vancouver, BC.<p>I always wondered, “Who goes to monster truck shows?” In my experience, it’s mostly that — guys taking their young kids. There were many young girls at the shows we attended, and some female drivers.<p>They do _really well_ at fan service. All the drivers know their job is to give people a thrill, and that the trucks are ultimately disposable. It’s a lot more engaging than sitting and watching a couple hundred laps of F1 or stock cars.

casual reminder from an un-cool diesel engine mechanic, these trucks are exempt from most state, local and federal emissions regulation by definition. You can be exposed to not only Methanol and Diesel exhaust but particulate and aerosolized forms of the fuels as well. If there is a fire you can be exposed to soot wax and ash. if the venue is indoors, thats nearly <i>five hours</i> of exposure.<p>some of the largest monster trucks are also the noisiest and can approach nearly 125 db. if you bring your kids you need to bring ear protection and teach them how to wear it.<p>eye protection (if youre seated close) is also a pretty good idea. again, the regulations for a monster truck rally are near nonexistent. they are fun to attend though.

If mechanical things interest you at all, go see a Monster Truck show. Go see these things move. Go pay for a full seat “that you’ll only need the edge” of.<p>It’s pure mechanical spectacle, and, like most other mechanical things, recordings don’t do it justice. It’s just not the same. Hear them, see them, feel them, watch them move and fly.<p>Will you go back? Become a lifelong fan? Unlikely, but your inner child will thank when you start giggling.

&quot;Monster truckers obsess over distinctions among types of dirt the way vintners obsess over terroir.&quot;<p>Are the author and publication trying to sound as condescending and uppity as possible? Honestly, this reads like the kind of thing that &quot;Frasier&quot; mocked so perfectly about upscale sophisticates living in a bubble.<p>I was never a big fan of monster truck rallies, but it&#x27;s easy to understand what was so fun about them. Articles like this that deign to explain the finer points of monster truck rallies (while using esoteric references to wine sampling) for their audience of sophisticates tell me just how useless publications like the &quot;The New Yorker&quot; really are anymore.

Meh, pretty ritzy and elitist compared to poor performers:<p>World Famous Figure 8 Trailer Race - Last Ever <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=b_0pVCigebQ">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=b_0pVCigebQ</a>

Monster truck engineering, suspensions, dual drive trains. :drool:<p>Where&#x27;s the Monster Cybertruck with hub motors??? talk about unsprung mass!

Monster trucks are the closest we’ll get to mechs in this world. Massive machines engineered for crazy acrobatics and piloted by fearless drivers. If Japanese were Americans there’d be more anime about futuristic monster trucks rigged with weapons engaging in spectacular vehicular battles.

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Insufferable East coast elite gawking discretely at the plebs, nice.