By Colin Wood
Sep 10, 2020
What's one of the fastest ways to get from Point A to Point B when improved roads aren't an option? Try a Trophy Truck. These specialized off-road machines are often fitted with massive V8s capable of pushing out over 900 horsepower and rocketing over the worst driving conditions imaginable at highway speeds.
It shouldn't be much of a surprise just how sturdy a Trophy Truck suspension needs to be, but here's a visual aid just in case.
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9/10/20 11:21 a.m.
Those droop limiters really get a workout.
And the steering mechanism up front is interesting... is it totally hydraulic steering?
But mostly I'm just commenting so I can find this video again later. :)
9/10/20 1:21 p.m.
I'm more impressed with the air bumps on those big hits... my trail rig would have semicircle axle housings after a beating like that.
9/10/20 1:45 p.m.
In reply to BA5 :
I was also curious about the steering system. You can see the components at the Race Ready Products website. From what I can see, it's similar to older truck style P/S systems with a dual-port ram. The steering column goes through a hydraulic control valve before connecting to the rack that sends P/S fluid to one side of the ram or the other.
9/10/20 3:35 p.m.
Yeah, it's hydraulic assisted steering. Howe is the big name in the rams. Seems like all the cool guys online have that kind of setup on their big crawlers and desert rigs. Apparently it's hard to manhandle 37"-40" tires going through whoops at 100 mph...
9/10/20 3:56 p.m.
There's a great movie about them racing- Dust 2 Glory from 15 years ago.
And seeing that reminded me of one of my favorite test trips. Got to help figure out why a truck with a big 4V V8 Mod motor was not running right. Just seeing what those trucks can do is shocking.
9/11/20 4:14 p.m.
Cool video, am fwding this URL to the team I chase for.
What amazes me is that with all of that over-the-top large hardware they're still using Ø.500" bore Spherical Bearings in the dampers. Those are tiny compared to everything else. I'm guessing that they're shot at the end of each race. If not before the end. Even the light little Class 10 car that I chased a decade ago couldn't get a whole season out of a set of shock bearings.
It's funny that most call them "air bumps" when they're filled with shock oil and charged with N2, no air involved. They were called "hydro-bumps" by the man who originated them, Marvin Shaw. Can really see the very slow/stiff rebound valving in them at work on the front.
D2G caught one MC rider cheating & badly stunted his career, only I don't think the film's makers knew that until after it came out.
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