Footmail Fan Submissions
Luis VeraUpdate 1 of 3 - February 26, 2009 - I am a long time BF fan and I've seen BF since its early stages (1984 and on). I met Dan Runte on the summer of '93 while USA Motorsports tour stopped in Puerto Rico. He was driving BF # 8 and had a great time as well as getting autographs on two pictures. Back in November of 2007 I saw BF#16 w/ Dan at the commands on Checkered Flag's fall show in UCF Arena in Orlando, FL. He was so friendly and had time to explain to me the new approach by Bigfoot 4x4 regarding its new engine. He did also sign my R/C MT and took pictures with him as you can see on the attachment. The drawings are from my recollection of past BF. These are my favorite stage 2 and early 3 trucks. I will have other BF drawings coming soon. I also have some of my work showcased on Dennis Taft's site under different truck names or former competitors. - Click on images below for large version -
It would mean a lot tome if I can see my art on your site and tell Bob Chandler he has inspired me to take CAD Design courses to become a drafter and also to make my own designs regarding the future of MTs. I hope I can see my artwork posted. Thanks!!! Sincerly, Mike Brown's Ford Probe GTUpdate 2 of 3 - February 26, 2009 - Mike Brown, from New York, has based his Ford Probe off the popular "ChromaLusion" BIGFOOT design. - Click on images below for large version -
Halloween Bigfoot Costume- Click on image below for large version -
Update 3 of 3 - February 26, 2009
Hi, I am Austin Bachman, age 6, and I am a huge BIGFOOT fan! Check out my costume for Halloween! Mom and Dad made this when I was 4, so this picture is old, I'm much bigger now, but I still keep wearing my truck costume. It has lots of miles on it! I came to visit you on my birthday instead of having a party this year and it was awesome because I got to meet Bob Chandler and Dan Runte, they were there that day! I want to be a monster truck driver when I grow up. Have a super cool day! Austin "My Story"My name is Dustin Parks, I'm 23, and I have been a fan of the Bigfoot monster truck since I was 5. My first major show was the 1990 Bloomsburg Jamboree, which is where I got my very first autograph. Of course, it was then-Bigfoot driver and your current VP of Operations, Jim Kramer. I went to the Jamboree the following two years and got Andy Brass's autograph each time. I left the sport for a bit to get into some other motorsports, but when I found out that Bigfoot was celebrating it's 25th Anniversary with a huge show at Bloomsburg, I just had to make the trip. Meeting all the drivers, seeing Bigfoot 5, and meeting Bob Chandler brought back all those memories. At the same time, I also fine tuned my art skills and began drawing the trucks again. I'll admit, when I was 5, most of the drawings were boxes and circles, however I have vastly improved since that time. Shocks, engine, tire treads, and all the sponsors are now in my artwork...they look almost exactly like the truck. - Click on images below for large version -
I'm attaching some photos I took at this year's Bloomsburg 4-Wheel Jamboree, including my art of the Blue Summit Bigfoot and one of me, Bob Chandler, and my favorite driver, Dan Runte. I look like a member of the Bigfoot team since I wore the pit shirt. My dream is to actually be reporting on the Bigfoot monster truck, whether it is race and freestyle results, news, or the happenings at the shop. I would love to work for the Bigfoot 4x4 race team...that would be my ultimate goal. Thanks for reading. A letter from Sean Faust to Bob Chandler:Dear Mr. Chandler, A couple of years ago, I was hanging out with a group of friends after work. One of them asked me who my favorite celebrity is, I told him that Christopher Walken, the actor, is number two on my list, and Bob Chandler is at the top of my list at number one. At the same time, all of my friends shouted out, "Who's Bob Chandler?" So I asked them, "You guys like monster trucks, right?" They replied with, "Of course!" and "Who doesn't?" and "Monster Trucks rock!" and so on. So, I explained to them by saying, "Bob Chandler is our founding father of monster trucks. If it wasn't for him, there would be no monster truck shows, no Bigfoot, no Grave Digger!" I then continued to explain how your '74 Ford started all this madness. Not only are you my favorite celebrity, you are my biggest idol of all time! With this said, I remove my hat and give you a respectful bow! Back in the 80's I followed all of your beginning experiences and discoveries. I found your experiments very fascinating! For example, when you did your first car crushing performances, or your persistent obsession with trying to climb hills, or when you tried to drive across a river. .. You're lucky Bigfoot floats! Oh, I can't forget to mention you being the first to design a tube chassis with gas shocks for monster trucks. All of this became the beginning growth of our monster truck sport we know today. But the most fascinating event is when you were rejected at the car show in Las Vegas. Then you parked out front and drew a crowd. It was awfully nice of them to finally let you in. Bigfoot 1 has always been my biggest interest. Back in the 70's my uncle bought a new Ford F350 4x4 pickup. He took me for a ride in it that to this day still excites me to remember. In 1981, I saw the movie "Take This Job and Shove It." I remember saying to myself, "Hey, there's Uncle Jim's truck with big tires under it. Coo!!" This set the stage for what became my biggest interest and hobby to this day. In 1983 I bought the magazine [Four Wheeler Magazine] you are seeing in front of you. I've looked at this magazine over and over for the past 25 years, as you can see by its rough condition. I keep this sentimental piece in a fireproof safe in my room. This is my number one, most favorite item I own. Losing it would be a huge loss to me. Then in 1984, my Dad took me to see Bigfoot 1 ... It was at the Capital Center arena in Largo Maryland, near where I live. My Dad had no idea what to expect, and left his camera at home. When your truck stopped atop the cars ... you could not see for all of the camera flashes in the arena! I think the way you setup Bigfoot 1 is a work of art, whether with 48" or 66" tires. Of all the monster trucks built to date, this one is by far the most attractive. There are several shots of the truck that show its beauty the best. Listed below is where I found them: 1. My magazine in front of you Through the 80's I bought many of the Bigfoot collectibles which I still have today. These include the Bigfoot Playskool toy, several t-shirts, posters, and six 1/25 scale AMT models. I am in the process of building a 1/25 scale replica of your shop in St. Louis, like you would a model train set layout. It will include trees, and a front parking lot. The parking lot will have models of all the trucks you've ever built all lined up. For Bigfoot with 10' tall tires, I will use 5" tall model airplane wheels. Last year I bought a 1970 6x6 army truck. I bought it from a guy in North Carolina who sells Army trucks and 4 wheel drives. I asked him, "Do you know who Bob Chandler is?" He replied, "No, don't recognize the name." I thought to myself, "He must be kidding." So, once again, I explained who you are! One good thing is that he did seem to know a bit about Bigfoot. Anyway, I removed the last rear axle from this 6x6 truck, turning it into a 4x4. I built my own pickup bed for it, and mounted 4' tall tires under it. One Saturday, I heard there was a car show going on at a mall parking lot near my house, so I drove my Army truck there. It was very crowded, but I managed to find a spot around the edge of the show. A whole crowd of people quickly gathered around my truck. There were other tall 4x4 trucks in the show, but none nearly as enormous as mine. Then they moved their trucks over next to mine. This experience gave me a good idea of what you felt at your first Las Vegas and Pontiac Silverdome show. ... In 1988, when I was 18, I went to a diesel automotive school while in high school. From there I was hired by a company called Alban Cat, which sells and services Caterpillar earth moving equipment, truck, and generator engines. Watching Bigfoot through the 80's inspired me to be around large equipment, which led me to going to the diesel school, and Alban Cat. 20 years later, I am still an employee of Alban, and plan to be there until my retirement. My work there currently consists of supplying generators to our government facilities in Washington DC, and Virginia. One of our customers is the Pentagon. In the 9/11 disaster, one of our engines was hit in the attack. We brought the engine back to our shop for repairs. Luckily, it wasn't badly damaged, so we repaired it and returned it to the Pentagon. In addition to facilities in DC, I send equipment to American embassies around the world, including our military in Iraq and Afghanistan. I say to people at work that Mr. Bob Chandler was my original inspiration in doing this work I do. They just don't understand, and it is too hard to explain! At Alban, I work together with a woman named Joyce Dumin. She works in the office communicating with the American embassies, while I work both in the shop and the office. I became good friends with her, and I think of her as a second mom. She was formerly a school teacher, and helps me with working on the computer, even though I'm more the "outdoorsy" type. She loves to travel on planes around the world. Earlier this year I told her that I have never been on a plane, so she insisted I get on one. She asked me, of all the places in the world that I would like to go, where would it be? I told her I want to see Bigfoot in St. Louis, Missouri! She was thinking of Europe or Hawaii. I wanted my first trip to be simple, all in one day. I also wanted to schedule it quickly, before oil prices soared higher, making it too expensive to fly. The first thing I had to do is explain to her that Bigfoot was not a furry animal. Then she made a call to your shop to see if you are open on Saturdays. She also asked if Bigfoot 1 would be there. I have one of your videos showing your store with the truck inside. Joyce spoke with a super nice guy who told us the Saturday hours and that Bigfoot 1 would be there. I also told Joyce one of my life long goals is to see Bigfoot 1 once more, since seeing it 24 years ago. So then she booked two plane tickets for May 24th, 2008. To show my gratitude and demonstrate how much this trip means to me, I paid for her ticket too. We boarded the plane in Baltimore, Maryland. The plane flew us to Charlotte, North Carolina first, then to St. Louis. ... When we flew over St. Louis, I saw farm fields next to the river that were under water. I heard that you have had an awful time with flooding there. I hope things will get better for you. We took a taxi from the airport to your store, and found they are awfully expensive in St. Louis! Fortunately, I saw no flooding near your store. There were only two people working in the novelty store. They told us the shop side is closed, and only open on weekdays. We saw the 10' tall tire truck. It is much bigger seeing it in real life than in my videos - good God! I saw a lot of old novelties like I have at home, and many I don't have, but would like to own. I felt like a young kid again! I forgot to buy the blower belt with your signature on it, but we did buy some t-shirts and posters. We took lots of pictures and were hoping to see one of your latest monster trucks, but we did not find any there. My biggest disappointment was not seeing Bigfoot 1. The man we spoke with on the phone said it would be there, but it must have been stored away. I do not think we asked enough of the right questions before we took our trip. One suggestion for your store. As you enter the front door, there are novelties in a glass cabinet on the right. Many of them are rare and hard to find! However, the sunlight is beginning to make them fade. You may want to move them out of the sunlight. When we returned home from our trip, I told Joyce I accomplished everything I wanted to do except seeing Bigfoot 1. So Joyce decided to write a letter through your website. We did not hear anything back at first, and then Joyce went on a trip to Lake Tahoe. When she returned, there was a response from Kim Schroeder. Wow, she said I could sit in one of your trucks, meet one of your drivers, and have him bring you my old Four Wheeler magazine for you to sign. Wow! The only problem was that the show took place while Joyce was away, and she did not read Kim's e-mail until after the event. So we asked Kim if we could just send my magazine for you to sign, and she said yes. I thought it would be best if I included a letter, although I just realized it is 4 pages long so far! As I am writing this, I am in total disbelief that The Bob Chandler is going to sign my old Four Wheeler Magazine. This will be one of the greatest things to happen in my life. I don't know how to express how much this means to me. As for seeing Bigfoot 1 again, I hope I can find away in the near future to see it. This would also mean a great deal to me. Yesterday, I stumbled across one of last years Summit Racing catalogs in my bedroom. It mentioned you have a gathering in your shop each December. If you plan to have this event this year, I would like to make another trip there. The article also mentions many things in your shop that I missed during my visit. Maybe on this trip I can see Bigfoot 1 ?? In recent years, I have been to several local monster truck events. Unfortunately, there were no Bigfoot trucks present. I just recently started to become more familiar with the Internet, and have begun to explore your website. Viewing your site now enables me to know where your trucks are going to perform. It also lets me catch up on things about your newest trucks since the 80' sand 90' s. I plan to see your truck perform in one of the next shows that comes to an arena near me. Hanging from the chair across from me is a black Bigfoot t-shirt I bought from your store. This has become my favorite shirt! On the back, it shows the 30t anniversary truck sporting the old 80's logo, and the old airbrushed picture of your truck. The awesome body rides above your state of the art suspension. The truck looks perfect, and I love it almost as much as Bigfoot I! Ok, so I am a little old fashioned, but the old logo to me symbolizes the legacy of the Bigfoot heritage. I have to remove my hat one more time out of respect for your drivers, particularly Jim Kramer and Dan Runte. I salute Jim for being there by your side, and Dan for just being crazy! I take my hat off to anyone who jumps over an airplane with a pickup truck ... Good Lord! You must be very proud of them. Also, your constant concern for the safety of your drivers says a lot about you. ... In the future, when I go to a monster truck show with friends, or watch "Monster Jam" on TV with them, I will continue to explain to them who originally invented all this wild excitement. You greatly deserve this recognition. Also by writing this letter to you, I wanted to make sure that someone took the time to thank you for bringing us a great motorsport and years of fun to our country. Again, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have the things I enjoy today. In fact, I probably would not be working for the big company that I work for. I personally thank you for this. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me express my loyalty and respect that I have for you. I hope you and Bigfoot continue to stay in the spotlight in the years to come. Respectfully yours,
July 10, 2008 - My name is Corey Powers. I am 11 years old and go to Berne Union Middle School. I race remote control trucks with Bigfoot bodies on them. I race with my dad, Tim Powers, who you probably know. I really enjoy watching Bigfoot race and make record breaking jumps. - Click on images below for large version -
I am writing this letter to ask a few questions. Is Dan Runte ever going to attempt another record breaking jump? Is Bigfoot going to continue being a Ford since Ford is not sponsoring Bigfoot anymore? It would seem strange if it was a different brand since its been a Ford for all these years. I hope to see the Bigfoot trucks in the near future. Sincerely, Corey Powers MONSTER TRUCK SHOWS Have you ever been to a monster truck show? Cars being crushed like pancakes. Windows being broken and metal being flattened like a new paved road. Maintaining the trucks toughness is a pretty hard job. It also costs a bundle too. Being at a monster truck show is the best feeling in the world. Hearing the sound of the motor when it starts is great. Climbing on the 66 inch tires is awesome, when you get to the top; it feels like you are on top of the world. Seeing it on TV just doesn't do it justice. Before and sometimes after there is what is called a pit party. A pit party is where you can meet the drivers and get autographs. A pit party is pretty fun. The cost of these massive giants is a whopping 100,000 dollars and that is just for building it. Maintaining it is another 100,000 dollars. They spend about 5,000 a weekend. That means 20,000 dollars a weekend. Maintaining the trucks stability is a pretty tough job seeing what they break almost every weekend. When you have to change a transmission every month it gets kind of hectic. Before a show you have to put the tires on the truck. This is called "tiring up" and it is a tough job. After every show you take the tires off. This is called "tiring down". So, what's the conclusion? The conclusion is that it takes a lot of hard work to maintain a monster truck. Also it takes a lot of team work. Breaking every weekend can be kind of hard. So why not go to a monster truck show. - Written by Zack Long, the son of BIGFOOT driver Rick Long. Dear Bigfoot, my name is Eli Mann, 28 years old, and this is my Extreme Fan story. - Click on image below for large version -
The truck thing started for me when I was young. My first word was mom and the second was tractor, from then on it was all wheels and tracks for me. In the early 80's my parents got me a poster of Bigfoot, then came the toys. I would spend every Sunday morning watching Bigfoot on the trucks and tractor power show. The teen years came and the family went to St Louis not to see the Arch, but to see Bob Chandler's Bigfoot shop ... got to meet Bob and the family ... cool ... not long after this I got my first truck: 1986 F-150 V8 4x4. The summer of 1997 is when the extreme fan thing took off I bought a 1987 F-150 Bigfoot Cruiser edition truck. The following summer I bought all the remaining parts for these trucks from the company that built these trucks (Scherer truck equipment). T hen I started the Bigfootcruiser.com web site. - Click on images below for large version -
In the summer of 2003 Bigfoot invited me to be part of there display at the Ford 100th anniversary in Detroit. My Bigfoot Cruiser F-250 was at this event. In the fall of 2005 I acquired Bigfoot 4x4's old shop plow truck, a 1974 F-250 pickup. The truck has some good history. Bigfoot originally built this truck for a farmer in the mid west as a monster truck. Bigfoot bought the truck in 1985 and then fitted it with the 10' tundra tires The truck was then known as Bigfoot 5. Latter they removed the body to make way for a new one. The old body was fitted to a frame and used as a shop truck. My future plan is to rebuild this truck to be the most accurate replica of Bigfoot #1 the way it was in 1982. I would like to thank the Chandlers and all the People at Bigfoot 4x4 for all the great things they have done for me and everyone. If you wish to contact me this is how: Eli Mann Bigfoot Cruiser Club This is Matt and his dog BIGFOOT! Thanks to Matt and his dog for being great BIGFOOT fans! - Click on images below for large version -
27 September 2006 Hi!! My name is Christopher Allen. I am fourteen years old and I am a Bigfoot extreme fan. I've been a Bigfoot fan since I was 4 years old. It started with me watching videos of Bigfoot that my parents would get for me. I think I must have all of them. We went to our first Monster Truck show in January of 1996 and I (and my parents) have been huge Monster Truck fans ever since. We even planned a trip to St. Louis, MO, just to visit the home of Bigfoot, to see where the monster truck phenomenon all started. I got to stand inside the wheel of Bigfoot V, saw the work shop and we talked to all of the nice people there. However, none of the drivers or Bob Chandler were there at the shop that day. In 2001 we moved to Phoenix and I got to meet Dan Runte at Firebird raceway that October. That was so exciting for me. He is my favorite driver and a really great guy. He always takes time for me and my parents every time we see him. We make a special effort to see him every time he comes to Firebird. We also try to find out where he is making an appearance with Bigfoot before the show and go see him there, too. - Click on images below for large version -
Last month I got the thrill of my monster truckin' life. We went to see Dan and Bigfoot at the new Glendale Football Stadium for the AMP Monster Truck World Tour. While there I got the surprise of my life. I was at the pit party and I got to meet the legendary Bob Chandler. He was very nice and I was very happy to spend a few minutes talking to him. What a great night. Submitted 24 September 2006 I LOVE BIGFOOT!My name is Audrey Ransier/Hickey I have loved Bigfoot since I was a child. I started going to shows when I was about 14 years old. I was born and raised in California and went to every show that I could. I love trucks and have always loved everything there is to know and do with trucks. When I was 18 I even got a tattoo of a monster truck on my hip. I got the experience of a lifetime in November 1990, in the area where I lived at the time there was a show on T.V. called "The Home Show" with Will Shriner as one of the hosts and he had a contest going called "Thrill with Will". What they were looking for was "stay at home mom's" to write in and express something that they had always dreamed of doing. Well that was the perfect opportunity to tell someone I would love to drive Bigfoot and meet Bob Chandler. I was embarrassed so I did not tell anybody what I had done. I figured nothing would ever become of the letter. About two months later I received a call from the producer of the "Home Show". The producer wanted to know more details. He had never heard of a girl who was so fascinated by Bigfoot trucks. Well, they picked me to do a segment on the show and said I was going to drive Bigfoot! - Click on image below for large version -
Audrey's son KoryI got to fly all the way to St. Louis, Missouri with my new born son Kory and like I had mentioned before, get an experience of a lifetime. I got to spend the day with Bob Chandler, meet his wife, tour all around the inside of the Bigfoot shop, and have lunch with a great many of the Bigfoot team. I got to drive a truck and "CRUSH" two cars right there in the "Home of Bigfoot" parking lot. I even got to drive around the block two times in a Bigfoot truck. All I know is that hanging out with Bob Chandler all day was the coolest thing I have ever got to do. I know Bob was not expecting to spend the whole day with me but still was so patience and kind to me. - Click on images below for large version -
Time has flown by and still almost 16 years later and this experience is something my two children and I speak of just about on a daily basis. My baby son is now almost 16 years old and I have a 12 year- old daughter Julie to whom both LOVE Bigfoot as much as I do. We have the whole segment on tape and watch the segment often. Unfortunately, we had to move away from California in 1993 to a place (Pasco, Washington) where Bigfoot does not come and do Monster Truck shows so my children are not able to enjoy seeing great monster truck shows like I got to see. Kory watches videos and anything that comes on the learning channels about Bigfoot every chance he gets. - Click on image below for large version -
Kory and AudreyI thought I would share my "Bigfoot
lover" family story and I personally wanted to say,
"Thanks" for the awesome opportunity. Someday I hope to come
visit again so I can share the "Home of Bigfoot" with my
children in real-life not just on video. Bigfoot 4x4- Please find enclosed photos and disc containing pictures from Essex Jct. Vermont. I took these over the course of the weekend in August 2005, and though I am far from a professional photographer, I feel like I got a few lucky shots. I noticed that on your website you have pictures posted in the gallery that other drivers, teams, etc. have sent in and thought I could add to your collection with these. ... - Click on images below for large version -
I'd also like to compliment Dan Runte on his capability behind the wheel all weekend. His tremendous talent is obvious by how easy he makes it look although it is certainly a job that is not. But beyond that this is great guy who cares and makes time for every fan and is always genuine and positive. I was fortunate enough to get the Bronco that I had in the show competition close to the autograph area for Dan to sign the tailgate which he gladly did despite the demands on his time. His autograph on the tailgate helps complete the truck that my interest in Bigfoot for the past 20 years has helped inspire me to build. ... One more thing ... Thanks for keeping Bigfoot traveling in the circles of legitimate racing and competition, away from the freak show, three ring circus, and fake wrestling style shows that some promoters produce. The technology, hard work, and driving ability of your team is anything but ridiculous and as a longtime fan [ I ] would not really want to see you guys in that light. Enjoy the photos and thanks for the existing and future memories from upcoming events. Jess Delaney - JT Delaney Construction Building & Remodeling Submitted 02-05-06 Hello, I'm Ryan Roberts. I have been a BIGFOOT fan since May, 1998. I always take at least one or two visits up there [St. Louis] each year and take pictures of it all over again pretty much except see some new things each visit! My best BIGFOOT visit would probably have to be this past March when I got the ultimate autograph from the one the only Bob Chandler. Special thanks to BIGFOOT's own Doug Welker! I am sending you 3 of my BIGFOOT computer drawn pictures. BIGFOOT Old School and 2 Fantasy (maybe ideas for the future bodies!) BIGFOOT drawn trucks which are Red/Yellow stripes & Wildfoot. I'm also sending a few pics of various visits to the shop. They are pictures of numbers 14, 8, 5, and the Fastrax. I hope this makes me a Extreme BIGFOOT fan! - Click on image below for large version -
Sincerly , Submitted 12-14-05 Hi there. My name is Tommy Lee Byrd and I'm from Dayton, TN. I'm 19 years old and have been a fan of Bigfoot all my life. I have a lot of Bigfoot collectibles such as two Playskool Bigfoot SST's, 2 sets of Hot Wheels Bigfoot Champions w/ the arena, Bigfoot 10 model, and a Snakebite model. I also have the Rev 'n Go style Bigfoots made by Hot Wheels. I have a Bigfoot vs. Snakebite slot track made by
Marchon. I have the Bigfoot Thunder on Wheels, Bigfoot in Action, Battle of the
Bigfoots, Bigfoot 4x4x4, Bigfoot Racing 93, 94, Bigfoot 25th anny., and many more videos featuring Bigfoot, as well as
a lot of stuff taped from TV. I'm attaching some pictures to this email, also. The first will be of me and cousin in Chattanooga, TN at Mountain View Ford back in '92 I think. The second will be from this past year in Cleveland, TN where Firestone Destination was on display. I love Bigfoot 4....that truck just seems so much bigger than the other trucks. The last four will be drawings I've done of Bigfoot trucks. Bigfoot 4 from 1990, Bigfoot 30th
anny., ChromaLusion Bigfoot, and the Summit Bigfoot. Well, that's about it. Thank you very much and I hope to see a Bigfoot truck soon. Hopefully in January in Knoxville, TN I'll get to. Thanks again... - Click on images below for large version -
Submitted 11-25-05 Dear Bigfoot 4x4 - Click on images below for large version -
Submitted 11-22-05 Dear BIGFOOT, Attached is a set of pictures that I hope qualify me as being an "extreme" fan. - Click on images below for large version -
Submitted 12-28-04 Dear Bigfoot 4x4 - Click on images below for large version -
Submitted 07-01-04 Hey guys, Submitted 07-03-04 Rick is turning fourteen and has many happy memories of Bigfoot. He has been at the Wayne County fair and met many of the drivers. Iceman and Hollywood, Dan Runte, Dave Harkey, Brian and the Eric M and Eric T. One year Jim Kramer asked if he had seen Bigfoot Five. When Rick said no he said he would bring it next year, and he did. Jim brought Bigfoot Five to the Wayne County Fair - What a thrill to see the huge monster. We did his room in blue this year and he enjoys the Bigfoot collection. A Franklin mint (signed by Dan And Bob at the Ford 100 [Celebration in Detroit, June 2003]) from his friend Tim and a special signed Take This Job and Shove it Poster from his Florida Monster friends. The collection includes the motorized ride on Bigfoot (when he was two) and many models. The theme is monster trucks and includes a collection of pictures. We have had many spectacular summer nights watching the monsters. Thanks to the Bigfoot team for many wonderful memories .. and more to come.
Submitted 07-09-04 Hi, my name is Rich and this is my story. Since the late 70's when I first heard of Bigfoot I was about 8 years old. I could not get enough of the big blue truck. Seeing it at every show my parents could stand to take me to. I learned to draw. It's a funny thing, at the age of ten the only thing I could draw was monster trucks. Later on when I got my license I was given a Honda civic. I hated it, so to make it a little better, I drew , and freehand etched my rendition of the Bigfoot truck, next to another truck. I still only like to draw big monster trucks.
After realizing Honda Civic's are just not for me I junked the car. But I
still have the window. Many years later... lucky for me, I was traveling
all over the country as a service technician, when I passed the home of
Bigfoot. Not able to control myself, I found the car "magically"
attracted to the exit ramp. I stood in the shop's garage doorway, looking
with amazement at the pure muscle of the Bigfoot trucks. I respected the
plastic chain link across the open doorway. When Roy came too close, I had
to start asking suspension questions like uneven 4-link bars and the
problems associated with them.. He seemed to like my questions and that I
respected the shop by standing outside. Much to my amazement, he invited
me inside the shop. This is when my addiction to Bigfoot really got worse.
I was greeted by the one and only Bob Chandler. He was very nice to me.
Then he introduced me to many other people in the shop. I was told I could
bring back a camera, and take as many pictures as I wanted. I have over 50
pictures from inside the shop, and I look at them all the time. While I
was asking about hydraulic steering Bob gave me a phone number to call. It
was Vince Nowack. About 15 minutes later it so happens that Vince walked
in. Later on I did purchase some things from Vince. Thank you for the
contact information that was very nice.
After doing a little motor work and adding a15 lb nitrous bottle to help
out in the deep mud , I followed Bigfoot's foot step, and swapped in a
C-6. If it works for you, it should be good for me too. That was still not
good enough for me. I added 10:26 gears in the rears with Detroit locker's
and found myself replacing axle shafts quite often. I now have my own
broken axle shaft collection. Like the one you gave to Jeff Halliday. That
was very nice of you to do that for him. That probably made his day. - Click on images below for large version -
Since 5 ton axles don't seem to hold up. I now have a set of Pettibone
planetary ends, I will be making my own 4130 Chromoloy axle shafts on my
milling machine. And those 60" tires are still not the monsters tires
that my idol Bigfoot is using. So I must still go bigger and wider. I
found a guy that is donating me his old logger tires to me. They are
67" tall, and 32" wide. I really wanted the same tires as
Bigfoot is using, but I can't seem to find a set cheap or figure out how
to get down most trails if I went with the 66" by 43" tires that
Bigfoot has. So these will be as close to Bigfoot as I can ever get. Rich Hello, - Click on images below for large version -
Submitted 09-03-04
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