With the roar of the crowd, the thunder of the engines, and the sheer power of the larger-than-life vehicles, monster truck shows have been popular for decades. Many iconic trucks have proudly dragged giant tractors and crushed junk cars, but none have matched the incredible excitement of Bigfoot, the first, original monster truck.
Bigfoot’s impact has reached far and wide. It is hard to find anyone who had ever watched a monster truck show that has not heard of the legendary Bigfoot. With a huge presence in pop culture, Bigfoot has had more air time than many of Hollywood’s biggest stars. This impressive vehicle comes from relatively unassuming beginnings and yet it has had a monster effect on its massive international audience.
History of Bigfoot Monster Truck
In 1974, a St. Louis, MO couple named Bob and Marilyn Chandler purchased a Ford F-250 for their family. They were attracted to the vehicle because of its off-road and rugged capabilities that satisfied their outdoorsy lifestyle. Little did they know, this truck would soon become Bigfoot, the legendary first monster truck.
It all started when the Chandlers and their friend Jim Kramer opened a shop called Midwest Four Wheel Drive in the St. Louis, Missouri area. The group shared a passion for trucks and they started their business in response to their frustration with the lack of local availability of parts for 4x4s. Since they catered to other 4×4 owners, Bob felt the best way to showcase their shop’s goods was to equip his family’s truck with the biggest, flashiest parts. He was constantly working on maintaining and improving his vehicle, as he felt this was a representation of his business’s work. His family’s F-250 truck kept getting larger and crazier and the next thing they knew, Bigfoot was born. By 1979, the Chandlers’ Bigfoot truck began getting invitations to perform at events all over the Midwestern United States.
Bob Chandler was always looking for something new to do with his truck and he soon began experimenting with Bigfoot to push its limits even further. He wanted to develop a technology where, if the front axle of the truck broke, the steering could be switched to the rear axle. This resulted in Bigfoot being the first truck with 4x4x4, meaning 4 wheels, 4-wheel drive, and 4-wheel steering. Bigfoot’s Ford F-250 body was also equipped with a Ford C6 transmission, 640 ci engine, 48 inch tires, and a hefty weight of over 11,000 lbs.
As Bigfoot began getting more and more attention from its unique features and size, a turning point in Bigfoot’s fame happened when the truck appeared in the 1981 film “Take This Job and Shove It”, directed by Gus Trikonis. In the film, Bigfoot is driven by Ray, played by Tim Thomerson. Bob Chandler and his family also make cameos in the film.
Also in 1981, Bob decided, after being inspired by another car stunt on television, to get two junk cars and drive over them with Bigfoot in a field. This was not meant to be a spectacle, but more for personal amusement. In a twist of fate that ended up changing car culture forever, Chandler decided to film the whole thing, which became the first ever “car crush”. In the film, Bigfoot plows over two junk cars with ease, even stopping for a moment with Bigfoot standing directly on top of one of the vehicles, as if to laugh at the sheer absurdity of what was happening. The casual nature of the film is evident as Bob has lumber in the truck’s bed.
Bob was playing the video of Bigfoot crushing cars in his shop one day when it caught the eye of a motorsports promotor who asked him to recreate the performance publicly. Chandler agreed, and in 1983, Bigfoot made its debut as the first car crushing monster truck in front of a live audience at the Pontiac Silverdome. Also in 1983, the Ford Motor Company became an official sponsor of the truck, a sponsorship that lasted until 2005. Throughout the years, Bigfoot has received many sponsorships from major companies with include Major League Baseball, Firestone Tires, Lucas Oil Products, and Odyssey Batteries.
Along with being the creator of Bigfoot, Bob Chandler has made an important and lasting impact on the monster truck industry as a whole. In 1987 he worked with others to create an organization to help set in place and enforce standards for the industry, with safety being at the forefront. This organization is called the Monster Truck Racing Association. Bob had a hand in implanting one of their biggest accomplishments, the remote ignition interrupter, which allows an ignition to be stopped by activating a signal remotely. Bob has worked to keep the Bigfoot company family friendly and safety conscious for over 40 years.
The Bigfoot Fleet
To keep up with the incredible demand to see the increasingly popular monster truck at live performances, Chandler began building additional Bigfoots. Building all of these high-powered, over-the-top trucks is no small feat, however. Each Bigfoot monster truck costs over $150,000 to make and they each deliver around 1500 horsepower. Over the years, 20 Bigfoots have been made, each a little different from the last.
The first addition to the fleet Bigfoot 2 in 1982, which had 66 inch tires rather than the 48 inch tires of the original. Bigfoot 2 is notable because it appeared in a race against USA-1, which was often positioned as its rival monster truck, in the televised program “That’s Incredible”.
Bigfoot 3 was built in 1983 and was similar is build to Bigfoot 2. This edition of the truck appeared in the film “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment”.
Bigfoot 4 was unveiled in 1984 and, in 1986, was the winner of the very first side-by-side race with monster trucks. It was re-named Snakebite in 1991 when it was upgraded to have a 3-D concept body.
Bigfoot 5 holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for Largest Monster Truck since 1986. It stands 15 feet 6 inches tall and has 10 feet tall tires and weighs a whopping 38,000 lbs.
Bigfoot 6 was released in 1986. This truck appeared in the film “Police Academy 6: City Under Siege”. It also completed the ridiculous feat of jumping 13 cars.
Bigfoot 7 was created in 1998. This truck had a role in the movie “Roadhouse” as well as the movie “Tango and Cash”. It was eventually modified to include 10 foot tires.
Bigfoot 8 was built in 1989 and was equipped with a tubular steel chassis and a cantilever suspension system. Bob Chandler learned computer aided design (CAD) to create its truly innovative chassis. It was driven by Andy Brass in the 1990 world championship, where it took the title.
Bigfoot 9 was built in 1990 and at one point went on a tour to Brazil. When trying to come back to America in 1998, the truck faced difficulties resulting in problems with getting it returned. Strangely, Bigfoot 9 still remains in Brazil to this day.
Bigfoot 10 was first seen publicly in 1992. The same year, it won its first championship at the Penda Points Series Championship.
Bigfoot 11 was created in 1992 and set two records. The first was for jumping 117 feet and the second record was for doing a wheelie for 217 feet 3 inches.
Bigfoot 12 was released in 1993 just for display purposes. It appeared at the Super Bowl that same year.
Bigfoot 14 differs quite a bit from the other Bigfoots due to the fact that it has a Chevy Silverado body. This was because Bigfoot had received a sponsorship from the MLB and the Chevy Silverado was the official truck of Major League Baseball.
Bigfoot 15 was built in 1994 and has won championship titles in 6 different years.
Bigfoot 16 was built in 2007 and it is unique because it was the first of the Bigfoot trucks to feature a 2-speed Abruzzi transmission.
Bigfoot 17 was made solely for European use. It was built by driver Nigel Morris.
Bigfoot 18 was created in 2011 and completed a jump with a length of 214 feet 8 inches. This earned the truck the Guinness Book of World Records title for longest monster truck jump.
Bigfoot 19 was made in 2012. This truck, unlike previous Bigfoots, has a Chevy engine. It debuted in Aruba.
Bigfoot 20 is definitely a first for the monster truck industry as it is completely powered by batteries. This electric vehicle was introduced in 2013 and has been given the nickname “Electro-Foot”.
Bigfoot 21 was unveiled in 2014. It makes a louder sound than its predecessors due to its special headers.
In addition to Bigfoots 1 through 21, there have also been other, non-numbered editions of the iconic monster truck created. These editions include Ms. Bigfoot, Bigfoot Fastrax, and Bigfoot Shuttle.
Bigfoot Drivers
Along with Bob Chandler, Jim Kramer, and Marilyn Chandler (who was the first female monster truck driver), Bigfoot has been driven by many talented and daring drivers.
One of Bigfoot’s most prolific drivers, Dan Runte, who was hired at Bigfoot 4×4 in 1989, has won 14 championship titles. Amazingly, in 1989, he jumped a 727 airplane. He has also visited Australia, Aruba, Curacao, and Puerto Rico with Bigfoot.
Andy Brass was another great driver who drove Bigfoot from 1992 to 1994. He received much attention as the winner of 4 championships throughout his career. Other Bigfoot drivers include Bob Brown, AJ Straatmaan, Sky Hartley, Ken Koelling, Keith Sturgeon, Mike Miller, Drue Epler, Gene Patterson, Jim Greco, Nigel Morris, Ron Bachmann, Rodney Tweedy, Christian Norman, Darren Schnell, and Larry Swim.
Fun Facts
-Acclaim Entertainment released a game called “Bigfoot” for Nintendo Entertainment System, based on the famous monster truck, in 1990. The truck even went so far as to advertise for the game. The game involves racing, car crushing, and other competitive activities.
-Bigfoot is discussed in two episodes of the animated show “Futurama”.
-Bigfoot trucks have appeared in 7 movies including “Take This Job and Shove It”, “Roadhouse”, “Cannonball Run”, and most recently, Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One”.
-Bigfoot was the first monster truck to have a toy made in its likeness. It was also the first monster truck to appear in a commercial for a toy.
-Bigfoot was one of the first inductees into the Monster Truck Museum Hall of Fame in 2011.
-The children’s show “Bigfoot Presents: Meteor and the Mighty Monster Trucks” references the famous Bigfoot monster truck. It is an Emmy-nominated show on the DiscoveryKids Channel.
– A cartoon based on Bigfoot, called Bigfoot and the Muscle Machines, was created in the mid-1980s and later lead to a feature film. The series was about a character named Yank Justice, who, in the show, drives Bigfoot and runs his own monster truck show.
-Bigfoot got its name because it was the nickname that Bob Chandler’s friends gave him due to his so-called lead foot.
-There was no Bigfoot 13 made because of the superstitious connotations of the number 13.
Bigfoot has appeared in between 600-1200 events a year and continues to be one of the most recognized and celebrated monster trucks in existence. Millions have appreciated Bigfoot’s size, strength and power and the industry as a whole has benefitted and grown from Bigfoot’s humble Midwestern beginnings. Bigfoot has been to over 23 countries, delighting fans all over the globe. After being featured in films, television shows, toys, commercials, and even appearances on the Tonight Show, it seems there is no end to the influence of this truck.
These days, Bigfoot 1 is no longer performing, but it can still be appreciated on display at the Chandlers’ shop as well as at periodic public display events. Many of the other members of the Bigfoot fleet are still actively engaging fans in performances every year. It seems that the reign of Bigfoot will never die, as it will surely continue to be beloved by die-hard monster truck fans for years to come.
