Updated – Motor Trend – Top Truck Challenge 2015 – Video
You know what a truck pull is, right? Well our tow test is way better: our track extends 150 feet, climbs 13 feet in elevation, and has a maximum angle of approximately 16 degrees. Each competitor’s rig is tethered to 5-ton 6×6 weighing in at over 36,000 pounds. Each competitor is allowed one pull, no time limit. This event grabs competitor’s full attention, because it’s the first event and has the potential to quickly weed out weak components.
Through the years, the Frame Twister has evolved, and for 2015 about half way into the course, competitors arrive at the infamous Squeeze Rock section facing boulders, the dogleg, and the dreaded log section. In case you’re wondering, the Frame Twister at Top Truck Challenge really has twisted vehicle frames over the years. It has also wasted driveshafts, destroyed tires, and thrashed suspensions. Each competitor is allowed 10 minutes to complete the Frame Twister course. Hey, you didn’t expect it to be a run-of-the-mill first day did you?
We’ve renovated the Obstacle Course for 2015: no long downhill section and an entirely dry course. But is it easier? Nope. Our demented course builders made sure this event would be a real eye-opener for competitors. Competitors begin in the lower section, which is pockmarked with evil holes, off-camber sections, and gobs of loose dirt. They then travel to the upper section that includes a pair of deep, nasty holes and the infamous “U-Turn Hill.” From there, it is into a ravine that stands guard over the finish line. Even with a 10-minute time limit, this event is less about speed and more about accuracy. Who will be stopped cold?
This year’s Coal Chute uses a section of the newly developed Upper Obstacle Course, which is so challenging we didn’t even build it for TTC – it came with the park! This new section is 525 miserable feet in length and features rock walls over 7 feet high plus a collection of rocks and cement tubes. The Coal Chute is divided into three distinct sections and culminates in a cement wall at the finish. 20 minutes on the clock, here we go!
Surprise! Normally competitors would be directed to our infamous Mud Pit event at this point in the Top Truck Challenge competition, but due to the 2015 California drought, the Mud Pit is replaced with the gnarly, waterless Mini Rubicon. The course is approximately 140 feet in length and packed with boulders and rocks of various sizes. To keep things exciting, there are no penalties for winching, stopping, or backing up. Instead, we give each competitor 5 minutes to travel as far as they can. Traveling out of bounds results in disqualification at that point.
If you ever need a pick-me-up from a bad day, check out our Hill Climb event and relish the fact you’re not on it. We take a nasty, steep, 600-foot-long hill with an average angle of 60 degrees and modify it to Top Truck specs by plowing strategically placed holes for our competitors. As icing on the cake, we spread loose dirt everywhere to impede traction for the drivers. Competitors must think on-the-fly to battle the 5-minute time limit and they can winch, back up, or stop and take in the view of the Hollister Hills.
The Tank Trap – This is the event most Top Truck Challenge competitors anxiously await—or dread. The Tank Trap is a quarter-mile-long course designed to force each competitor to fight for every inch of forward progress. The Tank Trap is a standard feature at the Hollister Hills SVRA, but for TTC, it’s modified to our specs using heavy equipment and water. As in previous years, Tank Trap (located in a deep, natural valley) has an approximate 195-foot climb in elevation from start to finish. Due to water restrictions from the 2015 California drought, we had to cut back on the number of water holes, though we use the same numbering system as in previous years. A few yards into the course, competitors have to navigate the 5-foot-deep Water Hole 2. From there, they enter the infamous 100-yard-long “Canyon” that contains steep rock walls in excess of 7 feet in height, slippery steep rock waterfalls, nasty ledges, and generally inhospitable terrain. If they make it through the Canyon, it is onto Water Hole 3 and then a series of deep, slippery, dry climbs and descents. Provided they are still moving, they come fact-to-face with the deep, off-camber “Crevice” before dropping into Water Hole 6 and Water Hole 7.
The legendary Tank Trap event continues! After our drivers navigate through holes 1 to 7 they face the final obstacle: a long, slippery dirt hill that standing between them and the finish line. Competitors were not allowed to see the course prior to competition and are given 30 minutes to complete the entire Tank Trap. Because of its difficulty level, Tank Trap is worth double the points of the other events, so a competitor can catch up on needed points or extend a lead by doing well.