It's been a Four Wheeler tradition since 1996, and this year is no different-if it's April, it's gotta be Top Truck Challenge Ballot month. And once again, we're proud to share this year's entries sent in by you, our devoted readers. And of course, we've also included a ballot for you to select the rigs you want to see competing this year.
We have no major plans to change Top Truck, so whichever rigs you choose, you can count on them running the same tried-and-true obstacles you've seen in recent years in the magazine and on video. And as usual, we encourage ballot-stuffing since there are no limits on the number of ballots you can send-you'll just need to buy more magazines to do it since we don't accept faxes or photocopies.
One thing we noticed while sorting through the photos and spec sheets was the way this year's batch of aspirants reflect the current state of the economy: Slightly downsized and not quite so overbuilt. Most of this year's entries are sporting Dana 60 and 14-bolt axles-or a rough equivalent-rather than Rockwell running gear. Motors seem slightly smaller too, with a lot of fairly stock Chevy small-blocks, and even some Sixes and a four-banger or two. And propane injection appears to be replacing diesel as the alt-fuel of choice-perhaps that's a reflection of current-day pump prices.
Sophisticated suspension designs, though, appear to be here to stay, with most folks running some combination of multilinks and long-travel coilovers or air shocks, and tire diameters are still in the 44-and-bigger range. But sizing them up, we'd guess that this year's Top 10 competitors-whomever you choose-will be somewhat less massive and more "real world" in their own way than some of the monster entries we've seen in recent years. This strikes us, in general, as a good thing, and we're sure you'll all find at least one rig in this year's field that you can relate to because it's a lot like your own.
Finally, perusing this year's entries, some of you may think you've spotted an April Fool's joke or two amid the "Real Rigs." But rest assured, all of this year's entries are legit-or, at least their owners insist they are. So turn to page 32, have a look at the rigs your fellow readers have submitted for your approval, then fill out the ballot on page 49 and let us know who you want competing this year. We'll post the Top 10 finalists in our November '09 issue, as well as on our website. Democracy doesn't get any more fun that this.
-Douglas McColloch