OK, sit down and strap in. It’s time for the annual thrash-fest called Top Truck Challenge. Each year, we ask for applicants for this toughest of tests. We narrow the pool to 65 potentials, and then let our readers pick the final contestants. The top 10 vote-getters are invited to do battle in, and with, the hills of Hollister, California. A clue about Hollister: A sleepy little town in the central part of the state, it is the city made infamous by the outlaw events that led to the classic 1950s motorcycling film starring Marlon Brando, The Wild Ones.
Letting you pick the rigs that compete is always an interesting affair. By doing so, we wind up having plenty of weird and wacky Wild Ones. However, this year all of our competitors’ rigs were serious machines that were ready for anything. Here’s the list of entrants, in no particular order, as profiled in last month’s issue:
Steve Rumore, Bayfield, Colorado, The Sniper
Cliff Steelman, Colley Place, Washington, Ford F-100
Aaron Cough, Erda, Utah, Bummer
Roger Bernard, Banff, Alberta, Canada, Rogerbilt
David Eulberg, Auburn, California, Goliath
Josh Pariseau, S. Burlington, Vermont, ’93 Jeep Cherokee
Kevin Kaylin, Gaffney, Georgia, Jeep CJ-8
Sam Patton, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Jeep CJ-7
Jake Hallenbeck, Reno, Nevada, Suzuki Samurai
Brent Goegebuer, Sumner, Washington, Jeep CJ-3A
From the trick tube-frame Sniper to the big 1962 Ford F-100 to the tiny Suzuki, we had a good mix of vehicles that made for an interesting TTC, sponsored this year by 4WheelParts.com. Of course, if you aren’t into 10 super-trick vehicles battling it out for TTC glory, you can skip straight to the results. But where would the fun be in that? Now before you get to the action, hurry up and register for next year’s competition using the entry form below.