The 2nd Annual Hawaii Top Truck Challenge.
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http://www.4x4wire.com/events/2002/hawaiittc/
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Short Cuts |
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By: Jeff Yokomura - 11/2002
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| Koolau Mountain Range splitting the island of Oahu and
the backdrop to the 2002 Hawaii TTC. |
What do you get when you combine the beauty of the Hawaiian
Islands with some down and dirty trucks competing for one prize? The Hawaii
Top Truck Challenge, of course. The event was held at the foot of the Koolau
Mountain range on the Kualoa Ranch, about a thirty minute drive from urban Honolulu.
The ranch is mainly a recreation area for tourists and has been seen in such
feature films as Jurassic Park, Pearl Harbor, and Windtalkers. This time, the
locals took over. The area was split up into several separate areas. At one
end was the corral where all the competitors, media and special guests were
able to mingle. This was also where many of the vehicles were prepped for the
upcoming events. Alongside that was the mud pit. A lone backhoe spent most of
the morning putting the finishing touches to the course. The mud in this area
has a high iron content so it sticks to anything it touches and stains it red.
To entertain the kids, Ace Hobbies had a small dirt track layed out where they
demonstrated 1/10th scale radio controlled trucks. Kids and parents alike were
encouraged to test their hand-eye coordination. Beside the track was a strip
of boulders that were placed together to make the rock course. The course wasn't
very long but had two large boulders (we'll call them "the wall")
which would prevent many from finishing the course. But before that they would
all have to challenge their skills at the Ramp Travel Index (RTI) ramp. High
above all the courses was the venders. A few of the local shops brought out
some displays and a few examples of their work.
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| Rock were brought in from other parts of the Island and
made into the rockcrawling course. |
When gates opened at 8:00am, people started pouring in. At
times there were several cars backed up in both directions on the small one
lane road. As people started walking past the gates, the competitors were already
setting up camp and off-loading their trucks. Many of them were towed on trailers.
A few were even on large diesel car carriers. The corral was made up of Jeeps,
Toyotas, Custom Rails and a few representatives of the Big Three. All were required
to have lockers even though some may not have had them in both front and rear
differentials. Many of the trucks were built for mud rather then rocks since
there aren't many places in Hawaii where you can do some rockcrawling. Many
build their trucks just for looks. The vendors booth's showed prime examples.
Trucks with over 12 inches of lift and no signs of ever seeing dirt, sporting
15 or more shocks were seen in every direction. Lots of chrome everywhere and
armor-all on everything were also seen.Two of the trucks that stood out was
a modified MB and a camo'ed CJ-6. The trucks out there showed a mix of well
designed, clean fabrication while others showed a more Frankenstein approach.
The big buzz around the camps was what last year's winner would be bringing
to the event. It was shipped from the Big Island and had been sitting behind
locked doors until it was towed to the event.
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| The mud pit was a problem for many through out the day. |
Soon, everything started to get underway. The first event
was the RTI ramp. Each of the competitors lined up to take a turn at the ramp.
For those of you who have been living in a cave someplace, RTI ramps were designed
and used by Four Wheeler Magazine to measure how much articulation their truck
suspensions had. A 30-degree ramp was used for the Hawaii event. After most
of the trucks got their RTI scores in, the first truck hit the rock garden.
That was literally what it did. With its large spoiler, the Toyota made it up
onto the first few rocks but got stuck while trying to start up the wall. As
the driver tried to take the truck out, there was a loud pop and the front driver
side tire stopped turning. Then the front of the truck nosed into a hole and
wedged itself on the front cross-member. There were no tow hooks on the truck
so it complicated things. Eventually, it was winched off the course when time
ran out and the next truck was up.
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| Cheap Rhino lining? This Full-size Jeep was
coated with Stucco. |
This CJ-6 is one of the few on the whole Island. The 2nd
one we've ever seen. |
Some people brought their trucks on special haulers. |
Prepping their Jeeps under the beautiful Koalaus. What
could be better? |
Out of the first group of trucks none were able to get past
the wall. That was until Fabio Manno in his Chevy 3/4 ton pick-up truck took
to the course. Fabio had done his homework. Custom built Alcan springs and some
clean fender trimming allowed the truck to over the rocks. The only problem
he had was with the wall and not having enough traction. The tires weren't grabbing
as well as they should have. He was able to finesse the truck up and over the
wall. After that, it was a walk in the park. As the truck came off the last
rocks the crowd erupted with excitement. The bar had been set to a new level.
The next truck wasn't so lucky. The green CJ-7 climbed onto the rocks with its
Ground Hawgs, twin Dana 60's and a Spring Over suspension. On the RTI ramp,
it wasn't able to stretch out nearly as much as it should have. The tires might
have had something to do with it. One of the biggest mistakes at the event had
to do with air pressure. It seemed that many of them tried to tackle the course
with street pressure. This made for a great show as they tried to throttle over
the rocks and got stranded. As the green CJ tried to get over the wall, its
front driveshaft let out, which left the driver high and dry.
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| Some people came prepared. This trailer was as interesting
way to bring the cooler. |
Wayne Coatney poses next to what was once a 77' CJ-5 and
last year's overall winner. |
It's always nice to see old metal at events like this.
Abe Simon's 1942 MB was the oldest vehicle to compete. |
Fabio Manno brought one of the largest trucks to the event. |
The next truck was Wayne Coatney (aka: Pyro), last year's
winner of the Hawaii Top Truck Challenge. His CJ-5 shared more with the current
trend of rock crawler buggies then any of the other competitors. With its Avalanche
Engineering 1/4 Elliptical rear suspension and 44 inch Super Swampers, it was
able to make short work of the course. As his rear tires came off the rock pile,
he managed to clock in the fastest time of the day. The next truck up was a
1942 MB, driven by Abe Simon. It probably had the smallest tires of all the
other competitors. Even with early model CJ-5 axles swapped in, the MB was a
lot lighter then most of the other trucks. As it took the course, the little
MB was able get up to the wall but, as with many of the other trucks, it ran
into problems. A U-joint let loose when the MB dropped down on the front driveshaft,
which ended their attempt. An impressive effort nonetheless since a vehicle
was older than most of the people attending the event.
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| Another interesting Sami sporting home-made coil-over
shocks |
One of the nicest full-size trucks at the event. Fabio
placed second to Wayne. |
This spring-over CJ-7 didn't get very far on the RTI ramp. |
With its 1/4 elliptical suspension the CJ-5 out ramped
the competition. |
Only a few of the other trucks in line were able to make it
through the whole course. Many used brute force to get them though. The most
damage inflicted at one time was done by Ian Thomas. He moved up to the starting
line with his subwoofer blasting away. All the trucks were required to have
a spotter but his spotter was more of a passenger then a spotter. The TJ was
able to handle the smaller rocks fine until they got to the wall. The front
end dropped into a hole and that was the end of the front driveshaft. Ian managed
to break a U-joint. This didn't stop him as he tried to get over the wall with
only two wheel drive. As it lurched forward, the Jeep wrapped its tie-rod around
the big rocks. The team was not able to move forward or backward with the front
tires pidgon-toed. This was the end of their attempt. It took the help of another
drivers winch and the tow truck to get the TJ off the course. They later managed
to get the Jeep straightened out and were seen shuttling people around later
in the day.
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| The 1942 MB could still stretch with the best of them. |
This was perhaps the cleanest Toyota at the event. |
No shocks and Revolvers helped this YJ get up the ramp. |
The huge spoiler or "Got Nitrous??" sticker
couldn't get him any further. |
The majority of the trucks did not have their own winches
or even a Hi-lift jack. They couldn't finish without help from the tow truck
which sat at the end of the course. If needed, a Hi-lift provided by the event
could be used without any penalty.
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| Driveshaft U-joints was the number one problem. |
Wayne Coatney carefully maneuvers over the course with
no problems. |
Abe Simon, getting winched off the course after breaking
a U-joint. |
This nice SR5 was built more for mud then rocks but still
attempted the course. |
As the rockcrawling was going on, a group of the mud runners
were attempting to cross the thick mud pit. As the day got hotter, the mud got
thicker and no one was making it. One after another, they dove into the mud,
but they were only able to crawl a quarter of the way. Many of the trucks that
tried their hand at the mud pit left with only a heavy coating of mud and a
tow from a nearby tractor. As the day came to a end, the mud started to harden
up, allowing a few of the faster rails to make a complete pass. After a few
delays, the competitors made their way to the mud course. None of them made
it all the way across. We had to cut our visit short and headed out before any
awards were given out. We had fun and met a lot of new friends. Maybe we'll
see you there next year.
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| Joey Rivera shocked the crowd as he managed to get |
After getting the rear tire in the air, the Toyota left
a healthy layer of rubber on the rocks. |
The All Bus team got the crowd excited as they fought
their way through the course. |
Another one bites the dust. |
| Place |
Competitor |
RTI |
Rocks |
Mud |
| 1. |
Wayne Coatney #9 |
1(1000) |
1 |
2 |
| 2. |
Fabio Manno #10 |
10 (526 |
2 |
1 |
| 2. |
Dominic Henriques #54 |
3 (427) |
3 |
7 |
| 3. |
Mike Gribsby #15 |
5 (712) |
5 |
5 |
| 4. |
Richie Haopili #12 |
14 (433) |
4 |
4 |
| 5. |
Steven Kalulu #90 |
15 (427) |
3 |
6 |
| 6. |
Abe Simon #1942 |
4 (736) |
DNF |
11 |
| 7. |
Allen Wong #936 |
13 (452) |
DNF |
3 |
| 8. |
Joey Rivera #53 |
2 (776) |
DNF |
DNS |
| 8. |
Milton Allen #3 |
11 (523) |
DNS |
9 |
| 9. |
Ian Thomas #20 |
6 (641) |
DNF |
DNS |
| 10. |
Braddah #4 |
7 (603) |
DNF |
DNS |
| 11. |
Edgar Antonio #77 |
16 (349) |
DNF |
10 |
| 11. |
Scott Hose #2 |
8 (544) |
DNF |
DNS |
| 11. |
Gary Kama #70 |
DNS |
DNF |
8 |
| 12. |
John Allen #1 |
12 (460) |
DNF |
DNS |
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