I Have A Question About Robby's 2009 Polaris Trophy Truck For Crandon During His Testing

Why does Robby have all of his body panels on his Trophy Truck shown in a couple of the pictures here and in the others some or all of the are off?

Is this some sort of way to determine something in order to make the TT handle better?
Or did Robby just get a little more air time than usual and those panels had to come off for repairs and he went back out and continued to test with them off?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ms Gibby on September 2, 2009 at 11:15pm

Some of those panels become pretty much 'optional' during the race anyway, don't they? ; )

Permalink Reply by Hummer Time on September 3, 2009 at 1:43am

Ms Gibby ,

I'm by far , in no way an expert on Robby's TT and style of racing. BUT! "I would" keep the panels on to absorb and take the contact and impact during the race. On the other hand , if weight is in some way an issue and them being off means lighter , faster and better handling , then I would go down that road.

BUT! Look who we are talking about......Robby Gordon!!

Panels or No Panels Robby will be out front and no one will catch him to touch him!!!

I've watched countless video's Of Robby racing in his Trophy Trucks and I have noticed that , once he straps himself in..... Robby becomes "ONE" with his Trophy Truck and then he does what no one else can do behind the wheel. His handling abilties and skill level is just Amazing!

Permalink Reply by David Neth on September 4, 2009 at 3:42pm

Well lets get one thing straight, the Crandon truck is not a Trophy Truck.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Meyer on September 4, 2009 at 4:00pm

It's a recycled CORR truck right??

Permalink Reply by David Neth on September 5, 2009 at 9:09pm

Yeah, It's the same chassis used in CORR last year and is currently legal in LOORS and TORC. It was built by Alpha Cars if I'm not mistaken.

Permalink Reply by Hummer Time on September 5, 2009 at 4:52am

Like I said above..."I'm by far , in no way an expert on Robby's TT and style of racing."

OK....So now my question is , What is the difference between the Crandon truck Robby will be driving and his Trophy Truck?

Don't just throw this - "Well lets get one thing straight, the Crandon truck is not a Trophy Truck." and not educate those of us who are not up to speed on everything that Robby drives. Inquiring minds want to know. I'm not being sarcastic , I would just like to know. A learn something new everyday thing.

Permalink Reply by Nick Head on September 5, 2009 at 6:02pm

Here is some Info / Facts on the difference between the two trucks (TT/Pro-2)..

Trophy Truck: Unlimited Everything: Suspension, wheelbase, motor (except NO forced induction), tranny, Open wheel Drive (2 or 4 wheel drive), Shock package, Tire size, Trackwidth.. there is a few more, but basically 90% open just meeting safety requirements.

Pro-2: Limited: 2 wheel drive, Chassis pivot points - all the suspension pivots are the same on each truck in Pro-2. Wheelbase, Track width, motor mounting, Tire size, Travel of suspension, and the Shock Package all are limited and must meet strict class specializations. Just like the body issue some were talking about, Pro-2 has very strict guide lines keeping the trucks the same like Nascar does with each series (Craftsman, Busch, Cup).

Anymore questions just ask.. There is alot more things I could go into, but I am sure this will give you an idea between the two classes..
NICKHEAD :)

Permalink Reply by Hummer Time on September 5, 2009 at 7:46pm

Thank You Mike Kenvon And Nick Head!

Nick Head , You said - Pro-2: Limited: 2 wheel drive, Chassis pivot points - all the suspension pivots are the same on each truck in Pro-2. Wheelbase, Track width, motor mounting, Tire size, Travel of suspension, and the Shock Package all are limited and must meet strict class specializations. Just like the body issue some were talking about, Pro-2 has very strict guide lines keeping the trucks the same like Nascar does with each series (Craftsman, Busch, Cup).

Anymore questions just ask.. There is alot more things I could go into, but I am sure this will give you an idea between the two classes..
NICKHEAD :)

If The Trucks have to all be the same , I'm now back to my original question for this thread and that is.....Why does Robby have all of his body panels on his Trophy Truck shown in a couple of the pictures here and in the others some or all of the are off?

Is this some sort of way to determine something in order to make the TT handle better?
Or did Robby just get a little more air time than usual and those panels had to come off for repairs and he went back out and continued to test with them off?

The pictures above with the posting question show Robby's truck with and without panels. Is there or was there a specific reason for them to be off?

Also , Where on this truck is the motor compared to his TT? I know on his Hummer it's in the back.

Your expertise is greatly appreciated because otherwise I would still be a clueless SOB! :)

Permalink Reply by Nick Head on September 5, 2009 at 9:26pm

HUMMER TIME, Glad to help, and thanks for asking. First, the panels most likely came off after a few laps due to RG pulling into his Hot Pit (just like the pit lane in Nascar used for tires,chages, etc..) and making some changes to the truck, remember this truck is still very new, never been raced @ Crandon, so most likely changes were made then RG went back out with out panels and then came back in & so forth. PLEASE NOTE, YOU STATED "TT" in your reply, this is the PRO-2 NOT THE TROPHY TRUCK**...

So second question, the HUMMER motor is mounted Behind the rear wheels with the Transaxle facing toward the front, this is called "REAR ENGINE"..

The TROPHY TRUCK motor is mounted in front of the rear wheels with the Transmission facing toward the front of the TT, then a V-DRIVE (used mainly in boats) reverses the drive toward the rear of the truck, this is called "MID-ENGINE".

The Pro-2 motor is mounted in the front of the passenger side of the truck with the transmission facing toward the rear, this is called "FRONT-ENGINE". But, some will argue that the motor is set back into the passenger side area compared to most with the engine in the front just back a bit (like your F150), making it more between a Mid/front engine.. Hope this helps as well.. ;)

Permalink Reply by NIKAL on September 9, 2009 at 1:32am

Hummertime. Most guys will test their trucks, Score Desert off-road or Short Course off-road without body panels for a few reason's. One is when you are tuning the truck it is easier without some of the body on. And two and probably a bigger factor is the cost of the body panels and paint. These panels can break fairly easy and the last thing you want to do is be breaking or fixing panels when you are out testing. I know when I have helped with a few Pro Lites (Mini short course trucks) The amount of dirt and mud that sticks can add well over 100 lbs and its just more work to clean if your just testing.

I know 90% fo the time when we have been out testing the Jimco TT's they never run the rear fenders, as those are what mostly get beat up. A full TT fiberglass body is between $5 to $10 grand finished and mounted. Some of the guys running carbon fiber panels are twice that much. Also if you have someone like Wally World paint your body thats another few thousand dollars added to the bill. Wally does allot of off-road helmets and truck / buggy bodies.

So now if you were out testing and knowing that those body's are that much money and they will not really change how the truck tests threw the bumps, would you test with a body on? Now when you are testing high speed stuff the body can play into handling and you will be better off having it on. But most of that is in the hood, side panels and roof. The rear fenders dont seem to make any differance. Heck we have learned a top light bar will slow the truck about 8 to 10 mph on a flat paved road. We were surprised at how much drag those upper light bars will add.

Permalink Reply by Mike Kenyon on September 5, 2009 at 12:44pm

I'm by no means an expert on trucks, but if you look at the pictures TOG posted in the photo section , the Crandon truck is far from a RG OR Trophy Truck.
Nose to tail this truck's chassis is light (not made for Baja ) front control arm layout,engine placement ( not a V-drive layout like a RG OR TT ) Twin shock on light truck arms rear suspenion (RG OR TT uses a cantalevered single shock on a big truck arm) I looked at footage ( Video section ) and I don't beleive this truck to be an old CORR truck (differant front a-arm layout at least) But what the hell do I know. Mike

Permalink Reply by Nick Head on September 5, 2009 at 9:44pm

Hey Mike, just wanted to let you know, the RG Trophy Truck rear setup is NOT a cantilever setup.. it uses a 4-link 3 point style setup, with rear trailing arms pivoting on the left and right side behind the cab, then connecting to the rear housing (bottom mount & straight back) to the truck, one on each side, and the Custom RG C/o internal Bypasses are mounted to these arms.. then you have the two upper links that pivot on the left & right side behind the cab, then meet in the middle on top of the housing. As for the Pro-2, all chassis are now spec, none of the grandfathered trucks are allowed run.. CORR put an end to that early in the 08 season..