Ford Once Sold A Monster Truck-Tribute Ford F-150 But Terrible Build Quality Made It A Huge Failure

America has been obsessed with big trucks for longer than most of our readers have been alive. For decades, one of the most famous American trucks has been Bigfoot, a big, blue, car-crushing lump of pure American monster truck power. Ford once tried to celebrate the massively popular monster with an F-Series decked out as Bigfoot tribute, calling the machine the Bigfoot Cruiser. The trucks arrived on dealer lots with incredible mods and an even cooler graphics kit. There was only one problem with these dream trucks: Basically none of the upgrades were installed properly, right down to the lug nuts. Ford was forced to recall the trucks and effectively scrap the whole idea.

Monster trucks are a fascinating American sensation. There’s something just so satisfying about watching an overpowered and oversized truck leap across an arena and crush junk cars. The monster trucks of today are highly specialized vehicles with purpose-built tubular chassis, mid-mounted engines making well over 1,000 horsepower, towering suspensions, four-wheel steering, and an incredible amount of safety equipment. But in the beginning, monster trucks were largely production vehicles, albeit heavily modified.

Many historians point to the mighty Bigfoot as the very first monster truck. As the story goes, in 1974 Bob Chandler ordered a Ford F-250 for hauling and enjoying outdoor recreation with his wife, Marilyn. Chandler wanted to turn his truck into an off-road beast, but found that the existing 4×4 aftermarket in the Midwest was lacking. Frustrated, the Chandlers decided to pave their own way, partnering up with Jim Kramer to found Midwest Four Wheel Drive in 1975.

Chandler’s F-250 was his shop truck and more or less the mascot of the business. As hard off-roading broke parts and revealed weak points in the truck, Bob began modifying his F-250 for better off-road prowess and durability. It was also a great business move, as the truck was outfitted with parts sold by Midwest Four Wheel Drive. Chandler took the truck to off-road events where he got to show off the shop and the quality parts it sold. These events also helped thrust Midwest Four Wheel Drive into the enthusiast consciousness.

Apparently, this became a bit of an addiction. Chandler kept piling on more and more parts, from bigger tires and ever larger axles, and the truck grew far beyond its original footprint. Eventually, Chandler’s employees began calling him Bigfoot because of his full-send driving style, and soon, the truck itself was given that name.

Bigfoot’s popularity grew as Chandler showed the rig off at tractor pulls and other off-road events and displayed Bigfoot’s impressive modifications, which included military axles, four-wheel steering, and 48-inch tires. But for the crowds, the best part was how Chandler demonstrated that Bigfoot was far more than a show pony. In 1981, Bigfoot made history when Chandler drove Bigfoot onto and over a row of junk cars. The monster truck as we know it, and its signature move, were born.

As Bigfoot’s legend grew, America became so obsessed with ‘Foot that a second truck had to be built to keep up with Bigfoot’s ever-expanding appearance schedule. An entire monster truck industry was born as other folks set out to build their own car-crushing creations. In 1983, monster trucking reached a new milestone as Ford became Bigfoot’s first big corporate sponsor.

For many, the ultimate Bigfoot is probably 1986 Bigfoot #5, which was famous for its 10-foot-tall Firestone tires. It was so huge, so tall, and so heavy, it earned a Guinness World Record for the biggest and widest pickup truck. Notably, its giant wheels came from a very obscure vehicle, the LeTourneau LCC-1 Sno-Train – a variant of the LeTourneau Overland Train, as seen below.

Ford, seeing the great success of the Bigfoot trucks, decided to give monster truck fans a sort of Bigfoot that they could buy from a dealer. The only problem was that Ford itself wouldn’t make the truck.

Seeing Bigfoot

In December 1986, Ford launched the Bigfoot Cruiser. At the time, the F-Series was fresh into its eighth generation, which introduced new aerodynamic styling, a completely new interior, and a standard anti-lock braking system in the rear. This F-Series was also notable for being the first F-Series truck to be adorned with then-new composite headlights.

The Bigfoot Cruiser variant of the F-Series was created in collaboration with Missouri-based Scherer Truck Equipment, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and Bigfoot 4 x 4, Inc. Bigfoot licensed the monster truck’s likeness while Ford provided the trucks. Scherer was in charge of modifying the trucks that customers would then buy at dealerships.

Ford offered the Bigfoot Cruiser package in the F-150 and F-250 HD full-size trucks as well as the Ranger compact pickup truck. Both full-size trucks had Styleside beds and 133-inch wheelbases. The F-150 was available with either the 302 Windsor V8 with 185 HP and a four-speed manual or the 351 HO Windsor V8 with 210 HP and an automatic transmission.

The F-250 HD was lashed up to the 460 cubic inch V8, which was good for 230 ponies. The big bruiser F-250 HD was able to be ordered with a four-speed manual, too, which sounds pretty neat. Both trucks had a limited-slip rear differential, upgraded engine cooling, a tachometer, and Dark Shadow Blue Metallic paint with a matching blue interior.

These trucks were sent over to Scherer Truck Equipment, where the customizer basically ran the trucks through a catalog of aftermarket parts. The full-size Bigfoot Cruisers got Westin light bars, KC HiLites spotlights, Westin chrome bumpers, a Besstop tonneau cover, a power rear cab window, Monroe shocks, Weld wheels, and 33-inch B.F. Goodrich tires. A Warn winch was optional.

Of course, you can’t have a Bigfoot truck without the iconic graphics. For that, Scherer and Ford added a decal package from R & B Stripes and Sharpline Converting. One of the big selling points of the Bigfoot Cruiser was that you got something that looked like Bigfoot, but was still a road-legal, comfortable truck. Likewise, while you could have just slapped the parts on yourself, buying the licensed Bigfoot Cruiser meant that the aftermarket parts got a one year, 12,000-mile factory warranty.

The Rangers got a similar list of aftermarket kit from Westin, Warn, Besstop, Monroe, Weld, and BFG, but the tires stayed with a tame size.

The Fail

Sadly, the trucks wouldn’t even get a year on the market before disaster struck. As it turns out, the modifications might not have been on the up and up.

In October 1987, Ford announced a recall:

Ford Motor Company has determined that certain defects related to motor vehicle safety exist in “Bigfoot Cruiser” modifications of some 1987 Ford Ranger, F-150 and F-250 4 x 4 pickup trucks. The affected trucks were built with unapproved wheels, tires, wheel lug nuts, electrical wiring and, in some cases, bumpers and winch assemblies. Under some conditions the oversize tires on these vehicles can rub certain vehicle components (including front brake hoses on Rangers). These conditions could cause a tire blow-out while driving or abrasion of the front brake hose (Ranger), eventually resulting in partial loss of brake function. Also, the wheel lug nuts are not of a design compatible with the wheels. Incompatible wheel and lug nuts can result in lug nuts becoming loose potentially resulting in separation of a wheel from the vehicle. Either condition could happen without warning to the driver and could create the potential for loss of vehicle control and a vehicle crash.

[…]

Dear “Bigfoot” Owner:

This notice is sent to you in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Ford Motor Company has determined that safety defects exist in certain “Bigfoot Cruiser” vehicles, which include special equipment packages installed by an independent truck equipment supplier on some 4 x 4 Ranger Supercab pickup trucks.

Safety Defect The vehicles have several safety concerns including the potential for tire interference with body sheet metal and brake lines, improperly sized and inadequately attached wheels, and power rear windows that operate independently of the ignition switch.

You read that right. The modded tires had a knack for rubbing on brake hoses and body parts, while the lug nuts used on the Weld wheels weren’t even compatible for their application. As Ford Authority reports, this led to some wheels coming loose over time. I guess the Toyota bZ4X isn’t alone in getting something so simple so wrong. At the very least, Ford gave you back some money for whatever your dealer snatched from your truck:

CASH PAYMENT
Because certain equipment will be removed or substituted, Ford will give owners a compensating cash payment of an amount no less than the difference between the original purchase price of the equipment removed or replaced and the value of the substituted equipment.

A story over at DrivingLine alleges that none of the modifications were approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and that no safety testing had been done. The recall notice does say that the parts were “unapproved” but doesn’t say anything about crash safety. That said, the effect was dramatic. The recall suggested that dealers remove and replace everything but the decal package.

Technical instructions are not yet completed; however, we expect the remedy to include:

^ Replacement of wheels, tires and lug nuts (all vehicles).
^ Removal of front bumper winch, brush guard and, in some cases, fog lamps (units equipped with front bumper winch).
^ Replacement of front and rear bumpers (except Ranger).
^ Revise the rear power window circuit (units equipped with rear power window).
^ Replacement of light bar attachment hardware (all vehicles).

It’s reported that some dealerships were aggressive in removing the parts, taking out the lighting package, the lift kit, and the winch, in addition to the other changes noted above. All of the trucks that went in for the recall came out with smaller shoes than they went in with.

The recall identified 360 full-size trucks and 200 Rangers that needed the fixes. However, as an October 1987 report from UPI indicates, Ford apparently had an additional 660 Bigfoot Cruisers that were completed but hadn’t been sold. Those trucks also needed their parts deleted and replaced, as well. By Ford’s count, that means a total of 1,220 units were built. However, enthusiasts believe that of that stock, only 300 units ever made it into customer hands. When new, a 1987 Ford F-150 4×4 Bigfoot Cruiser with the 5.0 had a list price of $20,626 ($60,184 today), or about $5,000 more ($14,589 today) than a stock truck.

Scherer Truck Equipment also took a hit in this nightmare. According to a Missouri Tax Court filing, Scherer tried to write off $622,452 ($1,726,448 today) in wheels, tires, decals, bumpers, and suspension kits that it acquired to build Bigfoot Cruisers, but were now useless to the firm because Ford decided to cancel the program.

Plenty of these trucks have survived into the modern day. However, the market for a Bigfoot Cruiser can be interesting. Many of the trucks you might find out there will have had the recall done on them, and thus will be missing the tires at minimum, and could be missing other parts. However, some Bigfoot Cruiser owners didn’t take their trucks in for the recall, and so some might be more “original” than others.

Still A Cool Truck

Rough examples of the full-size Bigfoot Cruisers seem to sell for under $10,000, while a pristine example once sold for $70,000. Ranger Bigfoot Cruisers have gotten so cheap that some have sold for under $1,000. So, while there are a few Bigfoot Cruisers in the world, not all of them are valuable.

Weirdly enough, this wouldn’t even be the last time when a special edition Ford caused a bit of a ruckus that resulted in an absurd recall. As I wrote last year, the Ford Transit Trail van was recalled because its bigger tires rubbed against the body, and the official fix was to downgrade the tires to the same size found in the regular Transit. Hey, if you’ve ever accidentally installed tires that were too big, rest easy because apparently, even automakers sometimes screw it up, too.

All of this is a shame because in another world, the Ford F-Series and Ranger Bigfoot Cruisers could have been holy grails. They looked stunning, added some real capability, and could have been a perfect tie-in for an American icon. Still, even with the deleted mods, a Bigfoot Cruiser is still a seriously cool truck.

Top graphic image:Bring a Trailer Listing