Rock Bouncers...one question....

[REV666]

WHY?

if youre into RB's, dont get offended. i LIKE them, but i dont GET them.

crawlers? grace, form and function, slow wins the race etc.

bouncers? throw metal, fueled by lots of gas, at a wall.

to me, theres a TON of great stuff in the RBs. hell, just the designs/engineering is amazing work. but then you slam it into a mountain to see what happens.....

the way i see it, its like building a ferrari from SCRATCH, with all the horsepower and beauty and everything how you want...

then crashing it into a wall at full speed on purpose.

is it just a "why not" kinda thing? are there any "rules" or even a point/winner?

[ROLANDROCKSHOP]

pretty much its pick the knarliest hill and line up and punch it...
1st to top or best time wins.


im with you..i like them for design,but i dont get it..

the amount of damage they do to a trail is not worth it.

a day of them at Superlift on a trail..destroyed..rocks and i mean big rocks
displaced, thrown out,holes dugout,trees raped and tore down...
and its all good bro..were HERO'S!

ive been goin to superlift orv since it opened in 2001..
they did more damage in 1 day than it took us slow crawlers to do in 10years of wheeling.

they act like highschool brats in the parking lot,dont obey the park speed limits,constanly snorting the throttle as they drive ANYWHERE...

i have 1 word for them...ANNOYING

[ittybitty]

I'm with both of you. The parts they're built from are some of the best of the best and in several cases the failures they've had have trickled down into the smaller parts to make them better too. Steering components are one of the biggest improvements. They have given us a much better understanding of the valving and size requirements that we need in hydraulic steering setups. Axle shafts are definitely a close second if not first!

Other than that I just don't get it. I've voiced my opinion several times, but most times it just ends up in a pissing match. My biggest problem with them is exactly what ROLAND was talking about. Whether they're on private property or not their actions have consequences for the entire 4WD community. When we end up in legal battles similar to the one for the Tellico trail system the people that are fighting us will use everything they can to make "us" look bad. When there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing these guys making full throttle assaults on hills throwing boulders, running over trees, and in a lot of cases coming entirely too close to taking out the crowd of on lookers you can bet that "we" don't look very good.

Rock bouncing, in my eyes, is very similar to FOFF. The problem is that where the guys run the FOFF rigs over seas are not areas that are going to cause huge problems...there is typically little to no vegetation present etc. etc. etc. That's not the case at all in the areas that these RB rigs are running. With the smaller and smaller number of trails that we have available to us...both private and public...we all need to be more responsible about how we use what we have. What may be a simple hill climb that a mildly modified trail rig can have fun with one weekend could very easily turn into a "most difficult" trail after the following weekend if a group of these rigs were to come through.

Rant over...

[BJoe]

At least I'm not the only one bothered by those trucks, especially the destructive nature of them. Does the Tread Lightly! even program still exist amongst off road community? Considering that these trucks are the polar opposites from Tread Lightly!, those folks have to be going nuts over those trucks.

[87yota]

i love the rock bouncers for their chassis designs and overall performance but i do agree that they are giving the offroad community as a whole a bad rap due to their destructive nature just by design..unfortunately for as beautiful as these rigs looks they are equally as deadly,too...many a spectator has gotten severly hurt by some stray part or actual vehicles flying into the crowd...but for all the bad they represent they have given us ( the offroad world) some good things as well..so keep that in mind ,but long story short...i like them cus they look cool and can get up just about anything,lol

[Lentsnh2012]

More so, down in the South, it's an ever growing manufacturing business. It isn't as free for all as one may think or see on videos by BustedKnuckleFilms and MadRam11. SRRS (Southern Rock Racing Series), is as strict as any other racing sport. Yes, there can always be that danger for spectators and even the drivers, i.e. Getting a rock or limb caught up in the cage; just recently a guy wasn't secured in his harness and got knocked out and had to have 9 staples in his head. A tire or 2 may come rolling down the hill every now and then but what you really have to watch out for are the massive boulders and baseball sized rock coming towards you. There are guidelines and rules and if you break them, you are disqualified. Mostly, it's just helmets, neck supports and sometimes, a fire retardant suit.

It isn't about all danger and watching your body for part or debris, it's more of the manufacturers challenging themselves to make the best looking buggy that come out of their shop. Equalizer, Riddler, Gin & Juice, John Deere Plowboy, Game Changer and Showtime, the 1100 hp Momentum buggy and so on. Coleworx, who is responsible for most of the buggies out there, the owner is a one man show most of the time.

Once you actually experience and see it isn't about tearing up the earth or just being stupid behind the wheel, it's actually alot of fun to be part of the community. You learn so much so quickly and you may even be lucky enough to help the buggy owner work on his/her rig!

If you think about it, Rockbouncer buggies tearing up the ground is no different than the KOH, Baja, or even NASCAR (they have to develop land).

[WHITE-TRASH]

Tread lightly is a pathetic .org deditated to kissing tree hugger ass in order to appease the tree huggers into not shutting everything down. Those that think it matters one shred are sadly mistaken or just too blinded by rose colored glasses to see the truth. They don't want us in the woods, hills, mountains etc unless we are on foot period. And even then there are some econazis so fawktarded they think land should be off limits to all human travel.

Don't be fooled in 20 years if there hasn't already been a major war and/or economic collapse the only people wheeling will be outlaws. Keep in mind that I'm not just some schmuck talking out my ass on this, my wife and I had a non profit .org focused on the same principals as tread lightly and traveled all over preaching the same rhetoric. This is a battle that will be lost. I admire the foolhardiness of those fighting the fight but I saw the light. If I build another rig it won't be the same big V8 1 ton axles rig on 44's I once had, it'll be light, nimble and street legal so I can drive to and from the trails I'm poaching.

As for rock bouncers I think they are bad fawking ass. I'd love to own one and go out playing on that terrain!

[wraith6802]

I love rock bouncers but I knew this subject would eventuality come up. The sound and the action is unreal especially for real gearheads but,it does cause Eco destruction. Let the tree huggers have their public parks and let the 4X4 have their private ORV parks. Safety is a concern but just like any motor sport if you go into the pits most of the time you sign a "at your own risk" or liability release and you should use your own saftey judgement. If a private land owner allows it it is their choice to do what they want with their land. To each their own and leave the others alone!!!!

[lowandslow]

Looks like he's treading lightly to me. Tree Huggers should stick to what they know best. Driving their Prius.

Ethan Tanner vs Oakley Sun Glasses at Trucks Gone Wild - YouTube

[savage wraith]

"why" you ask because it is a thrill. i do both crawl and bounce when I'm out with my wife and little girl we go slow. but when I'm out with my friends i pick the steepest and less likely slop i can get up and go for it. untell you are behind the wheel of you will not understand. yes crawling is fun but it gets old. If you don't like it don't watch it. its like porn just because its there doesn't mean you have to watch it.

[SCALER14]

Im all for rock bouncin' and crawlin' because there is two different types of people doing two totally different things, it's just like 1:10 MOA verses scale crawlers, some people think MOA's are worthless, while some people hate scalers, there for the people who are conservative and want to save their money will crawl and be able to drive their rig out of the woods, but people like Tim Cameron, Bobby Tanner, the gorgeous Shelby Tanner, Ethan Tanner, Jordan Tanner, the Keith's, the Key's, etc, are people who are sponsored to beat the crap out of their rigs, and they are payed to put on a show, but just think guys, the bouncer crowd probably look at the crawler crowd and ask the same question.

[88RRC]

What question!? Why do you guys not go blasting up hills accelerating erosion, causing fun trails for mildly built rigs to become much more difficult all while fueling the econazi's want to take away our PRIVILEGE of using these trails both publicly and privately owned? It is not our RIGHT to use the land. Bottom line is that these rigs are built with amazing parts with some of the nicest tube work in the world but all they are used for is blasting up hills and tearing up terrain. Doing this causes the owners of the land to have to either do some serious trail maintenance or even close the trail permanently. What's bad is that with some tweaks I bet these could be amazing rock rigs.

The point of rock crawlers is clear build your rig so it can slowly creep up and through difficult obstacles with ease; "as slow as possible, as fast as necessary". I do my best to Tread Lightly! in my 1:1 so that's how I wheel, and how I encourage others to wheel. I want for the future generations to be able to enjoy the same trails I was enjoying when I was their age and the way these guys tear up the trail makes that seem less and less likely.
Ben

[lowandslow]

What you fail to realize is the crazy rock bouncers we are talking about basically run on private property with areas designed just for them. A lot of the videos you see are shot at Wheeling in the Country and similar places. It's a private owned park with part of it setup for the rock bouncers.

It is not our RIGHT to use the land.

Actually it is but that's a different topic. Public land or land owned by the state and federal government is bought paid for and maintained with OUR money. It our right to use it. Letting us use it is a different story. "Of the people, by the people, for the people."

Private land is just that and should stay that way. If a guy owns 100 acres and wants to charge bouncers and buggies admission to run it, that's his business and his land.

[droopmodmrc]

Originally Posted by WHITE-TRASH

Tread lightly is a pathetic .org deditated to kissing tree hugger ass in order to appease the tree huggers into not shutting everything down. Those that think it matters one shred are sadly mistaken or just too blinded by rose colored glasses to see the truth. They don't want us in the woods, hills, mountains etc unless we are on foot period. And even then there are some econazis so fawktarded they think land should be off limits to all human travel.

Don't be fooled in 20 years if there hasn't already been a major war and/or economic collapse the only people wheeling will be outlaws. Keep in mind that I'm not just some schmuck talking out my ass on this, my wife and I had a non profit .org focused on the same principals as tread lightly and traveled all over preaching the same rhetoric. This is a battle that will be lost. I admire the foolhardiness of those fighting the fight but I saw the light. If I build another rig it won't be the same big V8 1 ton axles rig on 44's I once had, it'll be light, nimble and street legal so I can drive to and from the trails I'm poaching.

As for rock bouncers I think they are bad fawking ass. I'd love to own one and go out playing on that terrain!

Sounds about right to me.


Sent from my toilet

[88RRC]

Originally Posted by lowandslow

What you fail to realize is the crazy rock bouncers we are talking about basically run on private property with areas designed just for them. A lot of the videos you see are shot at Wheeling in the Country and similar places. It's a private owned park with part of it setup for the rock bouncers.



Actually it is but that's a different topic. Public land or land owned by the state and federal government is bought paid for and maintained with OUR money. It our right to use it. Letting us use it is a different story. "Of the people, by the people, for the people."

Private land is just that and should stay that way. If a guy owns 100 acres and wants to charge bouncers and buggies admission to run it, that's his business and his land.

I agree with most everything your saying. But do you hear what I'm saying? Even if they have their own area(I do REALLY like this idea) they will eventually tear it up to the point that the owner of said land will close the trail/area using his right to take away the privilege of them(or anyone) using that trail or area of the park. Of course they can still pay to get in but then their buggies may go and tear up different parts of the property. I have seen vids of these in these "areas" you talk about(this I have no problem with), and I have also seen them on what appear through the camera lens to be doable trails(this I obviously do). One day I'll go to one and enjoy the insane power and awesome look the rigs have. But right now I'm thinking both long and short term about how they cause damage, and also how to prevent damage similar to what ROLANDROCKSHOP talks about with how Superlift ORV looked like after a day of them being there.

Of course what would be nice would be an area that is easily maintainable that after the rock bouncers leave they'd be able to restore the area to be similar to the way it was before they were there, kinda like supercross tracks, or the TTC stages.

Now onto why I think it is a privilege and not a right to use both private and public land:

Public:Now of course our "right" to use public land is based on, kind of like you say, if they feel like opening up the trails for our use. They can make any excuse they want to put up the gates barring our access and that is why I feel it is more of a privilege than a right.

Private:I agree that private land should stay that way. However, the owner of said land is giving the bouncers, buggys, and everyone else the privilege of using his land, whether you pay to get in or not. Sure you get in for the day but after that he has the right to not allow you to use his land any longer. In my mind the owner'd be more interested in the money the large number of little guys bring in long term than the rock bouncers that come in for a day or two abuse the land(that he and whoever help him maintain), then leave.

In the end I think we are thinking similarly. We both think rock bouncers should have their own area, the owners of offroad parks have the right to allow access to whoever they want, and we as citizens of the US have the right to use public land but aren't always allowed to exercise our right.
Ben

[lowandslow]

In my mind the owner'd be more interested in the money the large number of little guys bring in long term than the rock bouncers that come in for a day or two abuse the land(that he and whoever help him maintain), then leave.

Thing is, the large number of "little" guys go there (pay) to see the big guys run... and of course run the trails themselves. They really don't do damage, they've been doing it for years.

I'm originally from California and grew up going to the sand dunes with my mom and dad back in the late 60's and 70's with our sand buggys. Even back then the piece of crap tree huggers were always trying to shut down the dunes because everyone (thousands every weekend) were tearing them up.

Some 50 years later all the dunes are sill there just like they've always been for thousands of years and each weekend thousands still go. The Glamis dunes look the same today as then did back then.

It's all BS. No one is wrecking or abusing anything and neither are the bouncers. It's a noble argument and sounds good in theory but it's all just BS.

[fordsuperduty]

look at tellico [which we payed to run at] which the forest service shutdown because of pressure from tree huggers and environmentalists. then they went and used a dozer to clear a path so they could log it its bs I saw it first hand one of the tree hugger groups got together with trout unlimited sent in some bs water quality tests and blamed it on all trail riders not just the rock bouncers.
The rock bouncers are some the most enviromentally conscious you hardly ever see them leaving trash, oil, or broke rigs in the woods. He!! the tanner crew are loggers they work and play in the woods. High horsepower and killer equipment are a way of life its the top fuel of the crawler world

[jeeper03]

All the big bouncers were out at Dirty Turtle Offroad park in bedford KY this past weekend, and i dont know what they paid to get in, but I know all 3700 spectators paid $35 ea, so they definitely made the money to repair the areas! and to my knowledge only played on the stupid steep climbs setup for them by DTOR.

Its their third year out here, and i was there a couple weeks ago, and the park seemed the same except for the couple new climbs that i wouldnt even dare climb.

I vote keep on keepin' on!!

[Lilgreenjeep1]

Ill stick to my go slow can't afford to fix every trip out ;)

[Lilgreenjeep1]

If you got the money anyone can haul ass up a hill but hit everyone can go slow and pick the lines and make it without breaking ;) plus u don't have to run 100k rigs then