Building a Cheap V-10 Rock Bouncer! | Dirt Every Day | MotorTrend

rock bouncers they're high horsepower big tired tube chassis machines that are hugely popular in the southeast they're known as hill killers down there they climb ultra steep climbs and they bounce their way up to the top dave and i have never built a rock bouncer we've never driven a rock bouncer but we are going to alabama with this truck after we turn it into a budget rock bouncer to the shop dave [Music] come on come on come on so why did we start with a v10 dodge to build a rock bouncer rock bouncers have v8 engines this has a v10 so that's obviously better we got to get rid of everything we don't need so all the glasses got to go doors are going to go we're going to delete the front fenders and then once we have things off of it like the fuel tank so we don't catch it on fire maybe the transfer case because it's got a slip yoke rear [Music] i think it's pretty comfy once we get all that stuff out then we can start rebuilding the truck shortening it stretching it and any of those things that we have time to do [Music] still not cool we have a ways to go before it's cool did you know that the v10 in the dodge ram truck is very similar to the v10 and the dodge viper it's basically a viper it's the rock viper and drop now it's almost cool now it's a rock bouncer all right so jegs dropped off some seats and fuel system parts so we got some parts to go back on it fred's jumping under there to make it sound cool first he's cutting the exhaust off and we'll get a bunch of that out of the way we'll get the fuel tank out of the way and then cut the frame and shorten it all up [Applause] so what we're going to do is start bending up the rock sliders or the boat sides we got a bunch of inch and three quarter 120 mild steel because we went super cheap on this build we didn't buy chromoly like race cars use we didn't even buy dom like regular like high quality rock buggies use we bought mild steel hot rolled electric welded we got 200 feet of this mild steel that we're going to put on this truck i'm going to bend it with the jd squared bender here we got a swag hydraulic attachment for it it works really well we're going to do like double b pillars they'll be leaned back a little bit like so why are we doing double v pillars because rock bouncers all have double v-pillars that's what they do partly because they know they're going to roll typically so they want to be safe so the roll cages are kind of over the top [Music] i'm only using an 8 gallon fuel cell on the rock bouncer seems like a lot of the rock bouncer guys run really small fuel cells and with this thing had a giant fuel tank on it before but we don't need that most of the obstacles that the guys do are pretty steep climbs in fact the park we're going to is where a lot of the rock bouncing started so we may need to run back and forth to fuel up more if we're going to run all day but have a feeling we're going to be out there for a few hours and then break the car in half [Music] [Applause] [Music] hey buddy check it out welcome to alabama how do you like our hill killer oh it's red hill thriller can we keep this one yeah we're going to keep it here at sam gillis's house perfect don't let his wife find out the suspension on the truck is still pretty stocked we had more time we would have cut off the rear leaf springs linked it moved the front axle forward but we're actually on a pretty tight schedule to get this thing ready to go rock bouncing by friday we both sighted the side of the truck the thing is going to be a lot of fun big v10 power strong one ton axles 42 inch tires plenty of tubing to protect us if we go upside down overall we can't wait to get this thing out on the hill and go rock bouncing with some of the local guys so dave and i have been working on this thing all day dave really needs something to eat he's wasting away to nothing but we got the last tube welded in we're gonna roll it outside prime it paint it run out of daylight tomorrow we're going rock bouncing [Music] so [Music] so dave this is a great rock that's awesome yeah they don't usually open it for rides anymore but i got some rock bouncer guys to come out and show us around this is where the rock bouncing whole thing started those guys are gonna think very cool we're gonna blend right in with that those guys are no joke dude yeah they're pretty serious pull in and try and blend in okay [Music] yep thank you hey hi guys they'll accept us by the end of the day we're in yeah wait for us hang on dave we're going rocks bouncing it's really dusty why'd we kick the window out i don't know then the doors and the cab [Music] let's go to my articulate it's like overpriced leap blowers clearing the trail everybody's standing around looking at us like this is the last time they're going to see us oh what's that noise all right fred overdrive up i think so that something doesn't feel right in that transfer case no no no it's fine all right ready yep give it hell [Music] right there one more one more roll back a little more right there i think i think we broke it [Laughter] you got any steering i have no front drive traffic coming out oh yeah smell that [Laughter] hey uh dave for fred fred you got a copy what's up dave hey i just got a call from keith and sam down in alabama they said they're done with our with our rock diaper keith's wife needs us to get it out of their yard so we should probably send somebody to pick it up and bring it back to california yeah i think so that thing's been sitting way too long what are we gonna do with a rock bouncer in california california is known for its mile deep mud holes how about we build a mud viper i just happen to be driving my tractor today we should go dig mud holes with our tractors well hot dang let's go let's go build ourselves a mud course [Music] [Music] [Music] red's getting in the zone on the excavator he's digging this like mogul section that'll flex out the mud viper i'm digging the first water mud hole right here we're gonna come off the starting line jump into this get through that and then it's just going to get harder from there are you having fun best day ever i love this i could dig holes all day you know people get paid to do this i think every episode we need heavy equipment [Music] if we're going to build a mud truck we need big mud tires so we got some 44 inch boggers and we've broken this truck before on 43s so we'll obviously be better now that we have bigger tires yep we also need some more power so we're throwing some nitrous on it because we're engine guys we like more power yep so we're doing a whole lot we're doing a nitrous kit nitros we're doing big tires and wheels boggers it's a mud truck so we'll probably put a snorkel on it circle and i think i have some axle parts to beef up the front end we need that we already broke this thing before so axle upgrade and then we're just peeling out that's it easy squeezy that's gonna be good all right let's get busy it seems like it'll work [Music] [Music] all right that's gonna go right to there and those little buddies are gonna go that way now i can tighten that up a little it looks fast fred all right here's the deal we got the tank mounted in the back now i got to mount this nozzle in the throttle body or in the intake tube but it's kind of funky because this truck has this air box that bolts to the throttle body and then this filter right on it and then this guy right here they want you to mount this guy sort of like in this kind of area but that's not going to work too hot if you're spraying nitrous and gas right on the air filter so i got to figure out how to get this nozzle like in behind the air filter or make a whole new custom thing because we're going to try and do a snorkel anyways so i got my work cut out for me figuring this part out we're gonna put these fox 2.5 air shocks on this um they were on the truck before and while i was sitting in alabama one of our friends took them off and borrowed them for his rig for some off-roading but we got them back and i just got to put them back on and then we will actually charge them up we'll give them a nitrogen charge which not only makes it work as a shock but it also supports it as an air spring yay it's time to put the tires on the back and one thing i like to do when i'm putting tires on an axle is put some anti-seize on the threads on the wheel studs also i like to use these lug nuts from gorilla it's a 9 16 thread but it's a three-quarter drive which is handy because it uses a really small socket to get in on some of those wheels that have a really recessed mounting hole so gorilla lug nuts and a season to spray [Music] [Applause] we are back out at the ranch ready to go mud whumping yep the rock viper is the mud viper now it's got big ol 44s it's got new wheels tires stronger axles yeah because we ripped that off we got a snorkel okay and a nitrous kit because we've never had enough power to break it in the past that's what we need what's our plan you're gonna hit that this water hole and we're gonna get soaking wet yeah and then you gotta kind of pump the brakes a hair and get your articulator through all right then i would pass that dirt pile on the left on the left between the boulder and in the peak and then you'll start to turn right all right i'm so nervous we're gonna get soaking wet that's fine i'm fine with that i just don't want to rip the wheel off you ready don't rip a wheel off like wave your arms or something when you're ready to go all right are you ready to go yeah all right let's go [Music] yep we got wet [Music] that's really cool [Music] [Laughter] [Music] are you kidding me [Music] i'm pretty much just gonna mash my foot to the floor and if it starts going south you hit the button okay ready really yeah we're going in this is door number three [Music] here we go [Music] [Music] here we go [Music] [Music] this thing is the best

Channel: MotorTrend Channel

Views: 181,147

Keywords: motortrend, motor trend, motor trend channel, automotive, auto, dirt every day, dirt every day full episodes, motortrend on demand, motortrend full episodes, rock bouncing, rock crawling, off roading, dodge truck, mud bouncing, nitrous

Id: 2OE5w30y6mY

Length: 16min 59sec (1019 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 12 2022