TeeterTotte Truck Contest Pleases Crowds

TeeterTotte Truck Contest Pleases Crowds AG WORLD Ag World 18-5-19 If you're looking for something new and exciting to liven up a local celebration, you'll be interested in this truck "teeterboard" used to stage truck-balancing contests. Teeterboard competitions are a big draw every summer at the International Vintage Dodge Power Wagon Rally held at the Jefferson County fairgrounds in Fairfield, Iowa. Organizers say the same idea could also be used with cars, pickups, tractors, etc. The "teeterboard" consists of a pair of 27-ft. long steel ramps mounted on a tandem axle. The idea is to drive the truck up onto the ramps and balance it as quickly as possible. The best technique is to drive your pickup up the ramps until it's "overcenter" and the opposite ends of the ramp drop down to touch the floor, then slowly back up and stop so the vehicle balances at dead center. A pair of 4-in. high steel "bumpers" welded onto the inside edge of each ramp guides the truck tires. "It's a lot of fun and is always our most popular competition because it's such a challenge," says Gene Buch, one of the rally organizers. "It's hard to balance a vehicle that weighs 2 1/2 to 3 tons, especially be-cause fuel sloshes around inside the fuel tank. It doesn't take much to tip the ramps one way or the other. They're 2 1/2 ft. off the ground. Short, top-heavy vehicles are the hardest to balance. Certain truck models are nearly impossible to balance because they have such a high center of gravity. The fulcrum point at center is 4 in. wide which is what makes it possible to do it at all. "Each driver gets 10 chances to balance his vehicle. The winning time last year was 1 min. 43 seconds, but this year it was only 90 seconds. Even the winner was surprised at how fast he got his vehicle balanced. He just happened to hit it right on the second or third try. "This year someone tried to balance a 2 1/2-ton, 4-WD dump truck without success. It really tested the teeterboard's strength. We saved it until last in case something went wrong. "We got the idea from similar teeterboards sometimes found at steam engine tractor shows. They use shorter ramps that are only about 1 ft. off the ground. "We pull the teeterboard to the site, drop the tongue, and block up the wheels. We made shock-absorbing blocks for the teeterboard wheels by cutting 14-in. car wheels in half and setting them against either side of the teeterboard wheels. They're held in place by chains that wrap around the two wheel sections, tightened down with small load binders. "We insert steel bars underneath the teeterboard to keep the ramps level during transport. The ramps are made from old bridge beams and the tandem axle is off an old trailer." According to Buch, the power wagon rally is the largest gathering of 1940-1971 military and civilian Dodge 4-WD trucks in the U.S. It includes a truck show and swap, informative demonstrations, bumpy trail rides, a moonlight trail ride, and a barbeque. It's held every year during the first week of June. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gene Buch, Rt. 4, Box 22, Fairfield, Iowa 52556 (ph 515 472-3768).

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