Short-Course Vs. Desert Truck

Short Course Vs Desert Truck Rear Bash Guard

There's banging bodies on a watered-down race track and there's screaming hard across the open desert in silt beds that throw up choking dust. In both cases, drivers are barreling forward in high-horsepower trucks vying for a race win by clocking the fastest time across the finish line. However similar, these two trucks are built differently to optimize their performance on the terrain they tackle.

We're talking here about a short-course truck versus a desert Trophy Truck. Our Editor-in-Chief, Jerrod Jones, thought it would be cool to explore just which truck is the king of the dirt go-fast world. We made a call to Jennifer Bissett at Team Renezeder, and she soon had us lined up with two Lucas Oil-sponsored subjects for this lesson in off-road anatomy.

We were fortunate to meet up with our two racing icons at Glen Helen Raceway in San Bernardino, California. Carl Renezeder and Cameron Steele showed us their latest racing trucks and let us snap away, taking images to show you what's alike on these racers and what's not. Carl has a successful history of dirt-track racing that spans more than 15 years and has done a fair bit of desert racing, as well. He competes in multiple 2WD and 4WD classes, and most recently won both the LOORS Unlimited 2 and 4 Class championships in 2009. Cameron's reputation stems from desert racing and past off-road motorcycle competition. He's a popular sports announcer and currently runs a Trophy Truck for his team, Desert Assassins. Last December, he won the SNORE Unlimited Truck Class championship.

Both trucks are built to tame the dirt, and, simply put, haul buns! Start with a pile of chromoly tubing, a ravenous engine, supple suspension, then wrap it all up in fiberglass skin. Each is built to competently eat up dirt miles in short order.

Who's the king of the dirt go-fast world? They're both plenty fast in their native environment, it's all about having the right tool for the job at hand as you can see from our detailed look into what makes both of these trucks tick.

When hitting the dirt track, a wheelbase of about 116 inches is the place to be. On a desert Trophy, that length stretches out to about 124 inches on Cameron's Geiser Brothers truck, where high-speed stability is a bit more of an issue and the longer wheelbase helps keep the taller truck under control. Overall track widths are close but the short-course version at 93 inches edges out the Trophy Truck which sits at 90 inches wide.
When hitting the dirt track, a wheelbase of about 116 inches is the place to be. On a dese
The two rear axles are actually quite similar and both use Tubeworks housings stuffed with spools, 10-inch ring gears, and beefy 40-spline axleshafts. Both also use the pinion/diff skids under the housings. However, all the lower suspension arms on the desert truck are much beefier than those on the short-course racer. The Trophy uses larger link joints and heavily boxed chromoly trailing arms.
The two rear axles are actually quite similar and both use Tubeworks housings stuffed with

Both trucks are designed with long travel suspensions to soak up the jumps and rough terrain on race courses. However, there is a difference in their design. A short-course truck is made to tackle a groomed track so its suspension is setup at lower ride height than that of a Trophy Truck. The suspension has gobs of droop travel once the truck catches air and squats back down low when it lands and recompresses the coilovers. The Trophy Truck is configured at higher ride height for desert clearance, and its suspension is setup with a bit more up-travel than the short-course truck when sitting at ride height.
Both trucks are designed with long travel suspensions to soak up the jumps and rough terra
Carl's Unlimited 4 short-course truck is equipped with a single 3x16-inch King coilover at each front corner to obtain about 18 inches of front wheel travel. The 2WD truck the team runs is very similar, but we used their 4WD one here for our example. By comparison, the desert truck uses a 3x14-inch Fox coilover (closer to the pivot point) supplemented with a 4.3-inch triple-bypass shock and a nitrogen bumpstop to handle the really hard landings when they run out of the 24 inches of front travel. The Geiser-built truck also uses a front sway bar, which is not always a given on a Trophy Truck. Also, both trucks use full hydro steering boxes for directional duty.
Carl's Unlimited 4 short-course truck is equipped with a single 3x16-inch King coilover at

A triangulated four-link rear suspension design can be found on both racers. The 20 inches of suspension travel on Carl's truck is controlled with a 3 x 18-inch King coilover. The 32 inches of travel on Cameron's trophy is damped with a 3x18-inch Fox coilover combined with a 4.3-inch triple-bypass shock mounted forward on the lower trailing arm. As up front, the desert truck uses nitrogen bump cans and both trucks use a rear sway bar for increased stability.
A triangulated four-link rear suspension design can be found on both racers. The 20 inches

Here you can get a closer look at the upper shock mounts used on the rear of both trucks. The single coilover on the short course truck is simply attached in double shear to a pair of plate tabs welded to the chassis. The desert truck incorporates a much beefier upper structure tied in at multiple points on the cage to support the coilover and bypass shocks. In general, all the suspension components are beefier on the Trophy Truck. That's not to say the short-course truck doesn't get slapped around as well. On a congested track, Carl inevitably comes in contact with other drivers and that tends to mean a lot of tire-to-tire contact and impact to the axle and suspension components.
Here you can get a closer look at the upper shock mounts used on the rear of both trucks.
Out back, you'll quickly spot differences. Desert racers are required to have rear facing safety lighting, while the track trucks are not. The short-course truck carries no onboard spare tires like the Trophy Truck, and has a significant rear bash guard to protect its tail. Not easily visible is the 18-gallon fuel cell in the short-course truck, nor the 80-gallon cell in Cameron's truck. The former being sufficient to complete a short-course race and the latter needed to fuel the thirsty Trophy V-8 from pit to pit across long expanses of desert.
Out back, you'll quickly spot differences. Desert racers are required to have rear facing

Tucked well within the chassis tubing are the powerplants. A Ford engine built by Pro Power motivates Carl's truck and engine displacements range from 380 to 410 cubic inches, depending on class restrictions and truck weight. From this, the team derives over 800 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque. The 442 cubic inch Dougan's Chevy motor in Cameron's truck pumps out about 770 horses along with 670 lb-ft of torque. Both trucks use heavily modified GM Turbo 400 trannies and cooling chores are handled by radiators and fans behind the cab of each truck.
Tucked well within the chassis tubing are the powerplants. A Ford engine built by Pro Powe

Up front, Carl's truck is of minimalist design with only a discrete tube bumper protruding just forward of the fiberglass front clip. Cameron's truck has a more substantial front guard that may be used to encourage slower drivers to speed up or clear the path. KC Hilites HIDs sit in the grille space and above the roof to light up the night when needed.
Up front, Carl's truck is of minimalist design with only a discrete tube bumper protruding
Since there is only the driver in the short-course truck, the exhaust for the high-horsepower V-8 is run just inside the 'cage on the passenger side, as shown here with the door skin removed. On the Trophy Truck the exhaust ends just past the cab and dumps downward. This works fine except when you pit with the motor running and one of the crew members has to climb under the truck near the dust-stirring exhaust.
Since there is only the driver in the short-course truck, the exhaust for the high-horsepo

Both trucks use large discs on all four corners to slow them down from speed. The 4,200-pound short-course truck uses CNC brakes on Tubeworks hubs and the 5,500-pound Trophy Truck uses Pro Am brakes. Carl spends a lot of time pushing the binders on the closed course so he uses big 14-inch Tubeworks blade rotors, while the desert truck can brake with a bit smaller 13-inch rotors, despite its greater weight.
Both trucks use large discs on all four corners to slow them down from speed. The 4,200-po

When the flag drops and these trucks get up to speed, they're moving fast. Carl's truck may see track speeds up to about 105 mph using a 7.0 to 7.6 drive ratio (underdrive and axle gear set). Desert speed for the Trophy gets to about 120 mph while spinning a 5.14:1 ring gear. The short course truck rides on 35-inch General Grabber SCs mounted on 17x9 Renezeder beadlocks. The desert truck runs taller 37-inch Yokohama Geolanders on 17x8.5 KMC beadlocks.
When the flag drops and these trucks get up to speed, they're moving fast. Carl's truck ma
There's only seating for one in the short-course truck and Carl's Cobra seat provides vertical suspension and is designed to hold him tight laterally since he spends a good bit of time sliding hard through tight corners. Inside Cameron's truck is seating for the driver and co-pilot. Mastercraft 3G seats offer substantial suspension comfort and spinal safety when soaking up the big desert whoops.
There's only seating for one in the short-course truck and Carl's Cobra seat provides vert

Here's a quick look into the cockpit of each of the truck. Both have ample instrumentation to monitor the vital signs of the drivetrain, and both have radios to keep in contact with the track or pit crews. In addition, the Trophy Truck is equipped with a pair of GPS navigation units and many of the gauges and switches are placed more towards the navigator's seat.
Here's a quick look into the cockpit of each of the truck. Both have ample instrumentation

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By Jay Kopycinski

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Anatomy Lesson

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