I really don’t have a clue what the intended purpose of this rig might be other than rolling billboard (if it actually does roll). You really need to click on it to see all the little stuff. We just searched for an hour for the poem of this name and couldn’t find it. Guess the absolute grandeur of the picture will have to speak for itself. This is on 1488 about 20 miles west of interstate 45.
The only thing I have seen that has come even close to this, is the “Camo Crew’s” vehicle they used to drive to-and-from drag races in Missouri back in the ’90’s…
Their vehicle was also an ex-military truck, lighter-duty than the example above, but it did have a full-length, astro-turfed platform that extended to the front bumper over the roof, accessed by a ladder. The upper, turfed deck was a putting green…
The vehicle also had a BBQ grill affixed to the front end, as well as misters and a shower head mounted along the side in order to cool off on those hot, humid Missouri days, along with other amenities which I no longer recall.
I had heard about the “Camo Crew” – a bunch of Vietnam vets – from my buddies and saw it and them for myself at MAR raceway near Wentzville in 1995 at the nostalgic drag races. MAR was looking more than a bit tired and would soon disappear, only to be resurrected years later in a different location, it was supposed to open this spring.
Had luck with a Bing search. HH is a vacation rental near Gatlinburg, TN. 4 bedroom, 3-1/2 bath log cabin, no less.
I’ve seen home-made campers with shingles and redwood siding (not on M35s, though) in some of the more hippie-saturated regions of California. One or two make it to our side of Oregon, but they aren’t built for speed. (Take that back, lots of them make it through, going to and from Burning Man.)
From the soot on the body shop sign it appears that it runs. A friend’s neighboor has something along these lines built on a 30’s Chevy truck. His is not as elaborate and was built with the express purpose of being yard art/storage.
>>This is on 1488 about 20 miles west of interstate 45.<<
That would be a bit north and west of the Woodlands-Conroe, TX area, if that seems a bit cryptic to anyone.
I distinctly recall seeing this rig in one of the annual Art Car Parades in Houston a few years ago, and that's likely what it was built for.
Pail hanging below block? major oil leak collection/recycling point???
Been working today so late to the party. Yeah I caught the hanging pail but the gate was locked and couldn’t get inside. Thought probably a water leak but who knows.
@RCP: There are a bunch of these on google. Peterbilts, ex military, Kenworths. Think it’s just a common nickname. Don’t know if somebody makes and sells them or not. This one was evidently used to draw attention to a body shop but maybe not.
I hadn’t seen it before so far as I can recall but it’s been a few years since I went to the art car parade in Hou. When I was still teaching my class did a truck and then a station wagon for the parade. Nothing the size and scale of this. The more you look at this, the more you see.
Found it! Here are some shots of the 2011 parade. Hillbilly Hilton is 16th down.
http://indotav.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-art-car-parade.html
Heh, thinking about it a bit, that body shop sign may have been strategically placed to keep the exhaust from setting the superstructure on fire…
Only in Southern Hicklandia/Hillbillyland (the ex-Confederate States of America plus W. Virginia).