At first I thought this old, stripped-down Toyota Tacoma with the giant wooden plow was an improvised war machine, but its mission is much more wholesome and enjoyable. The truck has been modified for a task I’ve never seen a car do: create waves for surfing.
Self-proclaimed “semi-pro novelty wave guy” and talented surfer Ben Gravy posted this clip of himself and his crew using the Taco Wave Rig on Instagram earlier this summer. But that’s just a snippet of a full 30-minute video on YouTube. It’s a vlog-style clip about surfing escapades and the making and subsequent use of this unusual Toyota truck.
I don’t know Gravy’s full backstory, but a quick look at his videos shows me that many of his antics fall firmly into the “kids, don’t try this at home” category. Surfing in the wake of merchant ships, for example, is generally frowned upon and definitely not a good idea.
This homemade Tacoma wave pool truck looks like some good, dirty fun, though. There’s not much to it — much of the pickup’s bodywork was removed and some thick sheets of plywood were put together at an angle to help the vehicle shed water from its, er, “nose.” It’s the same idea as a snow plow, only this one has a much larger surface area and a different raking surface.
Water is heavy (over 60 pounds per cubic foot) and a sandy, marshy bay is a tough traction situation. Plus there’s the whole issue of heavy water ingress into the engine compartment, cab, axles and everything else. In other words, this truck has a hard and short life ahead of it. These might be some of the few people who actually need one of those intake snorkels I see on so many SUVs in mall parking lots. But even with that, I wouldn’t count on this truck surviving wave-making duty for very long. That’s OK — given the size of the waves it creates, I suspect the novelty wears off pretty quickly for pro surfers and the taco only gets pulled out for the occasional laugh. I just love cute, silly softcore surfers Donkey-Style antics and creative modifications to old trucks.
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