# All Wet ;)



## SCraig

Once a year the Lane Motor Museum has a Summer Smash where a 200,000 pound 1953 US Army LARC LX 8 to crush a couple of cars.  The LARC is an enormous vehicle with a 165hp engine at each wheel.  Each tire is about 9' tall and water filled to limit flotation.  When it smashes a car it REALLY smashes it FLAT.

So, today's victims were an old Karman Ghia hulk and a BMW sedan (I don't know what model, they all look the same to me).  Here is the front right wheel of the LARC starting up onto the BMW.  Looks like a pocket of rain from this morning's torrential rain broke loose somewhere and blew all over the place.






*Now wait a minute, that doesn't look like a pocket of rain water at all!*






* Looks like the BMW got the last word in this uneven battle and punched a hole in one of those 9' tall water filled tires *






When I left they had moved the LARC back to its normal parking area, and there were a couple of guys scurrying around trying to get jack stands under the front right corner before it settled all the way down.  I somehow suspect that those tires are pretty hard to plug and that looked like a pretty big hole.  Bet I know what someone is going to be doing on Monday


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## PinkDoor

Title + Pics = Let down  



Seriously, fun photos


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## JoshuaSimPhotography

PinkDoor said:


> Title + Pics = Let down


 -__-


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## Forkie

PinkDoor said:


> Title + Pics = Let down
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously, fun photos



This.  Wetness is not the main theme here!

Looks like a great event, but as I always say, an interesting subject does not an interesting photo make. 

I say this in the nicest possible way of course.  They're just not quite photography - they are records of a very cool event.


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## sm4him

Forkie said:


> PinkDoor said:
> 
> 
> 
> Title + Pics = Let down
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously, fun photos
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This.  Wetness is not the main theme here!
> 
> Looks like a great event, but as I always say, an interesting subject does not an interesting photo make.
> 
> I say this in the nicest possible way of course.  They're just not quite photography - they are records of a very cool event.
Click to expand...


I'd guess that's why they're in the "Just for Fun" section. 

Thanks for sharing, SCraig! I'm not really typically attracted to car photos, monster truck rallys and that kind of thing. But good grief, a 9-foot tall tire?!?  THAT'S definitely something you don't see everyday!


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## SCraig

sm4him said:


> Forkie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> PinkDoor said:
> 
> 
> 
> Title + Pics = Let down
> 
> 
> 
> Seriously, fun photos
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This.  Wetness is not the main theme here!
> 
> Looks like a great event, but as I always say, an interesting subject does not an interesting photo make.
> 
> I say this in the nicest possible way of course.  They're just not quite photography - they are records of a very cool event.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I'd guess that's why they're in the "Just for Fun" section.
> 
> Thanks for sharing, SCraig! I'm not really typically attracted to car photos, monster truck rallys and that kind of thing. But good grief, a 9-foot tall tire?!?  THAT'S definitely something you don't see everyday!
Click to expand...

Exactly right SM4Him.  I suppose I could have put this in "Off Topic" but "Just For Fun" made more sense to me.  The photographs were secondary to the story, and it really was just for fun.


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## rokvi

I need to see a person standing next to that thing!!


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## SCraig

rokvi said:


> I need to see a person standing next to that thing!!


The only one I have showing people right against the wheel is of some kids that just happened to be standing there, and I don't know who they are.  How about someone standing on top of it?  Not the same, I know, but the best I've got.


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## cgipson1

Cool shots! Did you get a shot showing the full LARC, while it was on the beemer or the ghia? I think that would show scale nicely!

I would HATE to have to change one of those tires.. waterfilled? I can only imagine what they weigh! lol!


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## SCraig

cgipson1 said:


> Cool shots! Did you get a shot showing the full LARC, while it was on the beemer or the ghia? I think that would show scale nicely!
> 
> I would HATE to have to change one of those tires.. waterfilled? I can only imagine what they weigh! lol!



Sadly I did not because I'm a dumbass sometimes.  Before I went I looked to see what I used last year when I was there and all my shots showed 70mm so I said, "Must have been my 70-300 lens that I use for everything."  Wrong!  It was my Sigma 17-70 and I didn't have time to go back to my car and get it.  At 70mm against the wall that was all I could get 

I do have a "Before" shot from last year when it crushed a Volvo wagon and a Porsche though.






The load line at the rear of the LARC shows water depth in feet when it's in the water.  It's a pretty tall machine


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## cgipson1

SCraig said:


> *Sadly I did not because I'm a dumbass sometimes*.  Before I went I looked to see what I used last year when I was there and all my shots showed 70mm so I said, "Must have been my 70-300 lens that I use for everything."  Wrong!  It was my Sigma 17-70 and I didn't have time to go back to my car and get it.  At 70mm against the wall that was all I could get
> 
> I do have a "Before" shot from last year when it crushed a Volvo wagon and a Porsche though.



hahaha... we all go there sometimes! I probably do it more than most! lol!

That is cool! That thing is a beast! Thanks for posting it...


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## SCraig

cgipson1 said:


> hahaha... we all go there sometimes! I probably do it more than most! lol!
> 
> That is cool! That thing is a beast! Thanks for posting it...


I dunno, you'd have to go to extremes to top me sometimes.

It is a beast.  I think I read somewhere that it was the largest amphibious land vehicle (which separates it from true boats and ships) ever made.  There is a video at the museum showing how they got it from the river port where it was delivered to the museum.  They drove it there in the middle of the night with police escorts.  They had to take the driver's cab off for vertical clearance and even then it made it under some of the stop light arms with only a couple of inches to spare.  One of the bridges they went under actually brushed against the railing on one side.


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## rokvi

Yep, cool shots thanks for posting, It is a Mammoth!


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## SCraig

rokvi said:


> Yep, cool shots thanks for posting, It is a Mammoth!


Thank you.  Mammoth is a good term for that monster.  According to Wikipedia its width is 26'-7" which is nearly 3' wider than a normal 2-lane road (12' lanes are typical).  I did misstate one specification though.  I said it weighed 200,000 pounds and that is the GROSS weight, my mistake.  The empty weight is only 100,000 pounds.  Of course if it is running over anything less than a tank I don't suppose it makes that much difference


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## Forkie

sm4him said:


> I'd guess that's why they're in the "Just for Fun" section.




You're right.  I clicked  through from the "New Posts" section so didn't notice which forum it was in.  :blushing:

I'll withdraw back under my rock...


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## SCraig

Forkie said:


> You're right.  I clicked  through from the "New Posts" section so didn't notice which forum it was in.  :blushing:
> 
> I'll withdraw back under my rock...



Don't run off, I've done the same thing myself more times than I can count.  I view posts the same way, from the "New Posts" link, and it's easy to not pay attention where we are.  Not a problem at all.


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