BACKYARD HOUSE JUMPING - PAXTON, IL

When you’re Tom Meents, and you have a Wednesday afternoon with nothing much to do, things can get interesting. For instance, last Wednesday when other Monster Truck drivers were perhaps driving their mini vans to Home Depot to buy new blinds to spruce up their house, Tom Meents was jumping over his. Yes, in his Monster Truck!

On April 6th, 2005 Tom Meents drug his old house into a field, built a dirt ramp on one end, and launched his truck over the top, in what was probably the highest anyone has ever been in a Monster Truck. After easily clearing the roof of the house, he decided to go ahead and drive through it.

This was not a staged event either. This was Tom Meents doing what Tom Meents wants to do. He was advised by numerous people to take precautions and cut wall studs and rafter studs so the house would collapse more easily. But that’s not how Team Meents plays. He wanted the house to remain just as it had for the 10 years he and his family had lived in it. It could have easily been sold to someone looking for a nice 1500 sq. ft. house. But instead it was given to his truck, Maximum Destruction, as sort of a play toy. Tom figured that Maximum Destruction had brought Tom and his family the new house, so why not let Maximum Destruction take the old house away.

So with Clear Channel officials on-hand to record the jump, Tom built his six foot ramp, put on his safety gear, loaded up into Max D, and launched. The truck went 180’ before touching down again and was an estimated 30’+ in the air! The truck took the beating with absolutely no problems. Tom’s trucks are designed to take abuse and this jump proves just how solid they are. After Tom Meents jumped the house, he came back around, burped the throttle, and demolished the roof as he flew through it. The next time it was an all out truck VS house and of course Max-D came out victorious!

The whole event was captured on many cameras from many different angles. Tom had two cameras in the truck with him, one camera in the house, and two camera-men in the field capturing what will prove to be the wildest, most insane jump ever in the Monster Truck world. Tom Meents has once again raised the bar so high, other Monster Truck drivers can barely see it. But Tom has a word of advice to his competition as well as all the fans out there. “Do not try this at your own home!” Good advice.

Catch the jump on The Speed Channel in the near future. Watch this site for more information on the date and time it will first be aired!