Welcome to TFLtruck’s Top 5 Movie or TV Trucks – number four!
Come on, all of you have a favorite badass truck from a movie or a television show. No, B.J. and the Bear’struck didn’t make this list. TFLtruck’s Top 5 Movie or TV Trucks will count down to one, crowning its winner with accolades and high praise… well, not really.
This is a list based on our small team’s opinions alone. We looked at film and television to find a spectacular or highly notable truck. It may not be the focal point of the program/film, but these trucks stand out and imbedded their coolness upon us.
The Fall Guy was a Glen A. Larson Productions’ television show, produced by 20th Century Fox for ABC, that ran from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. Lee Majors starred as a stunt-man who moonlighted as a bounty hunter. This was a hit television show that was part of the automobile-heavy 1980’s television shows (Dukes of Hazard, Magnum P.I., The-A Team and… yes… B.J. and the Bear – among others.)
The storylines were pretty basic and they saved a huge amount of money pilfering Fox Studio’s film vaults and reusing older footage for stunt scenes. They also had the delectable Heather Thomas playing… I honestly don’t remember what her role was. She lived with the main character, or worked for him. There was a blue bikini… never mind.
In the beginning, The Fall Guy used a 1980 GMC 4X4 K-25 (“Rounded line”) pickup truck with a 6 inch-lift, 35-inch Dick Cepek off road tires, a custom chrome roll-bar/light rack with several off-road lights and Warn winch. Later, a 1982 GMC K-2500 Wideside (“Rounded-Line”) with the Sierra Grande equipment level package became the main truck. I believe all modes were equipped with a 350cid V8 hooked up to a 3-speed (350 Turbo Hydra-Matic) automatic transmission.
One of the best features: A hidden compartment was built into the bed. Accessed through the side of the truck, it was big enough to hold naughty fugitives. The space was about the same size as a large bed-mounted tool-box.
If you watch the end of this opening for The Fall Guy, you’ll see an awesome jump performed by the GMC in front of a Porsche. Keep an eye on that front axle as it does something interesting.
Now, because of all of the punishing stunts, the production crew built a special jump truck that was specifically built to handle this type of abuse. According to Wikipedia, “It had a reinforced frame and heavy duty axle trusses, dual shocks all around, suspension limiting straps, lift blocks, and a steel weight box in the bed (which was loaded with up to 800 lbs of lead for a jump) and a mid-mounted engine that actually sat in the middle of the cab. This greatly reduced the number of trucks scrapped during the show’s production.”
Cool no?
The Fall Guy trivia: Lee Majors used to be a real stuntman. He also used to be the 6-Million Dollar Man. AND Lee Majors sang the theme song for The Fall Guy too.
If you have a suggestion or comment regarding our choices, please add them below!
worldwide.
