TWNA will be conducting a PineTruck Charity Challenge on Friday afternoon at a future edition of the Mid America Trucking Show. Entries are $500.00 each, and the field is limited to a total of 20 trucks. Each entrant will designate a trucking-related charity/non-profit as its beneficiary, and 100% of the entry money will go to the winning truck’s designated charity/non-profit.

A charity/non-profit may have more than one truck racing on its behalf. The team's designated charity/non-profit should have some connection with the trucking industry. If there is any doubt as to the eligibility of the charity/non-profit, please query the TWNA Board.

Start to finish will be approximately 40 feet, beginning with a drop of about 4 feet, transitioning from the initial slope through a gentle arc, followed by a flat run of about 25-30 feet before the finish line. Foam arresting strips and a foam barrier at the end of the track will be used to stop the trucks after the finish line, so make sure your front bumper and undercarriage can stand up to a little force. Final competition details (track design, elimination grid, etc.) are still being developed, and will be posted here ASAP.

For those who want to get started building and testing their trucks, the design rules for the PineTruck entries are virtually the same as those developed by CVSN for its PineTruck events, enabling many of our member companies’ existing trucks to be entered in both events. As with the CVSN vehicle formula, our rules are simple in their intent to provide a level playing field in competition, but leave the door wide open to encourage truly excessive levels of engineering and development work.

Maximum GVW = 4.0 pounds
Maximum Length = 20 inches
Maximum Width = 3.5 inches
Propulsion = Gravity
Articulation = None - No fifth-wheel or hinge(s) in mid-vehicle.

Wheels = Must be Cub Scout spec smooth tread wheels. Must be 18 of them, all touching the ground when the truck is resting on a flat, level surface. (Pinecar P347 Wheel Kit W/One-Piece Axles Recommended)

Body Material = Must be predominantly constructed of wood. HINT: You’ll probably want to start with a block of pine that’s sold in your local lumber yard as a 4×4 fencepost.

Gravity propulsion means the trucks cannot be augmented with fans, jets, rockets, magnets, motors, flywheels, gyroscopes, large hadron colliders, or anything else that would add propulsion to the trucks’ downhill journey. Maximizing weight, reducing aerodynamic drag, maintaining wheel alignment, and minimizing friction (using standard tread wheels) are the items on which you should focus your time and budget.

Beyond these basic restrictions, pretty much anything goes.

If you can’t go fast, the next best bet is to look good while going slow. In addition to the racing competition, there will also be awards for the best looking trucks, voted on by peoples’ choice. If within the scope of the rules, you can still manage to get totally out of hand with the use of technology on-board the truck, you may win the PineTech Achievement Award.

Most importantly, to help keep the event focused on the charities involved, there will also be an award given for the team that best uses its resources to promote its designated charity. So even if your team doesn’t have a clue in the engineering and design realm, your communication skills can still make your designated charity and your team winners.