This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OREM — Haven’t most people done this: Stopped and stared at a cool or unusual vehicle going down the street?

That’s what people are doing in Orem this week.

In a quiet residential neighborhood, just off State Street, people can’t help but notice a big, giant, black, heavy steel-plated monster truck parked with two of its wheels on the sidewalk.

Leilani McClure and her husband bought it a few months back, and they call it “The Beast." They were hoping to turn it into a fun rig to take on their camping trips, but because they are moving out-of-state soon, “The Beast” has to be sold.

“I am so sad,” McClure said. “My daughter is even more sad.”

For one thing, she said, all the attention the vehicle gets when they drive it around.

“The ride is fun,” although it's not the smoothest she says. “Driving down the street, people are stopping and we're hoping not to cause accidents, but you can't help but look.”

We heard that he built it for the zombie apocalypse. Personally, we bought it for hunting. –Leilani McClure

It needs a bit of work, especially on the inside, but the man who designed it took a lot of time making sure the exterior could withstand anything.

“We heard that he built it for the zombie apocalypse," she said. "Personally, we bought it for hunting.”

The rig, which sits on a 1987 GMC chassis, seats six and there are four heavy steel doors; dual gas tanks; solar-powered battery system; storage rack on top; and a full-sized air conditioner in the back. It has four cameras: front, rear and one on each door that feed into video monitors on the dash panel.

“They’re in color,” McClure says. “If you're driving down the road, you can see all your blind spots. So you're always aware of what's going on. (It's) a real safety feature.”

McClure posted “The Beast” on a Facebook yard sale page and it’s getting a lot of interest: “I listed it about a day and a half ago and my phone is just blowing up," she said.

People have even knocked on her front door to ask questions when they see the vehicle parked outside. A student recently asked if he could take some shots of it for a photography class assignment.

A fixer-upper for sure, but if someone is looking for something to take to the outdoors and doesn’t care about miles per gallon, this might be the ride. Although, McClure says it’s probably not for everyone.

“You get those people who go ‘why in the heck would somebody make that?' You know what? Because it's cool.”

×

Photos