A Ram TRX is probably the most ridiculous truck that’s ever been built by a major automaker. It pairs rugged suspension and a tall ride height with 702 angry American horsepower. As you might imagine, that’s plenty enough to get yourself into real trouble. That’s precisely what happened to Brendan Schaub recently, with embarrassing consequences.
If you haven’t heard of Schaub, he’s an ex-UFC fighter that retired in 2015. Since then he’s worked to establish a career as a comedian, while also running a fledgling YouTube channel about trucks. His latest video featured his Ram TRX, which he’d had modified with an eye to pursuing off-road antics. He kitted it out with King shocks and upgraded brakes, but neither would save him from the calamity to come.
Schaub headed out to Johnson Valley to put the TRX through its paces. All went well at first, with the mighty Ram kicking up dust with abandon. It wasn’t long before Schaub got bogged deep in the fine dirt, though, with recovery proving frustrating and time-consuming. The truck was eventually freed by a random passer-by, but the day was only going to get worse from there. Schaub elected to carve some donuts to celebrate and save his video, and everything quickly went sideways… and upside down.
Former UFC fighter turned comedian Brendan Schaub flipped his truck attempting a donutpic.twitter.com/FED64zptOO
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 27, 2024
Running along the sand at low speed, Schaub tries to initiate a donut. He winds on a bunch of steering lock, and the truck starts to sink slightly towards the outside tire. Then, as he smashes the throttle, the rear outside tire digs in and the truck rolls straight over.
The Ram detects the problem near-immediately. As the truck rotates about 70 degrees, the side curtain airbags fire. A split second later, as it’s landing on its roof, the truck announces that the emergency system has been activated and that it will make an SOS call as a result of the crash. As Schaub clambers out of the vehicle, his iPhone, from somewhere in the cabin, also reports that it detected a crash and commences an emergency call of its own. The cabin is quickly a cacophony of robot voices and sirens going off. It’s somewhat reminiscent of that old science-fiction trope, where characters flee a spaceship during a self-destruct sequence as a feminine robot voice announces their impending doom. With Schaub now out of the vehicle and swearing, the Ram pipes up once more. “SOS CALL NOT SUCCESSFUL,” says the truck. “SOS SYSTEM WILL CONTINUE TO RETRY.”
In his video, Schaub puts the crash down to traction control being on when he thought it was off. Ultimately, it probably didn’t help, but that may not be the only factor at play. Doing donuts on soft sand is particularly difficult, as the outside wheels have a tendency to dig in, making the vehicle want to roll over. Ideally, you want to try and execute your donuts on sand in a more gradual fashion compared to doing them on asphalt. Simply spinning the wheel hard in one direction and matting the throttle is a great way to flip. You’ll also want to have your tire pressures set just right so your vehicle is floating more on top of the sand, rather than digging deep into the surface.
Injury-wise, Schaub got beaten up by the crash, but not too badly. He notes receiving a concussion and that his arm “got a little roughed up.” The truck, on the other hand, was totaled. “As I’m flippin’, I remember thinking to myself, you got kids, man” says Schaub. He expresses relief that he hadn’t brought his son with him that day, and that the TRX was his favorite vehicle of all those he’s ever owned.
Schaub’s example serves as a good learning experience. If you’re learning a new skill, like driving off-road, don’t get overconfident and start driving erratically if you don’t understand the consequences. Take things slow, and learn from someone more experienced than yourself if possible. That way, you can go home in your own ride, instead of in a tow truck or an ambulance. Stay safe on the dunes, friends!
Image credits: Tune Town via YouTube screenshot
it is a little funny how “Rocket Man from the Moon” all the alarms and robot voices sounded as the accident happened.
also eff that baity thumbnail portrait in his video.
Yeah, I love that the robot lady interrupts before you’ve finished crashing
Also, AWD/full-time 4WD trucks are generally not great for doing donuts. (Excepting Ice and snow). The TRX is fulltime 4WD, so not only was the outside rear digging in, but the front would have been as well.
Analagous: Let’s give people with nothing more than driver’s ed from 25 years ago a 700hp EV and see how it goes.
I was reading about the sub 1 second Tesla Roadster and all I could think of was how many morons are going to kill someone with one because they’ve been given top fuel dragster power and can’t even parallel park.
I’ve always been against tiered licensing, but I’m starting to see it differently.
I’ve always been for tiered licensing.
Some people should need a license to cross the street by themselves, much less have children or operate a 400+ hp machine.
I would love to see the insurance claim. Guess it is along the lines of “swerved to avoid a jackrabbit….”
“ Schaub puts the crash down to traction control being on when he thought it was off.”
Nah buddy… it’s not the traction control. It’s just your bad driving…
“It’s the sand’s fault.”
Anakin was right
The right rear tyre had 1.5psi too much pressure in it. Those digital gauges can’t be trusted.
Then there’s the basic physics of tall vehicle + sharp turn + power.
Also:
“I totaled my truck.”
“Oh wow! How fast were you going?”
“Um, about two miles and hour.”
This guy was actually using the truck for the thing that it was actually designed for. Good for him, that’s awesome. Too bad its capabilities were greater than his skill. But still, better than the one I just saw sitting, spotless, in a parking lot this weekend.
The truck was designed to be driven by dorks?
Obviously its capabilities sucked. Or at least it was the wrong tool for the job. A Baja bug or a Subaru would be more appropriate. This is like driving nails with chainsaw.
I’ve seen plenty of buggys on their roof.
The lift was not a great idea for dessert running, I’ll give you that.
Yeah too much dessert plus a lifted truck can cause a lot of trouble
“This guy was actually using the truck for the thing that it was actually designed for”
I’m thinking doing donuts is not in any manufacturer’s R/T production testing program.
OK, well then this definitely Isn’t a picture of the Ram testing team doing donuts in the desert.
Ram | Behind the Badge | Punishment Makes Perfect (ramtrucks.com)
That’s interesting – I truly had no idea.
If they don’t they should have a mode called “Send it” or “yeet”. Just to cover the youtubers. then they’ll truly have a mode for every occasion.
That truck is not full time 4wd and the rolled one is.
Big difference in how that is going to behave when trying a soft ground doughnut.
He should have consulted Belinda Carlisle. If anyone knows how to do a circle in the sand, it’s her.
COTD nomination right there.
She certainly knows how to go go.
She’s my go-to road music when driving up the CA coast with the roof down…
I don’t care – I don’t care!
Darwin
look again, pretty sure he was.
edit: OP said “he wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.” Now my comment is left looking non-responsive.
He should have consulted a BMW driver about lowering his tire pressure by 1.5 psi first.
Nah he was distracted by a low-flying pelican.
Guess he went from donuts to donut holes?
My biggest takeaway is just how safe that partial barrel roll seemed to be for the cab. No doubt helped by hitting the roof on sand rather than giant boulders, but he was able to open the door and climb out without any real problems, while two different devices called 911 for him.
Modern safety features are cool, y’all.
My main takeaway when I got t-boned and totaled last year was that airbags might be magic.
They certainly seem to have made the cab structure quite strong- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95Cg-oiVMm0, probably a good thing to do in a vehicle such as this.
This is true. For as much as we complain about cars getting bigger, heavier, and more expensive, the safety is pretty amazing.
I’ve walked away from a few crashes, where in retrospect, I don’t know how.
And I have memory of seeing accidents, and of being in one in the 80s, and they were very different, very gory, things.
Anytime we play, there can be consequences. Last night I got the tracking # for a rather expensive pallet of goodies I had to buy due to (presumably) spinning the oil pump nut off whilst doing circle work. I knew it was possible going in…
the upside is that this has renewed my interest in wrenching. And I bought a motor with less than half the mileage of the one I ruined. And nobody got hurt (pride & wallet don’t count).
Glad this guy is basically ok—and I have to give him credit for posting it.
Schaub’s example serves as a good learning experience. If you’re learning a new skill, like driving off-road, don’t get overconfident and start driving erratically if you don’t understand the consequences. Take things slow, and learn from someone more experienced than yourself if possible.
Oh and maybe, just maybe start off in an underpowered beater and work up from there.
Great advice. In the motorcycle world, this is exactly why buying a shiny supersport as a first bike is a ticket to trouble.
I kinda wonder if this isn’t a case of insurance fraud sponsored clickbait like that jerk who crashed his airplane a few years ago.
It’s interesting how there’s increasingly a market for outrageous + destruction = entertainment. I guess it’s good that people who can afford it are the ones doing it, but also wonder how much copycatting there is by people who can’t?
It’s just new age demolition derby.
That’s a great point.
Which makes me wonder about comparisons of our era to the gilded age, on a number of fronts. Unlike oldschool demolition derby which was largely done with junkers, now it’s now done new, top-of-the-line pricey stuff.
Sure, the first guy out of the gate can make his money back and more by monetizing it for clicks, but how about the 100th guy?
Yup. I don’t like that part, but the fascination with destruction persists.
One name comes to mind. WhistlinDiesel. I personally hate the guy because he destroys so much cool stuff.
I think a lot. Wannabe money see, wannabe money do.
I wonder why insurance would cover this. Don’t they state operating the vehicle in an illegal or unsafe manner voids policy?
He files a claim, its up to the insurance company to investigate.
I’ve never filed an auto claim for more than a couple of grand so I don’t know what the criteria is before they get serious about it.
Yuuuuup. I’ve never flipped a car, but is the natural instinct to throw your hands and arms up? Seems trained. I think I’d be gripping the wheel.
I’ve never flipped a car so I can’t say. I’ve also never filmed myself doing anything so asinine as this though so maybe the rules are different for Darwin award candidates.
yes. it would be. more so at slow speeds. if you have any sense of self preservation. he was a MMA fighter and they train to roll lol. so maybe he was more prone to situational behavior/actions.
I kinda wonder how that would work? Why would he make a false claim on something he posted? Does he want to go to jail?
Does he want to go to jail?
For clicks? Maybe.
Next video: “My insurance company reported me to the police and I posted this video in lieu of my one phone call”.
I would not be surprised a bit.
The good news is that would likely be the end of it.
It was my second bike, but I hadn’t been riding for a while when I bought it last fall. My first criterion was “not a liter bike.” (The implicit 0th criterion is sport bike.)
I have a feeling it’s like the parenting book paradox: reading parenting books won’t make you a better parent, but being the sort of parent that would makes you a better parent. If you already know not to get suicycle, you’re probably better suited to ride one (edit:) safely.
Something Something Miata Is Always The Answer™
Darwin, still alive and well…
Alive and well, but apparently lazy.
Father Of The Year… not!!
At least he was wearing his seat belt?
I was amazed and confused about why he took it off so fast. At 11:00, he reaches down and unbuckles the seatbelt before the truck even stops moving? Why?
I’m 100% certain that my first thought while spinning would not have been to reach down and unbuckle my seatbelt.
I was wondering why I didn’t see his seatbelt fastened. He unbuckled very fast! Although… I would have kept it on until the car stopped moving. Because rolling is dumbass.
Dude there’s a video of it. We all saw you turn the wheel like you were opening a submarine hatch. Don’t try to blame traction control.
I’m imagining the scene in Wall-E when Captain McCrea defeats Auto and spins the giant wheel to right the Axiom.
My favorite part of my Fleetwood Brougham was spinning the wheel like I was piloting a steam liner.
…and that was just to
berthparallel park the thing.The cars are half overhang. They’re not too bad to parallel park.
It’s the overhang that tends to hit nearby objects.
Millions of dollars and no sense.
The lights are on but no one’s home
The car’s running but no one is in the driver’s seat.
The guy did spend most of his adult life getting punched in the face for a living.
Oh no!
Anyway
“How hard can it be?”
This seems par for the course for a Dodge owner, yes?
Yep, blame the 6 figure supertruck. Damn traction control.
the weakest part of any vehicle is the nut behind the wheel
ID10T interface error.
Yup, definitely had nothing to do with the lift and soft ground. Fucking electronics.
Power is nothing without
controlbrains.“If you’re learning a new skill, like driving off-road, don’t get overconfident and start driving erratically if you don’t understand the consequences.”
Unless your objective is generating clicks. Spectacular failure always seems to grab more eyeballs than triumph.
If you’re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.
Additionally, if you’re gonna be dumb, it helps to be rich.
What a dumbass.
When you’re upside down, you gotta roll back up.
UFC fighter turned comedian turned YouTuber. If only he was an Instagram influencer he could teach the Valhalla of Douche.
UFC fighter turned comedian turned YouTuber turned over.
He really RAMmed that truck into the ground. Good thing there weren’t any obstacles to DODGE…
He couldn’t Dodge the laws of physics.
While this is how I really feel, I regret rage-posting this and would delete it if I could.
You never see this sort of thing on the Internet. Much respect.
Fwiw I think you Rammed the nail on the head.
This guy’s life is like the warning they show on stocks and retirement fund commercials: past results may not be indicative of future performance.
This sort of regret is why I say my best moments on the internet are the posts I deleted without sending.