Monster Trike 3WDLong-form videos show the build and how it's coming together as a real, operating vehicle. But short clips with no context almost look too good to be true.We live at a really strange point in time right now, particularly if you're the kind of person who spends a lot of time on the internet. More specifically than that, if you're a person who's been spending a lot of time on the internet for years, and you're able to recall how things were when you started versus how they are now, it's definitely a much different world. If you've followed the kinds of insane projects that Grind Hard Plumbing Co. likes to make, then you already know that they're an impressively talented group of builders. Their videos have long gotten a lot of attention online, and it's well-deserved; they've been building whatever crazy custom vehicles they want (usually offroad) for a long time, and bringing their designs to life using a combination of hard-won skills, machining equipment, CAD, and sheer willingness to both imagine things and also take the practical steps necessary to breathe life into them.Also, it doesn't hurt that most of their projects seem to come in with built-in scope creep. What do I mean by that? Other DIYers will probably find this concept familiar, but it's basically that a given project often isn't done until you feel it in your heart. You think you're doing one thing, and that's all you're going to do? No, friend; what will happen, if you're emotionally invested in whatever you're making, is that you'll complete your one task, but then you'll test it out and find that actually, there's another thing you need to do to get it closer to whatever your vision of perfect is. AdvertisementAdvertisementAnd another. And another. And so on, until whenever you finally reach the point that it's complete in your heart and mind. The project isn't truly over until you've exhausted every possible avenue (that, or you've exhausted whatever monetary or time budget you had set aside for it).Three Times The FunMichigan Maniac Makes Mad Pulsejet Ski Trike, Goes For An Icy Test RunSlingshot Who? This Custom Trike Is Half Hyundai, Half Gold WingPreviously, the Monster Trike was RWD only. But by adding power to the front wheel, which is also where the driver sits, you'll get to see an immediate difference by the back half of this video, where they're test-driving it around the track at the GHPC shop. This thing can successfully rock climb (well, sort of) now! And hill climb! It still needs even more work, since the gearing isn't quite right; but that's something you can only learn by doing, testing, and tweaking. And that's why videos like this are great; because you get to see a project evolve over time. How it started may not necessarily give you any indication of where it will eventually end up, but the journey along the way will be a blast to watch.AdvertisementAdvertisementDoing things like this by hand, especially if you document them heavily with video like the GHPC guys do, is probably the best antidote to AI slop that there is. You don't have to go as mad as they do, of course; you can just take a wrench and do your own work on your own machines, and that will also be its own kind of satisfaction. Trust your brain and your hands. Give them some food and water, feed your curiosity, and go do something awesome. You might suck at first; most of us do. But if you keep going, and keep analyzing and improving what you did wrong last time, you WILL improve. And then you'll do cool stuff all on your own, and you'll be able to show it to people and say, "look what I did!" And there's no other feeling like that in the world (and no shortcut to getting there, because ultimately, the person you answer to at the end of the day is yourself).
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