Ah yes, Spring is in the air and a young man’s thoughts turn to…driving the biggest honkin’ machines he can find! Okay, well, at least mine do.
If that sounds like a heck of a good time to you too, you’ll want to check out this XTRORD.com feature story on what it’s like to play with 20-ton bulldozers and 30-ton excavators at Dig This in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. So much fun it’s hard to believe some folks actually get paid for this!
As much of an extraordinary experience as that was, however, nothing I’ve ever done tops the geeky thrill of driving a full-on 55-ton military battle tank. I had the chance to do just that a few years ago at Tactical Tanks on the outskirts of Dallas (check out the story and pix here) and all I can say is, wow, every red-blooded American should do this at least once!
Unfortunately that operation closed down less than a year after my visit due to the untimely death of owner David Estes (a truly nice man). But not to fear, as I’ve got a lead on another place here in the U.S. that’s planning to make similar tank-driving experiences available to the general public. Look for that story on our Xperiences page in the months to come.
In the meantime, here are a few places in Europe that offer tank driving outings for those who can’t wait:
Germany: Panzerkutscher
England: The Dinscott Tank & Military Collection
England: Tanks-A-Lot
Comments
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
i can drive tanks too i was tought how to
yeah, it’s both easier and harder than it looks!
Yea tanks are no play toys haha.