Ford to Help Break World Record at Rose Parade
Ford Triton V10 Will Power Guinness World Record-Breaking Rose Parade Float with Surfing Dogs. Yes, Surfing Dogs!
The Ford V10 found in the Ford F-650 and F-750 medium-duty commercial trucks are pretty stout. As a result, they’re stout enough to power the biggest and heaviest parade float the Rose Bowl Parade has ever seen. Coming in January, that unique float will be powered by a the famous Ford V10 and feature surfing dogs. Yup, surfing dogs. Eight of them, to be exact.
The Guinness World Recording-breaking float, called “Lucy Pet’s Gnarly Crankin’ K9 Wave Maker,” is 125-feet long and weighs over 136,000 pounds! There’s a 8,000-gallon water tank on board. You know, for the surfing dogs. During the parade an onboard wave machine will generate waves on which the eight cool canines will surf the length of the 90-foot tank. Check out a detailed illustration of the float below.
Guinness record people will be on hand to verify the two records being set by Lucy Pet Product’s float: one for the longest float and the other for the heaviest float.
Lucy Pet Product’s profits go to their foundation to protect animals from both overpopulation and euthanasia. We imagine that a float with surfing dogs at the biggest parade of the year should draw some attention to the cause.
“I set the world record five years ago for the longest and heaviest Rose Parade float,” says Joey Herrick, founder and owner of Lucy Pet Products. “Now it’s time to break that record with a new float that is six-feet longer and 10,000 lbs. heavier.”
The Ford V10 powering the float is straight from a Ford F-650. Ford is the only manufacturer to offer a gasoline engine in the medium-duty truck space. It makes 320 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.
This giant float will be powered by a “Built Ford Tough” 6.8 liter V10 gasoline engine. The driver will sit deep in the bowels of the float and rely on a navigator sitting atop it to relay directions to him as he steers down the parade route.
We drove an F-650 earlier this year. The responsiveness of the gas engine impressed us. There is obviously no turbo lag that exists on the diesel engine variant.
It’s also approved for CNG conversion. That means that green municipalities have a commercial truck option with Ford.
Being able to drive basically blind is an important skill for a float driver. Once completed, it won’t be easy to see out of the vehicle. In fact, it’s probably completely impossible to see out of the decorated vessel.
It’s more fun to ride on the float than it is to drive one, we assume.
Lastly, the parade airs on January 2 at 8 a.m. Pacific time! Will you be watching?
Let us know in the comments below or over in our forums!
