Photo: Instagram / Double Trouble 500
The Internet can turn anyone and anything into a star these days, even when online fame is not the explicit goal. This is one of those cases, where someone set out to build a cheap but still functional car, and became an overnight sensation.
This week, posts on reddit and Instagram showing a “Double Trouble” pickup started picking up traction. They showed a double-headed Ford Ranger truck that kept viewers guessing as to which direction it would head into. Built by fusing two front ends of Ranger pickups, one in red and one in purple, after the beds were removed, the pickup was wearing a Double Trouble 500 decal on the side. This quickly helped with identifying it.
Double Trouble is the official build name, and double trouble is the game. The pickup was built for last month’s Detroit Gambler 500, which is an off-road rally-style competition for homemade, impractical vehicles. Now that you add this missing piece to the puzzle, the two-headed pickup makes sense.
Double Trouble has been roaming the roads in Michigan ever since, dividing opinions – but mostly reaping praise. Life is too short to be boring, so let us not make it so by holding on to preconceived notions on how a pickup truck should look like, right?
The Drive spoke to the owner and builder, Gage Van, and learned that Double Trouble was a 3-day, $500 project, as stipulated by the rules of Detroit Gambler 500. He initially wanted to make it driveable from either end, but these strict conditions meant he had neither the time nor the budget for it.
So Double Trouble counts with the red Ranger as the front end. Power comes from a 4.0-liter V6, and Double Trouble is good for highway use (with good economy, too, according to Van) and, of course, off-roading. Van also says that he wanted bigger tires for the latter purpose, but had to give up on those too, on account of the budget.
Van says he’s happy with his current daily and is not looking to spend more on it. Considering how much attention it’s been getting this past week, should he decide to sell it to fund another project, chances are he’d be able to ask for a decent amount. Who wouldn’t want such a confusing and awesome-looking pickup for laughs?
Double Trouble is the official build name, and double trouble is the game. The pickup was built for last month’s Detroit Gambler 500, which is an off-road rally-style competition for homemade, impractical vehicles. Now that you add this missing piece to the puzzle, the two-headed pickup makes sense.
Double Trouble has been roaming the roads in Michigan ever since, dividing opinions – but mostly reaping praise. Life is too short to be boring, so let us not make it so by holding on to preconceived notions on how a pickup truck should look like, right?
The Drive spoke to the owner and builder, Gage Van, and learned that Double Trouble was a 3-day, $500 project, as stipulated by the rules of Detroit Gambler 500. He initially wanted to make it driveable from either end, but these strict conditions meant he had neither the time nor the budget for it.
So Double Trouble counts with the red Ranger as the front end. Power comes from a 4.0-liter V6, and Double Trouble is good for highway use (with good economy, too, according to Van) and, of course, off-roading. Van also says that he wanted bigger tires for the latter purpose, but had to give up on those too, on account of the budget.
Van says he’s happy with his current daily and is not looking to spend more on it. Considering how much attention it’s been getting this past week, should he decide to sell it to fund another project, chances are he’d be able to ask for a decent amount. Who wouldn’t want such a confusing and awesome-looking pickup for laughs?
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