How NOT To Do Donuts On Sand

Ram Rollover Donut Debacle Ts
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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.

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

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104 thoughts on “How NOT To Do Donuts On Sand”

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

    1. 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.

  5. “ 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…

  7. 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.

    2. 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.

    3. “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.

          1. 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.

  12. 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.

    3. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

        1. 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?

            1. 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?

              1. Unlike oldschool demolition derby which was largely done with junkers, now it’s now done new, top-of-the-line pricey stuff.

                Yup. I don’t like that part, but the fascination with destruction persists.

          1. 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.

        3. 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.

          1. 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.

          2. 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.

      2. 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.

    1. 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.

      1. 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.

  23. “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.

      2. 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.

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