F-150 Tech Talk: Why is a Trophy Truck’s Radiator in the Rear?

Top three things to consider before replacing a trophy truck radiator.

When you look at a trophy truck, one of the things you probably notice after the big tires is the placement of the radiator. Instead of being at the front of the truck, it’s in the rear just behind the driver and navigator’s heads. Why is that? How does the engine pump enough coolant? What are some things to know before doing it yourself? Let’s take a lot at the answers to these questions..

Why?

That answer is rather simple and it’s more than just getting the weight off the front of the truck. It also protects the radiator from getting hit by brush, tree limbs, and cacti that they may run into.

How?

Many electric pumps are capable of running with enough pressure to pump the coolant from the engine to the radiator in the back despite using longer tubes. However, the use of a secondary pump is not unheard of in some cases and installed in line on the piping that leads from the engine to the radiator.

What are some things to consider if I install the radiator myself?

Since the only open area that can feed air to the radiator is behind the heads of the driver and navigator, you have to also install the surge tank up high as well. This is done so the air bubbles can be removed from the coolant in the system. If you don’t mount the surge tank high enough, you won’t remove the air bubbles and can cause your cooling system to not work efficiently.

You’ll also want to consider how to run your coolant piping as you’ll need hard lines between the radiator and engine that go around the cab. Also, you must consider how to get air to flow properly so that the radiator can do its job and cool the engine’s coolant.