Chopper Tractors of Yodakeng, Thailand
It’s been almost a year since I was in Thailand, and I’ve finally gotten around to making another pass at the 3000+ images I shot there. One of the things I’ve been meaning to post are images of what I call “Chopper Tractors.” Everything in Thailand seems to be hackable – although it has the hallmarks of a consumer society, there’s a rejection of the complacency that seems to infect American culture, so every one of these, although built on the same general plan, is a little different.
I saw more crazy vehicles in Thailand then I thought possible, but these are my favourite. They ooze a Mad Max aesthetic that’s right out of the inevitable resource crunch of the mid-late 21st Century. I’m ready to strap some armour and animal hides to one of these and fight for what’s left of Mother Earth’s bounty…
Yodakeng, located in Isan province, is a farming village that’s only been using the internal combustion engine since the 80’s, so these machines are all part of a revolution in technology and farming culture that is empowering farmers and bringing up the quality of life.
Above – Big front wheels, headlight, great big handlebars – the general plan is always the same. Ski masks are everyday wear in Thailand, used to protect from the sun and keep dust out of peoples noses and mouths. I saw whole construction crews in ski masks – you could probably walk into a bank wearing a ski mask and no one would bat an eyelash.
Above – same model as the one above, only sans headlight and with more wear.
Above – On the highway outside of town. It’s worth noting that I never saw one of these moving more than 5-8 mph, even on the highway. No matter how slow a vehicle was going on any highway, I never saw a driver seem either mad or in a hurry about it.
Above – On the road near the edge of town. This is the end of town that doesn’t have a lot of farms and fields, so it goes right from town to jungle in like 20 feet. And the jungle is relentless and impassable.
Above – This older model, with an extremely homemade cart, was parked behind my friend Ole’s house. The Thai cowboy leaning on it is Lek, who’s definitely rocking the strong, silent type image. I took this photo while we were waiting around to eat iguana.
Technorati Tags: Yodakeng, Thailand, tractor, farming, farming vehicle, vehicle, chopper
February 17th, 2008 at
these are cool! i think you’d like these, too:
http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2008/01/the-zak-gallery-in-berlin.php
February 20th, 2008 at
Somehow I totally missed that post in my reader. Thanks! I find the idea of building a vehicle out of another vehicle, or from scratch to be one of the highest arts
May 14th, 2008 at
[...] – My favourite species of Thai vehicle, after the chopper tractors, has to be the bike with sidecar. I saw so many sidecar variations that it made my head spin. This [...]