This American Truck Simulator setup is the next best thing to hitting the road with a bacon sandwich and a cab full of empty pee jugs.
The number of games that let you vicariously live out your most monotonous dreams is staggering. Our roundup of the best simulation games is brimming with them. Tiktoker ricotrucker has taken the simulation game to the next level with his custom cab setup that's a handful of wheels away from being an actual truck.
He started out three years ago with a fairly modest array of three monitors and a steering wheel. But things have escalated wildly since then. There's a whole Kenworth cab in this guy's house, with a passenger seat to boot in case anyone wants to join him on the virtual road. You can take a look at how far ricotrucker's rig has come in the video below.
@ricotrucker ♬ Ooh Ahh (My Life Be Like) [feat. Tobymac] - Grits
It's all in the reflexes
The cab is amazingly intricate. There's the dashboard with gauges and switches, pedals with RBG lighting, the steering wheel, multiple monitors, and both driver and passenger seats. A huge gear stick rears up from the wooden floor panelling, while a CB radio dangles down for those impromptu Jack Burton-esque monologues on the road.
And for a little extra flair, there's a few cell phone holders and a chainsaw-shaped air freshener to add a personal touch to the cab. The whole thing probably cost thousands of dollars to put together. Upon discovering his TikTok account, I saw ricotrucker in the comments throwing a figure of $3,000 around, but that was likely just for the dash. I haven't been able to find it again since unfortunately.
He does have a YouTube account and Facebook page, but there's not much in the way of a breakdown of costs. Despite his audience begging for one, as well as a guide on how to recreate this beast setup at home.
Predictably, given that this is the internet, ricotrucker's comments are full of helpful insights about how he should just get a truck at this point. If he was cruising around in a mainstream game with pricey hardware, I doubt he'd be advised to become a pro driver, or buy an actual racing car instead. The poor guy is getting flak over on reddit as well. Just let people enjoy things!
But for the most part, fellow truckers and gamers alike are showing their support for his fantastical creation. Although of course, a few are highlighting discrepancies between the setup and an actual truck, as well as pointing out flaws in ricotrucker's driving methods.
If you're a fan of the sim genre, it's worth taking a look at his TikTok account. You might feel inspired to drop a wad of cash on your own favorite sim. Maybe construct a whole fake tractor in your living room, or a cockpit in the garage. The sky (and your wallet) is the limit!
