Using the comparison of building a truck to an epic journey may sound like a clich, however, in the case of Jonathan Joy, from Pelzer, South Carolina, and his Ford F-250, the four years was without question trying. Common areas of stress arose, such as multiple shops not pulling their weight, spending extra money on parts not needed, and of course watching the calendar fly by and still not having a completed truck. What makes a man buckle his chin strap and not give up? Simple, really. Jonathan wanted an awesome Ford truck and he refused to settle for anything else.
After buying the truck new, it was driven home and lifted 8 inches with some new wheels and tires on each corner. The feelings of joy quickly wore off and Jonathan was in search of something bigger, much bigger. Jason Katterheinrich, of Kat Kustoms, in New Knoxville, Ohio, was just the man Jonathan needed to talk to and after a plan was devised, sparks started flying. A wild 2-inch DOM tubing subframe was built and bolted directly to the factory frame in eight locations. Used throughout, 1/4-inch steel brackets and gussets add even more strength. Up front, a five-link was designed, custom control arms were built, and heim joints used to bolt to the axle. Speaking of which, the front and rear axles are smoothed and painted Rockwell 2 1/2-ton units typically found in military applications. Hey, go big or go home, right?
Keeping with the big theme, the rear axle is powered by an electric hydraulic pump that is operated by a rocker switch inside the cab. One simple flick of a switch and Jonathan's 9,500 pound truck has four-wheel steering. Up front, the hubs are controlled by a Selectro unit and both front and rear axles are equipped with Detroit Lockers and 6.72 gears. The driveline angles are handled by dual Bad Boy Jr. CV joints. Kat Kustoms also used Speedway Engineering sway bars with custom endlinks and Beard suspension straps for limiting the suspension droop. Huge King Racing bypass shocks were bolted on with dual-rate coil springs. Custom two-piece wheels made by Stazworks in Merrillan, Wisconsin, were installed onto each corner and 15-inch rotors off of a medium-duty Ford were machined to fit the Rockwell axles. The 20x16-inch wheels were coated in Permastar Chrome by Goodrich Technology. Mounted around each of those hoops are massive 49-inch Interco Super Swamper Irok tires that almost look small on the 25-inch lift kit.