What's the point in building a full-blown show truck that will probably spend more time in the garage than on the street and having an average looking and performing daily driver to fetch the groceries in? There is really no need for two different trucks, especially when valuable time and effort can go into creating just one, all-encompassing, trophy pulling and errand running custom. Casey Ridinger, from Marion, Mississippi, is a firm believer of streamlining his projects as much as possible, which is evident in the final results of his ground-leveled, Duramax-equipped '04 Chevy 3500.

What happens when you take a truck designed to get 20 mpg on a 1,000-mile road trip loaded to the gills with people and luggage? Does it do as well mileage-wise as when it's only hauling around a single occupant? More on that later.

Brian "Shady" Baty, from Ellenwood, Georgia, is a humble guy who was quick to thank his friends for all of their hard work on his ride. With humility like that, you may think that his ride was a mild custom with some do-it-yourself mods-the end. Whereas he did perform much of the work himself, his truck is far from mild. Tucking 24-inch billet wheels, with a two-tone paint scheme, and a snake skin-covered interior, Brian's Chevy Crew Cab is in a league of its own. So how does a daily driver go from a cruiser to full-blown trophy-snagger? All it took was just a little push from his wife, Karen and a little help from his friends.

Paul and Carol Gerritsen from Dandridge, Tennessee, have been street rod and truck enthusiasts for the past 25 years. Some of their previous rides have been a '37 Chevy coupe, '37 Ford coupe Pro Street, '47 Ford convertible, and a '39 Nash with a 392ci Hemi shoehorned into the engine compartment. After taking an early retirement from the Delmarva power and electric company nearly a decade ago, Paul and Carol have been able to spend more time pursuing their passion of owning and showing their cool rides. Three years ago, Paul got the itch to have another custom ride built. After searching the Internet, he discovered his latest project on eBay. Paul called the owner in Florida, made the deal and Paul received the pink slip when the owner delivered the truck a couple days later. For something different Paul decided to build this beautiful '48 Ford F-1 Pro Street pickup.

We have received a flood of positive response from our readers ever since we started featuring vans again, so we figured we'd keep the ball rolling with Troy Carbo's '99 Chevy Express 15-passenger van. Even for those who aren't really into vans, it would be rather tough to deny this low-slung and graceful people mover its due praise. And even though this Chevy didn't personally experience the classic vannin' days of its ancestors, the resemblance of their character is still intact. Custom paint and a party-minded attitude come standard with any tricked-out van build but, in the case of Troy's lounge on wheels, modern styling and just a wee bit of cutting went a long way.

Driving his street cars all over south- east Texas, Omar Villanueva, of Tomball, got tired of slowing down for speed bumps, denting wheels with low-profile tires, and looking up at trucks and SUVs. What was a man to do who already had a custom Prowler, Charger, and Cobra? Well, build a huge Ford F-250, of course. His request would fall on the perfect shop's ears for such a request, as B&C Off-Road, in Pasadena, Texas, are well-known for building sky-scraping 4WD trucks. Tired of seeing the same old lifted trucks with no personality, Omar decided to create a one-off Spider Edition Ford in honor of the comic book and movie character Spider-Man. What started out as a little bit of webbing here and there, quickly turned into a ride that even Spidey himself would want to cruise around in.

Cesar Tijerina, from San Juan, Texas, is a proud member of the Ground Zero truck club, so his project '01 Chevy Silverado had to possess enough style and bite to meet their impressive fleet's already top-notch caliber. Cesar racked his brain for inspiration and stumbled on a theme that would soon attract attention from every direction. What better creature to find inspiration for building a truck from than the low-slung and ruthless carnivore of the Southeastern United States? It's intimidating, it's powerful, and once it's provoked, the gator attacks its prey with little restraint, which is exactly the attitude Cesar wanted to surround his truck while attacking the show circuit or cruising the streets of Texas. Once the idea was sparked, Cesar channeled all of his energy into creating a street predator that would have other trucks scattering towards safety.

Piecing together a custom truck build is not easy-just ask anybody who has had their creation featured on the pages of past Truckin' issues. Better yet, reflect on the progress of your own project vehicle. It's tough to stand out from the crowd given the large amount of truck owners that are diligently working harder than ever in order to park their truck in the limelight. Brett Crump's '00 Toyota Tacoma serves as an ideal example of what can result from an executed plan of action. It's sharp, it's clean, and it's subtle, exotic styling cuts straight to the chase. Keeping things simple, yet focusing attention toward intricate detailing has again proven to be a successful equation.

When Chevrolet released its new SSR in 2003, it appeared to be a throwback to the early-model GM pickups from the '48-'54 era. Instead of the original rounded fenders, hood, and cab, the new CAD-designed body reflected a more rigid appearance. To most folks, the SSR was a cool nostalgia cruiser with today's style and performance.

Jose Pea has the need for speed. That need predicates a certain desire for vehicles that can get his heart beating fast and adrenaline pumping. If for some reason Jose has a car or truck that doesn't meet that need for speed, well then he quickly gets to work making it go fast. As a great philosopher once said, "It you're not first, you're last," and Jose takes those wise words to heart. With a truck that runs a 10.80 in the quarter mile, the only thing that can catch him is a police officer in a rocket ship.

It's one thing to dream about owning a non-existent, performance-minded sport truck, but it's another to finally wake up, smell the exhaust fumes, and transform the fantasy into a reality. Cody Galle, from Belle Chasse, Louisiana, dreamt about ripping down the highways at speeds at least double the legal limit but the only thing holding him back was his '06 Chevy Colorado Xtreme's somewhat sluggish inline five-cylinder engine. Not wanting to trade in his attractive midsize rig, Cody decided the only rational option was to ditch the stock powerplant and fill the void with a healthy LS2 engine, which would definitely be a dream come true for any self-respecting speed freak. Since Cody envisioned to transform his Colorado into a full-fledged, mini muscle truck, he began the process by first making it handle like one.

There are a few associations you should make when you hear the name Mickey Thompson. You probably think drag racing, off-road racing, and tires for both of the aforementioned situations. The late Mickey Thompson founded SCORE, the sanctioning body for the grueling Baja 1000 and several race series throughout the Nevada desert and his legacy of desert racing also lives on in this '09 F-150. The brand-new Ford was hurried to completion for the 2008 SEMA show in Las Vegas, not far from the starting line for the SCORE Las Vegas PRIMM 300.

The story of Ronnie and Rosie Bartee's '03 Hummer H1 has a lot in common with the typical wild truck build. To put it simply, it started small and then spiraled out of control. The big difference is that even a mild build on an H1 is far from ordinary. After an initial 6-inch lift, some painted frame and suspension components, and upholstery, the couple let Chance and his crew of installers, fabricators, and audio experts from All Out Offroad build the wildest H1 the world has ever seen.

Editor's Note:
By the time you're reading this, Dan will have fought in UFC 100, in Las Vegas. Going up against Michael "The Count" Bisping, we wish him the best and hopefully he's bringing a smile to all those members of the U.S. military with a recent victory.

We see the full spectrum of custom trucks at every show we visit, and it's reflected in the features we choose to shoot and run in every issue. Chris Hernandez's '06 Tundra isn't a truck that immediately grabs your eye with a wild paint scheme. It's as if a few Lexus designers snuck into Toyota's studios and took the whole truck apart to build a luxury truck. The execution is so detailed that a first inspection of the truck makes onlookers wonder what exactly was done to make the Tundra look so much better than stock.

Eli Barro, owner of Air Concepts, in Ceres, California, first laid eyes on this '05 GMC Sierra while picking up some parts for a job from KP Components in Hilmar, California. The truck was sitting underneath a few layers of dust and was tucked way back behind KP's parking lot. At this point, the only question on Eli's mind was if the truck was for sale. Upon further investigation, Eli learned that the Sierra was part of a trade for another vehicle so he offered the owner a fair but somewhat low cash offer, which was gladly accepted without much hesitation. The truck was already 'bagged but the pumps were burnt and the rolling stock consisted of mismatched OE wheels, but none of that phased Eli one bit because he saw past the truck's flaws and focused only on its possibilities. Since the truck was inoperable, Eli ran to his shop and grabbed enough tools to hook up a Nitrogen bottle, which got the handicapped airbagged hauler home.

Three years ago, Paul Martinez, of Azusa, California, delivered a truck to a builder. Sounds simple enough. The truck was in pieces, basically hacked up, with more wiring than Radio Shack and bodywork that was far from finished. One goal was requested--build a Chevy that was far from average. For this builder, average is never an option and with an exchange of money, the '01 Chevy Silverado was underway. No one could have predicted how this Bow Tie would look after the dust settled, well, maybe one person had a good idea. Aaron Iha, of Chassis by Aaron Iha, was in charge of this project.

Les Allen, from Arlington, Washington, and his son Rob, along with stepson Sean Hoglund decided to build a '56 Chevrolet Cameo pickup together. It was a journey that would change their lives. Les figured it would take a couple of years to complete, but it was eight years later when it had its debut this past spring at the ninth annual '09 Goodguys Show 'n Shine in Del Mar, California.

Chris Rawlins, from Pooler, Georgia, is the manager for Kimball's Mobile Electronics in Savannah. At age 37, he has been an active enthusiast for the last 20 years and finds it difficult to drive anything that doesn't boast a world-class stereo. For the last several years, his '97 Expedition has been the perfect family vehicle but there was a problem. Even though his daily driver was `bagged on 22-inch wheels, the truck was missing one crucial element to satisfy Chris' need for some genuine concert hall entertainment. The solution began innocently enough when he contacted JBL for some equipment. When the components arrived, they looked so good that he decided they were worth a slightly more elaborate install and, as you can see, that one small step turned into a very long walk! The 20-month build departed considerably from the original plan but the results were worth it, producing the show-winning custom you see here.

We often describe vehicles built by custom shops as a rolling business card, showing off their talents and giving potential customers an idea of what to expect when their own project is completed. That description would fit this Excursion as well, but since it is an Excursion, Don and Erin Brooks' towering creation is more like a rolling billboard for their business, Big Tyme Industries in Mesa, Arizona.

There is no clock ticking down to zero, no big hoopla, no warning signs, all you remember is going about your normal business and then WHAM- your world was rocked. That is how Mike Matamoros, of Rogers, Texas, likes things; clean and simple. His approach is shaking things up in the fullsize game. He rolls in under the radar, airs out his truck and then begins to collect awards. Simple and clean. We've been preaching it for two years now and we're glad people have been paying attention. Check out how this daily driver went from a stock work truck to garnering such praise.

When we asked Justin Veit, owner of this gorgeous GMC, what was the reason for building such a wild truck, he simply said: "I've lost my mind." The way this fullsize soaks up the 26-inch wheels, glistens in the sunshine, and makes eardrums bleed mercilessly, a mind seems to be a beautiful thing to waste. After building six custom trucks, all of which Truckin' has featured, Justin dropped in his lucky coin, pulled down the slot machine lever, and struck the jackpot with one of the most head-turning trucks we've seen in years. Going for broke, all bets were off as the two-year adventure of building a first-class truck finally culminated with his first cover.

Hopefully you're reading this newest issue of Truckin' with your freshly detailed, completely finished truck parked in your garage, gleaming from bumper to roll pan. If not, you're like us, and have too many distractions to get in the way of finishing your favorite toy. Imagine what it would be like to have everything, if just for a while, focused on completing your project. Imagine you've got some great sponsors behind you, you've got the newest hot products to work with, and you plan to debut your truck at the biggest annual meeting of aftermarket minds, SEMA. Sounds like fun, huh? Now imagine that you've got to start with a perfectly stock truck and you've only got 45 days to make your truck noticeable amongst a sea of the most extravagant customs ever built. Sounds a lot like work, doesn't it?

At the ripe ol' age of 27, Chris Thomas has more than 9 years of car show competition under his belt. Car show competition? Yes, car shows-not trucks. After landing 23 Best of Shows with his '93 Honda Accord, Chris went with his gut instinct and sold the trailer queen in favor of a truck, but not any truck- a Chevy Avalanche. Purpose-built from the factory to provide a car-like driving experience and still have the towing and hauling capabilities of a truck, the Avalanche was the perfect choice for a guy starting out in the truck world. Using his car show expertise, Chris has already put a hurtin' on the fullsize mild truck class. This is how he did it.

Jhan Dolphin and the people at Real Wheels Corporation (RWC) in Gurnee, Illinois, are known for building full-tilt custom vehicles, several of which have been featured right here in Truckin'. Many of their builds revolve around a theme that dictates the overall feel of the vehicle, like Criss Angel's Mindfreak magic-themed H2 SUT. For this build, Jhan Dolphin was inspired by his children while they were playing Rockband. Jhan noticed that his children were playing and singing along to the same songs that he listened to when he was growing up. Seeing the chance to build the music-themed vehicle the team had been waiting for, Jhan had to look no further than nearby Rockford, Illinois, birthplace of legendary rock band Cheap Trick. After brainstorming with fellow RWC employees, Jhan contacted the band to get their feedback. What you see here is the result of their collaboration.