Now that the dualie was resting on the concrete and performing with less engine restriction, Jamey and Don, of Innovative Customs, began working on the cosmetic metal fabrication portion of build. Custom sheetmetal bed walls, wheel tubs, and a relocated gas filler round out the rear modifications, while the front fenders were boxed in and tubbed to make room for the truck's larger rolling stock. New Era Bedliner of Houma, Louisiana, sprayed the bottom of the hood, the inside of the front fenders and bedsides, as well as inside of the bed box for aesthetic and protective purposes. A Chevy HHR roof rack has been planted to the top of the cab and chrome door handles with color-matched bezels make for attractive exterior accessories. Don blasted the dualie's metal surface with vibrant PPG Victory Red paint, which is truly a winning selection for any low down, heavy-duty hauler.

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.

Knowing that more alligator detailing was just too attractive to pass up, Cesar arranged for the interior to be taken a few steps further into the bayou. The dash was ripped out, smoothed, and painted to match the exterior. A dose of pinstriping was also added to the glove- box door, which appeals to the lovers of classic hot-rod style. The tan leather seats and billet steering wheel have been upgraded with impressive gator accents that were executed by McAllen, Texas', Palma's Upholstery. To better complete the cab's all-around threatening attitude, Aggressive Sound wired up a Pioneer head unit, along with two 10-inch JL Audio W6 subs and Planet Audio mids, highs, and amplification. Fiberglass kick panels and a rear enclosure have been expertly fabricated and fit flawlessly with the look and feel of the clean interior space. A Dakota Digital gauge has also been installed in the center console to inform Cesar of the air levels with an around-the-clock, easy to read display.

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.

The exterior modifications were the major contributions to the overall change of the SSR. The '03 SSR factory galvanized steel body components: front fenders, hood, bed, rear fenders, and tailgate, were all replaced. Sean used `53 Chevrolet pickup OEM steel replacement parts including hood, front and rear fenders, running boards, headlights, taillights, grille, tailgate, bumpers, and door handles for this project. The hood was cut and sectioned, then hinged using the factory SSR hinges. To achieve tight fitment of the front and rear fenders they needed to be trimmed. The SSR original cab was left intact, with no modifications. A custom wooden white oak, Mar-K bed floor was laid and separated by stainless steel stringers and secured with stainless carriage bolts. After all of the body mods were completed by the crew at Hot Rods & Custom Stuff, they laid down a couple of coats of PPG K36 primer. Next, they block-sanded the new retro skin to a flawless complexion. The SSR was then wiped down with a tack rag and given two passes with PPG Ocean Green basecoat then buried with four coats of clear to achieve its depth and glistening finish. Why was the choice of color Ocean Green? Because it was a '53 Chevy pickup factory color. The SSR's comfortable factory interior and concert hall audio were left stock.

Inside the doors, Gorge's Upholstery wrapped the dash in leather and suede after fitting Autometer gauges into the billet panel. Bucket seats were also wrapped in matching tan leather and suede, as was the headliner and billet steering wheel. A B&M shifter ensures the exact gear is selected and Drops 'R Us added some tunes. Rockford Fosgate amps send audio signals to Infinity mids and highs located in the doors. Fosgate amps also power two 12-inch Kicker subs behind the seat in a custom box. A Pioneer Premier head unit controls the bump.

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.

Although the interior wasn't quite complete in '07, Eli made sure that it was a wrap before the last Reso show in '08. A few interior pieces were pulled and painted an electric shade of green that was good enough to influence the color of the suede-wrapped seats. Audio Pros, in Modesto, created custom kick panels and a center console to further push the radical interior styling. Zapco tweeters and midrange speakers along with 12-inch Kicker subs were wired to Zapco amps. A set of Nu Image gauges and billet accessories were added to the list of in-cab accessories and come together to create a wild interior space to match the exterior demeanor.

It may surprise you to find out that this truck is completely smog legal, a feat that Chassis by Aaron takes pride in. Despite the rocker hugging stance, new suspension, and custom firewall, the Chevy passes all smog testing. Edelbrock 50-state legal headers were bolted on and a Magnaflow exhaust added for some street rod rumble. Other than those mild performance enhancements, the engine was left alone--sort of. You see, if a part could be removed and chromed or polished, it was. Many pieces were also painted to match the orange and Aaron even found time to fabricate custom inner fenders out of aluminum.

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.

To provide a central location for the rest of the audio/video additions, Chris built a new center console that holds a 12-inch Directed monitor and a smaller monitor for the Harman Kardon Guide and Play portable GPS 810 navigation as well as the Harman Kardon Drive and Play iPod interface. The dash was modified to accept the new 7-inch Directed monitor and the Pioneer DEHP8MP head unit, as well as the Panasonic DVD player, now located where the passenger airbag used to be. Above the dash, gauges for the air suspension reside in a custom housing that Chris created, using an aftermarket A-pillar gauge enclosure. The seats were reupholstered in Katzkin gray leather with dark gray suede inserts. Suede headliner and carpet, along with custom paint accents on the new fiberglass pieces, completed the interior.

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.

Dropping the truck off to Always Hot Rod, in Phoenix, Justin purchased a Chevy LS2 and went a little horsepower-happy with the checklist. In went a custom-ground Comp Cams camshaft, roller rockers, FAST LSX intake, JBA headers, MSD digital ignition, and to keep the wiring simple, a Painless harness and computer were ordered. Dress-up items include March pulleys, a chrome alternator, slick chrome filter, chromed brake booster and master cylinder, and a custom intake cover that was painted to match. One flick of the starter switch and the LS2 rumbles to life invoking onlookers to do double-takes. It's not too often a late-model truck sounds like a muscle car when it fires up.

It is too bad that Jim wasn't able to fire the Tundra up inside the show, because the 5.7L V-8 was fitted with a K&N intake, Corsa exhaust, and Doug Thorley headers. That combo makes the already-spirited engine come to life with a rumbling authority that we were able to witness first hand at out photo shoot. We were also able to get a better look than most at the interior that was treated to a slew of Kicker audio, including four 10-inch L7 subs and SS65 components. Soundgate supplied the interface for adding the additional audio upgrades while keeping the factory head unit and accompanying steering wheel controls. Clint Drabek was responsible for the paint-matched pieces, but the remainder of the interior was handled by Albert May Interiors in Edmond, Oklahoma, where the factory gray carpet was removed and replaced with black carpet before Mastercraft racing seats and four-point harnesses were installed. Each seat was wrapped with black leather and red suede Roadwire upholstery that matches the Alcantara headliner.

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.