This L5P Duramax build, owned by Nick Ledwell of Norton, Mass., is unique based on the sophistication and quality of the large undercarriage and the ton of add-ons. Nick works as a commercial electrician, but outside of work, his life revolves around diesels and his multiple trucks.
“This truck is equipped with nothing but the best products in the industry,” Nick says. “And it has a color scheme that stands out wherever it goes. It was built with an open checkbook with no shortcuts.”
Especially in an area with so many people, a bold color scheme like Nick’s, which is black with accents of purple and gold provided by the powder coating from Prismatic Powders, is destined to turn heads. It complements the large stance so well.
“The truck is fully customized from the True Spiked light nuts to the specialty-built starlit headliner from RFS Motorsports,” Nick says.
Much of the work on the truck, including the powder coating, was completed by Valley Truck and Off-Road in Ellington, Conn.
“The truck build overall went pretty smooth for the entire process, but this is my first serious build. There wasn’t a stone left unturned and in my opinion, Valley Truck and Off-Road absolutely killed it! I wouldn’t bring my truck to any other shop!”
Nick’s build was actually originally showcased at the 2019 Daytona Truck Meet in Florida, but then he had the opportunity to attend the SEMA Show in 2019. There’s no denying the Daytona Meet put him in the right mindset to help him get a lot more out of SEMA.
“Step by step, everything got done on time with no ‘SEMA crunch,’” Nick adds. “At the show, I was able to really customize the truck to another level to show off all my ideas.” Shows like SEMA provide the perfect opportunity for any vehicle builder to get his work out into the world. Nick was very lucky his build worked out so well in allowing him all this time to polish it for the big Las Vegas show.
SEMA trucks tend to be more undercarriage-heavy, but their performance upgrades are also always noteworthy. Under the hood on Nick’s Duramax are a custom intercooler, intake, coolant pipe, and turbo inlet from Wehrli Custom Fabrication, all powder coated in the Illusion purple with gold accents. Topping off the engine is a Banks 5-inch Monster exhaust system with a black tip, and tuning everything under the hood is a Banks Derringer with iDash. To better support all the amped-up performance from the intercooler, intake, and all the associated additions, a Banks rear differential cover was also added. Nick figured it would help to have higher braking capacity with all of these upgrades, so he added a Wilwood six-piston braking system with braided lines for both the front and rear.
The wheel wells are also well decked out with a total of 50 single-color Twisted Pro rock lights. The Royalty Core grille, powder coated black with purple and gold accents, goes perfectly with the color-matched headlights, taillights, third brake light, and cab lights. The door handles are custom-lit and color-matched, and the tailgate handle is also color-matched. Whew, talk about lights and color matching. This truck is chock-full of it!
It does a little more than daily driving, too. Although he doesn’t use the truck for his job regularly, the truck is used as a work vehicle when it needs to be. The truck is well traveled, as it has been driven across the country (not towed) to many shows, the most noteworthy ones being Daytona and SEMA. With his hitch, Nick does some regular light towing with the truck as well.
“I’m actually in the process of getting my Class A CDL, so I’m sticking with little trailers for now,” he says. “I’m not towing anything too crazy at the moment.”
With everything he does now, Nick really could not have asked for a better build.
As far as the near future goes, Nick has little to nothing planned for upgrades. He does go by @pitbullsand_diesels95 on Instagram if you’re curious and want to see more photos.
Regardless of what life throws at him, he’ll likely never get bored of the sophisticated big boy toys.
“You’ve got to do what makes you happy,” Nick says, “because that’s all that matters.” Motivation is one of the key factors to success, and Nick is a highly motivated person when it comes to diesel trucks.
800-309-6823
www.amp-research.com
Atturo Tires
855-632-8031
www.atturotires.com
Banks Power
800-601-8072
www.bankspower.com
BedRug
800-462-8435
www.bedrug.com
BodyGuard
903-785-8939
www.bodyguardbumpers.com
BulletProof Suspension
909-389-0444
www.bulletproofsuspension.net
574-218-6363
www.genyhitch.com
HornBlasters
877-209-8179
www.hornblasters.com
JL Audio
www.jlaudio.com
Kelderman
641-673-5396
www.kelderman.com
Mobile Toys Inc.
979-268-6066
www.mobiletoysinc.com
Phoenix Automotive
877-463-6490
www.phoenixautomotive.com
866-774-7628
www.prismaticpowders.com
Rigid Industries
855-760-5337
www.rigidindustries.com
Roadwire
877-762-3947
www.roadwire.com
Royal Hooks
916-549-4007
www.royalhooks.com
Royalty Core
541-343-3643
www.royaltycore.com
Twisted Pro All-Terrain
904-738-1296
www.twistedproall-terrain.com
866-900-8800
www.undercoverinfo.com
Valley Truck and Off-Road
www.facebook.com/ValleyTruckAndOffRoad
VMS Racing
305-463-0680
www.vmsracing.com
Wehrli Custom Fabrication
630-277-8239
www.wcfab.com
Wilwood
805-388-1188
www.wilwood.com