Trucks Next Door

Real Trucks On A Budget

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FREE SUBSCRIPTION: This is becoming our favorite section. Real trucks, purpose-built on a paycheck budget. If you’d like to submit your truck for our Truck Next Door section, send your name, hometown and state and a description of your truck, along with a high-resolution photo, to trucks@dieseltechmag.com. Remember, if your truck is published, you get a free one-year subscription to Diesel Tech.

BEN KIRKLAND

Wilton, CA
1990 Dodge W250

We definitely don’t see too many of these old beasts on the road anymore, and this one sure looks great for its age (now 30 years old)! This is the second model year to feature the Cummins turbo diesel in the Dodge/RAM trucks. Ben Kirkland, who owns this 1990 12-valve 5.9L, lives in the greater Sacramento, Calif., area and has it quite well built up.

“I bought this truck when I was 17 years old, and I plan on completely rebuilding it,” says Ben. “This truck is my daily driver back and forth from work, though I also take it to truck meets and have other sorts of fun with it.”

The amount of work done on this old rig is definitely involved, to say the least. Other than sitting on a 6-inch lift with 15-inch wheels wrapped in 33-inch tires, the truck has its share of powertrain and engine work that includes a built A727 transmission (completed by Pro Built Transmission in West Sacramento), a BorgWarner S369SXE turbo, a built VE injection pump from Hungry Diesel, and a killer dowel pin (KDP) repair kit. The truck may have quite a few years on it now, but Ben is certainly determined to keep in going for some time.

Kaya Diaz

Wilton, CA
2000 Dodge RAM 2500

Look at this silver second-generation Cummins. Also based in greater Sacramento, Calif., and owned by 18-year-old Kaya Diaz, this one’s a 24-valve that’s had quite a makeover. This truck sees some meaningful use as Kaya’s daily driver.

“I’ve used it for everything from hauling cows to hauling our rock crawler and when she is not working she is taking me to and from work,” he says. Kaya’s ride is fourth-generation color-matched and also features the chrome mirrors and bumper from that lineup. Finishing off the aesthetics on his truck is a LED headlight housing from Pro Tuning Lab to match the also color-matched taillights. The truck sits on a Carli 5.5-inch suspension with Bilstein shocks and 20-inch Fuel forged wheels with 305/50R20 Toyo performance tires. The engine is tuned by an Edge Juice with Attitude programmer and features an aFe cold air intake, a FASS fuel lift pump, and a three-piece DPS exhaust manifold.

“I’ll be getting head studded very soon,” Kaya says. “I’m also looking to get 150-horse injectors and a 60/67 turbo with a Mishimoto intercooler along with a 600-horse capable built transmission and track bars for the rear.” His truck is already very accomplished to say the least, but he’ll continue working to make it the best it can be. “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful and worth the struggle,” he adds.

Jason Hansen

West Jordan, UT
2017 Ford F250

This truck might not have a lot done to it yet, as the owner is just getting started in the world of diesel, but it sure looks sharp. All blacked out with a chrome delete wrap, this newer Platinum F250 also has a young owner, Jason Hansen, who lives right outside of Salt Lake City. The upgrades on his high-end truck include a 2.5-inch ReadyLIFT leveling kit with FOX Performance series remote reservoir shocks and stabilizers, 22-inch Hostile Predator wheels with 325/50R22 Cooper STT Pro tires, and an EZ Lynk tuner with GDP tuning. He uses the truck for both work and play, and it’s pretty well-balanced for both lifestyles combined.

Although this truck is quite modest, it makes sense to not go over the top with upgrades with a vehicle that’s used for work. However, it’s still plenty well-prepared to handle various terrains that a job site might throw at it. In the future, Jason plans to go for a bigger 3.5-inch lift kit with performance traction bars as well as to add air bags. With that, he also plans to add some front and rear bumpers and custom headlights.

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