Dawson Komant has always been active and adventurous with interests such as soccer, hiking, camping, and just about anything else that lets him move. But those are just hobbies for Dawson. His true passion, more adequately described as an obsession, is building vehicles, and he knows how to put in the hard work required to do it all himself.

Dawson, a 23-year-old living in British Columbia, Canada, has been working on natural gas lines ever since he got out of high school. The companies he’s worked for have put him through all of the required schooling to work his way up the industrial ladder. He began as a laborer, but was ticketed for welding and then quickly moved into running his own crew within three years. Dawson has recently moved into a new opportunity with a job scope that includes line inspections, job planning, surveys and more. But this isn’t enough for him. Dawson wants more.

Dawson also started his own automotive company, Lucky Customs, on the side in January of 2022 to pursue his dream of working in the custom auto industry full time.

Kindled Passion

Dawson’s first interest in trucks began when he was 15. His cousin, who’s always been more of an older brother to him, started getting into vehicles of his own at the time and Dawson was pulled along into the car world. His cousin never left anything stock, so he learned fairly quickly how to make custom modifications, which carried over to vehicles of his own. After going through a few cars, his cousin purchased a third gen Cummins, and neither of them have looked back on gas ever since.

“Diesel just became what we both desired, no questions asked,” Dawson reflected.

And he has come to prefer diesel over time through his own personal experiences.

“I love the way a diesel engine sounds and pulls. That turbo whistle and deep scream just can’t be beat in my opinion,” Dawson said.

And that’s why he bought his 2004.5 GMC Sierra 2500HD.

His First Truck

How many diesel enthusiasts can genuinely say that their first truck became a SEMA build? Well, Dawson can! His Duramax was his first diesel truck and it seems like he was sure to get exactly what he wanted the first time around because he has gone all the way with the modifications he’s made to the truck. It has even become the poster truck for his Lucky Customs company.

“Purchasing this truck was a massive deal for me,” explains Dawson. “This was my first-ever diesel truck and being able to finally acquire one after dreaming of it for so long was a surreal feeling.”

He bought it five years ago when he was 18 and fresh out of high school, having worked day and night to save the money. It was the biggest purchase he had made at that point in his life, and he surely hasn’t forgotten the gratifying feeling of exchanging his hard-earned cash for the truck he had been searching for.

Even though he debuted the truck at SEMA 2021, 2022 has been his first year doing a full show season with the Duramax. He’s attended a fair amount of summer shows, most of them being local to British Columbia. And the truck has consistently gathered a lot of attention and been complimented wherever it has been. In fact, the truck has gone three-for-three on awards—Dawson has attended three judged shows, from which he received three awards. So it seems the pressure is building to keep the perfect record going.

“I do appreciate earning the trophies, but my favorite part of attending events will always be forming new relationships and meeting the people who have followed my journey over social media. Nothing will ever top those experiences.”

The Build

Dawson named his truck Lucky when he first created his Instagram handle (@lucky.lly), and wanted an L word before LLY referencing the engine in the truck. But he had no idea at the time how well the truck would grow into its name down the road.

The build began after he decided to entirely rebuild the truck to create the show truck he always wanted. Dawson spent an entire year just planning the build, acquiring sponsors, and stacking parts in order in preparation for the build itself before ripping anything off of the truck. The build itself took 9 months, taking place on jack stands in a one-bay garage that could barely fit the full truck with the body on. And Dawson completed the frame-off build almost entirely by himself at 21 with no mechanical background or schooling, putting time on it every day after work until he couldn’t keep his eyes open.

“That’s my favorite part about the entire build—not what’s on it, but what’s gone into it. Every hour spent, the lessons learned, the smashed knuckles, and stressful situations I overcame. That’s what I see when I look at it,” Dawson expressed.

But still, what is on it? For starters, he gave the Duramax a bit of a juice-up with a 9-inch McGaughys lift and 26×14 American Force Draco wheels with 40×15.5 Fuel Gripper M/T tires. Then he took full control of the asphalt with full Kryptonite steering and dual shock hoops, a SoCal Garageworks carbon fiber steering wheel, a custom steering box from Redhead Steering Gears, FOX 2.0 reservoir shocks, and traction bars custom built by Machine Tech. And after slapping on a rear roll pan, Grid Iron front bumper, Street Concept1 hood, CTC Fabrications grille and frame plates, and Boost Auto Parts mirrors, Rival Customs put on a one-off wrap designed by Wrapture Customs and everything was powder-coated with Prismatic Powders products. Then the whole truck was lit up with custom headlights, 24 RGBW rock lights and 24 RGBW dual row wheel lights from Adrenaline Offroad Outfitters, and a light bar and LED pods from Speed Demon Lights.

Dawson has also completely refurbished the interior with an ultra plush black carpet, custom leather seats by Roadwire Automotive Leather Interiors, custom seatbelts by SeatBelt Planet, and an 1,100-piece starlight headliner from Adrenaline Offroad Outfitters. He even threw on a color-matched bed liner from Okanagan Custom Trucks. He finished up the build with a Titanium Series FASS fuel system, a custom hidden hitch, a GEN-Y drop hitch with a step, a Horn Blasters spare tire delete, some fitting SEMA award-winning True Spike lug nuts, a BD Diesel deep transmission pan and diff cover, a 5-inch MBRP straight pipe, an 8-inch TSO tip, and a custom sub box.

Honestly Finished?

It seems as though Dawson has actually finished his build.

“I have no current plans for future modifications. I built this truck very thoroughly to meet my likings, and I’m extremely happy with how it turned out,” he said.

Since Dawson was sure not to miss any steps along the way, with the final product being exactly what he wanted, who’s to doubt the truck’s completion? However, Dawson has confirmed that he does have a new build in the works. Even though his build is done, that doesn’t mean he’s done building, so it’s still safe to say that the aphorism that no one is ever done with building their diesel still holds true!

“This build means more to me than I could describe. Not only is it the truck that allowed me to achieve my dream of showcasing at SEMA, but it taught me exactly what I’m capable of and created an opportunity for me to turn my passion into a career.”