Building trucks can be… pricey, to say the least. It’s a major commitment but most if not all truck enthusiasts will confirm it’s well worth it. Project trucks are a highlight of the work you do and your way of showing your creativity and determination. The financial commitment is definitely something to consider, though maybe not for Jacobi Balls.

“Your money does no good for you when you’re dead,” he explained, “so have something fun to spend it on.”

Your accountant friend might have a thing or two to say about that logic, but when it comes to building diesel pickups, we’re on board.

Jacobi puts his money into a truck he could never sell, a truck that hates Wyoming and loves Utah. A truck he calls The Ranch Truck From Hell. It’s his black, 2017 RAM Laramie 3500 with an aluminum flatbed.

The Journey

While originally from Wyoming, Jacobi currently resides in Logan, Utah, where he works for a dredging company. They use large, floating barges to clean out bodies of water. In his free time Jacobi can be found camping, snowmobiling and working on his Cummins.

“I got interested in diesel trucks while growing up around semis and farm equipment and my grandpa had a second gen that I loved,” said Jacobi. “Just growing up around it, it’s what I knew and it’s what I enjoy being around.”

He’s mostly self-taught but completed a little bit of diesel schooling at a technical college while in high school. He never pursued it as a career, so it remains a hobby rather than a profession. He previously owned gassers, but didn’t enjoy modifying them nearly as much as a diesel so when he was in the market to upgrade his previous truck and saw this RAM on the lot of a local dealer, he jumped on it.

It was bone stock, previously employed as a rancher’s work truck, which is how it got its nickname. Jacobi and his little brother, Kenny, took this ranch truck and turned it into “a quick little unit,” as Jacobi puts it.

“It just stuck out to me with the flatbed and Ranch Hand bumpers on it,” he continued. “It’s unique. Not a lot of people have this setup and it just stands out. I’ve never taken it to shows or anything, but around town and in different cities it’s always getting looks with people staring and giving me the thumbs up.”

Bonding Over A Build

Jacobi doesn’t think he could sell the truck due to the bond it’s created between him and his brother Kenny. The countless hours spent on the diesel are worth more than any amount of money.

“Kenny and I both went to school for diesel mechanics,” Jacobi said. “He finished after high school but I didn’t continue. I just went straight to work in my field, which was heavy equipment/marine diesels and Kenny went to the heavy-duty semi side. So pickups have brought both of our knowledge together to teach each other and bond over our love for building sweet trucks in our spare time.”

Those hours have allowed them to get to know their truck, enough to even recognize that it seems to break down a lot when in Wyoming, but does a lot better when in Utah. It’s a temperamental truck.

The original plan was to keep their picky truck stock, but when the turbo and emission system quit, the build started. The only modification not completed by Jacobi and Kenny was the transmission, which was fully built and installed by Moonlight Diesel in Logan. Besides that, it’s been all them, including Jacobi’s favorite mod, the BorgWarner S467 turbo which “makes it a blast to drive.”

Together, Jacobi and Kenny have put in a fully-built 68RFE Wehrli custom-fab second-gen swap kit with Steed Speed manifold, Fleece manifold studs and coolant bypass. In addition to the S467 turbo, they added ARP head studs, Flight Fab traction bars, FASS lift pump, Banks Monster Ram intake horn, Wehrli coolant tank and radiator pipe and a Full Send diesel valve cover. The black exterior is contrasted nicely by hot pink accents under the hood.

In the future they want a 12mm cp3 with injectors, valve assembly and a new suspension with upgraded parts and new wheels. If the motor comes apart, Jacobi and Kenny are ready to build it back up as well.