“What is this?!” she asked in a confused tone. My mind instantly began to race as I tried to figure out what she could possibly be referring to. A hot girl by the pool? Nope, already deleted those pics. A video of me launching the kids “safely” onto the hotel bed from across the room? No, it couldn’t be that since we always hide the evidence from mom. I was out of ideas and I had no clue what she had found that had her so confused. All I knew was I was busted for taking a photo of something she didn’t agree with.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives left and right around the globe for about a full year now, and we’re still trying to figure a lot of things out. Events across the board have been canceled and shut down as gathering restrictions to slow the spread of the deadly virus have taken hold, and truck shows sadly have been no exception to this rule. Some of the biggest disappointments in our industry last year were the cancellation of the Ultimate Callout Challenge (UCC) in greater Indianapolis, Ind., along with the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nev. Depending on where you live though (as not all areas have had the same gathering restrictions due to varying population density), some smaller and even medium-size show n’ shines and local truck meets still took place this past summer.

As we’ve said goodbye to 2020 and flipped the calendar over to 2021 however, we’ve made a lot of progress in our education and accomplishments and have seen some signs of hope arise and give us hints that regaining more control of our lives may just be on the horizon as we learn more about the virus and as vaccines and therapeutics are being distributed and administered. Depending on who you ask, life may not end up being quite the same as we once knew it, but I do know this is a battle we will win and this difficult time will pass.

John had owned two different 24-valve Cummins over a three-year period and then switched over to Duramax about three to four years ago with a 2005 LLY, and that’s when he fell in love with the Duramax platform.

The quality ReadyLIFT kit integrates more than a simple lift or front leveling. It was created to meet the demand for a kit that leveled out the front end without sacrificing ride quality. Since the kit uses replacement coil springs as opposed to a spacer puck, the truck’s ride isn’t affected in any negative way. The installation of the lift kit was completed at PowerTech Diesel in Idaho Falls, Idaho, by technician Travis Prouse along with some help from techs Tyler Olsen and Jordan Johnson. The wheels and tires were sent off to another shop to be mounted and balanced before being installed on the truck.

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.

Most truck projects are never finished. And when your project is a diesel truck, you’ve got plenty of life in it to tinker with for a long time. Rod Benesh of Benesh Electric based in Southern California has had his 2002 Ford F250 since it was just a couple years old and has spent nearly a decade and a half upgrading and perfecting his truck. His attention to detail and regimen of maintenance has kept the aging rig in pristine condition despite its transformation into his daily driving work truck.

Benesh volunteered his time, expertise, and his well-equipped truck to assist in relief efforts in the Florida Panhandle, yet even amid the chaos and carnage fresh after Hurricane Michael’s devastation in 2018, the mighty work truck stayed neat and clean as it brought aid to many in need.

“My husband got me into diesels in 2013; he taught me how to drive a manual and I bought a 2000 white regular cab Ford F250 7.3L Power Stroke six-speed from him; from then on I’ve been hooked,” she says. “But I sold that truck back to him because of knee issues and my family is really into GM trucks.”

Her black truck today is a 2005 2500HD LLY named Ellie with roughly 297,000 miles, purchased in May 2020, while her white one is a 2006 2500HD LBZ named Brizee with about 258,000 miles, acquired in September 2020.

“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.”