Engineers’
Questionable Decisions

For the most part I typically give auto engineers the benefit of a doubt, despite what I might utter under my breath when I’m elbow deep into an engine. No, they didn’t design it this way because they hate me; it just sometimes feels that way. 

I often wonder if engineers have their feelings hurt a little when people start mix-matching trucks and engines. It’s becoming more and more common that an owner loves the look of his brand X truck, but would rather have a brand Y engine or vice versa. Naturally you have to assume if engineers were doing a better job there would be fewer conversion kits on the market today, or at least a few less “Fummins” trucks on the road.

Truth is, engineers have a tough job. In a lot of ways they’re like offensive linemen in football. The only time you notice those big guys on the field is when they get hurt or when they commit a penalty. When they do their job and the team gets in the end zone, all the attention is usually focused on the running back who scored the touchdown or the quarterback who threw the pass. And yes, back in the day I was one of those salty linemen.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. I say it’s a truck.

Much like a dog, a truck is loyal and takes care of you as long as you take care of it. It’s also a great companion on road trips, something Ryan Schliesmann is quite familiar with.

Ryan runs a courier and freight business, taking deliveries all over his home state of Florida and even sometimes up into Georgia or the Carolinas.

“It could be from 5 a.m. to 5 in the afternoon, depending on how my day is going,” an upbeat Ryan explained after driving 800 miles that day.

A 90s model gas Chevy with a Range Rover kit for the grille and a custom paint job sits in a Florida shop. It’s the first truck that young Joseph Pitts ever had a say in and it hooked him to the lifestyle. His father was forced to sell it due to a lack of airbags, but he promised Joseph he’d buy him another one.

Fast forward a few years and Joseph (Instagram: @josephpitts00) has accomplished a lot for a 21-year-old. He’s the president of a vehicle club in Tennessee (@next_level_creations_), he works for a water utility company fixing main waterline breaks and he’s built up his 2015 GMC Denali 2500HD in a nice way.

Something To Show Off

Joseph got his GMC about two years ago. It’s his first personal diesel build and he doesn’t think he’ll ever go back to a gasser. As for his idea behind the build, it was simple: be different.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that many of the diesel pickup owners featured in our magazine said “truck,” “diesel” or maybe even “lift kit” as their first words as kids. The love of trucks is more often than not instilled in us as young children as our grandparents, parents or siblings showed us the ropes of late nights in the garage, fixing up a truck. It can be refreshing to come across someone’s diesel journey that’s just a little different. Alex Powers is different.

Getting In The Game

Alex comes from a family of nurses and doctors. She originally went to college in hopes of becoming a veterinarian — not exactly a nurse or doctor, but somewhat related. While attending State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, a public college in Cobleskill, N.Y., Alex started hanging out with mechanically inclined friends who spent their free time working on pickup trucks. She learned the ins and outs of a diesel and found she really enjoyed it, enough in fact to start studying diesel technology in school.

Julian Pantoja from Illinois likes to say, “You just gotta keep livin’ man.” Well Julian does a lot of his living through his 2010 RAM Laramie. He uses it as both his daily driver and show truck, with mods such as his starlight headliner, powder-coated springs, rock light/wheel lights, a custom 8-inch tip, a custom interior and 24x14s KG1 forged wheels with Nitto 420 tires highlighting his build. He also has it fully color-matched.

In the near future he’d like to add a 6-inch lift from Air Lift as well as a full sound system. Keep on livin’, Julian.